Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com.
I'm Ian McCollum, and I am here today at the
Shooters Outpost Museum in Hooksett,
New Hampshire, taking a look at a Suomi.
Which is not actually technically a Suomi
but it is made with mostly bits of a Suomi.
This is a Stemple STG-76,
a Stemple Takedown Gun, in Suomi configuration.
So I've done a couple of videos previously on
the Stemple STG series of guns.
And if you haven't seen them, I would recommend checking out the first one.
It gives the basic background of what this whole thing is.
The short version is that it is a series of configurations of gun
all built around one original style of tube receiver,
of which a whole bunch were manufactured and registered prior to 1986.
And so they are actually a reasonably priced (given machine gun prices),
still retail available, transferable machine gun that can be re-packaged
in a whole wide variety of different configurations
for all sorts of fun recreational shooting.
Now we previously looked at the original STG-76,
bipod mounted, pistol gripped, fun submachine gun.
And today we are taking a look at the Suomi version.
So this is the Stemple gun, this is an actual Suomi. This is in fact a Danish Suomi.
But you can see the initial resemblance right off the bat.
What we are going to do is go ahead and take a closer look at it.
Now the reason that this exists as a configuration for the gun is
when the STG was being developed
Suomi parts kits had just come into the country in huge numbers for virtually nothing.
They were extremely cheap and easy to get a hold of.
And they made a really good option for basically the bolt and trigger systems.
The drum magazines that the Suomi used looked like a really good option
for a feeding system, feeding platform, for the STGs.
And so that's what they chose to use.
And, well, if you are going to make a gun using Suomi parts
that is a tubular receiver submachine gun,
why not make a version of it that matches the Suomi as closely as possible?
Let's take a closer look.
From a practical user's perspective, the Stemple Suomi is essentially identical to a real Suomi.
The one difference that will be most obviously noted is the side charging handle of the Stemple.
The original Suomis had a charging handle down here.
You can't really do that on a Stemple gun because there is no slot in the bottom of the receiver
for the charging handle to operate in to pull the bolt back.
For the record if you are not familiar with it, that is the original Suomi charging handle.
And of course this slot is going to be there
regardless of whether you use it or not, so you might as well use it.
Now, ... before I get to the differences, I will point out that the Stemple guns can use Suomi drums,
and also the Suomi stick magazines, both the quad-stack ones and the post-war double-stack ones.
The safety is a Suomi-style safety, so all the way back is safe.
This position is semi-auto.
And fully forward is ... full-auto.
That's able to be basically intact because this is a machine gun,
so it doesn't have to be converted to semi-auto.
The sights of course are standard original Suomi sights.
Now where we have a difference is right here.
Of course, in order to utilise the original Stemple receivers without modifying them,
BRP (who made these guns),
had to go ahead and make their own magazine housing. And they had to make it longer.
So this guy is an actual Suomi, it is a Danish Suomi but it is mechanically identical
to the Finnish guns, just slightly different front sight and a different stock.
If you compare that to the Stemple receiver,
you'll see that the Stemple gun is actually a little bit longer.
And that couldn't be changed of course,
because part of the point of this is not modifying the receiver at all.
So BRP manufactured a new trigger housing assembly that goes under the stock
that was a little bit longer, and you can see the difference here versus there,
to make up the difference, they also had to modify the triggers so that the ... sear
mechanism on the trigger matched the sear hole in the receiver tube.
Now to disassemble the real Suomi we are going to go ahead and unscrew
the rear cap, which allows us to pull out the recoil spring.
And then we can take out the bolt.
Our Stemple Suomi looks like it's the same system here,
because they actually went ahead and put an over-sized knurled cap on the back.
However, this is actually held in place by this vertical cross-pin,
which is the standard Stemple end of the receiver locking system.
So if we pull that pin out, we then have the standard Stemple receiver plug.
Notice however, our recoil springs are identical.
Notice also the bolts are essentially identical.
The Stemple gun has a hole drilled in it here so that it can have a side charging handle.
But other than that, this is the bolt that BRP used in the Stemple STGs.
So this is turned down in diameter just slightly, something like 10 thousandths of an inch,
so that it will properly fit the Stemple receiver tube.
But it's essentially almost identical to the real thing.
Now on a real Suomi the magazine well is integral to the upper part of the receiver.
You can flip this lever down, remove the barrel shroud, and then remove the barrel.
On [this version of] the Stemple gun the magazine well is actually integral
to the shroud, and it's held in place by this cross pin.
Pull that out. And then ...
there we go. Take the receiver tube out of the lower assembly.
And then we have a Stemple shroud compared to an original Suomi shroud.
So this would go to right about there.
And these shrouds were manufactured by taking the original Suomi parts kits,
cutting them off right here, and welding them onto the machined magazine well.
On the Stemple the barrel has been fixed in place in the trunnion.
But you can see the little groove at the end, ... these both use the same original Suomi barrels.
Then if we take the stocks off, you can see the original
Danish Suomi has the trigger assembly mounted onto the receiver tube.
Where on the Stemple the tube is obviously its own separate component.
And so they have basically detached the trigger assembly into its own separate unit.
And you can see the difference in length, right here.
One of the things that I think is really interesting, and in some ways compelling,
about this specific configuration of the STG is that
the Suomi is a really good submachine gun as it was originally designed.
But extremely rare in the United States, and really expensive as a result.
This actually gives you, I suspect, very close to the original handling of a real Suomi,
because it doesn't just look like a Suomi,
it's actually made using a Suomi bolt and a Suomi recoil spring.
Which means much of the balance and the shooting harmonics
of the gun are going to duplicate the original Suomi.
If anything, it may be more comfortable to shoot than a real Suomi,
because the receiver is just that little bit longer
which gives the bolt just a little more time to decelerate.
So, I have not taken one of these out shooting,
but I expect what you would get is just a slightly lower rate of fire
because the bolt is travelling a bit further, so it gives it a little more time to decelerate.
And I would presume that slightly lower rate of fire is going to come with
a little bit less perceived bounce or recoil to the gun at the same time.
Which I think would be a really compelling package.
Now the trade-off of course is that you have a side charging handle
instead of the real Suomi's rear, almost AR like, charging handle.
That's a good thing for handling, that rear charging handle is kind of awkward.
On the other hand, ... in a military context it's a downside
because this big open slot on the side of the gun
is a place for dirt and debris to enter into the system.
That's the nice thing about the original Suomi charging handle is
it's a very clean system, just like the AR is.
Of course, the Stemple STGs are not intended as military guns,
they are intended as recreational, fun, civilian submachine guns, so.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed this.
STGs are still available from BRP Corporation, off the shelf, retail, in the catalogue.
Which is really quite remarkable for transferable machine guns.
So if you are interested, check them out. They still make a Suomi configuration.
Thanks for watching.