Tell me about the different Finn M39's

[offthepaper]

Thinking about adding another MN to the humble collection.
I'd like this one to be a little more accurate than some of the standard Russian models. Sog has 4 different varieties of the Finn M39. I've heard for some time that these were some of the more accurate MN's produced. Anyone familar with the M39's to be able to tell me the difference between the 4 varieties, or has anyone ordered one lately. What should I expect as far as general condition and expected accuracy? Is any one arsenal any better for QC than another?

 

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

You cannot go wrong with any arsenal. General condition should be superb on all M39s; the Finns really took care of their rifles and it shows. Most of the M39s that are floating around are terrific shooters and have excellent bores with no pitting and strong rifling. If you are searching for something in particular, or just plain want one, I suggest www.gunsnammo.com

I ordered my M39 from them and it was described perfectly as listed. I made 2" groups last time at 100 yards with mine using Czech Silvertip; not bad considering that the sights only go down to 1.5 and I had to use a very unprecise Six O'Clock hold on my target.

 

[bender]

in the link posted above, many of the rifles are described as "frosted" or "lightly frosted" when describing the bores.

Is that good or bad... ?

I just haven't ever seen "frosted" used when describing old guns.

 

[BamBam-31]

Corrosive ammo was shot out of those barrels, and the corrosive salts were really never removed. New bores are mirror shiny, bores that have slight corrosion lose that shine and are called frosted. With Mosins, however, lots of them still shoot amazingly well despite slight to moderate corrosion. The Finns are particularly accurate and are amazing examples of the Mosin family.

 

[Threejs]

This is the barrel of one of my Hungarian M44s. I consider it frosted.

 

[offthepaper]

The 4 choices they offer are:
VKT - $349
Sako - $299
Valmit - $289
Target - $349

The "Target" model, does this mean this is a true target model of the M39? Is it actually a different barrel and trigger group? Different sights? Questions, questions.....

Does anybody own any of these various versions of the Mn and can share an opinion, or know a little more about the "target" model?

 

[Ash]

The target models were made in the late 1960's and early 1970's for officer training and as such were built solely for target shooting. They are fundamentally no different in construction or design from any other M39. They are rarer than the other M39's and are often referred-to as "sneak rifles". VKT and Valmet are the same. SAKO has a rare sub-type, the SkY marked SAKO, which was issued to the Civil Guard.

IF you want a great shooter, then get the one in the best condition and forget about markings as they are fundamentally all the same. Some will be post-war and made from M91 or 91/30 barrels (such as the "B" marked or Tikka stamped m39's and some VKT's). Others will be war-models with post-war stocks (non-round splices). As a general rule, they all shoot nicely.

Ash

 

[Hoppy590]

the first 3 are manufacturers. probibly priced by rarity, though VKT became Valmet if im not mistaken.

 

[Ash]

VKT did indeed become Valmet.

The "Target" rifles were assembled at one of the arms depots. None of the M39's are marked "Valmet" only VKT.

Ash