The Rifle Gods Smile Upon Cosmoline

[Cosmoline]

It's about time I had a bit of good luck, after having to recently sell off most of my best firearms for cash. Well today I got a bit of it. I found an unissued, absolutely pristine condition Jalkavaenkivaari 91/30 with a Czarist receiver and a Tikkakoski barrel. Comes complete with a pre-fitted fiberglass sporter stock to swap out with the original stock for field use. Shoots like a dream. I didn't have a chance to bench rest shoot it yet but it banged the gong at 300 meters every time.

I always preferred the balance of the 91/30 to the barrel-heavy Finns, but of course I found the Finns to be better rifles in most cases. This rifle combines the best of both worlds, with a perfectly balanced barrel-light design, a very nice stock and an accurized action.

Now, if my luck holds the Nagant revolver I recently ordered will have a [SA] stamp on it and I can be all Finnish, all the time.

 

[Skofnung]

and I can be all Finnish, all the time.

Make sure to get a nice Pukko to go with the guns. Then you can have the whole kit.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

How about a few pics?

ZM

 

[wasrjoe]

Did you have to sell your camera, too?

 

[Route 66]

What's a Pukko? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Puukko

It's a Finnish knife:

 

[Cosmoline]

Got the knife taken care of, too. I have one of the Norwegian stainless Finn-style blades, but I can't get it to take an edge and it's been relegated to kitchen duty. On the back page of the Backwoodsman, however, I found an ad for a vintage pukko complete with a rusty old high-carbon blade. Since I started my adventure in the woods, I've learned to appreciate rust as a sign of quality. My best knives all have a rusty patina and will hold razor edges.

 

[Cosmoline]

Pics soon--gotta swipe the good ditigal camera from the SO. I'll do a full layout after the first snow.

I did some more shooting with the rifle and I'm more convinced than ever that it is the greatest Mosin design of them all. The stock has a short enough length of pull that I'm able to cycle the bolt without breaking the weld. And the extra long barrel (4" longer than a regular 91/30) seems to agree with the 54R. There's little noise (for a rifle) and minimal flash. I assume because all the powder is getting used up along the way. It's far easier to tote than an M-39 or M-28 but has their accuracy. I had long been removing the top handguard and extra metal from M-39's as a way of improving balance and reducing weight, and whoever made this rifle had the same idea--there is no handguard. It's not missing, the bands are actually designed to clamp down without one.

 

[Sven]

Cosmo - did you ever take any pics of this rifle for us?

 

[Okiecruffler]

How did I miss this post the first time around!?!

Okay, spill it, where'd you find it and do they have anymore. I have the credit card out and the wife isn't looking.

 

[Cosmoline]

Well as it turned out there was egg on my face over this one. It was NOT a 91/30 Finn but a late-model M-91 Finn. The differences are in the length, rear sight design and parts of the stock. So I pretty much couldn't show my face at the Mosin Nagant forums for awhile

But still, it's an awesome rifle. I'll grab a pic or two of it the next time I've got the camera and it together. I've fully winterized it with a thin layer of grease along the barrel and the receiver, plus tons of wax on the stock. Water beads up off of it. I've shot a few smaller animals with the FMJ ball, and it does a good number on ptarmigan. I'll have to wait for next spring before I can try it on larger game. I have a mind to take it caribou hunting just to be different and upset other hunters.