An upside of the arms embargo is that it led to all sorts of interesting designs that might not have been developed otherwise.

@coreymerrill3257

Жыл бұрын

Oh you just want lisa in your room.

@possumpatrol45

Жыл бұрын

@@coreymerrill3257 You're tearing me apart, Lisa!

@theowlfromduolingo7982

Жыл бұрын

This somewhat shows that humans will always find a way to build guns and weapons in general if they want/need to

@greycatturtle7132

Жыл бұрын

Ye

@conorjohn490

Жыл бұрын

These are the types of designs that prove that if you're creative enough with a K'Nex set, you too can design a gun. (Note: knowledge of metallurgy, explosive engineering, manufacturing, and parts sourcing not included)

Now if only we could maintain a powerplant to this kind of standard...

@ripvanwinkle2002

Жыл бұрын

hire the same kind of people to run your power plants that made this gun.. oh wait..

@ibubezi7685

Жыл бұрын

@@ripvanwinkle2002 The CEO comes close, but that is probably only to scapegoat him, after 25 years of mismanagement and corruption - and now active sabotage.

@jameshodgson3656

Жыл бұрын

Now don't be racist, that power plant was a victim of socioeconomic factors

@mindsharping

7 ай бұрын

Ah, a powder burning power station! Very innovative.

I volunteered to operate an SS during basic training in 1991 at Oudtshoorn Infantry School. It was far lighter than a belt-fed Bren and equally reliable as long as you kept the bursts short. One of our bodybuilder corporals could even shoot it Rambo-style, but the barrel drooped faster than our R4 rifles at the same rate of fire. Nice to carry, less nice in a firefight

@user-qh1wq9hz1k

9 ай бұрын

Belt fed bren...?

@Unruly6ixx

9 ай бұрын

So it’s trash if it’s not nice in a firefight ? Ps I’m not a machine gunner a rifle man

@TheBodieClan

6 ай бұрын

A belt fed Bren…????? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 2:04

@IamtherealDodger67

3 ай бұрын

Pretty sure he actually meant the FN-MAG, which is still in service alongside the SS77

@edwardhawkey5714

7 күн бұрын

@@IamtherealDodger67 I think he did mean FN MAG, still one of the top GPMG;s currently used.

I have never seen a bolt that locks quite like that. Really ingenious. Really cool how the locking surface is a separate part, so it can be hardened differently & replaced when it wears out. Reminds me of the XM5's steel inserts.

As a South African, I don't get to see a lot of our weapons discussed. Appreciate the video's that do. Thanks a lot.

I don't know how Ian got me hooked on firearm design history years ago as a Vietnamese who has never held a gun in his life. Tomorrow I'll get to visit my first Defence EXPO and there will definitely be more unique designs like the SVT-380 :D

@boocomban

Жыл бұрын

it literally a Galil ACE with minimal handguard and remove left side charging handle with more traditional Ak right side charging handle

@Stevarooni

Жыл бұрын

Such a long history, and as most of history there are weird twists and turns that are fascinating. 👍

@boocomban

Жыл бұрын

@@Stevarooni it is just Z111 want to simplify the manufacturing process on Galil Ace as well as reducing parts on the final products for various reasons. First, Vietnam is not the only manufacturer that IWI sold their galil ace production line for. It would make no sense for Vietnam to try to make galil ace to compete on the export market as they are not that well known in the industry. So making galil ace serve no purpose on the export market as it not only compete with IWI united states as well as it violate the contract they signed with IWI. So by making SVT, it can be use to export as a lower cost version of galil ace. Another reason is Vietnam has been use AK since 1960s. And their doctrine has been used with logistics and the simplicity of AK. By making SVT more like AK, it reduced the amount of parts to more like original of AK but still keep it up with modern requirements. SVT reduced 10-13 parts compare with original galil ace and on the same time it interchange some parts with AK/STL-1 that they made, hence reduce the logistics burden of fielding various weapon type.

@M8Military

Жыл бұрын

Lots of places u can shoot legally in Vietnam. You can even shoot a cow for a few hundred US dollars

@ianfurqueron5850

Жыл бұрын

Similar here. While I've had an interest in guns since I was a child (my father was a professional military historian), following this channel and InRangeTV has multiplied that interest by a large order of magnitude.

Awesome. I thought this was one of the guns you missed on your South Africa trip and never gonna get to.

South Africa used the FN MAG LMG for many years, but they were getting a bit long in the tooth. When I was in the SADF in the early 70s we used the MAG extensively, and it served well in the Bush War. I also trained on the South African 7.62 conversion of the Bren.

Gotta love south african arms manufacturers, all the guns you presented on this channel look gorgeous, feature cool engineering tricks and are simple in design

What an impressive design, simple, light, no unnecessary features and solid metal, not stamped. I want one!

Finally, a quality KZread video on the Vektor Mini-SS, and not only that, it's from none other than Forgotten Weapons! Thank you Ian! Also @2:56 and 9:10 The bipod also has a wire cutter just like the Galil ARM and Vektor R4.

“Full auto or nothing” and “pull trigger, sear drops” are probably my favorite firearms design features.

@bruceinoz8002

Жыл бұрын

As was eventually discovered with the M-60, the lack of a "trip" lever to hold the sear clear during firing, caused nasty wear issues. Unsurprisingly, some of the OLDER MGs have that trip lever . More "design" by committee with teh M-60? I replaced quite a few chewed-up M-60 op-rods and sears in my "time". NOTHING is "soldier-proof', however.

@parasitic1344

Жыл бұрын

@@bruceinoz8002 “wear issues”? No sir, that is just the gun suggesting you ride the lightning like a man!

Lovely clean, uncluttered exterior with cleverly simplified interiors. Especially clever for being designed in-house by a relatively small country. But I suppose that necessity is the mother of invention.

@matthiuskoenig3378

Жыл бұрын

'n Boer maak 'n plan

A wonderful mash of parts/shapes from the M240, Galil, and FAL, what a cool LMG!

@Holycow94WoW

Жыл бұрын

First thing I thought was “Galil LMG”. I mean the handguard, stock and sights scream Galil

I've been fascinated with the SS-77 after reading about it in Handgunner magazine back in the 90's. Great to see Ian finally cover a variant of this gun. 🤗🤗

@joshsquatch7474

Жыл бұрын

I'm not positive but I think he has an older video on the original GPMG version

@paleoph6168

7 ай бұрын

​@@joshsquatch7474Ian just posted it!

@joshsquatch7474

7 ай бұрын

@@paleoph6168 lol yes he did

I'm genuinely happy to see this thing make it onto the channel. Haven't really seen it at military expo events in the country and I started to think it didn't get further than a prototype. Thanks a ton for making a vid on it. I'm just amazed it's in a US facility and not at Denel like all the other SA guns. Really curious how it got there🤣

@jirpy10

Жыл бұрын

It is used by a few South American countries, and Saudi Arabia etc.

@ScottKenny1978

Жыл бұрын

I'm sure the US Embassy "acquired" a few.

With that amount of bolt tilt parallel to the extractor claw you can see why they had trouble.The amount of moment on the claw would make the heat treat and cam surface tolerances a nightmare.

@Mis73rRand0m

Жыл бұрын

I bet it more or less was pinned with a pivot like most extractors, but now has a slot for its' pin so that it can pull away from the bolt face more. Didn't see enough detail to confirm, but that's what I would do...

When I got the notification for this video, I assumed it was from your trip to South Africa 🇿🇦 and you’d kept it in reserve. Wouldn’t have expected one of these to make to the U.S.

I've been waiting for Ian to do a video on what I deem my countries greatest invention in terms of firearms. The SS is so underrated and I'm glad it's finally getting the proper recognition it deserves. It's up there with the likes of the PKM and FN Mag, and it is one of my top 5 favourite machine guns, including the previously mentioned two. It's a pity most of your South African viewers have to watch this during loadshedding. Keep it up Ian🔥🇿🇦

@sagamerdog6544

Жыл бұрын

plenty of time to watch the vid with stage six

@peterconnan5631

Жыл бұрын

Jip, thank goodness for batteries.

@ginger0208

Жыл бұрын

Gotta download videos in preparation for stage 6🤣

Oh hell yes, I've been wanting the SS-77 ever since your first trip to South Africa. This scratches that itch. Thank you Ian

The FN Mag is the standard by which other designs are rated by the guys who use them. The Bren was the second favourite, however they are both heavier than this neat design. I had ‘retired’ out in 88/89; so I never got too meet it. But we had heard of it, and knew of some of the previous versions testing problems. Reliability was a big factor for the old SADF

Very light gun, for what it does. Even if you carry two spare barrels. Cheers Ian.

What an excellent and useful design. My experience of all South African produced weaponry has been positive. Sometimes the "political" situation a country finds itself in, can inspire some amazing innovations and products.

@singlespeedpunk7744

Жыл бұрын

The M83 chest rigs and battle jackets are really nice too. As you say, not always a good political system but some clever designs well executed.

Thank You Mr Ian . This is the first and only Video on Vektor SS77 GPLMG.

I like how they used a Galil/R4 bipod! Like how many motorcar manufacturers use their parts bins to eliminate the 'reinventing the wheel' scenario 👍

What a slick little rig. Thanks for the content.

I never knew about this gun before but know I think it's pretty cool. Thanks Ian!

I'm dying laughing at the "Read Manual Before Use" mark.

@vvr881

Жыл бұрын

That mark is definitely not South African. 🤣

@edwardhawkey5714

7 күн бұрын

@@vvr881 had to be put on because like every military on the planet, yes incl, the US, we had some very very dumb servicemen. Well, its lost on those that cant read, in todays military, which by the way is an absolute joke.

Hey Ian, I'm from SA and would love to see one of these bad boys in action. Please get one to the range for us.

Cool design. Thanks for sharing Ian. God bless all here.

To me the front of the gun visually reminds me a bit of the PKM.

I really hope we get to see you shoot this one looks pretty neat.

18 pounds would be great for the guy lugging it around! When I was in the Army, we still had the M-60, and they didn’t call it the “Pig” for nothing! This thing is like a whole M-16 lighter, and if it operates as easily as you say (and field strips as easily), our guys would’ve appreciated it.

The worse problem with the SS77 was you literally had to dump oil over it to keep it working

@Mis73rRand0m

Жыл бұрын

I bet that giant lug and "tilting" bolt cause lots of friction. Noticed the nice grease layer on this gun and was wondering.

@mazambane286

Жыл бұрын

Or talcum power. Which does not collect dust and dirt.

@luckystriker7489

Жыл бұрын

True, I remember having to oil my SS often during basics and special weapons. Although the Bren required less maintenance, the SS was easier to carry and jump out of a Buffel with.

@mazambane286

Жыл бұрын

@@luckystriker7489 Which units were issued them? I was in the SAP and we stuck with the FN MAG. The Armory guys told me once that the SS77 will never see service or be mass produced while we still have plenty of serviceable MAG's.

@luckystriker7489

Жыл бұрын

@@mazambane286 I was issued an SS during my junior leader course (one pip lieutenant) at infantry school in Oudtshoorn. We were sometimes given experimental stuff like helmets with built-in comms, etc.

Nice, I was waiting for SS-77 or miniSS for long time. There is black hole in the internet about those guns. Great Job Ian, as always.

As always,super informative and well presented.

Cheers from South Africa 🇿🇦

See, we are more likely on the journey to see the FN Minimi’s special episode that’s coming on Christmas.

With the release of "the merchant of doom" released from prison, I'll be placing my order for one with the paratrooper stock and a bayonet lug soon.

Great history lesson...Thanks Ian Boss 💪

I love the “Read Manual Before Use” marking! Was this to be sold in the USA? 😂😂😂

@ripvanwinkle2002

Жыл бұрын

HIlarious quick question though if the USA is so stupid why are they so much better than your country at quite literally everything?

@craigevans6156

Жыл бұрын

@@ripvanwinkle2002 So how do you know where I am from?

@khan_of_tartaria

Жыл бұрын

"Front towards enemy" energy

@ripvanwinkle2002

Жыл бұрын

@@khan_of_tartaria haha russians thought it was funny too when they copied the claymore.. didnt add it to the first run. guess what it says in RUSSIAN on the front of russian claymore knock offs these days? its not stupid if it works

@craigevans6156

Жыл бұрын

@@mattrobson3603 😂😂😂😂😂

Dang. This is a very well-thought, user-friendly weapon.

have been waiting for this one for a long time

Very interesting. Big thanks! Open-ended flash hiders bother me. Don't they catch on things and would a ring around the end hurt the flash hiding effect?

8,3 kg Mini-SS: I'm light 7,5 kg PKM: okay 👍

@Kurochana

Жыл бұрын

To be fair it do be incredibly light for something that runs the FN Mag system.

@alexandermarinin7036

Жыл бұрын

@@Kurochana it's rather due MG-42-style feeding mechanism. Top cover with all that stuff attached is pretty heavy

@ShortT-RexLikeArms

Жыл бұрын

@@alexandermarinin7036 Plus it also requires a longer bolt carrier, since the roller need to extend beyond the feed tray.

I don’t know if it has ever been done, but I think this would be a good design for what I call a “semi-open bolt” concept. My concept is an open-bolt system where the sear engagement is about 5mm (1/4inch) from the closed bolt position with a small spring between the bolt and bolt-carrier. This means that the round is fully in the chamber and the bolt is locked, as in a closed-bolt weapon, but the bolt carrier is caught by the sear, with the firing pin retracted. When the trigger is pulled, the sear disengages, the bolt carrier slams forward the last tiny bit, with the firing pin projecting. The benefits I perceive are the simplicity of an open bolt system, minimal travel of the bolt carrier when the trigger is pulled, reducing the effects of throwing off the point of aim, zero risk of the bolt accidentally being moved by inertia and chambering and firing a round if the weapon is dropped, along with the many open bolt benefits. The main issue I see would be the risk of cooking-off the chambered round.

@andrewallason4530

Жыл бұрын

Yup, i looked it up and the semi-auto mode of the 42 works in this manner. Thanks for the reminder, Socom.

My dad used those back in the Angola border war. Thanks for making this video.

@fishsmell3939

Жыл бұрын

Your dad's racist

@TheKitMurkit

Жыл бұрын

Cool

@KieferSmokerland

Жыл бұрын

No he didn't. SADF were still fielding FN Mags during the boarder war. This gun wasn't even invented yet. (Source: I'm an ex SADF infantry conscript)

@fishsmell3939

Жыл бұрын

@@KieferSmokerland he was special forces. Behind enemy lines with the most advanced technology and technical training. Strictly stalk and destroy missions of vips. They say not all of him made it back from the war.

@vvr881

Жыл бұрын

@@fishsmell3939 no I think u maybe got it wrong there. He would've used Soviet weapon systems. U can be very proud of your father🤙

It’s a little sad þat þe arms industry in ZA has been nearly completely killed off due to political and economical factors

@adf8315

Жыл бұрын

IQ factor to be honest!

Its interesting to see weapons developed after all the "greats" like the MAG and FAL. With the Mini-SS, you see elements of the MAG, FAL, Galil, AR-180, and R4 all rolled up into the one package. The South Africans are certainly an industrious lot!

The sights and bipod definitely look like they were taken straight from a Galil

This is the standard LMG for Colombian Military and now supplemented by more advanced IMI Negev.

Ian scratched the hand guard with the end of the barrel muzzle device :(

It's like an FAL bolt/carrier turned on its side. Even the locking shoulder looks exactly like an FAL locking shoulder. Considering the extensive use of the FAL in SA, I wonder how much that drove development of the system.

Had that been simplified and lightened a bit more, I bet the US and UK would've adopted it to replace the M60.

@bobhill3941

Жыл бұрын

I think they would have.

@ripvanwinkle2002

Жыл бұрын

no its not better than a MAG/M240 not even close..

@sinner2512

Жыл бұрын

UK only has about a couple dozen M60 that came free with some Chinooks.

@victuff9765

Жыл бұрын

@Sinner 251 surprisingly the UK MoD have had several hundred M60's in inventory over the years! Unsurprisingly they were not fielded, but as you say came with other 'systems' most of them being 'gifted' to various 'friendlys' 😉

@ScottKenny1978

Жыл бұрын

Not likely, a 5.56 gun is rarely a good replacement for a 7.62 gun. The Minimi is tolerable for use in the squad, since there's a pair of M240s in the platoon.

Definitely being considered for the next Star Wars Miniseries.

Hello Ian I live one town over from Hooksett. Wellcome to N.H!

My inner engineer loves the simplicity and clean lines, although the top cover / feed tray pin not being captive did make my teeth itch a bit ;)

Thank you for your videos

The for-end is the same as the R4/Galil. Greetings from Argentine Patagonia.

Now that the Merchant of Death is back in business, this firearm will probably be even more popular...🤔

How cool would it be to make a movie based in South Africa with all of the crazy guns that came out of Africa. Basically all of them were crazy.

@jirpy10

Жыл бұрын

Chappie and District 9 did some of that.

A belt fed on Friday, dare I hope for Saturday?

Hopefully a shooting vid tomorrow... Also, the handguard looks straight from a Galil.

This looks like a total beast

I really hope Ian gets a chance to compare the PKM and the polish NATO conversion/Adaption of the PKM side by side.

Here's a question, when you have a tilting bolt like that, how do they compensate for the case head spacing? Is the bolt cut to where it's fully flush against the case head when in-battery and did they put just enough play into the extractor cut to compensate for the bolt rotation so it doesn't damage the cases on extraction?

@vikingdrift

Жыл бұрын

Looks like the face of the bolt is angled, so it's actually square to the barrel when locked. The firing pin will hit on a slight angle but that won't matter

@BBHexKey

Жыл бұрын

@@vikingdrift gotcha. I wonder if that was causing some of the reliability issues on the 7.62 variant.

When designing new equipment making it resemble equipment the customer already likes is not a bad idea.

I'm kind of surprised no one has made a dedicated belt-fed modernized version of the Stoner 63, since it managed to be both insanely lightweight and also very low recoil.

@ScottKenny1978

Жыл бұрын

That's the Knights LAMG. 12lb 5.56 belt fed.

@matthiuskoenig3378

Жыл бұрын

The kac lamg weights 11.4ib, and the lac stoner lmg (stoner 96) weighs 10ib.bith belt fed.

@ScottKenny1978

Жыл бұрын

@@matthiuskoenig3378 granted, but I bet the LAMG is significantly more durable.

8.25kg seems pretty heavy for 5.56 SAW, considering the PKM weighs about 9kg and comes in 7.62x54r

@Jurflip2

Жыл бұрын

Yep. No stampings; all traditional machining. Makes for a heavy gun.

@pineapplesalad6494

Жыл бұрын

@@Jurflip2 That was one of the complaints with the Finnish KvKK 62. It was just too heavy for the intermediate cartridge and offered no real advantage compared to PKM. Of course the PKM didn't exist when KvKK was designed, but it was very quicky obsoleted. Mini-SS is much newer than PKM and still doesn't seem to have any tangible benefit.

@Sajuuk

Жыл бұрын

Most South African guns are heavy because they're built for reliability and abuse, and so they're generally over-engineered, quality pieces.

@XtreeM_FaiL

Жыл бұрын

@@pineapplesalad6494 But the PK did. Well... kind of.

@kiwigrunt330

Жыл бұрын

The 5.56 is heavy because it uses the 7.62 as a basis. The 7.62 is fairly light for a GPMG at 9.6 kg.

it looks like if someone tried to draw the M240B from memory

The thumbnail for this grabbed my attention. Now please do a video on big brother SS-77. Also how about another rare, obscure South African gun, the Truvelo Raptor. Thank you.

Very clever design

This seems far better than I would expect out of South Africa.

I wonder why they didnt add holes to bolt guide on top cover, make few groves on cover it self from inside, round a bit gas piston tube and maybe use slightly thinner feed ramp if they wanted to reduce weight that much. Just removing some material from top cover and maybe in few spots on body it self would lighten it nicely without making it flimsy and its really not hard as those are flat surfaces that you can just slap on milling machine for few few minutes.

Thank you , Ian . 🐺

Love the "Read manual before use" HA HA HA HA!!!! Looks like a scale model of a full sized gun

thats looks like a very unique PKM

Very cool machine Gun

"It's like the entirety of the SS all in one package! Buy the Mini-SS Portable Firing Squad Simulator now!"

SA arms industry colloborated with many companies and countries during the era.

With the side tilting bolt (ZH-29) and the Bren (ZB-26) type firing pin system, this gun owes as much of it's lineage to Belgium as it does to Czechoslovakia.

what a beauty

What's the point of two pairs of nested springs? Isn't there a concern that they might bind up during operation?

SA always comes up with the coolest, practical gear on the cheap. No multi year, costly process. Effective and quick.

Looks like a very simple, solid design. Any idea how it compares to the M249 for reliability?

If you have the gas piston, what’s that famas-style lever delayed stuff? Isn’t it redundant?

Aesthetically, it’s like the love child of a PK and a Minimi

What's the advantage of nested dual springs?

Sand cuts meaning that they prevent sand buildup inside the mechanism?

@ScottKenny1978

Жыл бұрын

Give the sand a place to go that's out of the worky bits.

The Mini-SS? Can it deliver the _double wumms_ ? And does it sound like german folk music when you shoot it? You know... I'm asking... for a friend.

i don't know why but for me look inside the bolt /bolt carrier remenber me some sort of lever delayed AA-52 /AN-F1

Very interesting 🤗 I like firearms!

FINALLY!!!! Thank you!

Funny how often 'this is one of the few guns that use' goes with 'this isn't a very good gun'.

Knew this machine gun from conflict global storm lmao.

Does it have a Galil-style bottle opener?

The no selector vektor go rata-tata-tat-tat-tat....

Why is the trigger so tall? It looks like it was designed to be operated with two fingers. Is there a reason for that?

Did it actually make it into service with the SANDF at all or just remain a private/commercial venture? Can't find any information on service use.

@andro7862

Жыл бұрын

It's their standard issue LMG.

@patriotenfield3276

Жыл бұрын

It's standard service of both SANDF and Ejercito del Columbia

@tj006smith6

Жыл бұрын

@@andro7862 Thanks for that. The 5.56 version doesn't seem to show up in much information online in regards to in-service SANDF Small Arms. I wonder if its to do with the nomenclature the SANDF use for it and "Mini-SS" is more of a marketing/commercial name.

Proudly South African! Cape Town to be precise