Why no love for the Swedish Ljungman AG 42?

sledge

sledge

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How can you not love a big long heavy wooden semi-auto in 6.5x55?

ljungman42.jpg


How can you not love anything Swedish? The meatballs, the hot women, the good movies/books, the massages, and the great rifles! Swedish Mausers get respect but the Ljungman gets NO LOVE.
Garands selling for well over $1000 these days (worth every penny but still a lot of money), FN-49s sometimes that much or more, and the AG-42 is lucky to get $350 on the EE?
What I find really weird is that the Hakims now seem to sell for more too. That is nuts. The Egyptian rifle is a cheaper copy with a round that is more expensive to shoot/reload and kicks like a mule.

WHY are you sellers giving these away, and why aren't you buyers out there snatching 'em up ASAP?

I own one of these beauties and it's a treat to shoot. The ammo is a great round. 6.5 is actually the perfect size for everthing from making holes in paper to hunting most game.

It is a solid rifle - well made. Some complain that it shoots brass way too far. HECK I love seeing the brass fly 20ft with a vengeance.

The action can definately smash your fingers if you mess up. Garand thumb is nothing, the Ljungman can almost take out the whole hand. That is not a weakness per say. Do you know how many practical jokes you can do with the Ljungman and new shooters? Look folks shooting ain't for wimps, if you are afraid to break a nail or lose a finger you should be golfing!

This was a service rifle in Sweden from 1942 to 1960. That is a good length of service from a country that takes it's rifles and it's shooting seriously.

Love the meatballs, the women, the massages, the Mausers of course, but also the LJUNGMAN.

Now all of you go out and buy one!:HR:
 
I've never even seen one in person and I'm quite fond of them. I'd like to own one soon, but I'm not going to pull the trigger on one until I'm set up for reloading. All I really shoot is 7.62x39 and the occasional few rounds of 7.5x55 and I need to make some life changes before I go buying rifles in calbers where there isn't reasonably priced surplus.

Soon!
 
These rifles can have a few issues but are very robust and serviceable when used within the parameters they are designed for.

When they first became available in quantity, on the surplus market they were cheap. $25 each. They came with spare parts and cleaning kits as well. There was a good reason they came with a spare parts kit. They were noted for breaking firing pins and losing extractors.

There were even several attempts by a few individuals to convert them to 308Win. I saw a few attempts that didn't work well and a few that worked flawlessly.

It's an ammunition sensetive rifle and needs proper maintenance.

For my personal tastes, I find them cumbersome and bulky, mind you I don't appreciate the FN49, Kar 43 or FN FALs either, for the same reason.

There was also a rumor of some Ag42 C rifles being made as full autos. I don't know, it was only rumor and I never saw any.

By the way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the M42B, It's gas system was so good Armalite copied it. I also like that it is a gas assisted blow back design. No nasty little piston to worry about keeping free and clean.
 
I have two and love them, I have added a gas screw to both to prevent the brass flying at mach 6 down range.

Though if anyone wants to trade a M1 for one I am game !
 
Hmm... well, for one thing, they are perhaps the least-elegant firearm ever issued. Also, they tend to punch through people's fingers (literally) and it's far worse than Garand thumb. They also have a violent action that is not really pleasant to shoot.

Can you tell I'm not at all a fan?

IMHO there's a reason Sweden primarily issued the M96 well after the Ljungman was developped.
 
I have 1 and also a Hakim and a Rasheed. I dont use much the AG42 but still i like it and is on the never sell list. Btw, big brother Hakim is an excellent rifle, heavy as hell but very fine shooter and the gas regulator is great:)
Joce
 
Nyles said:
Lack of war service, I suspect. That's actually why I sold mine.
Click to expand...

I agree.

The Garand is a legendary WWII American rifle. Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers also helped with its popularity.

The Ljungman just doesn't have any historical appeal to me. Just like the Husqvarna 1907 pistols. These guns will never bring the same money as the Garand or 1911.

-Steve
 
i love em... well would love to own one just need need the money so anyone that does not want their unloved ljungman should donate them to me :)
 
Lots of love here!

My first rifle/gun of all. Bought at an auction with m'Dad's FAC, 25+years ago. No one knew what it was. You should have seen all the local "gun guys" jump back when that action closed. I'm lucky to have my fingers! Got my first few deer with it (25 years ago), and was teased for lugging it around.

Still have it.

I didn't know then, but love to read now...
-Possibly the most accurate semi 'surp you'll bump into
-Loud
-brass chewing, and flinging (bullet is dangerous, brass too! 20 ft landing zone) sucka!

They are unique, and as previously suggested..not idiot proof. I lost my original 10rd mag, and replaced it with a rare[=expensive] 5rd. I replaced an extractor for 17.50 shipped.
 
A friend has one, nice rifle but very long!

You learn very quickly where to keep your fingers.

Nice to shoot but the flinging brass thing is just silly! I figured it was so if someone was sneaking up on a Swedish soldier, the would be burnt by hot flying brass!


For some reason it has no real appeal to me, ammo is pricier than other rounds and there are just other rifles I would prefer to own first.


It would be nice to own just to scare the hell out of newb's with the action closing.:p
 
I once held a Ljungmann and I will say that they are very well built. I have been tempted on more than one occasion to grab one but it wouldn't add any value to my WW1 collecting. The lack of any war service is also another point on why I don't have one.
 
I had one, but traded it for an Enfeild.

I found that the stock didn't fir my body real well. I would have to hunker way down in an uncomfortable positon to get a proper sight picture.

That being said, I do find myself looking at them in the EE all the time.
 
One major reason for me would be the caliber.

Which sucks as it looks like a pretty cool rifle IMO.

I would love to have an Arisaka if the ammo wasn't so ridiculously expensive and uncommon.

I refuse to own a firearm that is not chambered in a common innexpensive caliber.

Even having my SKS and SVT-40 in x39mm and x54Rmm makes me nervous as I depend entirely on dirt cheap surplus ammo to make them go bang.

We all know the saying, nothing good lasts forever :D
 
Check out this link to a forum on another site that says that the Ljungman is more or less a Swedish version of the SVT 40. That's debatable, but the side by side pictures seem to support that argument. The SVT 40 is also a flawed weapon in some regards but it was well used in battle in WWII. The German's gladly used the one's that they captured. It's just as ungainly (read long and ugly) as the ag-42b but's relatively cheap to buy and to shoot. In short, I think that lack of popularity is partly due to there being an inexpensive alternative in the SVT 40. My 2 cents worth!

http://www.historum.com/war-military-history/5840-best-infantry-rifle-wwii-15.html
 
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