Choosing a Mosin ~~LOL!!~~

[Swampman]

I've still got a case and a half of the Czech silvertip, it's amazing stuff! Years ago I lived on a pig farm and killed a LOT of wild hogs with an old M44 Mosin. At the time, the only reloadable cases available were Norma and out of my reach financially, so I used surplus for most of my hog shooting. The Czech ammo killed far better than the others I tried, even though it wasn't super accurate in the .316 bore.
It's odd that the "7.62x53r" M39 wouldn't chamber surplus 7.62x54r, since to the best of my knowledge, they're the same thing, it's just that the Finns used (and still use) a different name. I have heard that some of the Finnish rifles were built with .308 barrels for target shooting, that might explain why you couldn't chamber regular 7.62x54r, although I thought it was the M-28's that were usually found with .308 bores.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge of Finn Mosins will weigh in with a better theory.

 

[caribou]

It was "odd", that M-39, and had the 7.62X53R stamped right along the side with no SA, so I figure it was a postwar Armorers put togther. Ive seen a few others listed for sale or posted on Mosin Forums. It seems they were slugged to .308, and the chamber quite correct. Some suggest "Target" type Officers rifles, but I dont know.
I gave it to my oldest daughter, and she put it away in storage. No date on the barrel, buta '95 tang date underneat, so for who made it, theres just the armorie, AV-1 on the barrels face

If I had it relieved in the throat area, to take the longer "D" cartridge it would have shot 7.62X54r, but I didnt buy it to do that to it ~~LOL!!~~
still, it was a dandy, despit it being antique and needing hand made ammo.

 

[InkEd]

I went to Alaska last year on a cruise. It was absolutely beautiful. However, the only 3-5 hours of darkness really screwed with me. I gained a new appreciation for the sheer size brown bear! I had previously only seen them in zoos. I think I would feel under equipped with anything in my collection if hunting one. (Biggest caliber I own is .308) Also, you would NEVER guess bald eagles are endangered if you only lived in Alaska.

 

[Onmilo]

Awesome!
Shooting a rifle in the kind of country tailor made for that kind of rifle!

 

[stubbicatt]

Taking nothing from Caribou, who has led me down the straight path of the SVT40, and through the minefield of x54r ammo, I wonder why shooting wolves is wasteful *unless* one is a subsistence hunter? Beem shooting predators for years for hides and extra $, and I get that same reaction from city folk, who don't seem to get it.

BTW, Caribou, I looked it up and nowhere was I able to find a Pazzuza on a wolf's anatomy!

You simply have to respect a 300 yard head shot on a rabbit. Even a big rabbit. Even a mutant giant rabbit like the one she's holding.

 

[hang fire]

It was "odd", that M-39, and had the 7.62X53R stamped right along the side with no SA, so I figure it was a postwar Armorers put togther. Ive seen a few others listed for sale or posted on Mosin Forums. It seems they were slugged to .308, and the chamber quite correct. Some suggest "Target" type Officers rifles, but I dont know.
I gave it to my oldest daughter, and she put it away in storage. No date on the barrel, buta '95 tang date underneat, so for who made it, theres just the armorie, AV-1 on the barrels face

If I had it relieved in the throat area, to take the longer "D" cartridge it would have shot 7.62X54r, but I didnt buy it to do that to it ~~LOL!!~~
still, it was a dandy, despit it being antique and needing hand made ammo.

In the Finnish wars with the Russians, said Russians were a top supplier of captured MN rifle ammunition. So with the exception of the M28, all other Finnish MN rebarrels were deliberately chambered to accept the 7.62x54r with no problems.

I have three Finn M39 rifles and all barrels have slugged a .310" bore. One a 1942 Sako Continuation War veteran, the other two, are like new 1968 no name M39 rifles and I shoot combloc 7.62x54 in all of them.

Cast boolits also work great in the MN rifles, last week i witnessed my son-in-law shooting one of the no name rifles and repeatedly printing 3 shot one hole groups. At 200 yards he knocked around a 5" rock without missing easy as pie. All were a very mild load, 6 grains of Trail Boss pushing a GC 175 grain hard cast boolit.

 

[caribou]

The M-39 'no name' 7.62x53r exception/variation No 'D' mark anywhere and a 7.62X54r has to forced in. Oddly, (or not really) theres a SAKO gear wheel stamped on the reciver, but the no names were made inthe 60s after Sako was 'dissolved' as a rifle maker then, so its definitly a recycled recycled reciver ~~LOL!!~~

The bore slugged .308, and theres more than a couple out there. On my favorite MosinNagant forums I have seen maybe 3 more. Im thinking a very nice , crisp M28/30 barrel was used, as they were the first and true 7.62X53r with .308 bore and use the rear sight and barrel profile of the later M-39.

As well, the wife has an M28/76 in 7.62x53 r (no 'D' mark for throat relief)biathalon Rifle working its way here, and since she has a good base for reloading for that caliber, I think she'll do dynamite shooting it. Her brother was bragging up haveing a couple thousand .308 Seirra Match Kings to stuff into cases, when they load up over there, so time will tell.

Stubbi, any form of 'fur' hunting/trapping draws 'Boooo's' from the anti fur crowd. Thats just life in general, so laugh at 'em

 

[LeonCarr]

Caribou,

Thank you for the great stories and pictures, and for providing us an inside look at your life in the 49th. Please keep them coming.

Thanks again,
LeonCarr

 

[hang fire]

The M-39 'no name' 7.62x53r exception/variation No 'D' mark anywhere and a 7.62X54r has to forced in. Oddly, (or not really) theres a SAKO gear wheel stamped on the reciver, but the no names were made inthe 60s after Sako was 'dissolved' as a rifle maker then, so its definitly a recycled recycled reciver ~~LOL!!~~

The bore slugged .308, and theres more than a couple out there. On my favorite MosinNagant forums I have seen maybe 3 more. Im thinking a very nice , crisp M28/30 barrel was used, as they were the first and true 7.62X53r with .308 bore and use the rear sight and barrel profile of the later M-39.

As well, the wife has an M28/76 in 7.62x53 r (no 'D' mark for throat relief)biathalon Rifle working its way here, and since she has a good base for reloading for that caliber, I think she'll do dynamite shooting it. Her brother was bragging up haveing a couple thousand .308 Seirra Match Kings to stuff into cases, when they load up over there, so time will tell.

Stubbi, any form of 'fur' hunting/trapping draws 'Boooo's' from the anti fur crowd. Thats just life in general, so laugh at 'em

The Finn military never had a single MN receiver made, so any receiver they used was a recycled one.

IIRC, there were approximately a little over 5,000 no name M39 rifles made from late 1960s into the early 1970s.

 

[caribou]

That the Finns never made a reciver for a Mosin Nagant is very true. I shoulda noted that

"But" with a Sako gear wheel stamp on the reciver (unusual, the Finns hardly ever marked a reciver, 'cept to 'punch' Imperial Eagals) and cocking piece shows it was at one time built into a variation of sorts via 'Sako' , who assembled rifles for the Civil Guard from captured and purchased M91's.
in 1944, as part of the peace terms, Sako, as a rifle manufactuter, along with the Finnish Civil Guards, was dissolved.
The No name rifles were made by VKT (Valmet) the Finnish Army ordenace depot at AV1, the Army depot, so this reciver was recycled from its original, first by Sako, who made it into an M-24, an M28, M-28/30 or an M-39, and was then re-recycled, into this current configuration.

The closer to real 'story' on No-names is that they were assembled by student armorers into very accurate rifles for officers qualifycations and targeting rifles.

The popular 'no maker' story here in the States was that they were made on the 'sneak', implying they made in secret, while actually there were never any 'sneaks' as the Finnish army was openly manufacturing the Finn AK varient.

 

[Lj1941]

Thank You

Your life story is the thing dreams are made of. What a great story and way of life. I guess that you are truely living on the LAST FRONTIER!

 

[hang fire]

The popular 'no maker' story here in the States was that they were made on the 'sneak', implying they made in secret, while actually there were never any 'sneaks' as the Finnish army was openly manufacturing the Finn AK varient.

Under the 1944 armistice with the Soviets, production of weapons was very limited, the 7.62 RK 62 mfg. by Valmet, were for standing forces only. For reserves, they bought 7.62 RK 56 and 7.62RK 56 TP rifles from the Chinese, and later 7.62 RK 72 TP rifles from the East German’s.

We lived in Alaska from 1969-76: http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/untitled2.html

http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/Index.html

 

[I6turbo]

We lived in Alaska from 1969-76: http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/untitled2.html

http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/Index.html

Wow! Awesome.