Valmet M82

The Valmet M82 is a bullpup assault rifle with a Valmet M76 internal design created by Finnish company Valmet.

History

The M82 was introduced in Finland in 1978 and discontinued production in 1986.Only ~ 2,000 M82 were manufactured, mostly as semi-automatic version in 5.56 mm NATO caliber for ODIN International ltd. in Alexandria, Virginia. Few samples were issued to the Finnish Army paratroopers, but the rifle was found unsuitable as service weapon. One issue that cropped up during its short service life was that the rear sight of an uncased rifle had a tendency to hit the lower face, nose and cheekbones of the paratrooper during landing. The rifle was also ill-balanced, as nearly all the weight was in the rear of the rifle and its urethane stock was very prone to chipping and breaking.

Technical Data

It is chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO caliber as model 255 470 and for 7.62x39mm caliber as model 255 490. It has a Valmet M76 receiver, which is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal, constructed inside urethane stock. Trigger of the weapon is polymer to prevent heat of the barrel conducting to it, as the trigger is mounted to the barrel of the gun.

Features

The M82 features an unusual sight arrangement. The front and rear sights, similar to a Bren Machinegun or some other belt fed machineguns, are offset to the left. The sights are aligned normally with...
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