A Proper Introduction/My 1944 Tikka Kiv. 91/30

[captkirk222]

I thought that I might as well make a proper introduction beyond my first post to prove that I am human.

My Name is Paul and I am a twenty year old Mosin addict(among other kinds of historic arms). I came here to tap yet another good source of information on Mosins (there can never be enough learned about them). The day before I joined this fine forum, I bought my third self-bought rifle, which just so happens to be my third 91/30. (I say self-bought because my dad and I still have a 'joint' collection.) I found a rifle I never really expected to see in my area, a Finnish made 91/30, and I just so happened to have enough green stuff on me to jump on it. It was a grand sum of $350 and I feel better about this rifle than my two laminate refurbs because I am sure I will not likely see another locally.

It appears to have finish wear on the outside of the muzzle, the bolt handle is black from handling, and the rifling is not as sharp as I expected. I found this interesting as there was enough grease left in the action to suggest it might not have been used in the states. There is a small chunk out of the front of the stock behind the nosecap, but I do not think that it is from Finnish use. It seems to be a bundle of mystery, as I know many good Mosins are. I did also manage to get out to our semi-local range and rough accuracy test it at 25 yards, just to see if there were any major issues and I managed, after getting used to the recoil again (My dad and I were also shooting a few of our .22s beforehand) to get a group a bit smaller than a quarter, so I can't complain about the rifle at all.

One thing I did notice about the rifle is that it uses quite a lot of very old parts. I know that this is normal for a Finn, but two in particular caught my eye. The trigger guard/magazine box has a gouge that appears to be from the old style sling swivel mounted to it and the pre-28 Tula buttplate has a non-matching serial number on the back face of it. The serial number appears to be something like 63027, and I am making a stretch by claiming a 3 for the second number.

Over all, I am happy to be its caretaker for a while and happy to be here and share it with you.

I have some of the pictures that we just finished taking for your enjoyment and contemplation.

[Lotema]

Welcome aboard the forums! That's a nice rifle to help introduce yourself. The Tikka 91\30s are really put together very well and they tend to shoot great, mine certainly does! Congratulations on a great rifle and again, welcome to the forums.

[Junk Yard Dog]

The Finn's like the Russians didn't waste any part that was still useable no matter how old it was. It's very common to find older parts in any Finn built rifle, even M39's made in the early 1970's can have parts made in the 1890's. Very nice Finn built 91/30, these are not common rifles, and are the best of the 91/30 rifles.

[davesstuff1]

Welcome Good to have some young blood in our group

[ParrotHead]

[redspoon]

Paul that's a very nice Tikka 91/30 Welcome to the forum.

[captkirk222]

Thanks for the hospitality! I just finished getting the rest of the nasty black fouling out of the bore that has been there since before I got the surprisingly light coat of grease out of it. I also forgot to mention that it is built on a 1938 Tula reciever that appears to not have even been refinished before installation of the new barrel.

[Longcolt44]

Some collectors have yet to even see what you can hold in your hand.

[TopperT]

[bunkysdad]

Very nice Paul. I like your rifle, AND your story about collecting with your dad. My son is just slightly older than you by one year, and he does enjoy guns, but could care less about vintage military firearms. At least not yet. Nobody mentioned it, but the leather Finn sling looks good too. I guess because so many of the leather M39 type slings like this are green, when I see a brown one I tend to like it. Does your dad have any interest in joining in on the forum? He would be most welcome if he does, or if you like please feel free to post your others too. We like all kinds of firearms around here. Black powder, semi auto, handguns, shotguns, reloading, we talk about all kinds of things.

[Lotema]

One other thing that is rather uncommon about this rifle is the fact that it has the round receiver instead of the hex receiver. And here I thought that Miller Tyme had all of the round ones!

[captkirk222]

bunkysdad- My dad isn't really the forum type, but I may be able to convince him to let me share one or two of our more interesting pieces.

Lotema- I noticed the round receiver as soon as I spotted it and I was genuinely surprised that it- A. was not ridiculously priced and B. was not already gone by the time I went back to get it after finishing our usual run through of the gun show. I even asked the seller about it and he was equally surprised that it had not been snatched up sooner.

[BubbaDX]

Very cool rifle. I have one almost like it that is built on a '38 Izhevsk receiver. Have you taken it apart to see the date on the tang?

[captkirk222]

BubbaDX- Yes I did take it apart and check the tang date. It is built on a 1938 Tula receiver.

[81turbota]

Very sweet Finn, it's cool to see them in 91/30 style stocks with the Finn finger splice.

I bet it's a sweet shooter!