1932 VKT M27

[cj1964]

A few months ago I had an opportunity to buy a rather uncommon Finnish M27.
From what I've read online (must be true, eh?) the army ordered 1,500 M27's from the VKT factory in 1932 and then another 800 in 1935. This is one of the more common early year VKT M27's, but either year is a lucky find.
This is a very clean rifle with the "F" barrel. Like many Finnish rifles, it has been rebored for the "D" round. The bolt is matching, but it does not have the winged/numbered connector rod. It's also missing it's unit I.D. disk on the stock. The nose cap has the "popsicle stick" style which may or may not be original.
I believe it was refurbished or at least upgraded at some point, but there is no counter-bore and the blueing has a nice aged patina. Overall, it's about as close to original as I could have hoped to find.

[Longcolt44]

Very nice, you did very good. I have it's cousin a 1932 Tikka. The way your sling is attached makes this possibly a ski or bicycle trooper. You said the connector is missing the wings. Has the receiver been cut to accept the wings?

[Junk Yard Dog]

Nice find, did the seller know what it was or was this a chance find from someone who had an old army rifle to sell?

[martin08]

Yes, the nose-cap upgrade (popsickle sticks) didn't come along until mid 1935, so it has been rebuilt. But take nothing away from the gun! I'm still lacking the VKT M27, and I would have snagged that one in a heartbeat.

[zeebill]

The D designation refers to the chamber not the bore, something to do with the front of the shells they began using. Yeah that one has been through refurbishment maybe even more than once. A nice find and a tough one too! Congrats for sure. Bet she will be a great shooter! I find most of my M27's are just right for me to handle at the range and I do my best shooting them over any other Finn's I own. The RV27 is one of my favorites with a fine light breaking trigger and an excellent sighting system for my old eyes. Most all of the M37's I have are machined with slots for the winged connectors but are not equipped with them anymore. That winged connector with a matching number on it is really a tough one to find. Congrats again! Bill

[Lee-online]

Very cool rifle. Don't see these too often.

I am still hoping to find one locally so I don't have to get into a bidding war.

[MeatMarket]

That is a handsome rifle.

[cj1964]

Thanks guys!
Yes, the receiver is cut for the winged connector and it came from a private collector who knew what it was, but the price was fair. The sling is kind of a transition between the roller buckle to the M39 style - a bonus in my opinion.

[husker51]

[bunkysdad]

CJ, you are a lucky man. You have found a very nice rifle for sure. I really like everything about it.

[redhat10]

Very nice find..Like it a lot..

[bb91]

Nice rifle.

The information on Mosinnagant.net suggest that your numbers are off unless there is some distinction between numbers ordered and numbers produced by date? Although the information may be a little sketchy as mentioned on that site the known serial number range information suggest that that information is more accurate than listed above.

From Mosinnagant.net:

"It is interesting to note that VKT produced the m/27 in a standard form as well. Very little is recorded on this but production seems to have been started in 1932 from examination of physical rifles and ceases later in that year. Approximately 2150 rifles were produced in the first production order. Another small batch was made again in 1935. This limited production may have been an attempt to continue some production capability while the design overhaul and resumption of production at Tikkakoski was underway. Only 400 or so rifles managed to come off the line at the Sate Rifle Factory or VKT during the 1935 production run."