Thank you for stopping by.  Unfortunately, I have elected to allow this site to become static at this point in time for various reasons, but I still believe that it can be of use, especially to new collectors.  I do wish you luck with your collecting and hope that it brings you much joy.  Regards.

This collection unknowingly began around 1996 when I picked up 2 Tikka M91/30s for $40 each.  I held on to those rifles and in early 1998, with a new computer on my desk, I discovered Mosin Man's site on the Internet.  From that point on, I have become enamored with the rifles of Finland as well as with the history of the country itself.  To date, I have amassed a fair collection of various common Finnish Mosin models and am continuously looking to add to it.  Here are some of the models that exist and what I have procured to date:

M91s:

The grandfather of all Mosins is the Model 1891 3-Line rifle.  In production from 1892 to 1929, it served as the mainstay for the Russian Army for years; it was also readily adopted by the Finns during their 1917 revolution and used until eventually replaced by the Valmet Assault Rifle family in the 1960s.  In collecting the Finnish models, you will encounter both captured Russian pieces as well as Finnish production models.  (For detailed information, I highly recommend both Doug Bowser's Rifles of the White Death and Terence Lapin's The Mosin-Nagant Rifle.)  At this time, I own only four [SA]-marked M91s: an 1897 Tula (AZF-stamped meaning that it had been captured by the Austrians during WWI; many of these captures were sold to Finland during the 1920s), a 1918 Remington (very scarce; 5 digit serial number outside of Russian contract with no US Property marks present), a 1941 Tikkakoski (Tikka) (one of only 33,000 made during WW2) and a 1942 'B'-barrel (scarce model; one of perhaps 5000 such rifles made).

1897 Tula Markings * 1918 Remington Markings * 1941 Tikka Markings * 1942 'B' Markings

M27:

In the late 1920s, the Finnish Army adopted an improved Mosin design.  Sporting a shorter barrel, a protectively-winged front sight, and a better rear sight, it proved to be an excellent design, only being officially designated for replacement by the M39 in 1940.  They are fairly scarce on the current market and after searching for over a year, I was able to adopt a 1931-dated Tikka example for my collection.  Bearing the mid-30s rework signs of the 'popsicle stick' front band, it is a great addition to my Finn collection.  For more info on this model rifle, visit Mosin Man's Finnish section.

1931 M27 Markings

M28/30:

In 1930, the Finnish Civil Guard adopted an improved Mosin design based on their M28 along with input from the Army's M27.  The resulting rifle was a SAKO masterpiece.  Sporting a heavy barrel with a 0.3082 bore diameter (in comparison to the 0.3095 diameter of previous rifles), a windage-adjustable front sight, a new tangent rear sight with precise graduations and easy-to-use controls, and a sleeved bedding method to improve accuracy, it is considered the pinnacle of the Mosin design by many (myself included).  Very scarce on the current market, I was able to adopt a 1939-dated example for my collection in 1998.  Bearing the tell-tale SkY mark on the barrel shank and possessing a strikingly-contrasted 2 piece Finnish Stock (black walnut butt/artic birch forend), it is easily the centerpoint of my Finn collection.  For more info on this fine rifle, visit Mosin Man's Finnish section.

1939 M28/30 Markings

M39s:

In 1939, the Finnish Army looked at their dated M27 rifles and went to work on refining them.  The final outcome resulted in the M39.  For the complete story on the rifle, its attributes, manufacturers and production numbers, I refer you to Frank Overbey's M39 article at Dan Z. Johnson's site.

Second only to my M91/30s, these make up the bulk of my collection.  Nowhere as complete as some of my fellow collector's families, I do have the following manufacturers and years represented:
 
• SAKO:  1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945!
• VKT:  1941, 1942, 1944
• SkY Civil Guard (made by SAKO):  1942

One of approximately 10,588 Civil Guard (SK.Y) M39s produced


SAKO Stock Cartouche, consisting of SAKO emblem inside gearwheel.

SAKO SkY Stock Cartouche, consisting of stylized SAKO S with fir sprigs within a shield.

Stockmaker's cartouche consisting of crossed cannons with letter (L in this example) inside.  On non-SAKO M39 stocks, this Letter L appears to be the common letter.  On SAKOs, there is a stylized S resembling the Yin-yang symbol as well as a regular S (and on Tikka M91/30s, the Letter Z appears to be the most common mark.)

Barrel shank from a 1941 SAKO;  note that the 1 in '1941' looks extremely similar to the 4.  Also see the SAKO gearwheel as well as the mysterious '2' that apparently only appears on 1941 SAKOs of this SN range (as reported on TUCO's).

Barrel shank from a 1941 VKT:   Note the difference of the 1s in 1941 vs the above SAKO.

Barrel shank from a 1942 SAKO SK.Y, showing the SAKO gearwheel and SK.Y marking.

Barrel shank from a 1945 SAKO:   A fairly scarce rifle, as all rifle production was supposed to have ceased in 1944.

Rack assignment disk:  Some rifles coming in have the unit assignment disk in place as well as rack disks such as this one from my 1945 SAKO.

Continuously on the lookout for a 1940 SAKO, a 1941 'Straight Stock', a 1943 VKT, a Tikka, a 'B' barrel, a 1960/1970s-dated example and a Puolustuslaitos-marked rifle, I will continue to work at completing this collection in the future.

M91/30s:

As detailed on my M91/30 collection page, these hold a special place in my heart.  I possess a number of the Tikka variants, as well as a Puolustuslaitos-marked 1932 Izhevsk and other [SA]-stamped models.  For more detail on these rifles please visit my M91/30 collection.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To further complete the collection, I am currently seeking out a M24 and M28, along with other variations of all Finns.  As I find and add these pieces to my collection, I will update this page as well as attempt to provide links to photos as I get them published.

So there you have it: how my Finnish collection has started and where I am headed with it.  Popular due to the Mosin Man site, this type of collection is important as it documents the struggle of a small country against the Big Bear and how that country managed to protect itself from being absorbed.  Competition is stiff on many of these pieces due to the Internet publicity given, so be prepared to have to look high and low, and sometimes pay out some good money in order to complete a collection based on every Finnish variant known.  Good luck!

Have a great day and come back often to see what changes have taken place in Njanear's C&R Collections.
 
 

Now back to the Collections Page...