Finland, why are these variants more desirable? or are they

[Art]

… ..........Some unique units can operate an M9 with a loaded mag and chambered round without the safety on as long as the hammer is down......

Our son belongs to one of the units that carries the M9 pistol in this mode. You are correct that that is very unusual in U.S. service.

[pelago]

i never carried the new 9MM i have one and have fired one, and I do sort of like it, but i think it is underpowered, but that is my own pers opinion. i do like the idea of double action capability and first round down range is the one probably that counts, but i still carry my Colt, and i still carry it like i always did, locked and cocked with safety on, Galco shoulder holster easy pull and it is ready to go.
Nest year i will be shooting in the Marine Corps Division Matches at LeJeune and will shoot the 9mm and will shoot the M16 with the optical sights, (that ought to be a experience) two full weeks of shooting cant wait

[madsenshooter]

I wonder if the Finns used any of their accuracy tricks on the Japanese rifles and carbines they used.

[JBinIll]

"Finland, why are these variants more desirable? or are they"

Keep in mind,like the Swede Mausers,they weren't that expensive when they first came onto the market.They just didn't come into the country in as big a quantity as the Russian and East Bloc ones.Once collectors picked up on this fact and shooters discovered that they shot rather well the prices started climbing.At the start you could buy near mint Swede M38s and Finn M39s for around $135.I've got one each I paid that kind of price for,now not so minty ones are running 2 to 3 times that.

[pelago]

you are correct, and i did pay more than 135.00 for a sako. but wth
interesting side bar on this topic is that the TV Show "life below zero" has a a part of it a following story about a Alaskan family where the wife of the alaskan, a Unuit Eskimo is the hunter of the clan (so to speak) she even has the tribal tatoos on her face. Little bitty thing in reality, but most of the time she is in BELOW ZERO clothing, but the woman can shoot and her two rifles of choice are both Russian, one is a M39 sniper version with a scope and the other is a Finnish Mosin Nagant. I watched her drop a carribou at over 200 yards trotting and she did it offhand, and i watched her sight in the scoped rifle at over 200 yards at a target drawn in the snow and she hit dead center on 2nd shot where first shot was 12" high
there are some other shows that are of the same venue one is "Yukon Men" where the rifle of choice seems to be the AR platform and i watched a man drop a running wolf at 200 yards with one shot on the AR with iron sights, impressive

[JBinIll]

When you say M39 sniper version are you referring to the Soviet M91/30 sniper rifle?

I've watched several of those shows about subsistence hunters in Alaska,many of them do use military bolt rifles in one form or another with good success.Simple,built rugged,accurate enough to get the job done for the game they shoot.Cheap compared to commercial rifles and built to withstand a lot of abuse,which I imagine they get and easy to disassemble and repair with a minimum of tools.

[pelago]

When you say M39 sniper version are you referring to the Soviet M91/30 sniper rifle?
yes i was, sorry about that i have one also, and it is pretty accurate but i really do not like the vernier dial, no clicks, and at 600 yards hard to remember what is on it, doubt if it was used for that many long shots and in reality you only get one

[Guamsst]

They are more desirable because they are less common, they have more variations and they are generally of much higher quality.

Oddly enough, I have been trying to get some cheap Russian rifles for friends but keep running into nice Finns for between $100 and $175. I am not complaining, but I do find it odd. Heck, I bought 3 Nagants for $300 a while back and was excited that one was a Finn. But then I realised that a second one was a Finn. A lfew minutes later on when I had time to look more closely I realised the 3rd was a strict 91/30 Finn.

Probability of finding 5 Finns for under $600 in 6 months? Pretty low. I sell them at $300-$350 a piece and they move fairly quickly.

[Dick Hosmer]

Just as an aside here, I do not know of ANYONE who has come even close in the documentation of ANY weapon, as Ted Derryberry (Mr. 7.62x54R) has with the Moisin-Nagant.

If you are interested in that rifle, his is the only website you will ever need.

[Guamsst]

Thanks Dick, I need some info on some slings, maybe he can help. I found a site with about 3-4 pages of slings and nothing close to what I have. I think they are very late East German slings.

[pelago]

talk about timing!
that is the very subject i wish to bring up, what was the sling like on the finnish models, have some familiarity of the russian canvas with the little leather "attachment device" but what were the slings like for the fins?
my sako arrived today and it is quite a husky weapon, looks like it would have been a beast in hand to hand combat with its size, have no idea what the bayonet would be like
anyone know where a sling can be had? for my use a repro would be fine. the sako i have actually has two sling attachments, one on side and the other traditional on bottom Why two?
quite impressed with the shape of the bore, bright shiney, crisp looking forward to shooting it
quite pleased with it
where the mosin sniper rifle i have has a slender appearance with the forearm being quite slender the sako is husky and tough looking, and is shorter than the russian nagant

[JBinIll]

http://www.rollanet.org/~stacyw/finn_m39_sling.htm

http://www.rollanet.org/~stacyw/Finn_Slings.htm

[JBinIll]

Here's about as large a selection of Finn accessory items in one spot as I've seen-

https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/productcart/pc/viewcategories.asp?idCategory=41

The bayonets are kind of rare birds.They'll bring as much if not more than the rifles.

[pelago]

i am about as new to these as one can be, had no idea that there were that many models of the variants.
i have a model 39 and sometime in its life it had the stock repaired, the forearm piece was glued to the stock with very professional finger groove cuts. was this common to the armorers at that time, correct me if i am wrong but didnt the USA simply replace the whole thing if it was broken? or is this a trademark and not only a trademark but showed some cabinet making skills.

Too bad the whole stock is not like the glued on piece it is almost a birdseye maple pattern and looks nice, but i like the repair, and i see nothing wrong with fixing something that can be fixed. Was it a sign of the economy, supply status, times?

I like the way this thing feels, like a damn club, and probably more than one of them have been used in that way

any particular comments about ammo, i know that there is a ton of corrosive 7.62X54 out there, and i have a couple of cases of it, but if it shoots like it feels and looks, i just might want to use it in the CMP vintage match, I regularly shoot a vintage Swede Mauser and do well with that (High senior X 6 times) and usually shoot in the high 280's out of 300 on standard 200 yard target and since it is shot at 200 yards "10 rounds slow prone" "ten rounds 5 and 5 rapid fire with mag/clip change" and "10 rounds offhand"
I just have a feel that this thing will shoot well, and i have no other reason to say that other than the way it feels and the bore shape

[JBinIll]

That's not a repair.Finn stocks are made that way.You can date the stock by what type of spice it is.Your birdseye maple is probably arctic birch.

http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/finnish_mosin_nagantm39.asp

If you can find a copy of Doug Bowser's book Rifles of the White Death it's an in depth study and history of the Finn rifles.