Valmet M82 - History

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.

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