Dale was an excellent speaker

Awesome video! Never thought that i would watch the whole 40 minutes...

Dale seems like a solid and knowledgeable dude.

In this era where every ignoramus can broadcast to the people on social media it is so refreshing and satisfying to hear knowledgeable people discussing an interesting topic.

I was trained on this very StGw 57 and still have this weapon today. As a member of the army you get this rifle and have this all your life. I still have mine today, I received it in 1976 when I joined the army. This assault rifle is very reliable, robust, indestructible and accurate. At 300 m you can hit a "target" without any problems. It is a very good positional weapon. The rifle also allows you to fire grenades (as a mortar) and you could also fire tank grenades. Easy to handle, reliable, almost no susceptibility to malfunction, I never had a malfunction during my whole service. And during more than 20 years of military service I always shot very often and very much.

In Finnish Brutality 2020, I'm expecting to see Bloke with a Sturmgewehr 57, in full Swiss kit, including the Fearsome Flying Carrots :D

Having done my 22 years in the Swiss Army, and owning such a rifle today, I may give some more insight into why it was designed as it is, and how it was used. The following few comments are just on topics not mentioned. The “Flying Orange Carrot” is only a rifle grenade for training purposes. It’s orange because soldiers can locate it with much less effort after every shot. The cartridge type GP 11 was a given for this rifle because the various types of carabines used by the Swiss Army needed the same cartridge. No army wants to go to war with several types of cartridges. The big cartridge made light or small rifle impossible to design. Older Swiss Army soldiers remained equipped with carabines until the 1970s. The rifle is also large because mountain warfare is conducted over larger distances than trench warfare or urban warfare. This means an army equipped with a precise rifle that kills over a larger distance has a clear advantage. The rifle was equipped together with a special white color stored usually at the battalion level. The color would be issued during winter or in case of mountain warfare as a black rifle is visible at great distance once soldiers wear white camouflage uniforms. Nearly a million such rifles were produced and 740’000 sold to the Swiss Army. Once production was halted, the machines for the fabrication of the rifle were sold to Chile, where they are probably still located. That much for today and best regards to all involved in such research.

I carried that thing around for months and even years! Hated it, but I still could disassemble and assemble it blindfolded today.

I've spent 20 years kicking myself for not buying the civilian version of this rifle (Sig AMT) when it was available. Lesson learned, if it's very cool, BUY IT.

Love it! Not even as a retired Swiss soldier I know all of the history of that weapon! :-) I was equiped with it during my "Rekrutenschule" and later got the Stgw 90! All 600'000 Swiss soldiers at the time had such a weapon at home all the time and virtually no accidents and criminal cases where this weapon played a role! Still today every Swiss soldier has his basic equipment including the Stgw 90 AT HOME! :-)

The sights have more parts than a whole Makarov pistol 😂

The most surprising thing I learned from this video is that there is early automatic rifle that Ian hasn't reviewed.

I did my ER in 1990 in the "Troupes d’aviation" in Payerne and was Cpl in 1991. I think we were the last ones to be issues with the 57. I remembered a particular night where one of my comrade was getting exhausted during a load March exercise, I had to carry his rifle, 2 X 5,7 kg plus my rucksack, november, rain, alpine muddy trails, that was really not fun but 30 years later, I only kept the good memories. What we really love was shooting, that was simply awesome. I made a huge mistake not to have kept my rifle after my time in the army at age 32. I am thinking to get one from the Bourses aux armed in Lausanne one day. PS: We used to say that the 90 was for sissies, the Fass90 was a much lighter rifle. 😄

Most beautiful rifle ever designed in my opinion!

Put Dale and Ian together to discuss specific technical issues. I young "bloke" with insight into what a firearm should be.

I did my service in 1961 in the infantry. The cost of a Stg57, if lost or stolen, was SFR 1350.00, a hefty sum for that time.

Every year or so I come back and watch this video haha.

Ian namedrop by Dale. Love this guy!!!! :) Interesting hearing the terms 'Swiss' and 'knee jerk reaction' in the same sentence. You know it's Swiss when the rear sight alone has more parts than an entire pistol.

He wants to make a book? Send him to Ian!

Pardon the pun but I got a kick out of watching the recoil effects of the rifle grenade on the Swiss soldiers. What a thump.

What a smart young man! It is hard to believe that English is not his native language. Regards from Ukraine.

Hello all Gunners. I come from Switzerland In addition, one should say that there were two versions of the "Rüäbli" .... "Carrots". The first "without additional propellant charge" for a range of 30m and the other with an additional propellant charge for a range of up to 270 m. The one with an additional propellant charge was the only one still in use from the early 1980s, because shooting at a tank at 30 m is extremely dangerous. You can't get that close to a tank. The carrots were hollow-charge projectiles that penetrated even the most massive steel. There were also steel grenades, fragmentation grenades, flares, etc. During my training in 1983 I shot ... 69 of these carrots, plus 2 real sharp steel grenades ... but was the only one in the company who was allowed to do that. We had a shooting book where everything was recorded. In addition, I fired 12 hand grenades plus about 20 shots with the Panzerfaust (rocket tube). After the training I had cracks in the joint capsule of my right thumb, because the carrots shot with propellant charge ... were really very uncomfortably strong. In the 80s these carrots were only shot with an archery shot or in a lying position, standing was no longer allowed. The rule was ... 3 shots in 12 seconds with 2 hits. That at 120-150 m firing range ...... but may have been different on each troop shooting range ..... depending on the distance possibilities. To shoot the carrots you needed an extra magazine, a "white-colored" aluminum magazine with 5 cartridges. Quasi-blind cartridges that only generated pressure but were without a projectile. You could also shoot shot carrots with the white cartridges after they had already been shot, only then they only flew 10m far .... (((-: The magazine had a locking button that you had to press to reload a new cartridge. Switzerland really has everything to do better, we want the others, that's why the carrot has become so big that nobody liked it anymore ...... And that's why the StGW-57 was so massive, neatly processed that you hit it like on the first day after tens of thousands of shots. But it was so heavy that we would all have preferred light rifles like the G-3. The StGW 57 costs between 150 and 300 francs, the bayonet perhaps 30 francs. Oh yes, and not all StGW have the relief grooves in the cartridge chamber, that was added later to achieve a certain improvement because of the case jamming, etc. With mine, however, there was never a malfunction, no sleeve jamming, yes, in the entire training there was never anything like a malfunction, a defect, etc. The Swiss never shoot it off the sandbag, but from bipod. The bipod in the rear position locks for normal single fire, the bipod at the front of the barrel locks for series fire .... so full-size car. There was a small white plate on the left of the handle of the StGW, it had to be turned over for continuous fire, it said black ..... you could shoot all types of fire. The white position of the plate was intended to prevent accidental fire from suddenly shooting in the shooting range. So whoever went to the annual compulsory exercise (the mandatory as they say here) shooting distance is always 300m here, and went into the shooting range, had to have the rifle set to "white".

I got mine in 1985, and it is still in my safe. I carried it in all my service and had the pleasure to do many combat shooting exescises and burn donwn some 24 magazines in a row until the barrel get so hot that it start auto igniting the next cartridge after 30-60 second it stays still. We had to demonstrate this to the Rekruten at basic instruction. After three or four mags we were told to drown the barrel in water or snow to cool it down and then start shooting again. Now every year I go to the Feldschiessen and still got the bullseye at 300 meters. GJ guys.

That's 14.77 LBs loaded for those of us in Merica.

Ugh I'd love to own one.

Wow, this Dale dude seems so legit and knowledgeable!! would love to meet him and talk about rifles!

Thank God to the bloke for bringing stg57 material. You and your channel associates are like the only source on this gun that presents us with such detail. Aside from covering one with mud.

Great to see Dales knowledge showcased on the Blokes channel. I have the great pleasure to have known Dale for a few years and can attest to his in depth knowledge of the Stgw-57... just don't get him talking about rifle grenades😂

Fascinating. Always was confused about why they adopted a rifle like that.

Fascinating. The lost art of rifle grenades. They were long gone by the time I enrolled. I imagine they would be very difficult to master - particularly lobbing them in an anti-armour capacity. As bloke mentions, many nations had Carl Gustavs (84 mm shoulder fired A-tk recoilless rifle) at platoon level. Much more effective. While serving in Germany my battalion had one Carl G for each section (3 per platoon!). For indirect a-pers or smoke each platoon had a 60 mm mortar.

I have a couple bayonets for this rifle. They are a pretty savage design by themselves. Very nice pieces.

That was F*CKING awesome! Thank you for the education!

Maybe talk to Ian about getting that book published.

The Swiss could also have made Spartan-esque remarks about Soviet armor back then. "We'll be waiting for you once you open the hatch" sounds pretty badass and intimidating, almost as cool as the "we'll shoot twice and then go home" remark that a Swiss supposedly told the German Kaiser when he mentioned the German Army was twice as big as the Swiss Army, I've heard about it but can't attest to its legitimacy.

I'd buy an Stgw 57 book written by Dale

My favourite rifle. It's beautiful, and beautifully made.

Wow. It is so great to click on videos and get such intimate, thorough historic and technical detail on a firearm. Thanks!

I love how you guys brought in the great historical context that lead to this weapon becoming what it is. Only in this context it makes all sense. This was a really high quality presentation. It glued me to my computer!

I did my ecole de recrues in SAVATAN Vaud, in summer 1975, and remember when the gave us our FS 57 which I kept at home till I left Switzerland, I attend then the ecole de sousoficier in 1976 and ecole d'officier en 1977 as a "mitralleur # running a section of four machine guns MG51. I always was very proud about the performances of both weapons. As I lived aboard since 1986 I couldn´t keep this weapon, so I really have appreciated your video, thanks once again. Last year during summer I did a long trip around Switzerland and had the chance to see and taste the new SG 550.

A Collectors Grade book of the STG-57? I’d buy that for sure.

Love the passion and knowledge about such a specific topic.

I can assure you, this riffle was 100 % reliable during my two years of swiss military service. But never the mind, each of these fucking tank granades nearly broke our bones 😬. This was tough stuff. Thank you for this intersting Video 👍😎

Fascinating - really, thanks a lot for this. I shoot my '57 in 300m competition very often (again this week) and there's so much I didn't know about it. Like the deforming rubber buttstock!! You said Dale is French - I have a little feeling that I might have met him once shooting at a closed long-range hunting lodge in France earlier this year!!

Fascinating vid! Thank you Bloke and Dale!

Very interesting! Thanks you two for that interview!

This is probably one of the most informative sources on this topic that I’ve seen. Thanks for the awesome content as always

Great video Mike, really learned a huge amount from Dale!

That was an interesting, fascinating amount of information. Many thanks to you both.

I had been waiting for this video for forty years! It was worth waiting. Thank you.

Terrific, in-depth review, love listening to guys who deeply know their stuff, thanks !!!

This is my favorite video on this channel to date! I hope Dale writes his book.

learned a heckload! thanks a lot for your effort in saving some of the culture and background of this interesting piece of equipment. greetings from switzerland

Dale knows his stuff! Excellent and informative video, thanks for posting.

Great work, very cool to hear how tactical considerations motivated the design

another fine video! thanks Bloke.

The eventual book will be purchased instantly.! Great vid thank you both.

Quote of the day, at 6:00: "...300 meters which is the fetish range for the Swiss..." lol.

Great episode! Very interesting history about the '57 i did not know about.

❗️❗️This is the most interesting and entertaining video I have watch on KZfaq in a long time. The 30 minutes went by so quick. Please put this dude in more videos.!!!!❗️❗️❗️

I bought one of these rifles more than a year and a half ago before these "converted" original STGw57 rifles became prohibited for purchase in France (you can still keep them tho). I was trying to find some more informations and I'm really glad to learn so many details. It was the kind of things that I was looking for. Like the confirmation about the MG42-45 inspiration, infos about requirements etc. I hope to see more videos with Dale as he looks so passionated and cool ! Now this also reminds me that I never shot it and I need to correct this as soon as possible.

WHERE DO I PRE-ORDER DALE'S BOOK?

really impressed with Dale's knowledge

"My parents don't know about this." Classic. ;-)

This was superb! Exquisite, brilliant! Made my day, made my week! Two very highly-informed, well-researched, knowledgeable, well, "blokes" talking about the Swiss military/militia system from the manually-operated repeater to the "do-it-all" automatic rifle, grenade launcher weapon. If I had a press, I'd give you guys a contact! I do genuinely hope that you consider bringing out this topic in a book form, particularly if you can provide some insights into the "might have been" prototypes. I note, for example, that the magazine on the '55 prototype is the same as the crazy AK-52/53 S.I.G. prototype that so befuddles gun nerds. Seeing it side by side with the crazy toggle-locking Furrer SMG that ultimately went to fortresses while the "ground pounders" used the Suomi SMG... And then seeing the continuity in wood stock design... Priceless! Seems that the German Luftwaffe Fallschirmjägergewehr idea: It's a light automatic rifle, and a self-loading rifle, such that any competent infantryman trained with the thing can use it for a multiplicity of roles: rifle, check. light auto-rifle/lmg, check. grenade launcher/mortar, check. light anti-tank/anti-bunker weapon, check. The FG42 clearly is evident in the intermediate caliber protoytpe layouts. The actual weapon system is the FG42 taken to its logical conclusion and then some. I love those Swiss Civil Defense/ Militia mobilization films! In noting the peril posed by the Warsaw Pact, the Pact itself was formed in 1955, which surely must have exerted a tremendous influence on Swiss defensive planning and thinking. In 1955, recall, the neighbor Österreich/Austria was only belatedly leaving 4-power control, so there were Soviet troops next door (although they did leave). Stalin had been alive until very recently, and surely the Swiss knew that he once cynically told the Western Allies who were then concerned with crossing the Rhine (Remagen hadn't happened yet), to just "go through" Swiss territory... The Swiss concept of a "National Redoubt" clearly influenced Eisenhower and Allied strategists as a serious thing Germany might attempt late in the war, hence the U.S. thrust into Bayern/Bavaria and concerns with the mountains. I saw one Swiss film where the "home team" had the 1918 steel helmets and "Alpenflage" uniforms while the aggressor "away team" had the 1971 style steel helmets and gray wool uniforms and were all armed with Suomi MP43/SMG. So if Swiss long-service reservists all kept the service rifle at home, how were the SMGs distributed in the company or platoon? Wait! Don't tell me. Just write that book! Ausgezeichnet! Awesome!

Gruezi! Brilliant discussion & history of an incredible national mindset.. I was most fortunate to spend a Christmas-New Years with a Swiss Family in Wulflingen & Ticino back in the day... when I was first introduced to 'household' 57's........'She' literally blew my mind as what Dale so ably describes as the ''choreography'' of this amazing Alpen Beast...... Greatly enjoyable...Sla'inte.🍻

Great video that answers questions I did not even know I had. This rifle is just the pinicle of a Swiss rifle...for me. It must be expensive...complicated...heavy....accurate....fire GP11....look really cool....and must have a beer keg style charger handle. I got to hold one once..... Thank you for this detailed video. More please.

Outstanding video ! Thank you for putting this together !

I think Dale is my new favorite internet militaria nerd. The depth of minutiae is tantalizing.

love these deep dives into gun history 👍

I saw a few of these , one being brand new. I was in awe of how straight and simple looking everything was. On closer inspection that initial faint sneer giving way to open mouthed, gob smacked astonishment at the jewel like workmanship. The quality of everything on it was crazy, I thought it had a teak stock. After that gun show I picked something up from a mall on the way home. There was a VW Beetle cabrio there with a window sticker stating a base version of that car would be within a few dollars of that brand new STG 510.

a goldmine of really interesting information

I was at a gunshop near Fort Lewis, Washington where there was an example of this battle rifle in the shop. The owner said there were several US Army Rangers (presumably from the 2nd Battalion) "drooling" all over this gun.

I used to work with this rifle in the Swiss Army. Loved this gun highly accurate, very versatile and indestructible. Loved and this rifle and miss it.

The Rolex of assault rifles. Gimme two!

Me: "6.7 is actually really light" "So you add a full kilo to that..." Ohhhhhhh......

Strong hunch he’s studying economics

I wanted one ever since I saw “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”!

Great job guys. Looking forward to the next videos in the FASS57. Dale should team up with Ian of Forgotten Weapons 👍

Can't wait for the rifle grenade video. Massively underrated subject in my opinion.

I think Dale needs his own YT channel - just saying!

Great Doco. When the FAL was introduced in Australia (Called SLR here) I thought how clever the Energa was but wondered why it seamed to disappear. Now I know. Interesting how these items get designed from specifications lade down by someone or a commity that think this is what the soldier must have. Like a recoilless lightweight fully auto rifle firing full power ammo with minute of angle accuracy. Keep up the good work. Cheers

Great Video, thanks! I hated that rifle in the military service - 30 years ago - because it was so heavy (on a 50 km march), but loved it for shooting (must have shot almost 10'000 rounds, also with night optics, infrared and scope). Made the swiss sniper badge (4 out of 5 in a 30 cm circle at 600 m) . I was not aware that it was something special, thanks!

Woooh that was an amazing video ! Thank you and Dale very much for the infos Hope to see the rifle grenade video :D Since I'm French, I though we were the only one to make a hugh emphasize on rifle grenade ( that was a requierement for the HK 416 btw ) but the swiss had some pretty nice one. :o

Great video. Thanks guys.

Superb... knowledge and passion.👍👍

Glad younger people are getting into military history and firearms. Hopefully they’ll be able to take over the legacy of the well know historians and researchers of the past 40 years.

I was really enjoying the music on the intro clip.

Very good presentation! If Dale writes a book I would like to be the first to preorder. I have a K-31 and it is the most accurate rifle I own. With a scope mounted (after market mount on the original sight base { no harm done to original}) the rifle shot sub MOA. The Swiss are the only ones that can build a ten pound rifle that runs like a watch.

Danke Euch, das ist sehr interessant.

Being such a passionate and knowledgeable firerarms researcher at such a young age - hats off to Dale! 12:06 PK has it pretty much at the same spot, yet no sane individual would call it 'silly'. It's quite a reasonable position to have a bipod on an automatic firearm. 14:00 It's a bloody mortar mine!

Wish they’d import or reproduce them in the US. Still happy our Swiss friends get them. Great video

Great Video guys

Thank you for this vid. Always had a thing for this rifle and I am delighted to have learned so much more about it today. Could you guys briefly touch on the jacket load out as well when you continue this fascinating subject? Would be much obliged.

G'Day old chap!! During my training we fired the "energa" from under our arm out to about 100m and later found it was quite effective against buildings one of them through a window cleared the room allowing close in assault. Hopefully see you soon after this farago is over. Almost forgot the energa does fit the 57 as well

That stock is absolute genius. Compare the elegance and simplicity of a solid rubber buttstock with holes in it that allow controlled deformation to...a massively over-engineered and expensive rear sight with 32 pieces. Never change, Switzerland xD

Watching that Stg 57 fire full-auto reminds me of shooting the FN Mle D (FN BAR). From the shoulder, that gun was sweetheart. You can stitch targets with 5 round bursts with ease. There's something to the box-mag, 12-16lb rifle-caliber machine-guns.

very well done episode. looking forward to Rifle Grenade Nerdville

Not gonna lie, I thought Dale was going to the Blokes American cousin.

I want MOAR of this.

Awesome video on a very interesting weapon. I wish they'd been imported to the states in enough numbers to have a $300 price tag.