Why no love for the Swedish Ljungman AG 42?

cyclone said:
Brass-eating :yingyang: , hand-chomping ;) , telephone-pole-length lovable rifle !......:D
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Travis Bickle said:
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
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A valid, and solid point.

When I was a kid, .303 [and 30/30] ammo was everywhere (local store, gas station...). Not so now...When I purchased my Ljungman, surplus 6.5x55 was 6 bucks for 15 rds. Dear enough then (How I wish I'd bought it all!!!), but not seen now. LOL My Dad has an old .32long rimfire rifle that even as a kid, ammo was tricky to find.

Reload....In any/all of our rifles re-loading is the answer. Except for my Ljungman! I haven't done the "gas-port" mod, and not only does it fling the brass, it bites it too. I'd decided if I was going to go through the time n' trouble to reload for it, I'd buy a '96 first. Brass would go through my 96 two, or three times then get shredded and tossed to Mars from the 'ol AG-42B.
I still don't have my 96, or reloading gear, but know commercial 6.5x55 from SFRC churns right thgough it!
 
I have seen some nasty pics of peoples fingers/hands after going through a AG 42 or Hakim action. When I owned my Hakim I did some research and learned how to load, operate, and dissassemble it properly and never had an incident. The Hakim I had was very accurate, low recoil, and overall just fun to shoot.
 
LOL - Jason at Gunco once told me it was the ONLY rifle that ever ate his fingers - he's never even had garland thumb. It's funny to see a Master gunsmith have utter contempt for a rifle that south of the border evidently has quite a following.

I personally think they are
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I had an opportunity to shoot one a couple years ago. It was beautiful to shoot and grouped well. As mentioned though it was nearly as long as a telephone pole and you had best keep your fingers out of her action ;)
 
tplumtree said:
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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The real common point between the AG42 and the SVT 40 is the way the bolt lock in receiver. The AG42 was not perfect but quite an acomplishment, only 1 year from the drawing board to the production status, other semi auto of that period took more time and they were not perfect, even the Garand. No semi auto rifle in ww2 could match the accuracy of the AG42. The AG42 wasnt built by million but still a fine rifle that deserve respect, in my humble opinion:)
Joce
 
I was at an auction recently and there sat an AG-42B without a magazine inserted and the bolt assembly in the rear position (breach open).

Realizing this was an accident waiting to happen, I properly closed the rifle to prevent some inexperienced bubba from injuring himself.

Yes, an AG-42B will make a "Garrand Thumb" look like a paper cut.

Nice rifles, but you gotta know how they work and repect them.

Cheers!

B
 
sledge said:
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:
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The Hakim isn't that common, and the Rasheed can use cheap x39 ammo. Browsing milsurps, the Ljungman has a load of factors working against it:

1a) It's not used by a major active participant in WW2
1b) It hasn't been featured prominently in any recent media (movie, TV, games)
2) Ammunition is not particularly common (not everyone handloads or wants to handload)
3) Reputation for harming the user
4) Available with relative frequency

Mind you, I think AG-42s would fetch a tidier sum if it wasn't for all the SVT40s that have become available in the last few years. All the WW2 semi-auto fun with the Red Army pedigree, and commercially available (and sometimes milsurp) ammo. As a bonus, you can even keep your finger.
 
What's not to love, other than you'd better watch your fingers, long and awkward and the case is sufficiently different from the basic Mauser, it's a little difficult to reload for. :D Paid 69. bucks for mine and think they are still seriously undervalued. Wait 20 years. :D Other than that, you can't have mine or the Hakim that followed me home. that one at least is based on the Mauser type case.

Nice one, other than the mag, reasonably priced , in the Exchange section. :D

Grizz
 
AG 42B Ljungman

In Canada these sell for a very LOW price, not so in the US, it may be as simple as supply and demand. Anyway I have 2 of these one all original and one with some changes, this one came with a refinished stock so from there I bought spare parts and mounted a scope on it. Using handloads or original swede ammo this rifle will shoot as well or better than most Garands. I've had a garand owner shoot it and he just smiled when he handed it back to me saying there's not much recoil, and it's accurate.
Nuff said. Bill
 
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Nabs said:
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.
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Perhaps Sweden's potential enemies were scared of getting their fingers chopped off?? :eek:

So was I so I never bought one. They've never appealed to me.
 
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I have had a few of them, usually picked up at a good price when they were sold for about $65 or less, way back when.

While they are an interesting rifle, work well, and are accurate, I prefered the m/96 FSR rifles, such as this one.

HemvarnetsPrizeRifle1.png

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I also preferred keeping my digits intact and undamaged, unlike this guy who found out that an AG-42B is about on the same level as "Jaws".
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AG-42b.jpg

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They were designed and built as a specialists' weapon, pure and simple.

They were issued after the men were TRAINED on the things, not just handed out on the street corner to every third Snorri-come-lately.

If people were to READ UP on the things, there would be no "accidents". Remember, these were built before the legal requirement to cover them with "WARNING!" stickers. No "Nanny State" laws in 1942..... and Sweden was arming SERIOUSLY because of the embarrassment of 1940, when they didn't have an effective automatic rifle.

Bolt is back and you don't want to chop your fingers off? Apply Safety, then push the Carrier FORWARD until it latches (you'll hear it), then withdraw a quarter-inch. Push the Magazine Follower down and run the connected Bolt/Carrier Assembly to its forward position. Push the LATCH at the rear of the Carrier and EASE the Carrier back to its normal position. Problem SOLVED.

Perceived recoil is almost NIL if your GAS is set for the ammo you are using. Milspec ammo was loaded with a 139 bullet and a very fast powder. As well, the rifle was designed to work flawlessly in 40 below. Can you say that for a Garand? Installing a REGULATOR and careful handloading solves all problems.

EVERYBODY makes the ammunition these days: Winchester, Remington, Federal, Partizan, Lapua, Norma, DWM, RWS and likely half a dozen more.

It uses one of the most highly-developed rounds in history.

It is the single most-accurate semi-auto rifle ever issued.

What's not to like?

Mine isn't for sale.
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Ag42

svt1940 said:
The real common point between the AG42 and the SVT 40 is the way the bolt lock in receiver. The AG42 was not perfect but quite an acomplishment, only 1 year from the drawing board to the production status, other semi auto of that period took more time and they were not perfect, even the Garand. No semi auto rifle in ww2 could match the accuracy of the AG42. The AG42 wasnt built by million but still a fine rifle that deserve respect, in my humble opinion:)
Joce
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I respect this rifle for what it is. Swede quality, excellent cartridge, accurate. I have owned one for 20+ years., but mayby only fired 100 rds. Don't ask why, but this rifle feels to me like a ww2 action trapped in a ww1 stock. Has anyone else felt this with their AG42? Like the many other fine military auto loaders out there, this one is a keeper for me. Cheers Steve in Calgary.
 
I'm kicking myself over one of these rifles.

was at an auction a few weeks back (picked up another enfield :) )

but there was an AG42 that I threw a bid or 2 at but stopped as I didn't really know how much they were worth. It went for under $150 :( I should have been bidding still.
 
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