The rifle of the white death! Awesome. I was going to take mine out to the range Saturday but got this danged cold.
Mosins really are an addiction. I somehow ended up getting a Tikka 91/30 last week. Not sure how that happened. But I want to compare it nose-to-nose with the M28 and M39 this winter to see which is truly the best arctic rifle. I've noticed the heavier Finns tend to hold their heat, and have gotten some nice burns to prove it. It's nice to be able to warm your mittens on the receiver, but the heat waves are a serious problem for the iron sights at ten below. With the M91 I usually end up shooting over the sights, they're so obscured by shimmer. I have a theory that those late model Tikka M30s with their super high blade front sights and thin barrels are actually the best for cold. The snow won't stick on the sight, and the heat may not build up as much. They are usually seen as a reserve replacement arm for the Italian and Swedish gap-fillers, but the folks at Tikka were clearly tinkering with them for a reason. You can see all sorts of tweaks with them from '39 to the mid '40's.
