RK95: Finland's Ultimate AK
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- / forgottenweapons
www.floatplane.com/channel/Fo...
Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! shop.forgottenweapons.com
Finland adopted the AK in 7.62x39mm after World War Two, and continues to use the AK to this day. The standard pattern RK62 was starting to fall a bit short, and so in the late 1980s a program was begun at Valmet to produce a modernized version for the Finnish Defense Forces. Valmet was acquired by Sako in 1987, and the program moved to Sako for completion. First prototypes were ready in 1990, and the rifles was adopted formally in 1995.
The RK95 has an improved folding stock, a new gas block with gas cutoff, muzzle device capable of launching rifle grenades, a simplified two-position aperture sight, and fittings for an optics rail on the side of its receiver. It retains the same 7.62x39mm cartridge as the RK62 rifles. Production ran from 1995 to 1998, with a total of 20,000 rifles made. These are sufficient to equip the active units of the FDF, and the war reserves consists of huge numbers of East German AKs purchased very cheaply.
Thanks to Sako for giving me access to film this example from their factory museum!
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle 36270
Tucson, AZ 85740
![อาจารย์ยอด : พระเตะผี [ผี]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zusDOIFasaE/mqdefault.jpg)
"The TP, in finnish, stands for..." [Ian briefly considers actually trying to pronounce Finnish] "... Folding stock."
Ian "Gun Jesus" McCollum vs TP aka "taittoperä".
@@juhomaki-petaja Ei nyt vit... Se on yhdyssana :D
@@pek7629 lol
@@Clean97gti I thought it was “tight-o pear-ah”, I do not claim any knowledge of Finnish beyond “Suomi” and “Perkele!”.
@@509Gman That's actually close, as funny as it looks writen...
I'm very disappointed that Ian still hasn't gotten the courage to try and say "rynnäkkökivääri" (for the "RK").
ReeenyaakOKeyVaaRi... Looking at a lot of Suomi, as a Hungarian, it seems like I can decipher it somehow.
@@prdubi i think finnish "y" sounds like "u" in english
Рюнакокивари 👀
@@kappega no
Bro is this even a language, this is worse than Russian
@@JeffsterRocks " y - Смычковый передний звук. Язык поднимается с силой вперёд вверх. Губы округлены и сужены больше, чем при произношении / ö /. Как в немецком слове fünf или французском mur. Или как ю в сочетании бю. Произносится практически одними губами на задержанном вдохе. " ok boomer
I had girlfriend like this once. Rockiest relationship I ever had but we were very close and she never failed me. She enjoyed long walks in forests, so we went camping quite often. I still remember with warm heart those cold winter nights when I had to snuggle her close so her bolt would not freeze over. She was quite low maintenance, but I always took good care of her. Her thick frame made her bit of a heavy side, but it never bothered me, but when she begun accessorising, she became unbearable. Normally she was a wild girl who would never complain about little snow, mud or rough play but when ever she got an idea to wear optics it was like she became a little princess who had to be pampered and coddled.
Ahhh good memories, she probably has already moved on, but I still sometimes dream I could meet her one more time, I nicknamed her Emma, but I still remember her production number.
Ha ha! You win for today veli!
What did I just read? Haha!
Are you talking about the gun or a girl?
@@Kartoffelwerfer Gun named Emma :) So kinda like both
Sounds like a love story to me. I’ve always loved the Finns. As a youngster my first no shit deer rifle was a SAKO. I have two rifles for game, a 243 and a 270, both SAKO. For other than game, I have a variety of weapons.
Nice, this was my service rifle during my year in the Finnish Defence Forces (CV9030 commander). Most had RK62s, but the panssarijääkäri (panzerjäger) units I was in had RK95's due to the folding stock to help with fitting into the AFV's. Can't wait to watch this later today!
99/2 coastal infantry. We only had RK62s. I think we had some lectures about the newer ones and the differences but we never actually got to handle them.
@@jonnekallu1627 There certainly were other units that had them as well, but I think at Vekaranjärvi we were the only ones. Maybe the MPs had them as well? Not sure, anyway this was in 2008.
When I was in Hamina, pretty much only the officers had 95s. Everyone else had 62s.
All jaegers in Kajaani were handed 95's.
Huh, was a BMP-2 gunner in -08, we just had the pistols. FN HP-DA iirc.
Forgotten Weapons: "From butt plate to... muzzle device"
Garand Thumb: "Tip to butt hurr hurr"
I think Mr guns and gear made a near tip to butt reference this week too
The Galil-style safety was rejected due to seizing in freezing conditions, where as the traditional safety lever has a mechanical advantage of a long lever, to break free any ice preventing the safty from rotating.
Also in normal warfare with equal troops in forest you mostly spend your time down on the ground. There left side charging is naturally unpractical, as only your right hand is free. In urban warfare or in Hollywood you can stand and walk your way trough a war Ray-Bans on your nose and stay alive. Finnish brutality which he has participated a few times should have that kind of task points, I recall. But without magazine change, of course.
it's a bummer they didn't provide Ian with the sight adjustment multi-tool, that you'd actually use for all the sights and other screws you need to turn on the gun.. or a spork at the least..
they prolly lost it :d
@@gruntscrewdriver3261 ye, like the barrel cleaning rod from the buttstock. it was probably that damn recruit Nönnönnöö again..
@@20SidesOfZeke Most likely. Who wouldnt want to rest, its much funnier sweap out couple hectares of forest bed
20SidesOfZeke you guys crackin me up!
@@r.p.strange7671 These things doesnt really cracking me up but well we all have these lovely memories :d But well what would be better way to start your morning than company wakes 2 hours too late and then we run mile because we are in hurry to rush in our breakfast
How fitting, just got to handle and shoot one of these in a refreshing exercise about a month ago (served with a 62). The sights are definitely improved (both the sight picture and the way you adjust them), not sure how I like the other stuff. The straight stock is good, but do you need it to fold if you are basic infantry? Not really, I would assume the collapsing magpul stocks on the modernized 62 is better. It is heavier than the 62 (especially front heavy), the upwards charging handle is a bit meh, prefer a straight AK-style. The screw to secure the top cover seems neat, but the 62 one holds zero just fine. Seems like it was made more in order to cut production costs and tolerances, rather than improve the durability of zero. You also have the gas cut-off, and Finland never ended up adopting those rifle grenades anyway so...
All in all, there's probably a reason why most of the frontline troops who were equipped with these have switched "back" to the RK-62M1 and M2.
The Folding stock is definitely useful for regular infantry. no question.
@@Skozerny I mean I'd obviously rather have a folder instead of a fixed stock, but I'd prefer a collapsing adjustable one for regular infantry. Which is what they did with the RK-62 modernization program. Very few troops actually NEED a folder (drivers, paratroopers), but we have a bunch of conscripts with different body types and equipment, so the collapsing stock makes more sense. In theory, you should be able to have both (folding and adjustable) in the same package with an AK-platform, but I guess magpul was the cheapest option so they went with a fixed adjustable stock.
The 95 I got in refreshing training had a fairly wobbly stock, which is a known issue with rifles that have been used a lot and not gone through proper refurbishment.
I used a 95 for part of my service, I didn't find the folding stock that useful. Also the hinge of the stock seemed to rust very easily, and during winter time, it froze so that you couldn't even use it, before you got the gun back to a warm tent again.
The 62 hold zero well... usually. I feel like every time you take the top cover off, you run the risk of totally buggering the alignment. I definitely had to adjust my sights once or twice after an exercise.
@@Skozerny How is that?
RK62M is the newest most upgraded RK at the moment. Had the pleasure of using it when I was in the FDF.
It's just Ye olde 62 with upgraded stock and attachment points for trinkets. Your service rifle was probs made in 80s. It's not exactly newest. Most upgraded, yes... But new? Nah. Same ol reliable with a facelift.
Edit. Don't get me wrong. I had a pleasure to handle one of those briefly two years ago and outside of the added weight (to already heavy weapon) it was glorious update.
@@jokurandomi93 Safety switch was modified to be easier to manipulate. The upgraded rifles (at least in my unit) were pretty much all manifactured in the 90's.
@@Ho_Lii_Fuk Yeah but point still stands. It's an old rifle made around 30 years ago, with specs from 60 years ago, with outside parts swapped out for more suitable ones for modern warfare. Insides are the same, it's just the outside that have changed. It shoots the same 7.62x39 cartridges and has the same issues with cleaning (cleaning rod has to be inserted to muzzle instead of chamber) because end of the receiver is blocking it to be done properly. Unless FDF started to issue boresnakes to conscripts.
Like I said, RK-62M2 (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it's M2 version that is issued to consripts) is a definitive upgrade over old 62's and even 95TP's outside of weighing like a motherfucking machine gun.
@@jokurandomi93 I have a m2 right now, mine was made in ’69 but it has gotten some upgrades like a telescope stock and picatinny rails for attachments. still works like a charm tho
@@jokurandomi93 also about the cleaning, the rod can be inserted through the chamber but I just bought a boresnake just for the conveniency
I can add a few extra info about the history :
- Safety was rejected because when it became clear that these rifles were not going to be produced in large enough quantities, issue of individual soldiers being issued the RK95 and the RK62 at different time of their national service and screwing up was considered too high
- Sako developed a chrome plating process for the barrel that kept the accuracy of the rifle per the military's spec but it was too expensive and was dropped
- The pistol grip was designed to have a trap door and a wire spring to lock it, copied from the Minimi but this was also dropped due to cost constraints (if you check the pistol grip carefully in the video you can see the holes for the axle
Basically the RK95 was conceived as "the RK62 and the FNC had a child together"
The serial number always starts with the 2 digits of the year it was manufactured, so the rifle in the video is the 6581th rifle manufactured in 1997. Only the receiver and top cover are serialized and this is done so that the gun remains sighted with the correct cover
The cover rear lock is not for retaining the zero but because it was found in trials that when shooting rifle grenades, the cover would often fly off
The safety selector was redesigned so that it could be also operated with the stock folded. RK62TP also have a different fire selector compared to the regular 62s
There has not been an "early" and a "late" luminous front night sight on the RK95. All use the same sight as the gun in the video. The civilian version of the gun (SakoM92/S) was first fitted with a "simplified" front night sight and then the RK95 one
There was 2 batches of SakoM92/S made. The first batch has optic mount holes in M6 coarse but the second batch was made with 7mm fine pitch holes, just like the RK95
@Sauli Luolajan-Mikkola AKM style of recoil spring guide doesn't prevent a cover from detaching; that's why soviet and russian underbarrel launchers come with a replacement guide that has a spring-loaded button on top (among some other kit) (which is where the design you've seen on veprs came from). On some AK-74M/AK-100 series rifles this type of guide rods apparently comes from the factory, depending on the batch and who ordered them.
If the two first numbers are the year of manufacturing how come my RK62 serial number was 144035, just asking.
@@niceview2112 sounds like that was the case with military RK95s and not civilian RK62s.
@@niceview2112 Is that a FDF weapon ? The rule is only for the guns manufactured for the army
@@vincentkermorgant Yeah it was my service weapon, the very basic RK62 with cheese grater furniture.
"You expect us to finish this project?"
"It's already Finnish, we expect you to get it ready for military adoption."
So original
This guns aesthetically really knocks it out of the park. I know, not the overall intention with gun design, but man that thing looks awesome.
Yep.. It would look damn sweet as a Krink too..
As a left handed I had trouble with my service rifle. As far as I know only right handed rifles were made.
I have used this RK in service as a MP. I have shot with the original AK47, Chinese AK, East German AK, RK62 and RK95 which was IMO best of this bunch.
The manufacturing quality of Rk series simply exceeds all of the others by a large margin. I prefer whatever AKM variant with the lightest barrel profile for practical purposes, as long as it proves to be a reliable sample, which isn’t a given with any of the Euro and Asian models.
I have Maadi AKM and ChiCom Norinco in my personal collection. Norinco is far superior in terms of “quality”, while the barrel profile on the Maadi is light, and aesthetics are the beautiful early 1970s Soviet AKM through-and-through. Sights are not zero-able on the Maadi. Front Sight tower is canted so badly, there is no way to mechanically achieve an even remote zero.
About the screws at 11:30 "m6" and "m7" just defines the diameter of the screw (6mm vs 7mm) the screw pitch is a separate number.
Ya usually see m6x1.0 screws, the second number is the distance between the threads also in mm.
If they wanted to they could have gotten a lower pitch on both sizes of bolts.
M7 has the same number of threads per centimetre as M6 in both coarse and fine pitches (1mm per thread and 0.75mm per thread for coarse and fine respectively) so it does give a slightly shallower angle on the thread even sticking to standard threads.
Also M7 being a rare diameter for standard thread pitches, so it may be to prevent wrong bolts being stuck in there. Though 1 mm difference to either side won't deter a conscript for long...
Also my machining mentor/boss had one word for anything with M7 threads: "swanky".
I had an Acoq mounted in this as a sniper but I used only a sniper rifle for some time. So my RK was unused and we had practice shoot where I barely passed (with 4 times magnificated Acoq) 150 meters shooting. After the shoot I was really amazed how the hell Iwas shooting so inaccurate until at barracks I realized how loose those screws had gotten. Basically by them selves because I was mostly carrying the sniper.
@@johnanon6938 I have a Ljungman (AG m/42) and it has a plug in the gas system with M4 x 0.5mm thread. That took some finding.
@@tube71000 swanky? Do go on.....
Looks like Ian is on eurotrip. At first France, and now - Finland. Hope he has great time! And more great videos are coming!
@@ChristopherHallett Yup. I think he has still bunch of Sako videos coming uo - obviously this was a great deal for both parties. Sako is a nice brand and they want to establish more in the U S A
Actually, Ian is still in that epic gun room. They just change the backdrop and pretend they are French.
Ian will be interred in that gun room, surrounded by ancient treasures. Kinda like Tutankhamon. With all the guns he needs for the afterlife.
@@janispetke9519 *Ian dies* DOOM theme kicks in.
FINALLY! It's a shame how few they made those... In NCO school I had the folding stock version of RK62, but I only got to fire the RK95 once. It was cool, but I could've used some more...
"Sako and Valmet merged [...] and they were going to finish it."
I see what you did there 😂
Valmo..... Salmet...... Valko...... yeah... "Valko"......
@@AdamBorseti Valko- is the stem word for valkoinen which means white. "-inen" ending meaning it's an adjective (describing what something is like.)
What
@@glennllewellyn7369 nvm I was half asleep when I read this
0:10 Okay, I'll actually give that to Ian, the way he pronounces it is pretty impressive XD
French flair at the 'r'
Finnish R is hard ;P
Even many Finns can't pronounce the Finnish 'r'. I wonder if Ian was taught by one of them.
Having disassembled this beauty for what feels like a million times during my service, this video surely brings back good memories.
Army time for me was a waste of time. Sure it was fun shooting guns and talking shit but the rest was just a waste of time. There is no way that a war would break out on our life time and my service was in 2000 so it´s been 21 years so the things we learned are long forgotten
@@Timo8.2. Your comment about a war being impossible during our lifetime really aged like milk.
@@_-_-_-_-_-_-_- I meant in Finland and it won't. Ukraine is a whole different situation than Finland. Milk by the way ages well if it's kept in a really cold fridge, it doesn't go bad when it says on the can
@@Timo8.2. "and it won't", thats the problem, thats a dumb way to think. Countless wars have been though of as "wont happen" but did.
khyl
That beautiful gun was my service rifle for over few years back 2003 - 2005. Loved it, could strip it to parts, clean it and put back together blindfolded in just littlebit over 20 seconds and just strip it to parts and put back together, when I could see everything, in 9 seconds. On one occasition I acctually had to strip it, clean it and put back together during night in pitch blackness when my gun malfunctioned for getting sand in it. I used my rain jacket as base where I placed all the parts so they don't get more sandy, cleaned all parts and the gun, I also oiled the gun lightly, put all parts back without seeing a damn thing, placed magazine, reloaded and continued firing.
Note: TP is short for "TaittoPerä", folding stock.
Or... "Teen Pu**y" as we knew it... ;)
Ooooh. waited for this. I served using that and love that thing to bits ^^
I was in Finnish army (Navy) in early 2000's and the 1st time i got original Rk-62 in my hands,i rly liked that weapon!It was accuraty af and it didnt never got stuck,no matter -25'c coldness,snow or dust or lil rocks etc 👍
Used this in 2018 during my national service and this year during additional training. Might be the only gun I'll ever use, and it was a great piece to use, soft-shooting and comfortable to use, the guys with RK-62s looked at that folding stock jealously for sure!
Gotta admit. The M1 and M2 feel nicer with the magpul stock. the 95's stocks are also a bit loose due to conscript shenanigans but the muzzlebrake is nicer
@@Hymn_1 Main thing for me was getting the rifle out of the way, as a signalist electrician the constant ducking and crawling into small spaces under the XAs was something that would've been infinitely harder with the straight stocks of 62. There was plenty of weird stuff going on with the rifles though, one guy lost the bolt during an exercise and had to go back to look for it in pitch dark forest, another had the entire front sight post come loose and the armoury quartermaster was not sure how he had managed that.
ah man i want to use this gun so bad
M7 isn't a thread pitch, it's the nominal OD. The pitch would be x1.5, x1.0, x1.25, etc.
We trained to take it apart, clean it, put it back together with our eyes folded. Its simple and functional. Not fun to handle while its -30c at the range. I remember my triggerfinger going numb from the cold, you just cant shoot the same with gloves :D
On that decision to leave old safety lever as it is, it's probably because of northern climate conditions, when you might get you rifle wet and then frozen. Thumb safety might not have enough leverage to be switched by gloved hand easily.
Also makes easier as you can just put old safety there if you are in need of replacement
A buddy of mine installed a Galil-style safety on his Rk92/S. He used a cartridge head for the purchase point on the lever, which was interesting. Rks are just boat anchors though, not fun to carry for extended periods or even do range work with in CQM.
@@LRRPFco52 Its a rugged, but reliable rifle. It will keep working when you need it to, and that is the point of it. To handle all the numerous abuse bunch of young conscripts put them to, while still being operational even in the mud and coldest winter conditions, where as a more sophisticated weapon might jam up. If I had to choose one rifle to depend on with my life, it'd always be the Finnish RK-line. Afterall we have a reputation taking what is russian, and making the concept work better.
@@Kydenius I've done years of high-volume courses Suomessa where attendees brought 11.5"-16" AR-15 carbines, which ran like raped apes in -27° to-30°C in the middle of winter.
The weight difference, balance, and user interface is far superior on AR-15s.
I'd like to see a Finnish-built FDF AR-15 variant. They just announced a locally-produced AR-10 DMR/Sniper System for FDF.
I would have preferred to see a 6.5 Grendel AR-15 in that role though. AR-10s can get really heavy, whereas the SVD is nice and lightweight. It allows you to shoot and move better, displace rapidly rather than being fixed in one position.
That was a big lesson the Russians learned in WWII so they wanted to keep the lighter weight similar to the SVT-38/40.
Ah... 7.62 RK 95 TP. Got this as my service rifle as did all the other communications APC crew members. The only "bad" experience I had with it was that it didn't fit the slots designed to hold the RK 62 in the driver's compartment. Everywhere else, including the comms compartment it fit fine, with the sole exception being where I was supposed to keep my gun in said driver's compartment. Ultimately we had it just.. kinda laying around the general vicinity of the slot. Nobody could give shit about it because NCOs couldn't see the gun because they were stuck in the comms compartment and you could only see it when you were inside the driver's compartment. Good times.
4:19 If you shout in Finland that you need TP for your bunghole, you’ll be provided a folding stock to do the wiping.
I remember me and the other Yeger boys flicking out TP at the others "peasants" who had the gammy old 62 xD, i kid but we did really do that.
HA! Did same with RK62 TP😜
I see you are a man of culture as well! Those pesky 62 peasants could never even hope to reach the glory of our 95 masterrace!
I had rk62m1
@@mrlegendarymachine5542 taittoperä puuttuu niistäki :D
@@Juhani96 mutta se on sentään säädettävä niissä :D ja rk95 muutenki liian etupainoine verrattuna 62:seen
"So that you didn't freeze your face to the stock in the winter."
I'm guessing there was an incident of that happening (at least once) that made the Finns use hard rubber stocks for the RK95.
Also, I do like how the RK95 looks compared to the other Kalashnikov pattern rifles.
The RK95 is like the ultimate AK (Talking about the ak's without those complicated "anti-recoil" system that later came)
If you want the best AK ever with the original AK system, this and the 63 are the best ones.
There is no need for an incident to happen like the other commenter said, for people who grow up with cold winters it's pretty obvious.
every finn learns already as a child what bare metal does for skin (usually by sticking a tongue to bare metal). Lesson is learned with one lesson.
You are obviously from a warm climate if you think there had to be an incident.
Interesting, according to Ian's other video the South Africans had the opposite problem, a metal stock in really hot weather.
The Finnish people should be proud, this is a beautiful and deadly rifle.
even that RK62TP had different folding mechanism than what i've used.
also the earlier civvie version could fire the rifle grenades, but they later made the muzzle device thicker.
M62s' the stock folds on the other side.
@@XtreeM_FaiL Same with Rk76 tube-folder. Even though Rk76 is sheet steel, it might as well be billet because it’s double the thickness of any stamped AK I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them from all over the world.
oooh I've been waiting for this. I miss my service rifle. It was newer/modernized RK-62 model. Shot straight every time.
I like the removable optics rail. The thought of East German AK's being cheap and plentiful after reunification is kind of heartbreaking since they have never been either over here.
The new unified Germany had loads and loads of stuff they wanted to sell, and Finland was already had very much of Eastern Bloc equipment. This was probably one of the best deals in the history the Finnish Defense Forces, we got 100 T-72 tanks, 140 BMP-1 IFVs, over 200 self-propelled howitzers, towed artillery, some 100k Kalashnikovs, spare parts, 48 000 tons of ammunition, mine clearing equipment, anti-air guns and whatnot - for a ridiculous sum of 160 million Deutsche Marks, pocket money for a state.
This and that went here and there, from the sales frenzy the Tank Museum in Bovington got their T-72 (although they traded it one on one for a Centurion for a German museum) and EON Productions managed to get one Mi-8 helicopter to be used and destroyed in the James Bond film Die Another Day.
Such a great looking rifle, and wedime that you’re doing the video from the Sako reference collection!
*The most important thing Ian forgot to mention* is that they added 3rd sling mounting point to the back of the reciever. So one in front, one in stock and one at the back of the reciever. This meant you could operate the gun easily whilst it would be on its leather sling (there are tactical ones these days in some quantity). You could have:
Front and stock= drills, parades etc for shouldering the weapon
Front and reciever= standard when carrying the weapon in possible contact are, but not yet in immediate danger. As you wouldn't keep the gun hanging from leather sling in combat
And the third was:
Reciever AND reciever( as in both ends of the leather sling in one point)= this was rudimentary "tactical" which was good in urban enviroments. If you werent too big you could use the gun without the leather sling resticting any movement or handling(unlike front and reciever) and you could just "drop" it when pulling side arm for example.
Was it the old mosin slings? Sweden still used the old mauser slings a few years ago so would not suprice me
@@borjesvensson8661 I don't think they were. They were "new" most likely but style was old.
RK95 was awesome rifle. Worked like a charm and was accurate. My own service rifle had cracked breech (i saw it myself in inspection but did not think anything of it and it was said to me when i retured it) and i still hit 9/10 in the ten ring. And after 11 years i still remember my rifles serial number as i believe many other finnish guys do as well.
This is literally my favorite gun, I am so glad you got to do a video on it
What a very sexy rifle! The best of both worlds..arguably one of the world's best designed and executed rifles!
Always a good video when it’s a Finn gun
I did my conscription service with both 62s and 95s and recently in a refresher exercise got issued an rk62m, the modernized 62. Gotta say... I much prefer the 95. This might be just preference, but I really like the 95. Glad you got to take a look at one!
Wonderfully informative video on this firearm Ian keep up the great work!
What i like the most with the RK95 is the finnish finish.
I hope some day Ian gets his hands on a modernized RK 62M...
Another outstanding video, my friend! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
The RK95, in my humble opinion, is the pinnacle of development for the AK platform. I have always preferred the milled versions of the AK across the board. It seems Valmet definitely took the time to research this particular unit while likely drawing from other successful firearms for this application.
Thanks again and have a great week, my friend. 🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸
This was my service rifle in 2007. I got brand new one back then. It was still full of grease from factory/storage. Opening that cover was huge pain for the first 10-20 times. Enough cleaning oil got rid of that grease and it was a pleasure to dissamble after that. Awesome gun. And more accurate to shoot compared to 62.
Fascinating content from Ian as usual! Reminds me quite a bit of my Swiss Stgw 90 - folding skeleton stock and the positioning of the eyes to receive sling clips. Surprised the trigger guard can't be swung out of the way for use with thick gloves like the Stgw 90. Hollow pistol grip of Stgw 90 *can* be used. Delightfully simple rear sight and night sight solutions by Sako - makes my Stgw 90 feel grossly over engineered! All the best, Rob from Switzerland.
The newest would be RK62/95 M(modernized). There are MLOKs etc on it.
Only the M2 and M3 has MLOK.
Really obscure reference, but I remember loving this gun in the F2p FPS game A.V.A (Alliance of Valiant Arms). Anyone else remember?
I was wondering if anyone would comment about AVA, but yes. That game is where I discovered the Rk.95
A.V.A is getting an official re-release on Steam this month, so hop in for open beta to feel the good times again.
@@hakari5014 thanks for letting me know bro! I got invited to the play-test on Steam this morning :DDD
Incredibly accurat gun. Had the RK -62 when doing my service in the mortar troups 1974/75. Loved it!
That little deflector is genius. I once made the mistake of putting too much oil on my Mauser and when I fired it the oil flew back through the firing pin hole/sear notch thingimabob at the rear and hit me right in the Mark 1 Mod 0 eyeball. It burned like hell and I wear contact lenses so it messed that up as well. Had to flush my right eye with saline.
Even when it doesn't have excess oil on it, it still spits out a tiny puff of air that hits you right in the eye. Its like getting that air puff test thing done at the eye doc.
Just received my "Chassepot to FAMAS"
I'd rather describe it as a work of art and not just a book.
Great work and very pleased to see you ship to the EU.
I used both during my service, switching from a 62 into a 95 after the first two months. For some reason I could never reach the same level of accuracy with the 95 that i'd had with my 62.
If there ever can be a "Cadillac" of AK-rifles, this and the RK62M1/2/3 are it. In a similar way as the M39 was the Cadillac of mosin nagant pattern rifles. The RK62 is just a good solid service rifle, and while it might not be the best thing floating around, it's absolutely bulletproof design. It will never do you wrong.
I did my "time" in artillery regiment and for us, RK62 was always second weapon - your best friend for self-defence purposes. We were taught to change mags and charge it with our (right/)dominant hand, just to keep things simple. We were not expected to go face to face with the enemy infantry, but just in case that were to happen, we were told the most straight-forward and easy way to do things with it. It might not have always been the most tacticool and combat effective way they taught us, but when the scenario is that you're against enemy intrusion so deep that it can touch your artillery, things have already gone horribly wrong and needing to simply perform at any quality overruns things like keeping sight picture during mag swaps etc.
Small detail about RK-95: it's made in a way that it can use AK-47 magazines but you can't use RK-95 magazines in AK-47.
That's why the magazine when attached moves a little, like 0.5-1.5 millimeters.
fun fact aboit the RK-62:
most of those handed to the conscripts, could be charged by grabbing the muzzle and playing imaginary golf, just swing and voilá, rifle is charged and ready te go
(wouldn't do it with an actually loaded rifle, i mean you're grabbing the muzzle so....)
With the RK95 I have no experience but I have shot with the semi-auto M92S many times. It can have one really annoying malfunction that the earlier RK62 (or the semi-auto M76) will not get. There is a thin 2cm, square-ish nut around the barrel, in front of the handguard. That nut locks the metal part just in front of the hand guard in place. Can be seen around 8:39 on video. So...
If that small nut gets loosened, the whole handguard gets wobbly and the gas tube (which is not fixed) is affected as well. This leads to so much gas escaping that the rifle wont cycle properly. I have once experienced this and at that time there was no 2cm wrench around so rifle was almost useless. It was able to fire one round at a time but the case just jammed badly.
Also the charging handle can loosen and then fall off at the wrong moment as it's only connected by threads. At least the mechanism is still operable if that happens. Plus, to disassemble this rifle, the dust cover tension screw has to be loosened but fortunately it should not be able to fall out.
Overall, I prefer the older rifle. I don't think that this new rifle is the ultimate Finnish AK when it comes to reliability.
From experience in military with 95 during active and 62 during reserve. 95 was very reliable. Mine froze once and either blank failed or no full cycle when shooting directly upwards (did not have time to check). Other than that 0 issues and i don't recall others having issues either or complaining about reliavility. No loose bolts or anything. Could be something that was fixed in military production or by armory. Had 962225 so fairly old one. 62 has had few cycling malfunctions in reserve training for me.
I learned to shoot with this gun. My service rifle at PorPr (Säkylä) mortar company (Korohoro) in 2001. At that time it was quite rare and only few of the finnish brigades were equipped with this. But because FRDF was located and trained in Säkylä we had an access to newest toys. Nice review and thanks for bringing up the memories.
Been waiting for this one for a long time
What a brilliant incarnation of a classic.
have you ever considered making a video on the CEAM Modele 1950? It is the perfect example of a forgotten weapon even when it has great historical significance and immensely impacted the future of weapons design, since after its production was cancelled, Ludwig Vorgrimler went to leave France and CEAM for CETME in Spain and furthered the development of the modele 1950 into the CETME Model 58, and then when CETME went on to collaborate with Heckler and Koch the Model 58 was used as a basis to design the G3 which in turn went on to be the backbone of of all the G3 family of weapons - the MP5, HK33, PSG-1, HK21/23, G41, etc. ALL of which are still in service today. Who agrees the CEAM 1950 deserves some attention?
Well, he did recently show a box of 7.62x35 ammo for that. If he ever finds someone with a gun we will surely see it.
I wonder if there are any CEAM Modele 1950s still in existence.
I plan to film one in a few months, if all goes well.
@@ForgottenWeapons OMFG THATS AWESOME
@@ForgottenWeapons Thank you so much Gun Jesus. Your video was everything i hoped it would be and more. I watched it with my MP5 and told it 'son that's where you came from' :D
Great Video, big fan of these rifles and the Galils…. Thanks for another informative video! More power!
Absolutely loved this episode. Thank you!
I had one of those during my time in the army. Most likely the best one FDF had to offer. I took good care for it. Cleaned it every friday. It never failed me. I even named it. I can still remember its serial number. I really miss my baby. :-(
The famous Taistelukenttä 1998 clip demonstrates the rifle grenade th-cam.com/video/FJvrY04r8io/w-d-xo.html so it was long in the pipeline until abandoned.
Excellent stuff Ian
I got one of these when I became an NCO. Wonderful rifle, and a pleasure to use in the field.
Thank you for making this. I think personally the rk62m3 might be superior but that is not properly out yet so this is after that the best we have. I was in helsinki and saw guards in front of what we call ”presidentinlinna” (the presidents castle) that is known as the place where the finnish president lives. Saw some guards with these and i thought ”hmm does Ian have a video on this?”. Well now we do
Wait they actually went on and invested money into the old 60's receivers (including worn out barrels and other parts)?!? Well I am sure looking at the pictures of the "modernized" gun those parts which are changed were completely worn out and broken anyway so... Finland is hardly the only country with serious problems with their infantry rifle policy, but probably the only one facing soviet uni... I mean russia which does not give a damn about their defense.
@@gearloose703 ah yes. We are totally not talking about one of the best if not the best ak platform rifles ever made
@@themythofthefacelessman2180 VW beetle was made for a long time and still in use, but it does not make it not obsolete. You could call yours the best beetle ever made but it is still an obsolete piece of junk.
@@gearloose703 so the rk95 is an obsolete piece of junk?
@@gearloose703 It's a stop-gap solution as it seems that the major powers are currently also looking into a new generation infantry rifle calibers, so it doesn't really make sense to make any major changes in the arsenal right now.
“This is the ideal AK body, you may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like”
Great video, Ian! Always glad to see the Finnish weapons! Thank you, Ian!
This brings back memories from my conscript time during 2012-2013. I used a RK-95 TP during my whole service. In my brigade only the jaeger and reconnaissance units used these while all the others had RK-62. It was a really good and accurate rifle. I still remember my serial number! Thanks for the video!
This was a joy to use and it looks so much cooler than the 62 (I had both during my service)
I’m always surprised how many guns want the ability to launch grenades. It seems like they aren’t actually used that much in combat, and would be heavy and unwieldy to carry vs just carrying more ammo. Any chance we could get a comparison between rifle grenades and dedicated or under barrel launchers like the 203?
Rifle grenades still were a thing in early 90th
Rifle grenades are actually superior, logistically, to underbarrell launchers. At least in every situation in which you don't need extreme range and precision. Underbarrell launchers weight a ton and it's all tip weight; they're aslo wide and cumbersome. All in all they add several pounds to carry.... plus the grenades, of course.
Meanwhile with rifle grenades all you need is... a grenade in your pocket. Pop it on the tip, close the gas, shoot. They aren't precision weapons anyway. Soldiers always liked rifle grenades more.
To top it all, you don't really need all the soldiers carrying grenade launchers. If you have one soldier dedicated to that, he might as well carry a full size one.
They may become more necessary in the future as a cost effective way to deal with UGVs, low flying UAVs, automated/remote turrets and unamoured technicals. They will probably be upgraded to fire guided munitions.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of a rifle grenade versus an underbarrel one is lethality. The underbarrel is limited in size to what can fit inside the chamber, while a rifle grenade is not.
Rifle grenades allows everyone to be a grenadier
From a former RK-62 user's point of view, that reinforcing plate on the top plate looks great. Most of the RK-62's we had during my service in the late 90s had wobbly top plates that would almost come off without even pressing down on the unlocking mechanism.
"Sako and Valmet merged and went on to Finnish the project".
I love that Ian laughed when he said “buttplate to muzzle device” I’m sure “tip to butt” ran through his mind 😂 someone has watched a couple Garand Thumb videos!
Pretty cool rifle you covered today man
I had this preceded by an ad that began with "That's right..." over a picture of someone in snow. I have a lovely glitch going where most ads cut off after a second, so that just seemed an ideal intro to this video!
I really appreciate that you don't assume a high level of firearms knowledge in your viewers. I mostly just watch you and C&Rsenal as I'm a history buff first and a firearms fan seventh. Maybe sixth. But, for example, I've never held an AK as virtually all of my shooting experience has been pistol and shooting trap, so the fact that you took a moment to show the dust cover/safety made this a lot more understandable for me.
I see nothing but Galil when I look at this rifle.
Though it is important to note that the Galil was based of the RK 62, not the 95
Wasn't the Galil based on the AK?
@@artmallory970 the Galil was based off the RK 62, which in turn was based on the AK, so pretty much yes. But its design leans more towards the RK.
@@artmallory970 no
We have Galils in the Estonian DF (I had a Galil SAR) and this looks like a way cooler Galil
@@Zipped_in I have never shot this never version but hat the rk 62 stock - no real support unlike Galil which I love
That extra lock in dust cover comes real handy after gun starts to get old. I had a 62 which had a loose dust cover which is a common problem for older guns. My rear sight would move almost 1mm, which made it pretty hard to shoot accurately. Now I have a 95 which is much nicer to shoot but it could be a bit lighter.
They’d go on to Finish it! Nice Ian!
tääl ennen ku porukka alkaa vittuilee. tulkaa keravan prisman etee
Who knew that so many viewers served with this rifle?! What a surprise! /sarcasm
I served with the RK-62 back in -08, and I suspect a lot of conscripts who served in non-frontline roles (like coastal artillery as I did) got to use the older 62's while the newer 95's were reserved for roles that were far more likely to need in a combat role. My guess is that this is one aspect why the safety was not changed - there is a significant proportion of the reserve who were trained with the AK-style safety (and _a lot_ of 62's used in training were retained for reserve use in long term storage), and it would be too much of a hassle to have two different styles of safety about and around.
This was my rifle when I went into CV9030 gunner training (started my service with the RK62) and apart from the slight weight increase I really liked it.
This is a very impressive piece of work, thank you to Sako for letting Ian in. I was well impressed by Valmet (M62, M76, and that 7.62×51 RPK), and appreciate the quantities of every Sako I have handled.
I used a 62, but the grip storage probably didn't happen, because the cleaning kit is in a pocket on your vest. Or backpack, it depends on where you're trained.
We stored silla in the grip.
Yea, going from dust cover up means safe to dust cover flips out of the way when you pull the trigger is bound to lead to an ND.
Why? The dust cover was spring armed and only a dust cover. The safety was elsewher on another lever. Why would such a system lead to NDs, it's the same system there's on the Ar15 platform.
I missed 90% of the video because I started reading comments about finnish grammar.
There is one super rare RK95 for sale in Finland. Full auto export model chambered in 5.56x45, highest bid right now is 3200€
If you're gonna take the time to reinforce the dust cover enough for a sight, why not put the rail up there too? I feel like they reinvented the wheel when they made a side mounted optic rail.
this was back when picatinny rails didn't have all that much mil spec optics etc. late 80s ak sidemount type optics were available, and if you look at them they're impossible to mount on top of the cover, because they came as a complete package. mount and optic.
secondly, the way the front of the cover is mounted, it still allowed some movement at the front end of the cover. the mechanism was done primarily in keeping the rear sight in mind.
a third issue is with possible sight obstruction or glare from the sun.
Apart from the stock, I've always preferred 62 over 95. Newer one is heavier and more cumbersome to operate.
Both the Rk62 and Rk95 are overly heavy. Stamped AKs are so much lighter.
@@4Leka true. And the stock in 62 is not nice at all. But they do shoot damn well.
rk62 with full mag weights like 3.5 kg so its pretty heavy yea
@@oscarn- i had 95 TP but preferred ol'd 62. i actually shot better with 62 than 95 but then both of them got stolen from me and i got pkm haha!
As always excellent story and talk. Thank you!
The Valmet rifles are some of the finest piece of kit. Laso nice to see you in finland again :D
As a finnish guy i never really understood the american obsession over the right to bear arms until i listened to a podcast about trust in the government. Over here we have a deep cultural trust in the government and community so the idea of needing a firearm for protection etc. on a civilian level just doesn't exist (except for hunting of course). We are talking about a tiny country though, so gun crime is virtually non-existant, as finnish police only fired their guns 122 times from 2003-2013 :D
Go a few miles west and you end up in a country plagued with grenade and gun attacks, so strange how countries so close can have such different levels of safety.
Holy Ravioli i used to live in said country to the west for a few years, its not as bad as one would think, but yeah they actually have organised crime syndicates in segrated parts of some cities. Can't say its very visible though.
@@arga0 Said country is changing quickly.
It's all white people in Finland of course it's nice...
@AborteD dude take your arian ideology somewhere else...
Finally a nation that actually has an ak pistol grip(by default) with a man's hand in mind, instead of a 12 year old girl.
Probably has to do smth with gloves
@@kappega Winter gloves.
I've taken these apart, put them back together and cleaned them so much it's not even funny.
I hugged my beloved M62 to keep me warm in the tent in the winter of 1980/81 - I still remember her serial number!
I named my 62.M1 and whispered sweet little nothings to her for comfort during cold nights. Wonder how shes being handled now. 🥺
I prefer RK-62M, because of the sight, the weight, and the renewed stock looks pretty neat.
Also in my experience, RK-62 is more durable and better produced.
I prefer the look of the 95 stock, but getting to use RK-62M after RK-62 was already a huge upgrade!
@@emilseppa9386 I agree on that 62M one. The new AR-style stock is really good for it. Easy to replace if broken and feels good to use.
yes.. I also like how the 62 sounds like a box of lego when you shake it. and perfectly round rear aperture sight holes are totally overrated anyways..