Finland - Forgotten Weapons

The Finnish RPK: Valmet 78 at the Range

May 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 15

Valmet designed the M78 hoping to sell it to the Finnish military as an equivalent to the RPK, but it was not adopted. Instead, they were old a semiautos on the commercial market. Because this […]

Historical Comparison: Finland’s Winter War vs Russian Invasion of Ukraine

April 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 50

I have been reading about the Winter War in past few months as part of my work on a book about Finnish small arms, and I have been really struck by the similarity in images […]

m/26 Suomi: Aimo Lahti’s First Production Design

March 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

Aimo Lahti was the premier firearms designer, and the m/26 was his first significant design. Lahti was a Civil Guard armorer, and upon seeing the Lindelof copy of the Bergmann SMG in 1921 he thought […]

What Does the Invasion of Ukraine Mean for European Private Firearms Ownership?

March 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 43

Help support Ukraine: National Bank of Ukraine armed forces account National Bank of Ukraine humanitarian account Come Back Alive One of the interesting implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the potential for expanded […]

Suomi Compensator Comparison – Does It Work?

February 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

In February of 1943, new production Suomi submachine guns began to include a 10-point compensator built into the barrel shroud. This pattern, really the only substantial variation in Finnish military m/31 production, was identified as […]

Nordic Cooperation: The Swedish M96 in Finnish Service

February 16, 2022 Ian McCollum 19

One of the significant foreign rifles in Finnish service during the Winter War and Continuation War was the Swedish M96 Mauser. These rifles began arriving in Finland even before Finland’s independence, and in 1919 the […]

The Short-Lived Suomi SMG for Armored Vehicle Mounts

January 31, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

Prior to the Winter War, Finland had just a few armored vehicles; mostly armored cars. These needed some armament, and one idea put forth was to fit an m/31 Suomi to a ball mount inside […]

Tour of a Finnish Gun Collection

January 12, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

I have been doing a bunch of filming with this Finnish collector, who has been very generous with his time and giving me access. He thought it would be fun to show folks a full […]

Suomi Korsu: A Special Mannerheim Line Bunker SMG

January 3, 2022 Ian McCollum 16

The “Korsu” is a special version of the Suomi made for use in the bunkers of the Mannerheim Line. When construction on the Line really kicked into high gear in the summer of 1939, is […]

Soviet DS-39 Heavy Machine Gun at the Range

December 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 13

The DS-39 is an air-cooled heavy machine gun designed by Degtyarev, which was intended to replace the 1910 Maxim as the standard Soviet HMG. It was lighter and more mobile than the Maxim, and also […]