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Im going to do specialized firearm posts that won't get buried in the general education of firearms original post. Each one will cover a specific firearm and its viability in a collapsing society.
The Finnish M39, the deadliest sniper rifle ever made. Yes you read that right, now some of it is hyperbole but at the time in the early 1940's it was the deadliest rifle ever used by a sniper.
The Finnish sniper Simo Hayha in a short 100 days wracked up between 500 and 700 kills, there is some argument as to how many of the total he killed with his Suomi sub machine gun but most were kills from his rifle which was a very close cousin to the m39. Really the minor differences are that the M39 is chambered for the soviet 7.62x54R (very cheap to buy right now....I mean 200 bucks for 880 shots) while the M28 was chambered for a slightly smaller .311 bore sized Finnish bullet.
The M39 can be found for 200 to 800 bucks depending on condition and collectors markings (rarity). It is a bolt action rifle that is built like a tank and took an interesting route into being what it is.
The M39 was born a Soviet Mosin Nagant rifle (cheap still available for 100 plus bucks) the Finns had tons of these captured Soviet rifles as the Finns were beating the pants off the soviets in 1939...I mean really beating on a much more numerous and well supplied army.
So the Finns had piles of these Mosin Nagant rifles....and Finns being Finns didn't like the tractor works like quality that the Soviets used in their rifles. So the Finns set about modernizing them, like Swiss watch makers they tore apart the Soviet rifles and went to work on the parts. The Finns used their own barrels which really helped accuracy. Then they reworked the action (the bolt action part) and smoothed it out. they reworked the triggers to be smoother and precise.
Each rifle in the end was sent to a marksmen in a shooting range inside the factory where he fired 5 shots at a target if the bullets hit closely to the bullseye the rifle passed inspection and was sent out to the Finns to kill more Communists. To this day you can stil find some M39s with that factory target attached to it or hidden in the hole behind the buttstock cap.
I'm not going to get into terms like MOA (minute of angle) here for accuracy, it's a ridiculous aregument when I'm trying to talk about a rifle that will hunt well and drop a man at 300 yards no problem I call this minute of man and it's a much more realistic approach to how an average man will do with a rifle.
The M39 is built like a tank but each one had love built into it as they were guns built to protect the homeland. They are magnificently made, wonderfully smooth and the ammunition for its is CHEAP I mean wow cheap bit this won't last forever.
As for finding an M39 try Gunbroker it's a website much like eBay but you guessed it they sell guns. I've seen them for between 200 and a 1000 bucks but the average is about 3 to 4 hundred. This is the rifle I'd pick to use in a situation where I had one gun to survive a frozen forest war with where I had little hope of cleaning or doing maintainence often and needed a rifle that was accurate and didn't need to be babied.
Are there modern rifles that are more accurate, yes of course but they are often much more exspensive and not as durable. Not to mention the ammo for this rifle is still very very cheap.
Quite a fitting rifle for Simo Hayha who was nicknamed "The White Death"
Below are a few pics and a link to a great guy who shoots the M39 and gives you more info, it is family friendly.
The Finnish M39, the deadliest sniper rifle ever made. Yes you read that right, now some of it is hyperbole but at the time in the early 1940's it was the deadliest rifle ever used by a sniper.
The Finnish sniper Simo Hayha in a short 100 days wracked up between 500 and 700 kills, there is some argument as to how many of the total he killed with his Suomi sub machine gun but most were kills from his rifle which was a very close cousin to the m39. Really the minor differences are that the M39 is chambered for the soviet 7.62x54R (very cheap to buy right now....I mean 200 bucks for 880 shots) while the M28 was chambered for a slightly smaller .311 bore sized Finnish bullet.
The M39 can be found for 200 to 800 bucks depending on condition and collectors markings (rarity). It is a bolt action rifle that is built like a tank and took an interesting route into being what it is.
The M39 was born a Soviet Mosin Nagant rifle (cheap still available for 100 plus bucks) the Finns had tons of these captured Soviet rifles as the Finns were beating the pants off the soviets in 1939...I mean really beating on a much more numerous and well supplied army.
So the Finns had piles of these Mosin Nagant rifles....and Finns being Finns didn't like the tractor works like quality that the Soviets used in their rifles. So the Finns set about modernizing them, like Swiss watch makers they tore apart the Soviet rifles and went to work on the parts. The Finns used their own barrels which really helped accuracy. Then they reworked the action (the bolt action part) and smoothed it out. they reworked the triggers to be smoother and precise.
Each rifle in the end was sent to a marksmen in a shooting range inside the factory where he fired 5 shots at a target if the bullets hit closely to the bullseye the rifle passed inspection and was sent out to the Finns to kill more Communists. To this day you can stil find some M39s with that factory target attached to it or hidden in the hole behind the buttstock cap.
I'm not going to get into terms like MOA (minute of angle) here for accuracy, it's a ridiculous aregument when I'm trying to talk about a rifle that will hunt well and drop a man at 300 yards no problem I call this minute of man and it's a much more realistic approach to how an average man will do with a rifle.
The M39 is built like a tank but each one had love built into it as they were guns built to protect the homeland. They are magnificently made, wonderfully smooth and the ammunition for its is CHEAP I mean wow cheap bit this won't last forever.
As for finding an M39 try Gunbroker it's a website much like eBay but you guessed it they sell guns. I've seen them for between 200 and a 1000 bucks but the average is about 3 to 4 hundred. This is the rifle I'd pick to use in a situation where I had one gun to survive a frozen forest war with where I had little hope of cleaning or doing maintainence often and needed a rifle that was accurate and didn't need to be babied.
Are there modern rifles that are more accurate, yes of course but they are often much more exspensive and not as durable. Not to mention the ammo for this rifle is still very very cheap.
Quite a fitting rifle for Simo Hayha who was nicknamed "The White Death"
Below are a few pics and a link to a great guy who shoots the M39 and gives you more info, it is family friendly.
