Sako factory built Mosin sporting rifle

[Hirvikivääri]

Hello!

I refer to Icebear´s interesting post of June 10 218:

https://www.gunboards.com/threads/sako-factory-built-m-39-sporting-rifle.1029266/#post-9199746

I also have a Finnish Mosin sporter I bought from a gun store in Finland some time ago as "Sako Hirvikivääri" (Sako Moose Rifle). It is a very good looking rifle (in my eyes) and the stock is in the style of early Sako sporters I recall from my youth in the 1960´s. The checkering is very good as it used to be on those old rifles. The grip cap seems to be a Sako if this web page is anything to go by: https://gungrip.com/sako-rifle-grip-cap-c-1946-1958.aspx

The recoil pad is not original. I am attaching some photos.

 

[bloorooster]

Hello!

I refer to Icebear´s interesting post of June 10 218:

https://www.gunboards.com/threads/sako-factory-built-m-39-sporting-rifle.1029266/#post-9199746

I also have a Finnish Mosin sporter I bought from a gun store in Finland some time ago as "Sako Hirvikivääri" (Sako Moose Rifle). It is a very good looking rifle (in my eyes) and the stock is in the style of early Sako sporters I recall from my youth in the 1960´s. The checkering is very good as it used to be on those old rifles. The grip cap seems to be a Sako if this web page is anything to go by: https://gungrip.com/sako-rifle-grip-cap-c-1946-1958.aspx

The recoil pad is not original. I am attaching some photos.

Very cool!
The stock is almost exacting the style of the early L46, save for the recoil cross bolt.
Take her out and shoot some moose’s!!

 

[paulsonconstruction]

I have only seen a few pictures of the Sako built "Moose" rifles. I assume it is from the time when Finland had a minimum caliber requirement for hunting Moose, so the 7.62x54R rifles were converted for larger diameter bullets. Is yours a 9.3x54R? Always wish they were available in the US. Thanks for showing us your rifle!!

 

[Hirvikivääri]

I have only seen a few pictures of the Sako built "Moose" rifles. I assume it is from the time when Finland had a minimum caliber requirement for hunting Moose, so the 7.62x54R rifles were converted for larger diameter bullets. Is yours a 9.3x54R? Always wish they were available in the US. Thanks for showing us your rifle!!

The rifle is in the standard 7,62x53R calibre. But as you say there were other calibres available that were based on the military round. I have a Sako reloading guide from 1967 and they list loads for their Hammerhead bullets in cal. 6,3x53R, 7x53R, 8,2x53R in addition to the military calibre and the 9,3x53R.

 

[icebear]

Thanks for posting this very interesting rifle. The scope mount is especially interesting. The rear base appears to be attached with a screw. I believe this is a genuine Sako Hirvikivääri and mine is probably a custom. The ring-pull safety is a feature I have seen on other photos of Sako-built Mosin conversions; mine does not have it. Here's a photo of mine showing the difference in the scope mount and the safety.

Could you post a photo of the markings on the barrel shank? I am curious as to how the Sako-built sporting conversions were marked. Mine bears an SA stamp indicating that it was in the military inventory at some point.

 

[HelSako]

Thanks for sharing. It is definitely an orginal Sako hirvikivääri from 50’s in great shape. Please put more pictures as there is so many interesting features in it (Scope mounts, marking etc.)

 

[Hirvikivääri]

Thanks for sharing. It is definitely an orginal Sako hirvikivääri from 50’s in great shape. Please put more pictures as there is so many interesting features in it (Scope mounts, marking etc.)

Thank you for your posts, gentlemen. I am attaching some additional photos that will be of interest. The rear scope base is attached with a screw and the front base is fixed in a milled slot on top of the receiver ring. The scope rings are old Sako style. Unfortunately I was unable to get a satisfactory photo of the engravings on the barrel shank but they are as follows: 7.62x53 (note that there is no R at the end) and then a serial number. There is a Sako logo on top of the cocking piece, The letter S inside a circle or cogwheel. No SA marking on the rifle. I am also attaching pages from my old reloading guide I mentioned.

 

[stonecreek]

A few years ago I delayed and missed purchasing a Sako-made sporter conversion of a Japanese Arisaka. It was rebarreled to .30-06, had the bolt modified for scope use, and had Sako dovetails welded to the top of the receiver. I understand that Sako also modified some Russian Winchester Model 95 lever actions, as well as some Savage Model 23 in .25-20.

 

[Hirvikivääri]

Thank you for this interesting post. A bit of googleing gave me this:

Kivääri Arisaka/Sako

Esine

www.finna.fi

Chrysanthemums in the Snow: Finnish Arisaka Rifles

www.forgottenweapons.com

 

[stonecreek]

That explains how the Arisakas got to Finland. Sako obviously had enough of them to make it worthwhile to sporterize some of them with extensive modifications.

 

[bloorooster]

Sako worked with a variety of different actions at one point in time.
Here is an example of one I found recently..

 

[Hirvikivääri]

Very interesting. The action looks like it is from a Carcano does it not?

 

[bloorooster]

Correct!
From what I’ve learned, Sako was busy building 7x33’s after the winter war to keep the plant and its workers busy. The popularity grew with this new Finnish cartridge, until the introduction of the .222 Remington in the early 50’s, and from that point the 7x33 took a bit of a backseat in popularity.
Carcano , Arisaka, Mauser and quite possibly other actions were used commonly.

 

[Hirvikivääri]

I wonder what sort of magazine they used in place of the original. This is a slick looking little rifle.

 

[bloorooster]

My understanding was that it was a single shot set up…big reason I didn’t go after it

 

[bloorooster]

Finland used Carcano rifles during the winter war?
I just read that on Wiki

Icebear?
Can you maybe elaborate on this rumor?

 

[icebear]

The Carcano action would probably have come from a batch of 7.35mm Terni short rifles purchased from Italy for the Winter War. They were mostly used for reserve duty, as the different caliber posed logistical problems and the rifle was not popular with the troops. Being a Mannlicher-style action, it fed from a six-round en bloc clip in a manner similar to an M1 Garand. Like a Garand, the Carcano could not feed without the clip. This makes some sense from a military point of view, making for a fast reload, but it also makes it difficult or impossible to "top off" a partially fired clip. Here's a photo of an original Finnish contract Carcano, complete with correct original sling, and one of the original ammo in its clip. The rifle is shown with the rare Italian folding bayonet. These are expensive and hard to find, and even harder to find with the SA Finnish property mark. The bayonet in the photo is not Finn marked and I have since sold it. I still have the rifle, which is all original and matching. I once owned a Finn-marked Terni shortened into a carbine, but I have seen no evidence that the Finns built such a thing and I think it was a Bubba job. It was quite well-done, though.

 

[icebear]

Found a page with photos of some postwar Finnish military conversions. These were done by Tampereen Asepaja (TAP). Guns shown include Winchester 95, Arisaka, Carcano, and Mauser. You'll want to click on this one for a bigger view.

Seeing this postwar potpourri makes me wonder if some of the sporterized, Finn-marked Carcanos you see on GB from time to time might have been done in Finland rather than by Bubba here in the USA. Next time one comes up I think I'll ask the seller if it is marked for TAP or another Finnish gunmaker.

 

[mattimoose]

Kiitos Paljon!

 

[mattimoose]

I would kill for one of those 95 Winchesters in 9.3x53R