I picked this rifle up from a Finnish Military rifle collector. He bought this rifle in Finland while he was traveling and had it shipped over. He bought it because of the rare barrel maker stamp. But it really didn't fit in his Civil Guard and Finnish Army collection. I had seen this rifle when he posted it on Gun Boards forum and I really liked it. I missed him selling on GunBroker the first time. Lucky for me the first buyer did not pay. He relisted it on GunBroker a couple weeks ago and it didn't draw much attention so I snagged it up.

Here are a few more pictures.

I have a few question.
It was advertised as a 9.3x53r but its import mark reads 9.3x57.
I know a chamber cast is in order but I'm trying to narrow it down before I have to do it. A 7.62x54r will not fit in the chamber because it was to fat but a 8x57jr and 8x57 will. The bore is mint and I stuck my calibers in the muzzle and it read like 9.22ish.

What peep sight base it that?

It's the base for a Lyman 35. PhysDoc has been experimenting with making slides for it. You should contact him.







As you can see, no drilling and tapping are required to install the sight. It fits over the bolt stop and is fastened in place using the bolt stop hinge screw. Lately they have been commanding a hefty price on eBay and elsewhere.

R. Marshall,
Will a 7.62x54R rim fit the bolt face? If not, will the 8x57IR ? If neither will fit, it is not a rimmed cartridge. Have you slugged the barrel yet? 9.3x57 was a popular cartridge for moose hunting in that part of the world, but unlike the 9x57-9x57R(popular in Germany) there was no rimmed version of the 9.3x57. The older 9.3x57R is the German version of the English 360 2 1/4" Flanged, instead. There is a second 9.3x53R that is not the same as the Russian cased version. It is the Swiss version, which has a head diameter of .492-.494",and rim diameter of .563", which is a larger head size than the Russian case. This can't be the cartridge either, then. There is just not enough information to be able to ID the cartridge, If there are no marks on the bottom of the barrel, it will be necessary that you make a chamber cast.
Mike

I did the chamber cast my findings are below. It looks like 9.3x57 mauser to me.

xausa thanks for the info! I will look into that.

Bill (xausa) is right, that is a base for a Lyman 35 sight. A few years ago, I got a parts grouping with an unfinished base. In the midst of discussing rifles with Bill, I learned that he had a base on a rifle but no slide. He agreed to send the base to me so that I could study it, in return, I said that I would make a slide blank for it and if possible, make a slide. I was able to make a slide for his and complete mine as well. The slide was not an exact replica but was functional. Here is a link to some of the work I've done.
Lyman 35/36 stuff

I've got some slide blanks lying around and I could make another slide like the ones I made for Bill and myself, but I would need to have the base for a while. There were some small variations in the Lyman 35's from what I have seen, and I would need to do some hand fitting of the slide to get it to work with your base.

R.Marshal,
I agree it looks like 9.3x57( if you verify your caliper measured groove diameter is too large for 9x57) to me also. The 12.05mm head diameter will not fit either of the 9.3x53Rs. The 55.08mm case length is too short, but that is easily justified. There is a gap between the rear of the barrel and the bolt face, which causes the "blob" on the end of the chamber cast. This gap varies rifle to rifle, but is generally around .200", which would explain the case length.

Mike

Any ideas why they put cork on the forearm and used cork for the buttplate? Better grip in wet weather?

Also it looks like a Arisaka bolt handle.

R.Marshall,
As to why they added the cork, your guess is as good as any. Maybe he just had some available.
I thought the bolt knob looked like one from an Arisaka also.
Mike

Here is a good discussion on the origin of some of these rifles.
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?121797-what-is-this-sporter

Thanks for the info! I may be sending you a PM soon.

Thanks for the info!

Mike thanks for all your help.

You are welcome, I imagine that you will want to shoot it a few times and then figure out whether to keep it and put money into it or pass it on.

The barrel is 22.5" long measuring from the front of the receiver and the barrel diameter at the muzzle is .7835".

A gentleman on Gun Boards from Finland said it could have been a 300m Free rifle chambered in 7x57 and later punched out to 9.3x57 and I'm guessing the barrel shortened.

Dies and brass have been ordered. I'm trying to decide on bullet weight. I've seen weights from 232 to 300gr.

R. Marshall,
Check Graf and Sons for their 285 gr bullets by PRVI.
Mike

Maybe the cork is a Scandinavian thing! I picked up an FN action Husqvarna a few years back in 6.5x55 that had a cork buttstock pad.

The finish on the forearm of your Finnish, looks similar to the finish that was on the Husqvarna when I bought it. It looked like it could have been pine tar and I searched a bit and if memory serves (don't quote me on this one), found that some rifles were finished in pine tar.

Mine likes the 286 Nosler with 45 grains of 748 or 44.5 grains of Norma 201; or, the 270 grain Speer with 45 grains of 748; or, the 286 Norma with 44.5 grains or Norma 201 (note - max in my rifle). These are all around 2000-2100 fps.

The forearm on this rifle is wrapped in cork. The cork could have had some pine tar applied at one time in the past. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for sharing this info! It will help. I have the dies, brass and I'm waiting on the the bullets to arrive. I guess Graf and sons has been slammed with orders and it is taking longer to ship items now.

I picked up a full box of vintage Norma ammo.

In Sweden that's known as a "20 Moose" box.

Does the ammunition chamber and feed fine?

Yes, It chambers and feeds fine.

Cork would feel great in the extreme cold...