Finland - Forgotten Weapons

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 […]

Adventures in Surplus: An M91 Mosin of Many Flags

December 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Today we are taking a look at an early production M1891 Mosin Nagant rifle. This one has had quite a busy history…it was originally manufactured at the Izhevsk Arsenal in 1894, with several of the […]

Lahti-Saloranta LS-26 LMG at the Range

December 18, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

I had a chance to shoot an LS26 once before, but without the benefit of a magazine loading tool – and so I could only get 4 or 5 rounds into the mag. This time, […]

Lahti-Saloranta LS-26: Finland’s Domestic LMG

December 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

Finland’s first domestic light machine gun was the LS-26. The prime designer was Aimo Lahti, but because of his relative inexperience and lack of formal credentials, Lieutenant A.E. Saloranta was assigned to assist him. The […]

Finland’s M/39 PH Sniper from the Continuation War

December 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

The basic equipment of the Finnish Army came from what was left in Finland by departing Russian soldiers when Finland declared independence. As the Russians had no scoped rifles at that time, Finland didn’t have […]

The Very Rare Commercial Suomi SMG with VFG and Bipod

December 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 20

The kp/31, aka M31 “Suomi” submachine gun was adopted by the Finnish Army in 1931. It was produced by the Tikkakoski company (more commonly known today as Tikka), and in addition to Finnish military contracts […]