Kongsberg M59

Kongsberg M59
Type	Bolt Action Repeating Sniper Rifle Target rifle
Place of origin	Norway
Service history
In service	1959–
Used by	Norway
Production history
Designer	Kongsberg Small Arms
Designed	1959
No. built	N/A
Variants	M59 and M59F1
Specifications
Cartridge	.30-06 (M59) 7.62 × 51 mm NATO (M59F1)
Action	Bolt action
Rate of fire	N/A
Muzzle velocity	860-880 m/s
Effective firing range	800 m
Feed system	5 Round
Sights	Target aperture sight

Kongsberg M67
Type	Bolt Action Repeating Target rifle
Place of origin	Norway
Service history
In service	N/A
Used by	Norway
Production history
Designer	Kongsberg Small Arms
Designed	1967
No. built	N/A
Specifications
Cartridge	7.62 × 51 mm NATO, 6.5x55, .22LR
Action	Bolt action
Rate of fire	N/A
Muzzle velocity	860-880 m/s
Effective firing range	800 m
Feed system	5 Round
Sights	Target aperture sight

The Mauser M59 and Mauser M67 were produced by Kongsberg Arms of Norway but was not a licensed product of Mauser. Although they were produced by Kongsberg it was always called a "Mauser" in Norway, hence its listing under Mauser.

Mausers in Norway

After WW2, large numbers of German Mauser 98k were apprehended by Norwegian forces. Most of the rifles were rebarreled to .30-06 and used as normal service rifles, but a number of Mauser 98 actions were used as the basis for building both military and civilian rifles at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk.

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk Mauser M59

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk introduced the M59 in 1959, first chambered in .30-06, but shortly afterwards production was changed to accommodate the new 7.62 NATO round, and M59 rifles chambered for the 7.62 NATO were denoted M59F1, or KV59. The M59F1 served first as a sniper rifle for the regular armed forces. After the NM149 was introduced, the M59F1 served with the Norwegian Home Guard ("Heimevernet") until the 1990s. It was also used as a civilian target rifle, having the advantage over the Krag-Jørgensen M1894 that it did not suffer from changing point of impact in rainy weather. Thus, many shooters had a Krag-Jørgensen for the sunny days and one Mauser for rainy days.

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk Mauser M67

The M59 was redesigned in 1967, hence the M67, and was made by parts of seized German M98 of WW2,fitted with a heavy target stock and a heavy drawned barrel.It was usually fitted with Busk diopter sights. It was chambered in 6.5x55, 7.62x51 Nato and in .22 LR as a single shot. The M59, M67 and the Krag-Jørgensen were the official target rifles of the Norwegian DFS until the adoption of the Sauer 200 STR in the 90's.

See also

• List of firearms

Other Norwegian rifles:

• Kammerlader - the first breech loading rifle in service in Norway.
• Remington M1867 - the first rifle for metallic cartridges adopted by the Norwegian Army
• Krag-Petersson - the first rifle designed by Ole H J Krag that was adopted by an armed force.
• Jarmann M1884 - the rifle the Norwegian Krag-Jørgensen replaced.
• Krag-Jørgensen - the most successful Norwegian firearm to date
• Våpensmia NM149 - the rifle that replaced the M59F1 as a Norwegian sniper rifle

References and notes

• Hanevik, Karl Egil (1998). Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867. Hanevik Våpen. ISBN 82-993143-1-3