r/canadaguns • u/CurlyWurly61 • Apr 24 '26
Milsurps / Prohib I learn something new everyday
I never knew there was another Semi-Auto other than;
BAR
SKS
Citadel
M1 Garand
I wish I had the $$ to drop on this sexy rifle
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u/airchinapilot Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
If you want to look way back, here's a 9 year old thread explaining its existence https://www.reddit.com/r/canadaguns/comments/65qzsg/why_are_valment_aks_actually_legal/
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u/CurlyWurly61 Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
Thats cool actually. As a Tikka owner, learning that Sako merged with Valment is pretty neat
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u/tyler111762 Resident Certified Millennial Punk Apr 25 '26
>look way back
>9 year old thread
>im all over.it.
>realise i am in fact getting old.
Fuck. I dont like this linear time shit.
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u/ScythianHorse Apr 26 '26
Don't worry, linearity is an ephemeral illusion. You're in the sweet spot before you age exponentially.
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u/Automatic-Height4246 Apr 24 '26
Theres. Lots more
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u/Global_Theme864 Apr 25 '26
Plenty of NR semi auto rifles still out there. Off the top of my head:
Remington Models 8, 81, 740, 742, 7400 and 750
Winchester Models 1905, 1907, 1910, 100 and SXR
Ruger Model 44 and Deerfield
Henry Homesteader
Benelli R1
Sauer 303
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u/Outrageous_Expert984 Apr 25 '26
FN 49
MAS 492
u/Ok-Yogurt-42 Apr 25 '26
Those didn't get caught up in the last wave with the M1 carbine, SVT-40 and AG42B?
I thought they got all the WW2 era semi autos except the garand and SKS.
They must go for quite a lot these days.5
u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 25 '26
There’s still a bunch of Milsurp battle rifles left, including the G43 that was posted here last week.
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u/notanm1abrams Apr 25 '26
Which one?
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u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 25 '26
Gewehr G43, Nazi Battle Rifle from WW2.
They usually go for $4,000+
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u/Outrageous_Expert984 Apr 25 '26
i think its the detachable magazine thing? but then again the G43 is non restricted so uh yeah
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u/ItchYouCannotReach Apr 24 '26
There's a quite a few different options in a variety of calibers and gas systems
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u/LordRaizer Apr 24 '26
I saw one for around ~3000 a few months ago
But still too expensive for my blood...
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u/Plasma_48 Apr 25 '26
Only 5.5k for a valmet? I thought they would be a lot more expensive.
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u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 25 '26
That’s the difference between the Hunter models and the M78.
Irunguns had some Hunter models last year for around $3,500 in 308 and 06.
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u/mr_iceman Apr 25 '26
I love these but the fact that this thing costs thousands but is not made anymore concerns me about spare parts
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u/TheGodofWar17 Apr 25 '26
There’s also Remington model 8 and the Winchester 1907 but their kinda hard to come by
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u/Fuck_you_all22 Apr 25 '26
How much are they worth really? Are theh worth over $10k as they sell in canada? No too long ago, i run guns brought some in from US. US prices are like $3k to $5k plus import fees. So i am wondering are they worth weight in gold?
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u/sakaykay Apr 25 '26
M78 price in 308 is about 10-15k. 556 would probably fetch 20k now. 7.62x39? i got no idea but probably 30k+ now. Rumor has it theres less than 50 that were made for commercial export from finland, North America, mainly the USA got about 25 of them. 15 were either machine guns or converted MG's used for movie props. Less than 10 exist in North america in the semi auto configuration.
As for the hunter models, they're relatively cheap minus the 223 version, as its a great host to make galil conversions that would be legal in Canada, but they are extremly rare.
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u/Fuck_you_all22 Apr 25 '26
Anything different between hunter and m78 other than pistol grip and other cosmetic stuff?
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u/Ok-Community-3922 Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
Parts compatibility is slightly different. Magazines for the M78 will not always work in the hunter and vice versa. Both designs are effectively Galils internally.
Sights also differ between the Hunter and M78. Some hunters have a drum-style rear sight or dust-cover mounted aperture sight while the M78 uses a very odd gas-tube mounted notch sight. Very interesting and dissimilar from typical trunnion-mounted AK ramp/leaf sights.
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u/sakaykay Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Lots of differences actually. The receivers first off. All hunters come in Milled receivers.
M78's are stamped receivers with 1 exception, the M78 chambered in 308, the milled version was made solely for commercial export. The 308 M78 also does come in a stamped receiver too, with some in the US being converted into M78/83S models, which were unofficial models of valmets.
Milled receiver Hunters have a smaller mag well, which are mainly compatible with the Valmet milled magazines. Verses the M78 model, which both types of steel & milled mags worked. Some owners would Dremel/file the magwell to make the milled hunter receiver work with steel mags as well. The rear trunnion section/tang of the hunter model has a indented slice in the receiver to make a stock styled grip work with the receiver.
Barrel profiles are significantly different. The Hunter models has a more pencil like, slimmer profile barrel, Chrome lined. Whereas the M78 LMG models have a heavier profiled barrel, which are also chrome lined.
Cosmetic items are totally different, stocks, pistol grips, handguards, and sights. The Hunter model does not come with a deployable bipod, whereas the M78 does.
The rare unobtanium 7.62x39 model does not come in the Hunter configuration. Only the M78 model. But from the beginning of time, when Valmets were first introduced into the North American market, they were the first AK pattern rifles to ever hit the commercial market in the USA. Models in 223/556 & 308 were among the common models given that the USA adopted NATO cartridges and was relatively available at the time meaning it would cater to the US market, and when I mean common models, I mean between M78's, Hunters, M71's, M76's, m88's, M62's etc chambered in 556/308 etc. Between all SAKO/VALMET models, It is super rare to come across ANY 7.62x39 models, even down south because during the time between the early 1970's, up until the 80's, the 7.62x39 round was not that common at the time, and only a small handful of x39 chambered valmets entered North America. If you keep an eye out on any auctions, they fetch crazy prices. they're the holy grail of AK's and truly unobtanium. Especially the M78 version.
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u/Armedfist Apr 25 '26
Could have brought a 7.62x39 m78 for around 5k around 2008. Didn’t have the money at the time…
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u/Orcasystems99 Apr 26 '26
There is the AD500, which I just bought a couple months ago.
200 rounds and still very happy.
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u/Budlish May 05 '26
I'm in the states and currently chatting with a gentleman who has one of these in 308, NIB and unfired. 2 mags, the scope, and whatever else it came with. Lets see what happens
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u/Ace_And_Jocelyn1999 Apr 24 '26
I’m always shocked that these somehow slipped past the ban. I would have thought the government would have loved to say “we got AK-47 variants off the streets.”
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u/Prestigious-Tap-1329 Apr 24 '26
The government is the one who brought them into the country for the natives
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u/Ace_And_Jocelyn1999 Apr 25 '26
But why? Of all the hunting rifles out there, why these ones?
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u/Murray3-Dvideos Apr 25 '26
Why not? What could possibly be a better and more robust choice for Arctic hunting and predator defense then a .308 AK designed and produced by Nordic people ? Lol
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u/WillyBillBilson Apr 25 '26
I asked this question here about a year ago. It turns out that the Valmet would be automatically banned as an AK-variant, but it is exempted by name in the Firearm Act. Any OIC that would try to ban them right now would do nothing because of that law.
I wonder if we'll see this the exemption removed by an amendment now that there's a majority. I hope not, because they're sweet-as rifles.
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u/Cre_AK47 Name Prohibited by OIC Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
There were previous discussions on this topic before in this sub, but they were originally encapsulated in the 1992 prohibition of all AK pattern rifles by the Mulroney/Campbell government. For some reason the Jean Chretien government exempted this specific model with in law in 1995, with the reclassification by an OIC done in 1998 that prescribed the Valmet as non-restricted instead of prohibited.
There's likely a political reason why they have not been re-prohibited yet. To top it off I don't even think the NFA or PolySeSouvient (who both lobbied VERY HARD against and for C-68 and would be aware of the intricacies) probably don't even know why this specific rifle was added as an exemption.
My granddad last summer did Window/door work at Jean Chretien's home in the Nepean area of Ottawa. Maybe next time I should get my gramps to ask him why they exempted it, if he'll even remember a policy decision from almost 30 years ago... 😋
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u/TsubojiriStation Apr 25 '26
My understanding was that to ban it apparently they would need to repeal the 95 law?
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u/Cre_AK47 Name Prohibited by OIC Apr 25 '26
Yes they would have to. They could have done that with C-21 though. They don't have to repeal the entire law. They just have to repeal the section that prescribes that rifle as non-restricted. It's still changed by OIC but the legal authority changes from the executive branch to the legislative branch.
From there they would have to explicitly then prohibit it by name through an order at Council by the executive branch/Governor general or add that prohibition to the Firearms Act through an amendment via a legislative change (C-21 as an example), as obviously if it's not specified as prohibited, then the default classification rules apply, which would be non-restricted as long as the barrel is 18.5 in. and OAL is 26+ inches.
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u/Fine-Tie2651 Apr 25 '26
Scam price, you could buy these from irunguns for less than half the price he’s offering less than a year ago
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u/Flat-Dark-Earth Big Bore Specialist Apr 24 '26
Valmets are cool.
Just FYI there are a couple dozen semi auto rifles in 308, 30.06 or similar.