Finn Mosin Price Check Please !!

[Kymasabe]

I found a Finn Mosin at my local pawn shop today, dated 1944 with a VKT barrel. Wood had some obvious repairs, upper handguard color didn't match the rest of the gun, comes with a sling but is in genally good condition.
Price tag said $149, I've bought a lot of guns from this guy, I could probably get if for a few bucks less.

Is it worth it?

I know they're supposed to be better shooters than the standard 91/30's...but do they all weigh so darn much? This thing weighs a ton!

 

[jefnvk]

Buy it.

http://gunsnammo.com is about the only place online I know to get them, aside from small batches popping up now and then. Havent seen one on there that cheap in a while.

 

[Deer Hunter]

grab it. Hurry hurry hurry!

 

[KI.W.]

VKT= state rifle fabrik

Kymasabe, this gun is much cheaper there than here in Finland.

 

[glimmerman]

BUY IT!!!!! HURY HURY!!!!! The fins go for around $300 - $350 that i have seen when avail. If you dont want it tell me where it is and I will buy it!!!!

 

[Slamfire]

No mention of the model. I think the price estimates are for a M39. This could well be a M1891 (finns converted lots of them), a M27, or a M28, or a M28-30

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

I think $150.00 would be a fair price for a M1891 if it had a mint barrel. I have no idea what a fair market price would be for the others.

I got mine when you could get a specimen with a mint barrel for $60.00 - $100.00.

 

[Mark_from_Iowa]

Based on the date (1944) and the maker (VKT), it is a M39.
(source)

I would grab any M39 under $200 in a heartbeat.

The wood repairs are not a big deal for me, but the bore is. With sharp rifling, $150 is a steal.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yes. Yes. Yes. More details when you have the rifle, please. Is it an M-39? '44 is too late for an M-91 IIRC.

do they all weigh so darn much? This thing weighs a ton!

The weight comes in part from the excellent barrels, which is also the secret to their accuracy. They used twice as much steel on the barrels than the Soviets did, and it's higher grade stuff. The birch stocks are also heavier than walnut or rosewood because arctic birch isn't as hard as standard gunstock wood and the quality of the supply the Finns had during the war was pretty iffy.

I question the wisdom of making the stocks as thick as they are, though. The far thinner "potbelly" birch stocks on the M-30's have a much nicer heft to them and don't seem to crack as much. At any rate you can always mix and match your stocks and have a "field stock" to put the M-39 into when you take it for a spin.

Also, you can get used to the weight by taking the rifle (with bolt removed and unloaded of course) and doing lifts and lunges with it. I sometimes just lift my Tikka M-91 sans bolt up and down in either arm while watching movies. Suffice it to say I don't get many dates.

I think $150.00 would be a fair price for a M1891 if it had a mint barrel.

Times they are a' changing on this front. That was a good price three years ago. Today a minty M91 Finn can get twice that. I think they're the most underrated of all the Finns, and some variants are far more rare than the M-39's.

 

[Spiggy]

Jump!!! JUMP ON IT LIKE A LIVE HANDGRENADE! *dives*

 

[Kymasabe]

Rechecked it today, is an M39. Has the SA mark and VKT with a D beneath it. Barrel is clean and bright, good rifling, lands look sharp. Bolt, receiver, and barrel all number-match, is a hex receiver. Wood is color mis-matched but all fits nicely, stock repairs are clean, and there are no big knicks or dings in the stock.

Still didn't buy it though...still deciding. I have a right shoulder rotator cuff injury and trying to decide if I want to buy another kicks-like-a-mule Mosin. (In all honesty, all my Mosins have been M38's, M44's and my type-53 carbines).

 

[Spiggy]

just get it and leave it around the price on them are skyrocketing

 

[Cosmoline]

The M-39 kicks less than Soviet mosins. That's the advantage of the 10 lbs+ of weight. Recoil is what I would consider moderate to light. Less than a .30'06 hunting rifle, and less than a 12 ga. To lessen it more there are many different pads you can put on over the steel buttplate. I've fired 100's of rounds of surplus at a stretch to torture test M39 stock repairs in the past in a single sitting and never had any pain afterwards.