Matching Finnish M39s?? Please Help

[wesman5060]

Hi! Ive got a guy with a 1944 Finnish VKT M39 im trying to buy but he says none of the Finnish serials including the stock are matching on the rifle (please note I am talking about the Finnish serials and not the old Russian serials). Here are his own words: "The only parts that will match on finn VKT rifles are the barrels and bolts. The bolt and barrel #'s dont match. I have 2 other VKT m39's but they are not for sale, but on of them isnt matching either. The VKT m39 rifles were built with mixed parts. Sako was the only factory that built all of their own parts, that's whyll you see VKT's in either a arsenaled stock or a sako stock." Im just wondering if what he says is true about VKT Finns? Sorry but there are no pics to be posted. Thank you all for any help you can provide!!

-Wes

Sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask this question

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[Ernest T]

From what little I know, for the most part the Finns did match the bolt and barrel. You can occasionally find a one that also has a matching floorplate, and even more rarely a matching magazine, but rarely do other parts match. Probably true that it would be easier to find matching parts on a Sako than a VKT.

Its not that hard to find a M39 with matching bolt and barrel, but many guys say that it doesn't mean the same thing on this rifle, since random parts were basically force matched.

So basically the guy is right in that many Finn rifles will only have the bolt and barrel matching.

Personally, I'd only buy a M39 with matching bolt and barrel, unless the price is really good for a non-matching rifle.

[Sunray]

Go here.
The Model 1939
If none of the S/N's match, it's highly probable that the rifle was assembled out of a parts bin. Look for anything that may indicate that Century Arms had anything to do with the rifle. Like "CAL ST ALB VT" or CIA or CAI. If those are there don't buy the rifle. Century has no concept of quality control and would assembled rifles out of parts bins, but without checking the headspace to ensure the thing is safe to shoot.
You should always demand proof of good headspace when buying any milsurp.

[Eaglelord17]

I seriously doubt Century Arms assembled any M39s. The parts were a mixture of Russian/Finnish parts to begin with, plus during WWII many of the rifles were damaged/cannibalized to keep others going. After WWII they would have refurbished. Later on the Finns themselves used up what spare parts were remaining to build some in the 60s-70s.

If the bolt is mismatched it is likely because of importation and simply not having the bolts returned to the original rifle (like most mismatched bolt cases out there). The other mismatched parts are likely due to refurbishment as I suspect they weren't spending much time on renumbering everything rather getting it back to functional condition.

[Sunray]

"...and simply not having the bolts returned to the original rifle..." That alone means the headspace is suspect regardless of who did it. And I said "...anything that may indicate that Century Arms had anything to do with...". Not that they did it. Lots of importers ruined a lot of good rifles by the way they assembled 'em. Century is just notorious for selling unsafe firearms.