Hagen Prototype Semiauto Rifle
Forgotten Weapons
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11m
The Hagen is an early semiauto rifle designed by a Norwegian, manufactured in the UK, and tested by several different militaries - but adopted by none. It uses a long stroke gas piston and a two-lug rotating bolt to operate. Compared to other contemporary rifles, it was a quite light and sleek design, although it was a bit awkward to handle. It also had a couple neat extra features, including a magazine cartridge counter and a selector to allow either semiauto or manual operation. Unfortunately for Hagen, the lightness came at the cost of durability, and its testing in French service was ended by parts breakage.
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