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The purpose of this thread is to try and pin down the Serial number ranges for these Finnish late date production rifles.
Please post your rifle, as well as information you may have seen on the net, especially if the rifles SN is outside the ranges in the chart below.
I've done some studying over the past few years and have come up with a "serial number range chart" showing the lowest and highest SN's of each year. This is by no means a exhaustive study and I have modified over time it when I saw a SN which fell outside of what I had previously seen.
Here it is. Last Updated 9-1-24
Finnish late issue "Date only" rifles
1967 300033 ----- 301076 Approx. 1,100 Rifles
1968 301343 ----- 303584Approx. 2,200 Rifles
1969 303775 ----- 304166 Approx. 400 Rifles
1970 304341 ----- 306484 Approx. 2,200 Rifles
1971 No information
1972 No information
The below rifles are erratic in their SN's, and as such don't appear to follow any true range.
48 "Dated" rifles ----- 200878 204865 211889 30005 41018 220972 33552
"No maker no date" ----- 45593 52244 55064 57312 203475 247633
258382 500422 507530 506020 215881 54997 233875
Added 8 more "No maker no date" from a Classic Firearms Youtube video. 204050 259449 259232 50010 250906 259598 253041 251753
__________________
Shortly after these rifles hit the American market American collectors and sellers started calling these rifles "sneak" rifles.. Implying some sort of clandestine production that needed to be hidden from the Soviet Union. This was nothing but hype to increase interest and prices.
The reality was much more mundane. Here is the true information related to production and their intended use.
Almost all of "Sneak M-39s" were assembled by ASEVARIKKO 1 in a town Kuopio; nowadays KUOPION ASEVARIKKO. (Finnish word "asevarikko" means "the arms depot of Finnish Army"). The stamp ASEV 1 means just the depot (not a factory) where the rifles are assembled. Receivers, barrels and breech-bolts may all bear the different serial numbers. Parts of the bolt may also be stamped with variable numbers. They were assembled from the huge pile of spare parts, but - PLEASE NOTE! - they were assembled scrupulously: Too big or too small clearance of a headspace was not allowed. Actually, the allowances of bore, chamber and action dimensions were smaller than those of original rifles M-39 made for use of average riflemen, as these "Sneak Rifles" were made for sniping. If the barrel was chopped from an old Mosin-Nagant M-1891 barrel, it's muzzle end was somewhat too thin. The front sight of rifle M-39 was fitted on it with a thin-walled bushing. Barrels, receivers and steel furnitures of these rifles are blackened to look very beautiful.
I picked this 1968 dated Finnish at a auction site recently. Like new, great pristine bore and beautiful post war stock. Matching bolt too.
I also have a 1967, another 1968, a 1969 and a 1970 dated rifles.
I also got a "48" dated rifle a month or so ago.
I need a "no maker no date" M-39 to go with the rest.
Please post your rifle, as well as information you may have seen on the net, especially if the rifles SN is outside the ranges in the chart below.
I've done some studying over the past few years and have come up with a "serial number range chart" showing the lowest and highest SN's of each year. This is by no means a exhaustive study and I have modified over time it when I saw a SN which fell outside of what I had previously seen.
Here it is. Last Updated 9-1-24
Finnish late issue "Date only" rifles
1967 300033 ----- 301076 Approx. 1,100 Rifles
1968 301343 ----- 303584Approx. 2,200 Rifles
1969 303775 ----- 304166 Approx. 400 Rifles
1970 304341 ----- 306484 Approx. 2,200 Rifles
1971 No information
1972 No information
The below rifles are erratic in their SN's, and as such don't appear to follow any true range.
48 "Dated" rifles ----- 200878 204865 211889 30005 41018 220972 33552
"No maker no date" ----- 45593 52244 55064 57312 203475 247633
258382 500422 507530 506020 215881 54997 233875
Added 8 more "No maker no date" from a Classic Firearms Youtube video. 204050 259449 259232 50010 250906 259598 253041 251753
__________________
Shortly after these rifles hit the American market American collectors and sellers started calling these rifles "sneak" rifles.. Implying some sort of clandestine production that needed to be hidden from the Soviet Union. This was nothing but hype to increase interest and prices.
The reality was much more mundane. Here is the true information related to production and their intended use.
Almost all of "Sneak M-39s" were assembled by ASEVARIKKO 1 in a town Kuopio; nowadays KUOPION ASEVARIKKO. (Finnish word "asevarikko" means "the arms depot of Finnish Army"). The stamp ASEV 1 means just the depot (not a factory) where the rifles are assembled. Receivers, barrels and breech-bolts may all bear the different serial numbers. Parts of the bolt may also be stamped with variable numbers. They were assembled from the huge pile of spare parts, but - PLEASE NOTE! - they were assembled scrupulously: Too big or too small clearance of a headspace was not allowed. Actually, the allowances of bore, chamber and action dimensions were smaller than those of original rifles M-39 made for use of average riflemen, as these "Sneak Rifles" were made for sniping. If the barrel was chopped from an old Mosin-Nagant M-1891 barrel, it's muzzle end was somewhat too thin. The front sight of rifle M-39 was fitted on it with a thin-walled bushing. Barrels, receivers and steel furnitures of these rifles are blackened to look very beautiful.
I picked this 1968 dated Finnish at a auction site recently. Like new, great pristine bore and beautiful post war stock. Matching bolt too.
I also have a 1967, another 1968, a 1969 and a 1970 dated rifles.
I also got a "48" dated rifle a month or so ago.
I need a "no maker no date" M-39 to go with the rest.
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