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To Finnish all threads!

I've owned a 1942 M38 Russian made Mosin nagant built in Ishevsk. I moved on to a lovely 1921 dated M1891/30 which I still have, I think that is an Ishevsk too, but now I have a hankering for a Finnish one. I've read about them a bit and they sound like a cracking rifle, especially the quality of the barrels. Does anybody have any experience with them? And importantly how different are they from Russian built ones?

I can't honestly say I've seen many for sale, I try to look out for the tell-tale stock but haven't come across any in my searches thus far

Blighty might be along soon to enlighten us... he has a nice collection of Suomi shooters

Salut ,

I have a 1944 M39 with a VKT barrel, post-war arsenal refurbed. It is very well adjusted.
Aesthetically it is a beauty. With its hex receiver and quite different Finnish stock, the M39 is, in my eyes, by far the sexiest Mosin ever made. Unfortunatly, the trade-off is it losses the iconic look of the great nazi killer forever protector of mother Russia.
Mine was drilled & fitted with a PU scope mount. The scope is sympathetic with the rifle but completly incorrect as the few "snipers" never had this scope fitted. The rifle was fitted with a long bolt & the action could a tad smoother for my liking.
I never properly zeroed the scope as the mount needs to be filed/shimed & so far I have only shot it open sights with various mil-surp ammos. One of my job for the summer is to get decent privi ammo and get on with zeroing that scope.

Good luck with your search

Sorry Chaps, working nights and just got up.

I'm guessing that you're looking for an M39. Rare beasts in the UK but if you really want one I could point you in several right directions.

Byswordandmusket has one at the moment. Really good looking 1941 VKT however if you include transfer fees and/or diesel/petrol you're looking at well over £800! Someone should also tell him that an SA stamp does not mean it was made by Sako. Also have a giggle at how much he wants for the refurb 91/30!

Best bet is Egun.de. Usually a couple on there for a lot less.

I know one dealer in Germany who has something like 40 unnissued or refurbished M39s for €400 each. Slow to reply to E-mails but you get there in the end.

M39s will have done their fair share of pot shots at the Wermacht during the Lapland war.

Also remember that the Finns had more M91s in use than any other model during the War and they're my favourite. Really elegant and like all Finns have a fascinating history. Most will have have slogged it out during the Great War, Finnish civil War, Winter war, Continuation war and Lapland war.

Finn 91/30s are well worth a look. Most were dropped by Ivan during the Winter war and the Finns took care to properly shim the actions and replace the triggers. Some of the best shooters are the '44 dated Tikka barrelled examples. I have one and the bore looks brand new. Both of mine cost the same as bog standard refurbs because the dealers didn't know what they were.

I could go on and rave about how nice the M27 is to shoot or that what you really, really want is a 28/30 (took me a bit of time but I found one) but I can see that some of you are nodding off at the back.

Check out the below Finnish dealer. He is happy to export.

http://www.kerailyase.fi/Kiv%C3%A4%C3%A4rit.php

I'll be sorting out my photobucket account this weekend so I'll be able to show you what I'm on about.

Regards

Mosinnagant.net will tell you all you need to know.

Thanks for all of the information. I was quite taken aback with the price differences! I guess that's what is to be expected when the rifle has been built with quality in mind over numbers

I don't know which Mdl you are after but beside the intrinsic quality of the Finnish rifle, please concider that in excess of 35 Millions MN were mass produced while less than 100K M39 were made. Also the M39 was produced using Tsarist receivers which themselves command a higher px. All explains why the M39 verges on the collector's item while there are will be for long time to come 10 Mosin to a penny...
To me the M39's trigger alone is well worth the extra premium.