Finnish Mosins - help a guy make a decision!!

[spinecracker]

I am currently looking at 2 Finnish Mosins (I have had to sell some of my prized rifles to have to pay for a trip to England for a family emergency, but that is another matter). I may, at a pinch, be able to afford one of the rifles listed below, and I do have an interest in the Winter and continuation Wars, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me if either one would be a good deal and a reasonable use of my limited cash. I am in the US.

M91 1942 Tikkakoski "D" marked

http://oettingerarts.smugmug.com/Mil...1186&k=LgQbp3B

91/30 1932 Tula SA Capture "D" marked

http://oettingerarts.smugmug.com/Mil...9248&k=HtmhcxC

yes, I know that the receiver on the 91/30 is actually marked 1938.

Information

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[Aragorn243]

I really like the looks of the first one. That stock looks great. I can't help you with the prices, I haven't been hunting a Finn rifle yet so I haven't been paying close attention to them. I don't think either is way out of line.

[Patrick Chadwick]

The ranking published by 7.62x54R.net rates hex receiver models as generally rarer than round receiver models.
If the basic condition check for shootability is about the same, I would agree with Aragorn and go for the Tikka - for looks and (probably) a better barrel.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I do not know if this will help. I stumbled across a 1937 SA marked Finn capture 91/30. Good bore with three or four pitted spots on the exterior of the barrel bolt/barrel/butt numbers match and is import marked. I will be interested to see how she cleans up.
It was in the importers (CAI) box marked Russian 91/30. Paid $200 which was way high if it was a standard Russian 91/30 but I did not feel violated because of the Finnish connection.

[spinecracker]

Thanks, guys. Still researching the rifles, but I am tempted to get both, and stuff the consequences. My interest in Finnish Mosins was piqued by reading some history books regarding the Winter and Continuation Wars - I like guns, but I like the history more (otherwise why bother with milsurp firearms?) - and I have been interested in buying a firearm that may have gone through both conflicts on both sides of the lines, and that would point to the 1938 91/30 capture, not the M91. Then again, the M91 has its own history that I would love to delve into.

[jmoore]

I like Finn Mosins, but the problem with the pitted one is that you don't know when the corrosion happened! If the bore is good, then it likely happened "pre-import".

The drama with the '91 is that the front sight appears reversed. A small clue that other surprises await?

[Patrick Chadwick]

The drama with the '91 is that the front sight appears reversed. A small clue that other surprises await?

Well spotted!

[spinecracker]

Ah, so you noticed that too on the front sight. The seller states that he bought the rifles years ago and has never shot them. I will go and pick his brains a little more.

[Mag Fed]

For my money.....definitely go for the M91 Tikka.....all else being equal, far more value added...a rarer model, wood has character, and as Patrick has already noted...the barrel !!
Cheers.

[bearrowland]

That Tikka looks gorgeous....I've always loved the wood on the Finns. For the money, I'd grab them both!