This is a Finnish M39 in 7.62x54R, serial 5040xx, built by SAKO in 1943. The barrel shank carries SAKO’s cogwheel trademark, the Sk.Y Civil Guard mark, the serial number and the date 1943, and the side of the shank is stamped 36 S 00, the Finnish pressure proof for 3,600 atmospheres applied by SAKO. The action under that barrel is an Izhevsk receiver dated 1899. All numbered components match, the magazine floorplate included, and the buttplate is un-numbered rather than mismatched. The left side of the buttstock carries the SAKO cogwheel cartouche with a smaller circular stamp beside it. The rifle is complete with its cleaning rod, the bore is mirror bright with sharp rifling, and mechanical condition is excellent. The small parts still carry their original cosmoline packing grease, which is not something you often see left undisturbed. The underside of the barrel near the muzzle is import marked M39 FINLAND 7.62X54R over CAI ST. ALB. VT., where it stays out of sight in normal handling.
The M39 was adopted in 1939 as the standard rifle of the Finnish Army and the Civil Guard, and it was the last of the Finnish Mosin Nagant patterns. Rather than build complete rifles from raw material, Finland fitted new heavy barrels, sights and stocks to receivers drawn from the large stock of Russian and Soviet actions already on hand, so a wartime M39 very often sits on a receiver made decades earlier at Izhevsk, Tula or Sestroretsk. The pattern uses a 27 inch barrel, improved barrel bands, a double sling swivel arrangement and the semi pistol grip stock that sets it apart from the straight stocked M27, M28 and M28/30 that came before it. Production ran at VKT and at SAKO, and a portion of SAKO’s output between 1942 and 1944 was marked Sk.Y for Suojeluskuntain Yliesikunta, the Civil Guard general headquarters, rather than being delivered to the Army. Rifles carrying that mark are a distinct subset of SAKO M39 production.
Specifications
Manufacturer: SAKO, Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy, Finland
Model: M39
Caliber: 7.62x54R
Action: Bolt action
Capacity: 5 rounds
Barrel: Dated 1943
Receiver: Izhevsk, dated 1899
Barrel markings: SAKO cogwheel, Sk.Y, serial number, 1943
Proof: 36 S 00 pressure proof
Stock markings: SAKO cogwheel cartouche with a smaller circular stamp beside it
Matching: All matching, including the magazine floorplate; buttplate un-numbered
Bore: Mirror bright with sharp rifling
Mechanical condition: Excellent
Finish: Even dark finish with honest service wear
Stock: Solid, with normal handling marks
Preservation: Small parts retain their original cosmoline
Import mark: CAI, St. Albans, Vermont, on the underside of the barrel
Included: Cleaning rod
