Valmet M76
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Valmet M76 | |
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| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin | Finland |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Valmet |
| Produced | 1976—1986 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7lb 15oz) |
| Length | 950 mm (37.4 in) stock extended, 710 mm (29.13 in) stock folded |
| Barrel length | 418 mm (16.46 in) (4 grooves, right hand twist) |
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| Cartridge | 7.62 x 39 mm, 5.56 x 45 mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-Operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 700 rounds/min |
| Feed system | 15, 20 or 30-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The Valmet M76 is a gas operated assault rifle of Finnish origin, which was also made in semi-automatic version for civilian market. Based on the earlier Rk 62 (Rynnäkkökivääri 62, Assault rifle 62), it is a modified AK-47. The gun was in production from 1976 to 1986. Its receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal, instead of Rk 62's milled receiver.
There are 8 Varieties of M76s, four of which use 7.62 mm Soviet Kalashnikov ammunition, while the other four use 5.56 mm NATO rounds. They are stored in either 15, 20, and 30 round magazines. Finland used the 7.62 mm version, while Qatar and Indonesia use the 5.56 mm version.
The Valmet M62/76 series of rifles are quite good combat rifles in the world, however their caliber is completely obsolete from a modern assault rifle standpoint. Beginning with a licensed version of the milled receiver Soviet AK-47, Valmet then set about upgrading the design at every point. Tolerances are much tighter than the Soviet bloc AK’s while still being generous enough to assure outstanding reliability in all climates. The gas piston included small “fingers” near the piston to ensure smoother functioning inside the gas tube, which helped to increase the inherent accuracy of the rifle. Another move toward increased accuracy was the upgraded sights, which are some of the best sights ever issued to a soldier - in those old years. These days, optical sights and red dot reflex sights have almost completely replaced iron sights and are immensely more effective.
The front sight is mounted on the gas block which makes for one less thing hanging off the barrel, adding to the mechanical accuracy. The Front sight is fully adjustable in the field by the soldier, whereas the Soviet AK’s were windage adjusted by armorers only. There is also a flip up Tritium night sight that covers the front post for low light shooting.
The rear sight is an aperture on a sliding tangent affair adjustable to 600 meters and a “battle sight” setting of 150 meters. Very different from most other AK variants, the rear sight is located toward the rear of the top cover, rather than above the trunnion. The rear sight also has tritium inserts for night shooting by flipping the sight all the way forward (upside down). Once in this position, there is a square notch arrangement with two Tritium dots on either side. In this position, the rear sight is even adjustable for elevation via a set screw under the sight arm.
Another unique feature of the Valmet M62/76 series rifles is the flash suppressor. It’s a large 3 pronged affair looking like an enlarged version of the original M16 flash suppressor. Directly under the flash suppressor is a bayonet lug to accommodate the knife style bayonet manufactured by Fiskars. The flash suppressor has some sharp edges along its longitudinal cuts which are used as a wire cutter. A soldier slides the barbed wire into the flash suppressor and simply rotates his rifle around until it snaps the small gauge wire. For thicker wire, the soldier inserts the wire, gives a half turn and fires the rifle, which will snap the wire. In the M16 the prong type flash suppressor was abandoned for the bird cage type because the prongs tended to snag on vegetation in the field. While this is still a problem with the M62/76, the sharper edges help to cut through some of the vegetation; otherwise, one has to simply deal with this inconvenience. The flash suppressor is very effective in reducing muzzle flash; in fact, it’s one of the best in that role.
The quite unattractive tubular steel stock is solid and quite functional. There are versions that are solid and versions that are folding. Folding stock designs have always been troublesome in that eventually they tend to loosen up. This is not a problem with the M62/76 series of rifles as the hinge and lock design are very robust. Both feature a trap door in the butt to store a cleaning kit. So as not to freeze a soldier’s face in the often frigid temperatures of Finland, there is a thin plastic sleeve over the tube section of the buttstock that typically contacts the shooters face.
The homely appearance of the M62/76 series assault rifles makes it an often overlooked rifle in the world of infantry rifles. It was not, however, overlooked by the Israeli’s when it came time to build their own assault rifle, the Galil. Early Galils were actually built on Valmet receivers made in Helsinki, and the factory for building the Galil was established with the help of technicians from Valmet, and used Valmet equipment. The Galil is simply a further refinement of the Valmet system to accommodate the use of the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. However, Galil is now quite an old design as well, and Israel is replacing it with a new generation of assault rifles and new calibers, even though it does use the less obsolete 5.56mm NATO/.223 REM unlike the M76.
The M62 series features a milled receiver while the M76 has a stamped steel receiver. Both are finished with an industrial grade Parkerizing throughout.
The muzzle velocity depends on the ammunition used; the NATO round being 900 m/s while the Kalashnikov round is 719 m/s.
