Anyone have any experience with this rifle? Accuracy? Loads it likes?

Thanks

Ted Sierocinski

The AG 42 B rifle is one of the best semi auto I know for accuracy.
Sweden did not participe in any war for more than a century, surplus rifles are even sometimes unfired.
I remember this rifle likes 139 / 140 grains bullets and Vihtavuori N150 or Vectan SP 9.
HTH

If one likes semi-auto in battle-rifle class calibers, AG42 or AG42B is a great addition.

The gun is heavy and factory ported for reduced recoil. The barrel condition is monitored with a brass disk, and they are generally accurate for a semi-auto.

Operating the action is a bit awkward, magazine is hard to find but it could be all worth it.

As a past owner of an AG42B Ljungman, I will make a few comments.

This rifle is a beautifully machined piece, fully upto the Swedish standards. That said, it can be accurate as well (due to the great swede 6.5x55). However, it tends to throw the brass about 10 m., and dent the case mouths severly. Extraction seems to be ovexuberant and extractor/ejector breakages are possible. The Swedes recomended oiling the cases to ameliorate this problem, which works in SOME environments. The Hakim versions in 8x57 had the advantage of some gas regulation, which would have helped this rifle a great deal.

A nicely made rifle, one which you can clean from the breach.

Tom F, and it needs to have the rounds oiled, am I right?

I've owned and used a dozen or more AG42B Ljungmann rifles over the years. Using handloads only, they were perfectly reliable with normal-pressure ammunition, including pointed soft- points, WITHOUT lubricating the cases. (I never had any factory ammunition for the rifles.)

The ejection certainly is violent, but the cases were re-useable for at least several loads each. FINDING them can be a problem, though! The violence of the action can easily be "toned down" for practice loads by reducing the powder charge with moderate-burning-speed powders such as the 4895s and 4064 burn rate. The blast from the brake is very loud.

My experience dates from when we lived in Canada's Northwest Territories, and the rifles had a lot of use in COLD weather, where they worked fine if maintained properly. We found they made perfectly-effective caribou rifles, as you might expect with that fine cartridge.

The rifles are overly long, but apart from that it seemed to me that the design was very practical. Magloading was intended to be accomplished with stripper clips, and I wouldn't worry about finding extra magazines. Just get the correct strippers and be happy.

Neat rifles.

Regards from Bren Mk1

The oiling of rounds has been a sore issue on some web boards. The M41 Swede Ball round is a good military surplus round, designed for the venerable M96 Mauser. Reloads, toned down are OK. Full loads tend to dent the necks severly on your prized brass (if you can find them). Accuracy is probably OK, but the issue sights are not the best in the world to demonstrate this fact. A pretty good rifle considering it's short development time. Beautifull machine work, and it can be cleaned easily from the breach. In some climates and situations, oiling of the ammo could be problematical. Under ideal range conditions, generally this is not an issue.

Just thought I'd ask, Tom, that's all. But, from what I understand the Hakim is better, is this true?

I haven't owned a Hakim, but I'll give my "two bits". The Swede Ag42b lJUNGMAN is a more nicely made rifle with better quality control, the 6.5x55 is a better (more accurate) round with less recoil, the HAKIM has an adjustable gas port (big improvement) and is designed to function reliably with a bigger range of available 8x57 ammo. An interesting concept, one which lives on (to some extent) in the Stoner rifles (AR 15/16) etc.

Tom F., Cool Thanks for the heads up.

......I bought a Ljungman from Century back in '92 and still have it, It kind of appealed to me as a kind of racy looking affair. In person it's well made but rather 'clubby' in handling, for lack of a better word.

Back then not much 6.5x55 ammo was available and CAI also had some Brazilian CBC headstamped stuff reasonably priced. Come to find out it was superb ammo. Initial firing was rather hilarious, as seeing brass depart at warp factor 8 was something I'd not experienced before :-). Upon policing up the brass for reloading, the occasional mashed casemouth wasn't too big and issue. Rather the narrow ejector would mash the rim into the extractor groove enough to require 'clocking' to get it into a shellholder.

Obviously that would remain a problem even with light loads. At that time Springfield Sporters had about the most comprehensive inventory of Ag42 parts, so I began investing in some. The first was for a new gas tap, as I had a brainstorm. Since it's cousin the Hakim had a gas regulator, why not the Swede? So I modified the gas tap to regulate gas pressure.

On top of the gas tap is a screw, used to close off the hole drilled for the gas passage. I drilled this out and tapped it for an 8-40 sockethead screw. The screw was beveled on the end. With the beveled face turned toward the gas tube it opened up the passage. Turned away, it shut it progressively off.

Using it with cast lead bullets you can regulate the gas to just unlock the action which makes it simple to extract the empty. I;ve found it to be as accurate as the bolt actions this way. I'd imagine that GPC would probably have the gas taps, so you could put the thing back 'as issued' if you were to sell it.

Anyway, with the gas regulator you can get the rifle to dump the empties to the right front and it makes it no so picky about what powder you use to reload it with.

........Buckshot

Gentlemen

I checked the old manuals ans there is not any thing about useing any oil on the ammo.

The AG 42 is a very nice rifle a bit heavy but very reliable. Swedish militairy ammo is either a 10,1 gram projectile or a 140 grainer. The old was a round nose that penetrated like crazy.

/ JOHAN

[ 09-08-2003, 00:41: Message edited by: JOHAN ]

As noted the rifle was used with both types of bullets, and the sight could be regulated for range with either type by, as I remember, turing the drum around or some such. The "oiling" was according to some a field expedient to reduce extractor/ejector breakages. I have no idea how common it (oiling) was, though with the exuberant ejection of the M41 Ammo I have seen breakages. One of the best features of the design is the ability to easily remove the action and clean and examine the bore, straight through.

Mats
Glad to see you
How strange. When I was in FBU they told us the opposite.In fact they were nagging about this oil lots of times.

I called a friend and his friends manual states olied rounds

Cheers
/ JOHAN

When I worked with the AG42B years ago,the only time I had aproblem was when I used IVI ammo. It was loaded to hot and always stuck and tore the rims. As long as I used only Norma or Gevelot I had no problems. derf

Another ammo to avoid in the older weapons (especially the AG42) is PMC. It is apparently loaded to take advantage of the higher pressures acceptable in MODERN arms chambered in 6.5x55 and a bit "hot" for the small ring Mausers and the AG42.