Took a Sako Finn M-39 out

[Hooda Thunkit]

After loaning out one of my Sako Finns, I need to re-zero this particular one at 300 yds with my handloads.
This rifle -


I'm tellin' ya boys, 300 yards is a long way, what with iron battle sights and my 7th-decade eyes.

My handloads (which qualifies this post to be in the "handloading and reloading" section) -
An Accurate 31-185L Sized to .312, which is Tom's version of a 311041, which is sort of a C313-185-FP, but throws at 193gr checked and lubed with CWW and a touch of Sn.
Got all that?

Copper check, plain old NRA 50/50 lube, only the bottom groove lubed.

18.8gr 2400 powder, in a neck-turned (to .010"), primer pocket standardized, flash-hole de-goobered Lapua case.

About 1675 fps.

At 300 yds, my rear sight is set a notch below the 800 yd mark. I knew the 800 yard mark was too high, so I set it down one notch, then put a .003" feeler gauge under it.
Aiming point is the top of the front sight post at the base of the black circle, which, BTW, is smaller than the width of the front sight at 300 yds.

And, I'm using a re-used, patched target - because I grew up that way.

That gave me shot #1


Shot #2 I replaced the .003" gauge with a .002" feeler gauge under the sight.

I don't have a .001 gauge.

#3 was a hair sliver of white under the black circle.
#4 was a red hair sliver of white under the black circle.

Small changes get big at 300 yards.

Then I decided I was shooting to the right, so I moved the front sight a bit.

Shots #5 (which I yanked, and called low prior to looking) and #6 showed I moved it too far..

Still, my last 4 consecutive shots were in 6", at 300 yards, with a battle rifle.

I'm calling it good.

 

[CQB45ACP]

After loaning out one of my Sako Finns, I need to re-zero this particular one at 300 yds with my handloads.
This rifle -
View attachment 1202616

I'm tellin' ya boys, 300 yards is a long way, what with iron battle sights and my 7th-decade eyes.

My handloads (which qualifies this post to be in the "handloading and reloading" section) -
An Accurate 31-185L Sized to .312, which is Tom's version of a 311041, which is sort of a C313-185-FP, but throws at 193gr checked and lubed with CCW and a touch of Sn.
Got all that?

Copper check, plain old NRA 50/50 lube, only the bottom groove lubed.

18.8gr 2400 powder, in a neck-turned (to .010"), primer pocket standardized, flash-hole de-goobered Lapua case.

About 1675 fps.

At 300 yds, my rear sight is set a notch below the 800 yd mark. I knew the 800 yard mark was too high, so I set it down one notch, then put a .003" feeler gauge under it.
Aiming point is the top of the front sight post at the base of the black circle, which, BTW, is smaller than the width of the front sight at 300 yds.

And, I'm using a re-used, patched target - because I grew up that way.

That gave me shot #1
View attachment 1202618

Shot #2 I replaced the .003" gauge with a .002" feeler gauge under the sight.

I don't have a .001 gauge.

#3 was a hair sliver of white under the black circle.
#4 was a red hair sliver of white under the black circle.

Small changes get big at 300 yards.

Then I decided I was shooting to the right, so I moved the front sight a bit.

Shots #5 (which I yanked, and called low prior to looking) and #6 showed I moved it too far..

Still, my last 4 consecutive shots were in 6", at 300 yards, with a battle rifle.

I'm calling it good.

I’m impressed by the whole endeavor. And, three hundred yards to me is another time zone.

 

[Slamfire]

Pretty darn good shooting with a battlefield rifle.

I am impressed by all the Finnish Mosin Nagant models I own. There is a clear progression to the M39, which is the best of the lineage. The Finns pushed the Mosin Nagant action about as far as they could go, given that they wanted a certain amount of interchangeability with the weapons of their primary supplier:

Dead Russians!

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

I’m impressed by the whole endeavor. And, three hundred yards to me is another time zone.

Really, it's just a matter of getting some time behind the sights. When I first started shooting at 300 I couldn't keep 5 shots on a 3x3 foot target.
Now I'm irked if I can't keep 10 shots inside the 9 ring, and would really prefer they were all in the 10.

Pretty darn good shooting with a battlefield rifle.

I am impressed by all the Finnish Mosin Nagant models I own.

Thanks.
There are few battle rifles that I feel I cannot shoot to its full potential.
The Finn M39, the Swede M96, the Springfield 03a3 are all rifles that can shoot better than my feeble abilities.

And that is what makes them fun to shoot.

 

[Slamfire]

Really, it's just a matter of getting some time behind the sights. When I first started shooting at 300 I couldn't keep 5 shots on a 3x3 foot target.
Now I'm irked if I can't keep 10 shots inside the 9 ring, and would really prefer they were all in the 10.

I got real crabby when I did not shoot a high X count, or a perfect score with a rifle. My expectations are too high. However, I really enjoy shooting Bullseye Pistol. I am awful. It is great to be horrible again, as all I can do, is improve. When I have a train wreck, so what! Just get the train back on the tracks, and keep on rolling!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Really, it's just a matter of getting some time behind the sights. When I first started shooting at 300 I couldn't keep 5 shots on a 3x3 foot target.
Now I'm irked if I can't keep 10 shots inside the 9 ring, and would really prefer they were all in the 10.

Thanks.
There are few battle rifles that I feel I cannot shoot to its full potential.
The Finn M39, the Swede M96, the Springfield 03a3 are all rifles that can shoot better than my feeble abilities.

And that is what makes them fun to shoot.

The old saw about The Great War is: the German army went to war with the best hunting rifle built. The American army went to war with the best target rifle built. The British army decided to bring a battle rifle to war but didn’t bring any ammunition. Too expensive; not in the budget.

Copper check, plain old NRA 50/50 lube, only the bottom groove lubed.

Interesting! Is this to prevent cavitation between the grooves? When I shot the old Enfield rifles I saw a few neat tricks that the old guys used but back then the explanations were just words. I didn’t understand things like blending alloys to tighten up groups.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

Interesting! Is this to prevent cavitation between the grooves? When I shot the old Enfield rifles I saw a few neat tricks that the old guys used but back then the explanations were just words. I didn’t understand things like blending alloys to tighten up groups.

First off, don't expect too much accuracy from an Enfield. Smooth operation yes, accuracy no.
We used to have a SMLE only match once a year, because it wasn't fair to the SMLE guys to expect them to compete with the 03a3's or the Finns, or the M96 Swedes.

As for the lube; I don't know about cavitation, and nobody (despite what they say) knows what lube really does inside a gun barrel. There are many theories, and some of them actually make sense, but nobody can prove anything.

Having said that, the reason I lube just one groove (plus the gas check groove, a sort of mini-groove) is that I was getting random flyers when I lubed both grooves. My theory: there was too much lube, and it was flying off at irregular intervals, spoiling the shot.
Someone that knows more about the subject than I coined the phrase "lube purging". Okay, sounds good. Lube purging it is.

So now I lube only one groove, and still have a lube star at the muzzle. That means the lube is surviving to the end of the barrel, so there is enough.

 

[dh1633pm]

I love my M39. Good shooting. I am impressed. Got mine years ago from Century Arms for $29.00. Paid an extra $10 for select. One of my favorite rifles.