US influx of Finn M39s and 91/59s

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bearhunter

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The US seems to have a new batch of Finn M39s and 91/59s hitting their markets. Classic seems to be one of the distributors. They aren't cheap though. They start around US$400+.

The Americans have a real love affair with Mosins. Not that I blame them at all. Great rifles and if in Exc condition they have proven to be very accurate. The cartouches alone are a study in themselves and a look back into history that you can hold in your hands.

I haven't noticed any advertised here yet. Word is they are all coming out of a 20,000 piece lot bought by one collector/distributor about ten years ago and been released a few thousand at a time to keep prices up.
 
Yes, they comes from Burns Brothers aka Pat Burns and were purchased from Importers about 10 to 15 years ago. They were sold piece by piece since that initial purchase, Aim purchased the remaining rifles from their stash.
 
Why would they show up here? We have open borders since new year? Our market is so small that can't even digest existing Finnish MNs, not to mention 1.4 exchange rate corrected M39s. M39s are not scarce at all, not commonly available, but no scarce. I would probably regret selling my M28s, but not M39s for sure.
 
Small piece of gossip for y'all. I spoke to a major Canadian distributor last week and it looks like there may be something in the works to import M39's form the US within the next few months. I was told that if it works out, they won't be cheap, but supposedly are in decent nick.

For Horilka: I dealt closely with Collector Source back when they brought in the M39's that are in Canada. They imported less than 250, all told. A couple 28/30's were mixed in with the batch, I know where at least 2 of those ended up. The majority of those '39's were Sakos and Tikkas and there were very few "no date" or B rifles. I never saw a single M91 barrel variant or Tikka variant. Also, most were wartime guns in post-war stocks (i.e. refurbs). A few original guns came in too, I had a beautiful straight-stocked '41 Sako non-refurb I never should have sold.

Bright side is the guns already here are NOT import marked.

Bottom line, they remain among the rarest milsurps in Canada. There are more No.4T snipers here than M39's presently.

No idea exactly how many may come in, but expect it to be a small number, expect the price to be high, and expect the best ones to get hand selected by the usual suspects long before they are offered openly.

Still, a good news story that will likely re-ignite Finn Mosin collecting interest for a while.
 
Claven2 said:
Bottom line, they remain among the rarest milsurps in Canada. There are more No.4T snipers here than M39's presently.
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I am extremely sceptical of this. The fact is the M39s are actually uncommon, not even rare. Maybe you dealt with some of the ones Collector Source brought in, however I can guarantee you there are many more than 250 M39s in country.
 
Eaglelord17 said:
I am extremely sceptical of this. The fact is the M39s are actually uncommon, not even rare. Maybe you dealt with some of the ones Collector Source brought in, however I can guarantee you there are many more than 250 M39s in country.
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From which import? There was only one m39 import since I started paying attention in 2001.
 
International (Century) had them in their catalogs back in the 80's. The most expensive Mosins were the new Polish M44's for $99.
 
Iraqveteran8888 got tipped off about the purchase of the shipment, wand was on hand for the unboxing, about a month or so ago.

These are the ones floating through the market right now south of the border. They aren't going to last long, it's only about 1500 rifles.

 
I'm thinking this is likely the last batch of them. The finns did not make many rifles (comparatively) to begin with and they sold off their surplus many years ago. What we are seeing now are the results of some arms dealers that stashed quantities away back when they were originally surplussed.

In any event, if these can sell all day long for $400+ in the USA, that's really $600 or so once brought to Canada (chipping, export fees, exchange rate, etc.) plus the distributor and dealer will want to make a profit. I'd be surprised if they sell under $800 per copy. The going EE rate right now seems to be in the $800-1100 range for the nicer M39's - but we shall see.
 
There are plenty of M39 in Canada, way more than 250. It's not as common as some but they're not hard to find at all.

I've been offered more than a few in trade over the years and even an early straight stocked one very recently. I just don't have much interest for whatever reason. I'm sure that will change one day.
 
I'll bet that if they are offered between $800-1000, the imported will sell out of them in not very much time at all. We shall see.

I'd suggest an M39 is perhaps a better rifle than a $600 M48.
 
And I would suggest a 350$ K31 or 400$ Portuguese M1904/39 are better rifles than both of those for less money. Milsurp values aren't driven by the quality of the actual firearm as weird as that is.
 
K31's aren't for everyone. I know ppl like them, but I've owned 4 and all of them were sold quickly. Not for me. Same with the Verguero rifles. I never warmed to them.
 
I've been shooting cast bullets in military rifles for at least 25yrs. My 39 is the 2nd most accurate that I've done load development with over that time span. Most accurate is an 03A3 with a brand new 2 groove barrel. My experience includes Lee Enfields, Mausers in several calibers, a Ross, several other MN's, an Arisaka, a K31 and a 1936 MAS. I find the sites on the 39 user friendly for old eyes and the front site being screw adjustable for windage is a bonus for zeroing.

If I remember correctly mine was 85 bucks when purchased. 1943 SKY marked with Sako barrel. Stock has a few dings but barrel is mint. Probably one of the reasons it shoots cast so well.
 
What I've shot most in My MN's is Lyman 311299 bullet Sized 311 for M39 and 314 for other rifles/carbines. Bullets are WW plus 2 % tin water quenched. This is an old Ideal mould which casts at 315. Most used load is 22.0 grs H 4198 although I have had some success with 2400. As always check all internet loads with at least one reliable source.
 
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