AIM's Superior Grade Finnish M39 rifles were simply too much for me to pass up. After a bit of hemming and hawing, I finally ponied up the $300+ they were asking to have a little piece of pre-WWII history sent to the FFL of my choice.
A few weeks passed (damned UPS and damned FFL), and it was at last in my hands.
So, we take it out shooting.
It was my understanding that the M39 could be considered the most accurate general-issue version of the Mosin. I've read rave reviews and amazing accounts, and with examples like my father's VZ-24/47 and M91/30 giving satisfactory results with surplus ammo, I had high hopes.
Only to be dashed.
The rifle handles well and has a nice trigger, yet the groups we achieved with it resembled buckshot patterns at 50 and 100 yards regardless of the ammo. Czech silvertip yielded the better results of the surplus, and Winchester FMJ made a pretty good showing with about a 6" group.
However, I'm still extremely disappointed in the 8"+ groups we were getting.
During the cleaning session I noted the brass shim plates that had been glued into the stock by the armory to increase accuracy. I also noticed that the barrel channel was enlarged to eliminate any wood to metal contact along its length.
The stock splice and date confirm that it is a post-war rifle, and should have no gremlins at all to work out.
Anyway, instead of buying some more Winchester FMJ and enjoying it as an 'OK' rifle, I'd like some suggestions to explain why this rifle isn't performing. The bore is absolutely beautiful, and the crown appears intact. As I mentioned, the trigger is nice (though I'll probably look into some coke-can shims when I do the other mosins), and overall the rifle itself is in very nice shape.
I'm considering hand-loads (Sierra Matchking 174 gr .311 dia HPBT bullets caught my eye) at this point too, so feel free to suggest some loads that might be worth trying.
Thanks, and for those interested, here is some more information about the rifle.
--
When I picked the rifle up, there were some huge dings in the stock. Naturally the FFL discarded the shipping box after opening it for logging so I couldn't see whether or not the dings were incurred during shipping or the rifle was that way to begin with. One of the dings is quite obviously from the sight of another M39, and there are some storage marks from the arsenal, but a couple of the gouges literally torn out wood. I'm hesitant to repair this myself, so they'll be staying for now unless someone can suggest a treatment.
Here is the information stamped into the barrel shank:
SA - capture mark
VKT - Valmet production mark
D - uses Russian/Finnish 'D' type ammo (basically standard stuff)
73255 - serial, and there is a strange reversed 'c' next to this
1944 - production date
I noted several more reversed 'c's on the bolt and have concluded that it's a proof mark of some sort, though what it means God only knows; I haven't seen it on the pages I checked. The bolt is a goldmine of markings; I noted an Izhevsk and Tula marking on the bolt body and cocking piece, as well as a bunch of other stuff that's eluding my understanding.
A few weeks passed (damned UPS and damned FFL), and it was at last in my hands.
So, we take it out shooting.
It was my understanding that the M39 could be considered the most accurate general-issue version of the Mosin. I've read rave reviews and amazing accounts, and with examples like my father's VZ-24/47 and M91/30 giving satisfactory results with surplus ammo, I had high hopes.
Only to be dashed.
The rifle handles well and has a nice trigger, yet the groups we achieved with it resembled buckshot patterns at 50 and 100 yards regardless of the ammo. Czech silvertip yielded the better results of the surplus, and Winchester FMJ made a pretty good showing with about a 6" group.
However, I'm still extremely disappointed in the 8"+ groups we were getting.
During the cleaning session I noted the brass shim plates that had been glued into the stock by the armory to increase accuracy. I also noticed that the barrel channel was enlarged to eliminate any wood to metal contact along its length.
The stock splice and date confirm that it is a post-war rifle, and should have no gremlins at all to work out.
Anyway, instead of buying some more Winchester FMJ and enjoying it as an 'OK' rifle, I'd like some suggestions to explain why this rifle isn't performing. The bore is absolutely beautiful, and the crown appears intact. As I mentioned, the trigger is nice (though I'll probably look into some coke-can shims when I do the other mosins), and overall the rifle itself is in very nice shape.
I'm considering hand-loads (Sierra Matchking 174 gr .311 dia HPBT bullets caught my eye) at this point too, so feel free to suggest some loads that might be worth trying.
Thanks, and for those interested, here is some more information about the rifle.
--
When I picked the rifle up, there were some huge dings in the stock. Naturally the FFL discarded the shipping box after opening it for logging so I couldn't see whether or not the dings were incurred during shipping or the rifle was that way to begin with. One of the dings is quite obviously from the sight of another M39, and there are some storage marks from the arsenal, but a couple of the gouges literally torn out wood. I'm hesitant to repair this myself, so they'll be staying for now unless someone can suggest a treatment.
Here is the information stamped into the barrel shank:
SA - capture mark
VKT - Valmet production mark
D - uses Russian/Finnish 'D' type ammo (basically standard stuff)
73255 - serial, and there is a strange reversed 'c' next to this
1944 - production date
I noted several more reversed 'c's on the bolt and have concluded that it's a proof mark of some sort, though what it means God only knows; I haven't seen it on the pages I checked. The bolt is a goldmine of markings; I noted an Izhevsk and Tula marking on the bolt body and cocking piece, as well as a bunch of other stuff that's eluding my understanding.