M39 Mosin.... anyone else?

[ruffinails]

fernleaf...you could try and steam that warp out. it takes a while and some hot steam.

or if that dont work, also put in boiling water(not the whole stock) up to where its good,then twist slowly until it is good. go a little at a time

[fernleaf]

I don't recall ever seeing a M39 with a laminate stock. Lots of 1891/30s but no M39s. I would be interested in pictures if someone has one.

I doubt they exist.

fernleaf...you could try and steam that warp out. it takes a while and some hot steam.

or if that dont work, also put in boiling water(not the whole stock) up to where its good,then twist slowly until it is good. go a little at a time

I had thought about doing something like that, but I don't want to hurt the finish or have to refinish, that would destroy a good collectable rifle to me. The rifle shall stay as it is - pride of place in my Finnish collection.

[vintage hunter]

I read an article 6 or so years ago about the Finnish m39's. The article stated the Finnish Army specified that the m39 was to shoot a group no larger than 1.3 inch @ 100 meters, those that would not or could'nt be made to were scrapped. Later, most if not all, were modified to use the D166 ammunition designed for long range work in heavy machine guns. This ammo fired a 200gr. FMJ-BT bullet and about doubled the rifle's effective range. Rifles so converted will have a ''D'' stamped on top of the chamber just ahead of the s/n. The article also stated that converted rifles usually don't shoot very well with lighter bullets as the conversion changed the throat dimensions. Lapua still makes the D166 bullet for reloaders. They kinda proud of them though.

[fernleaf]

Indeed M39s are capable of great accuracy, and a 1.3 inch group at 100m was the standard. My straight stock M39 has obviously developed 'issues' later in its life.

M39s were made from the outset to handle the D-166 bullet - they weren't modified later like other earlier Mosins in the Finnish inventory, but many have later had the 'D' mark added, perhaps to avoid confusion. The 'D' modification also allowed captured Soviet ammo to be used.

Nowadays, the only 7.62x54r loaded in Finland for military use is loaded with the D-166 bullet for use in the M85 sniper rifles. Ammo used in PKMs and SVDs is Light Ball bought from Russia.

[sdh1911]

I have an M39 with serial numbers just a tad higher than you have, but, I have the pistol grip stock. The only Finn missing in my Finn long rifle collection is the straight stock M39, I have great patients (sometimes), but, not the best of luck, hmm... Should I give it up???SDH

[fernleaf]

I have an M39 with serial numbers just a tad higher than you have, but, I have the pistol grip stock. The only Finn missing in my Finn long rifle collection is the straight stock M39, I have great patients (sometimes), but, not the best of luck, hmm... Should I give it up???SDH

I don't think so. Again, for a rifle variant with low production numbers, they seem to be strangely available. I imported mine from http://www.gunsnammo.com , where straight stock M39s still show up for sale. However, this vendor has a supposed reputation (deserved or not - I don't know) for mixing parts and stocks around on rifles to make them more 'correct' and therefore worth more money.

A bit of common sense and knowledge is necessary to avoid buying a put together rifle from any seller - for example if a rifle has 10-20% blue, worn bore and an excellent like new stock, something is amiss.

Here is my other M39 - 1942 SAKO. Bought from the seller mentioned above...

[vintage hunter]

I have an M39 that i really don't know much about. Marked as follows: 1941, s/n 31xxx , D, VKT in a diamond. Valmet? Top of reciever there's an eagle over NK, Russian maker's mark i guess. Has a pistol grip stock. Sorry, not set up for pics yet. Condition wise, compared to the one above, the stock on mine has a nicer finish but the blueing's not as good. Probably 80-85% w/ near mint bore. Shelled out $125 for it &250 rds. ammo bout 9 yrs. ago. How many Valmet's were made compared to the other makers? What's its value?

[fernleaf]

I have an M39 that i really don't know much about. Marked as follows: 1941, s/n 31xxx , D, VKT in a diamond. Valmet? Top of reciever there's an eagle over NK, Russian maker's mark i guess. Has a pistol grip stock. Sorry, not set up for pics yet. Condition wise, compared to the one above, the stock on mine has a nicer finish but the blueing's not as good. Probably 80-85% w/ near mint bore. Shelled out $125 for it &250 rds. ammo bout 9 yrs. ago. How many Valmet's were made compared to the other makers? What's its value?

Yep, VKT Valtion Kivääritehdas = State rifle factory is now known as Valmet. Yours has a barrel made at VKT in 1941, later assembled into an M39 rifle by AV3 in Helsinki. Serial numbers started at 30,001 so yours is a relatively early barrel.

Eagle over NK is Imperial Russian proofing commission stamp from when the receiver was attached to an M91. Have you disassembled it to see what the date is under the receiver tang?

60,000 M39s were made by SAKO, and around 30,000 were made with VKT barrels during the Continuation War.

I paid USD$279 for my 1942 Sako shown above, so from what I've seen on the Internet yours would be worth USD$200-250.

[vintage hunter]

Nope, never had it out of the stock. Had the handguard off once just to see what was underneath. Now that you've stirred my curiosity i'll take it down asap and get back to you.

[Allred]

This is an interesting thread. I bought an M39 a few months ago from a private seller, $250. It came with an extra M91/30 bolt, a rear sight base tube, and upgraded trigger plus original trigger, and tool kit. The bore is bright, and the metal is surfaces are very good to excellent.

The stock appears to have been refinished, and has a rather unusual, light colored finish, almost blond, with some darker areas, a couple of inches in size, here and there where maybe stain was concentrated during refinish? Also, who ever did refinish, applied a medium gloss surface. So, the stock isn't original, but it doesn't look bad, just unusual.

I am not sure whether or not to use .308 or .312 diameter bullets, have tried both at about 2500 fps velocities, both group 2" at 50 yards...I'm going to slug the barrel this weekend to determine bore diameter for sure. I believe it is capable of better accuracy if my eyes were up to it!

Because of my old eyes, I've installed a Mojo aperture rear sight, which helps me a lot.

I'll post a photo or two, and serial number & markings info soon.