Finland and Sweden are both in the process of adopting AR-pattern rifles, and for the Finns this will be their first service rifle in 5.56mm NATO. It is a transition that has been anticipated for nearly 20 years, but was finally put into high gear by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Finland’s entrance into NATO. The exact pattern of the new service rifle is being determined through testing (it may be DI or a short-stroke piston; we don’t know yet) but the National Defence Training Association of Finland (MPK) has chosen and purchased the ARG S 40 as it’s new rifle for reservist training. This is the much-anticipated AR pattern rifle manufactured by Sako, which won Finnish military tests.
As acquired by the MPK, the rifle is semiautomatic only, chambered for standard 5.56mm NATO, direct impingement, and features fully ambidextrous controls, collapsing Magpul stock, heavy 16.1″ barrel, and M-lok handguard. The military rifles will of course be select-fire and will have some different details, but this is my first look at the general AR pattern from Sako. Overall it handles quite well, and I think it makes a lot of sense for Finland’s needs.
Many thanks to the MPK for giving me a chance to film this example, and for providing these rifles as stage guns for shooting at Varusteleka’s Finnish Brutality 2025!
Goddamnit, Ian… You had one job, and completely missed it: The barrel attachment. What the F**K did SAKO do with that, on these rifles? It’s been driving me nuts since I first saw it; it kinda looks like there’s a clamp-action like they did on the LMT monolithic uppers, or the Colt Canada ones, but I’ve seen nothing to even begin explaining that SAKO solution anywhere, and it’s been driving me nuts since the first one I saw.
And, you had one in your hands!!! Cue the John Cena voice and “I am disappoint, son…” meme.
Well, someone will eventually bother to lay out what they did… Somewhere.
Iesous H. Christos, man… That’s probably the one unique feature on this rifle, and you just left it laying there unexplained… 😉
Maddening. I’ve been looking forward to a solution to this mystery ever since you announced you’d gotten your hands on one, in the flesh, and would be doing a piece. I haven’t had this sensation of frustration for decades…
So this is basically a nice AR-15 build. And it has taken the Finns 20 years to come up with it. A trip to a couple US gun shops would have gotten the matter sorted out in less time. But I guess bureaucrats need to make things complicated, to justify their jobs.
But on a more serious note — AR-15s are now fully acceptable as frontline combat rifles. Seems like a lot of ripple effects from this could occur, some good, some bad.
Um…Finland has not been overrun by (insert foe) in that long nonce. If “the bureaucrats” had adopted an utter POS, you’d be whinging about what was the hurry.