M-91

Finnish M-91

"Of all the rifles that have served the nation of Finland, it is the contribution of the Mosin Nagant M91 that stands above all others. This service has had many facets from direct issue to the use of their receivers in the many Finnish models of the Mosin Nagant. It is hard to imagine that a rifle produced for Imperial Russia in 1891 would have done so much for the nation of Finland." This quote from Tuco at MosinNagant.net underscores the importance of the M-91 in Finnish military history.

I will divide M-91s into three groups for discussion in this branch.

	Unmodified M-91s with SA stamps - These are Russian M-91s in their original state that are capture rifles with either a SA stamp or other Finn marking. The significance of this set of rifles is that the Finns in many cases were able to turn rifles captured from Russians into useful firearms that could be used against them.
	Finned M-91s - These are captured M-91s with one or more Finn modifications. The modifications can be to stocks, sights, barrel bands, hand protectors, sling hangers, or other components. In all cases they have the original Russian barrel. The significance of this set of rifles was that by replacing parts and upgrading parts, Finns turned these used Russian rifles into weapons that equaled or were superior to their capabilities when they left the Russian factories new.
	Finnish M-91s - These are rifles assembled from captured components that have a barrel manufactured in Finland or some other country under a Finn contract. In addition to having a non-Russian barrel, they may have other modifications that would put them in the "Finned" category would it not be for the barrel. By replacing barrels and upgrading sights, the Finns created M-91s that were superior in many ways to their Russian counterparts.

All three types will be found in this tree. What is interesting about M-91s captured and possibly modified by Finland is nearly the entire Russian M-91 arsenal can be found with Finn SA stamps. As a result, a fairly impressive Russian collection can be assembled while remaining true to my goal of only including Finn rifles at this Web site. For example, all of the Russian arsenals could (and will ultimately) be included in this tree. In addition to the different Russian (and foreign) factories, different periods can also be represented, prior to and after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. This 1895 Imperial Tula containing a SA capture mark is an example.

Of course, the Finns produced their own M-91s, which will also be included in this set. This 1927 Finnish M-91 stepped barrel is an example.

This branch is likely to evolve into the biggest section of this Web site. Check the leaf section in the left column to see what is currently available.