New Guy and M39

[Kalashnikov]

Hey guys I'm new here. I just turned 18 today and went out and bought a M39. I think I got a good deal. 95% blueing, stock is in perfect condition. The receiver needs a little polishing and has one noticble nick in it. I'm no expert but the bore seemed in fine condition. All for only $225.

Anyways I have a couple questions. what kind of ammo is best for the M39? Surplus wise I mean. And can a M39 be fitted with the old Mosin Nagant WWII sniper scope and mount? Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[jefnvk]

Can't help on the scope, but I don't think it would be a correct scope for the gun. You might try a scout scope mount, it is a block that replaces the back sight as a scope mount, with a Long Eye Relief pistol scope. It'll probably be cheaper and better quality than the Russian sniper scope, plus you won;t be drilling the reciever, which will cause the gun to lose value.

As for ammo, I like the Czech silver tip stuff, but know it is corrosive. Not a bad problem, you just have to be careful to swab out the barrel with water before cleaning regularly.

 

[jobu07]

Well, here's a couple of things in regards to your "new" M39. $225 is not a bad deal at all on one in the condition you describe. Althought I only paid the princely sum of $75 for mine... I was ringing a 300 yard steel plate last weekend with mine. Last... well, one before this past one. Anyway, I was using the Czech silvertip surplus. Great ammo. Very accurate and only mildly corrosive. Shoot that stuff. It's cheap too!

Now, onto the serious stuff. Do yourself, and every cruffler here, a favor and don't scope that beast. Shoot her with the irons and enjoy those iron sights. As they may seem crude now, they aren't. Trust me, that is a very accurate rifle in its original configuration. Besides, you'll save us having to post lot of frustrated posts about how you chopped up a piece of history. M39's, while aren't rare, aren't the most plentiful of rifles around.

If you'd like to make a WWII nagant sniper clone, pick up an el-cheapo 91/30 and have a smith mount one of those P/U sniper scopes on it. I think the lowest price I have seen as of late is $300. Then you'll have a historically accurate configuration anyway.

Well, just my .02 hope it helps you out some! And remember, BA/UU/R

 

[benEzra]

M39's are great rifles. If I understand correctly, every rifle had to shoot 3 rounds into 1.5" at 100 meters in order to be issued.

The definitive book on the M39 is Doug Bowser, Rifles of the White Death. See review at http://www.snipercountry.com/BVT_Reviews/RiflesWhiteDeath.asp. It's not a particularly slick book (it has a plastic binding and only black-and-white photos and sketches) but the information is excellent, and he gives a lot of info about the Winter War as well.

BTW, I own a 1942 VKT M39 based on a 1905 receiver. (The reciever date is a three-digit number on the bottom of the receiver tang, which you can only see if you take the receiver out of the stock; mine says "r905" which means 1905; "r898" would be 1898; and so on.

 

[Cosmoline]

You've chosen wisely, my young apprentice. There are many excellent sites and forums dedicated to the Mosin Nagant.

http://www.mosinnagant.net/
http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/
http://www.gunboards.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=1
http://p077.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm25

Lapin's book in the "For Collectors" series is also excellent, though it needs a new edition to make room for all the new info on rifles that have been imported in the past few years.

As far as scopes, the absolute best scope mounts for the M-39 are made by a guy called Darrell. They are "scout" style and mount in place of the rear sight. He custom makes the mounts and they're orders of magnitude better than B-Square or the other commercial ones. They also don't do any damage to the rifle or hurt its value as a collector's piece. He operates out of this forum:

http://p077.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm85

A 2x fixed power long eye relief scope works very well for a scout mount, though higher power intermediate eye relief scopes are out there that are specifically designed for this function.

The iron sights on the M-39 are very good, certainly much better than earlier Mosin-Nagant iron sights. Another option is to upgrade them with Mojo aperture sights. Mojo is a small shop operating out of Idaho that's been around for awhile. I've used their sights on a variety of rifles and I like them a lot. They are extremely useful for brush gun applications or other situations where you need fast target acquisition inside 200 meters. They are as tough as the mil spec sights:

http://www.mojosights.com/

 

[Cosmoline]

I would stay clear of doing any drilling and tapping. If you really want a standard scope put on it, there are already a bunch of Finnish M91/30's that a #%@@!! importer drilled and tapped and sold as "Finnish Snipers." They have a bent bolt as well.

As far as ammunition, I really like the Wolf 200 grain slugs. THey're dirt cheap, fairly non-corrosive (though you should clean the bore after shooting, of course) and they hit like a freight train. I love the "THWAP!" from the backstop and the mass of dirt churned up when I'm using them on the 100 meter range. I haven't used them on game yet, but the SP's are said to be primitive but very effective against hogs, black bear and deer. My M-39's have all really loved them. There's also S&B ammo and S&B sold under the Winchester brand. These are good, but I've found them less accurate with my M-39's than with earlier Finns. THe earlier M-27 and M-28 Finns tended to have very tight tolerances, whereas the M-39 was loosened up a bit to address problems the earlier models had with cruddy Russian ball ammo in the field. Ball ammo is the cheapest of all, but it's VERY corrosive so keep a big bottle of home brew windex mix or CLP cleaner on hand.

Here's one of Darrell's scout mounts, BTW, on a 91/30:

 

[english kanigit]

Congrats on the purchase. You will be pleased with her, of that I'm sure.
Please, for the love of god, don't mount a scope on her! These guns are more than capable of hitting where you tell it to, but you are the key. As far as ammo, get corrosive milsurp. I've not been able to try the silvertips yet, but I hear they work well. Right now, I'm using some really nasty old Albanian stuff. The yellow-tipped heavy ball should be avoided. It is meant for MG's and Dragunovs (I believe). You can shoot it in your rifle if you wish, but will only cause more wear and tear...

These guns are meant to shoot at silhouettes and people, not itsy-bitsy 2 inch bull's eyes. Pick up some lifesize targets and have fun...

Any good military rifle deserves a nice bayonet. Unfortunately, the originals for these guns cost about $400. InterOrdnance carries a semi-decent repro of the correct bayonet.

If you have any other questions, by all means ask. I'm sure that somebody on the High Road has the answers you seek.

 

[24kshooter]

You have a wide range of 54R surplus and commercial ammo to chose from in the various bullet weights 147 - 203 gr.. Try several of the offerings in the 147 gr. - Albanian and CZ are good choices. Yugo and CZ heavy ball surplus is available but alot was made for machinegun level accuracy. All surplus ammo is mildy corrosive. Barnaul Silver Bear and S&B commercial ammo is non-corrosive and can be use for hunting. Surplus ammo will be under $4 for 20 and Barnaul about $6. S&B and Wolf are about $10 - S&B is reloadable.

 

[Kalashnikov]

The more I think about drilling and tapping such a beautiful rifle, the more I feel the need to vomit . Honestly I couldn't do that to such a peice of history. However, the mojo sights seem like a good idea, as does the scout scope. I like them since they are interchangable(sp).

Ammo wise, I've heard good things about CZ and Albanian but what about Hungarian yellow tip? A store here has them listed as their "Vintage" ammo and sells pretty cheap, though more expensive then what I've seen online which is where I plan to buy from anyways. Anyway's guys thanks for your warm welcome and help.

 

[benEzra]

My M39 likes the 148-grain Wolf, believe it or not.

 

[db_tanker]

My M-39 Sako is a sweetie...It does good with 148's, but the 180's are best out of her...I am getting ready to start feeding it a steady diet of hand-loads to see what she can really do...but as all others have said, Finland is known for good vodka and good rifles.

 

[goon]

My M-39 likes Wolf 148 grain too. It is supposed to be noncorrosive but I always swab the bore with windex before my normal cleaning and wipe the bolt down with the patch just in case. I have seen "noncorrosive" current russian ammo rust the bore in an 91/30 and the gas system on an SAR-1. I don't fully trust it either.
I also have 1K of Winchester brass that I have been playing with. I have just about got a load that I am going to work with until I find something better. I might have to go prime some of that brass later on today.
I had another M-39, a less pretty "shooter" that would break clay pigeons at 200 yards with the issue sights. It shot high at 100 yards but dead on at 200. You should see the look on peoples' faces when you take an old bolt action rifle like that with no scope and hit targets that you can barely see.
PLEASE, PLEASE don't drill and tap that rifle. If you have to drill a 91/30, so be it. But please not a Finn.