Finnish M 28 for sale

I need your most respected collective opinions, I'm on vacation here in the southland of America and found a nice SK marked with the tri-angle T Finnish model 28 for sale. It has the later one piece front end, correct early splice stock, good machanics, matching and complete. The sight is the early one with the strikes on the original numbers and re-struck for metric. Correct cleaning rod and has two trough slots for the sling. they are asking $349.00 for it and I can most likely get it for around $275. to $300. The bluing is around 85% and the finish on the wood is good with one small patch on the passenger side of the stock. Is this gun worth the asking price or should I let it slide? Normally I'd take a chance, but, this is vacation time and funds are tight, What would you fellows do? Many heart felt thanks-SDH

BUY IT!!! You could flip in on gunbroker for twice that in a heartbeat.

I knew I could count on you, many thanks my friend-SDH

I took another look today, I'm most likely going to make a move on it before I leave, but, the nose cap is the late style one piece and the markings on the barrel indicate pre 1931 as does the rear sight, hum-SDh

HIGHLY improbable that it's a fake. More likely the stock was repaired in service at some point and a later nosecap was used.

FWIW, I also have a 31 with a one piece cap. It's not uncommon.

The main thing to look for is the finger groove on the bolt handle side of the stock. Should be a cartouche there with SYT in an oval. If it has that, it's the original stock and worth a pretty penny ;)

A quick note on that cartouche: I've got an M28 with the double rear-sling holes and that cartouche isn't there (or if it was, it's long since faded to obscurity). Based on the rest of the wood, however, I'm utterly convinced that it's an original. Don't let the presence/lack of a cartouche be the only indicator of a fake, especially on something with as notoriously a fuzzy spec as an m28.

What kind of stock does it have? The last time I saw an M28 with the dual rear sling holes on gunbroker it went for something in the $400-450 ballpark. If you saw one that cheap you should snap it up now, or at least tell me who's selling it ;).

Really, though, I haven't ever run across much forgery in the world of Mosins, at least nothing like you see with Mausers. A while back I saw some guy at a gun show trying to pawn off a suitably beat up m91/30 repro sniper (complete with PU mount on a low-wall receiver and an import mark visible if you looked at it in just the right light) as a vietnam bringback "Viet Cong sniper rifle," but that's about all I've ever run across in that department. Chances are that any odd, kind of mismatching stuff you see is just a legacy of Finnish arsenal practices.

Milsurpers didn't coin the phrase "Finn Matching" for nothing.

Due to unforeseen conditions I have to put this one one hold, I'm hoping it's still there during my winter trip. It looks all correct and condition was just right, so I'm trying to be optimistic about this one.SDH