Finnish B Barrels How Many Could Be Fake?

[capt14k]

With the recent run up in Finnish Rifles I have been wondering how many B Barrels that people pay a premium for are fake. The main Mosin Forums don't dare discuss fakes so I am hoping some of the knowledgeable folks here will.

There were supposedly 13,000 B Barrels of which 5,000 were made into M/91 and the rest into M/39. When I first started collecting a B Barrel was pretty easy to pick out. It had a plum color to the barrel. Now I see B Barrels constantly for sale and very rarely is there a plum color. Which I understand some did not have the plum color.

There are also many that don't have the Liege Proof Mark but some do. This has been explained with zero proof that the ones Rifled in Belgium received the Liege Proof and the ones that were bored at VKT did not. This explanation does not sit well with me without proof.

My main question is would Belgium even allow barrel blanks to be exported without a Liege Proof Mark? The Liege Proof Mark is on Shotgun Barrels is it not?

Secondly would the barrels be sold unfinished and was it due to rushed finishing by the Finns that some are Plum in color? That theory does not make sense to me since very rarely are barrels other than B Barrels Plum in Color. Which would lead me to believe it was either the Belgian Finishing or Belgian Metal Content that caused the Plum Color. If it is the metal then what are the odds that so many wouldn't be Plum in color?

People saying such and such rifle has been in my collection for 25 years so it has to be real, really doesn't mean much, because I believe there was at least one individual who was faking Finns at least 25 years ago to make the extra $50-100 they would bring. I am hoping to find some real proof regarding Finnish B Barrels and I think that proof starts with the Belgian Manufacturing or Contract.

My theory is there are many more B Barrels than 13,000 and they came to Finland Pre 1940 and Post 1940 which would I suppose explain Liege Mark being on some and not others and the color of the barrel. I suppose without original contracts it is also possible the B has nothing to do with Belgium and the truly rare ones are those marked with a Liege Mark.

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