in search of m91 information

[keithreid]

hey guys, i'm looking for info on finn m91's that i just can't seem to find anything on. i know at least a couple of people here have been to finland and spoken to collectors there, and i'm hoping somebody has a reference to this.
1. IS there a 1925 tikka? s/n 12 has been found and was undated. s/n 142 resides in a collection and is dated 1926. were any actually stamped 1925?
2. in lapin's book, he refers to (92)? vkt m91's made in 1944. i haven't found any information about them anywhere else.

i've been trying to collect a whole set of finn m91's for the last several years. with a little bit of luck in the last week, just down to 3 now. i'm missing the following:
SIG stepped barrel m24
p26
p27

these 3 we know to exist, just a matter of time and luck to find them.
an SAT barrel and the two i'm asking about above, 1925 tikka and 1944 vkt, would be nice to find but one is a pipe dream and the other two so far are just rumors:dontknow:

thanks guys, i really appreciate any help y'all can give. Keith

[Mosko]

Good morning Keith! I'm a bit confused by your questions, "I think", but generally the P25, P26 and P27's were the M91 with the sleeved barrels. I'm wording all this from memory of previously gathered information, and may not be exact, but it's what I "think".

IIRC the P25's were only done in december 1925, (1 month) and were marked P25. I don't think one of these is known to exist, "anywhere"! P26's were made during the entire year of 1926, and therefore the most plentiful. P27's were made for about half of 1927, and are not found everywhere, everyday, but do exist in some numbers. As a matter of fact, I think there are 4 or 5 of the P26's and P27 in the collections of the GA/TN shooters, member collections.
I have some and I know SlimTim does also.

I don't really know why they were relining the barrels during these years, or if they actually made any new rifles during that time. There may have been a shortage of materials or money.

I have heard comments several times, that during 1925, there were some procurement problems, and most of the beginning of the year was spent trying to "figure out" how to solve them, with the decision to use the Italian method of relining the barrels being the solution.

So evidently, that process didn't get into full operation until late in the year.

There may not be "any" normal production of 1925 models at all!

[keithreid]

hey mosko!

i'm familiar with the p-series, just haven't lucked onto any of them yet. i'd lump the p25 up there with the SAT. don't think anyone has seen one in the U.S.
the tikka's would have been brand new made barrels though. with s/n 142 being dated 1926, there's very little chance of finding a 25 date. i'm just trying to find out if anyone has seen such an animal;)
as for the 1944 vkt, all i have is a vague reference in a book that we know has some errors in it. it's hard to spend a lot of time looking for something if you don't even know for sure if it exists :BangHead: .

if anyone in the local community has a p26 or p27 and is looking for something else, i'd be happy to work a trade! y'all have a good day, Keith

[RGRWJB]

That lining method was done by a very famous Arsenal Director that lost his job over that process. The famous Finnish arms producer A. Lahti convinced people in Finland that the barrels were no good. The Arsenal Director was demoted for that alleged mistake. He later proved the barrels were OK and won a law suit years later. He was paid his back pay for it. Apparently this arsenal director and Lahti had some disagreements earlier that resulted in this dispute.

[keithreid]

were the barrels lined in the same place the tikka barrels were being made? if both P25 and 25 tikka's are so scarce, could they have been made in the same place, starting very late in the year? thanks for the help guys! Keith

[RGRWJB]

The relined barrels were made at AV-1 in Helsinki. This is the same place the old P-25-26-27 guns were made.