If I get fired up today, I'm going to take my two older Finnish Mosins apart and check all their markings. The newer of the two is an m/28 and the older is a full-length m/91, a New England Westinghouse. I want to see what other markings the m/91 has from its long journey 'round the world, and I'm especially curious to see if the m/28 has a SIG barrel.
What's funny is that I was never that much into Mosins before I discovered Finns. I have a 91/30 and an M44 (actually a postwar Hungarian 44.M) mostly because it's expected, and I needed the 91/30 for my collection of WWII long arms. I never really picked them up and handled them or had any real desire to take them to the range, the way I did with Mausers or Springfields or Enfields.
Then I got my first Finn, a VKT m/39, and here was a Mosin I could love; a true silk purse from a sow's ear. Soon after came the m/28 and then the m/91. More will definitely follow...
You can shoot .308 cartridges out of those, right? My brother picked up a Mosin Nagant for $200 at the gun dealer up by me and put a new synthetic stock on it. Guess he's planning on using it for hunting. He was also looking to get the bolt handle cut and turned down so he can put a scope on the rifle. That hasn't happened yet and he's still got the original wood stock. He's currently deployed in Afghanistan with his battalion, so nothing's going to be done on it till he gets back. God bless the Marine Corps.
ReplyDeleteThe Finns are in 7.62X54R just like the Ruskies and all the other Mosin-Nagants, But some (or all) of the finns a a bore of 0.308" (The standard Bore for Mosins is 0.311")
ReplyDeleteThis 0.308" should not be confused with 7.62X51mm cartridge known as ".308 Winchester"
And please have your brother check out this website before cutting and drilling, the Mosin he owns could be a rare variation http://7.62x54r.net/ and have value greater then he originally played for it.
ReplyDeleteTam, one I bought at a pawnshop in northern Minnesota, Finn country, has the marking that put it in use from Russian front in WW1 to capture by the Finns in WW2, remarked and used against the Russians. The best part....no import marks.
I have two 91/30's, neither special except one's an ex-sniper.
ReplyDeleteNever owned a Finn.... well, not yet anyway :-)
I used to look down on the ugly beasts, till I bought one just to shoot and investigate. Now, not my favorite shooters but I won't look down on them. Tough, workmanlike battle rifles, especially for their late 1800's design era.
Captcha: 'Flarke', and I think I are one.
Tam do you know of any web sites like "7.62x54r.net" but for Mausers?
ReplyDeleteI have a 1970 dated Finn that I haven't shot yet. It's one of the ones the Finns made for officer marksmanship matches.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Thursday....
I'll always have a Mosin-Nagant around. (got 9 diferent ones now;-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough my M39 will be the one to get me reloading 7.62x54R, I like shooting my M38's(M44 without the pointy part) the most. Ya feel a little kick and the muzzle blast and resultant fireball make every pull of the trigger a salute to the 4th of July.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=240300533406629125&q=Mosin+Nagant
Tokarev
I love my 1968 rebarreled antique (1896) finn. Fit and finish is perfect. A perfect two stage trigger, and sum-moa accuracy with hungarian surplus light ball.
ReplyDeletePlus the heavy stock makes it balance beautifully.
I hope you uncover something interesting Tam,
ReplyDeleteI bought an unissued Finnish M39 over the summer. It feels like a Russian Mosin on steroids with a build quality closer to a Swiss K31 and the accuracy to be as competitive. The Russians must have felt just a bit of remorse to see their invention so vastly improved upon.
At one point this summer, I was able to put my M39, my K31 and my Swedish M38 to the test. All 3 shot equally in my hands, but I promised myself to keep at it until I could determine a clear victor...a rifleman's work is never done!
What do Finnish Mosins go for, compared to regular old Russian ones?
ReplyDeleteI think Finns go for 3x-4x the price of a Russian if you figure run of the mill for each.
ReplyDeleteI'm a cheapskate. I found mine walking around a gun show with a guy under it who could be talked down a bit.
perlahqr,
ReplyDeleteAs little as a bit under $200 for a tatty one.
A really nice m/39, which is the best of the breed, can be found in the vicinity of three bills.
They're more expensive than run of the mill East Bloc 91/30s and M44s, but they're still cheap compared to collecting Mausers, Enfields, or Springfields.
I really like my M-27 better than my 28 or 28/30. The M-28/30 is actually the best of the breed, but also among the rarest.
ReplyDeleteThe M-39 is just the best and most popular of the Finns readily available.
Kinda pretty too.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v709/Vaarok/tigerm39.jpg
I've passed over m/28-30's twice now, when I bought my 39 and then my 28.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you favor the 27 over the 28 or 39?
Built it from spare parts for $200 with my aunt, I like the sights (which are the same as the M28, I know...) and it just seems a better gun to me.
ReplyDeletehttp://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v709/Vaarok/capped2.jpg