Madsen LAR
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Barrel
- 536 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.30 kg
- Introduced
- 1959
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Madsen LAR (Light Automatic Rifle) was a Danish gas-operated, selective-fire battle rifle developed by Dansk Industri Syndikat (Madsen) in the late 1950s. Conceptually an AK-pattern weapon for NATO, it used a long-stroke gas piston with a manual gas regulator, a rotary bolt locking system, and fired from a closed bolt. The receiver was made from aluminum alloy with a separate trigger group and pistol grip below, and the rifle could be fitted with either a fixed wooden butt or a side-folding tubular metal stock. Early prototypes were chambered in 7.62x39mm Soviet for Finnish army trials; the design was later scaled up to 7.62x51mm NATO as the LAR M/62 and offered on the international market, but it never entered serial production.
Conceived as an AK-47 reimagined for NATO, the Madsen LAR borrowed the Kalashnikov's long-stroke piston and rotary bolt but wrapped them in an aluminum receiver and a 7.62 NATO chambering - a decade before bullpups and polymer were fashionable. Despite the clever pedigree, it lost Finland's trials to the Valmet Rk 62 and never found a single serial buyer, fading into obscurity.
Often described as 'NATO's forgotten first AK' for its Kalashnikov-like operating concept in a NATO caliber. The 7.62x39mm prototype lost Finnish trials to the Valmet Rk 62; the 7.62 NATO version attracted no serial buyers. Muzzle velocity and effective range figures not consistently published across sources.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Country
- Denmark
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1959 to 1962
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 536 mm
- Overall length
- 1074 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.30 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated long stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Rate of fire
- 575 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Rotary bolt locking
Long stroke gas piston
Manual gas regulator
Closed bolt operation
Aluminum alloy receiver
Fixed wooden or folding tubular stock
Selective fire
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 86 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 4.30 kg | 4.30 kg | Near the median |
| Overall lengthAmong 85 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 1074 mm | 1025 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 536 mm | 458 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 20 | 20 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Madsen LAR
How much does the Madsen LAR weigh?
The Madsen LAR weighs 4.30 kg (9.48 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Madsen LAR?
The Madsen LAR is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
How many rounds does the Madsen LAR hold?
The Madsen LAR holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Madsen LAR?
The Madsen LAR is 1074 mm (42.3 in) long overall, with a 536 mm (21.1 in) barrel.
Who makes the Madsen LAR?
The Madsen LAR is made by Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat (Denmark).
When was the Madsen LAR introduced?
The Madsen LAR was introduced in 1959 and discontinued in 1962.
How does the Madsen LAR operate?
The Madsen LAR uses a gas operated long stroke action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/madsen-lar' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "madsen-lar", "name": "Madsen LAR", "manufacturer": { "id": "dansk-industri-syndikat", "name": "Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat", "countryCode": "DK", "foundedYear": 1896, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "updatedAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "version": "a6b761e89dd9a8725e4b9a74b1fd4002295146f177a2b8659707c4894bbb52bc" }, "category": { "id": "battle-rifle", "name": "Battle Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in full-power cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "DK", "year_introduced": 1959, "barrel_length_mm": 536, "weight_empty_g": 4300, "action_type": "gas_operated_long_stroke"}