The M38 ended up shooting about 14" to the left of my point of aim and about a foot high, which wasn't surprising, but I didn't bring a punch to drift the front sight, so I didn't shoot it much.
Next up was the Finn Model 39. That rifle is way more accurate than I am. Since it's a battle rifle, I think the arsenal probably zeroed it in at 300 yards. I ended up having to tuck the front sight way down in the bottom of the rear sight notch and holding it at just below the 6" target to get my shots on the target, but that worked out fine. I was shooting at 50 yards from a bench, so I have no excuses as to my groupings, except old age and old eyes.
Once I got my elevation figured out, I thought it was shooting to the left a little so I held to the right "Kentucky Windage", but I was wrong and all my shots grouped to where was aiming.
Next round of shots were held below the target and dead center and this was the result.
The Savage Model 99's elevation was off. It was shooting low at 50 yards.
I slid the elevation ramp up a notch and this was the result.
Fired a few more rounds and my teeth and shoulder had had enough.
Overall impressions: The Finn M39 was everything I had hoped it would be. It's heavy enough to reduce the perceived recoil too. It is way more accurate than I am.
The MN M38, needs some work. I'll have to drift the front sight over and I'll post a future report on that. The recoil and fireball is every bit as awesome as ya'll say it is.
The Savage M99 was also more accurate than me. I shot it last and I was getting sore by that point. It's balance is every bit as sweet as is reported by other owners. I'd like to replace the sight with an aperture sight and I am going to see about getting the crack in the stock near the tang repaired before I fire it again because I don't want to increase the damage. It did have a LOT more recoil than I expected. I thought it would kick less because it feels like a fairly heavy rifle. Still, I shot over 20 rounds so the perceived recoil did increase with number of shots, as my shoulder and teeth begin to hurt more and more. For some reason the recoil hurt my face and cheek more than the other rifles. Don't know why, but when I was done shooting the M99, it felt (feels) like somebody gave my face a good punch.
As for how I shot, I don't have any excuses for my performance. I was shooting at 50 yards from a bench. The Finn and the Savage were capable of a lot better groups than I came up with. I haven't shot a rifle extensively in a while, and the truth is my eyes aren't what they used to be. Shooting with irons sights is what I prefer, but it is hard for an old guy like me to keep that front sight on a consistent point on the target, so my groupings left a lot to be desired in my opinion. Still, I could take out a deer easy enough at 100 yards with the Finn or Savage.
Overall, I had a great day. My should and cheek is sore, but it's a "good" kind of sore. I'll be posting more reports on some of my other rifles in the coming weeks. I want to see how the rifles I have with bayonets shoot with them on and off, or extended or not. I'll shoot the Tula 91/30, the M24, the Lee Enfield and the FN 1949 that way.
