This Finnish M/27 is chambered in 7.62x54R, serial 774xx, and all of its serialized components are matching, the magazine base and butt pad being unnumbered as they left the works. The barrel was made by Tikkakoski in 1934 and carries both the F and D chamber marks, the F understood to denote the earlier Finnish chamber and the D the throat reamed for the Finnish D166 cartridge, so the barrel records its own history: cut to one standard and later opened to the next. Beneath it is an Izhevsk receiver dated 1905. The rifle retains almost all of its blued finish, the bore is bright, and the stock is excellent with only minimal dings and handling marks. It is complete with its cleaning rod, and both metal sling swivels are intact. The rifle is mechanically excellent and is offered as it is shown.
The M/27 was Finland’s first serious rework of the Mosin-Nagant, adopted in 1927, and the reasoning behind it was practical rather than romantic: the country had inherited rifles in quantity from the Imperial Russian army and it was cheaper to improve them than to design something new. The receiver and magazine were kept and the long Russian barrel was replaced with a shorter, heavier one of about 685mm, which is the change that gives the M/27 its handling and its accuracy. The sights were redrawn at the same time, and the front sight base was given integral ears to protect the blade. Those ears are the reason for the rifle’s name: Finnish soldiers thought they looked like the pricked ears of a spitz, and called it Pystykorva. A knife bayonet replaced the Russian socket type. The design was not without trouble, the front band proving too weak and the forestock given to cracking when the bayonet was used, and the forestock was redesigned in 1935 to cure it. Tikkakoski built the great majority of these rifles between 1927 and 1940, with a small number barrelled by VKT, and the M/27 served as the Finnish Army’s principal rifle through the Winter War.
Specifications
Model: Jalkavaenkivaari m/27, M27 Pystykorva
Caliber: 7.62x54R
Serial: 774xx
Receiver: Izhevsk, dated 1905
Barrel: Tikkakoski, dated 1934, F and D chamber marks
Capacity: 5 rounds
Matching: All serialized components matching; magazine base and butt pad unnumbered
Sling swivels: Both metal swivels intact
Finish: Retains almost all blued finish
Stock: Excellent, minimal dings and handling marks
Bore: Bright
Mechanical condition: Excellent
Included: Cleaning rod
