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Old January 6, 2013, 05:46 PM   #1
GreaseMonkey4Hire
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What to do with abused M39?

I recently bought a small lot from an auction that contained a 'well used' Finn M39. The Action is in good condition and smooth showing minor signs of rust. The wood is in good condition but very dark in comparison to most pictures I see. Even the bolt face appears to be in good shape and shows no signs of pitting. The barrel, on the other hand, looks like the inside of an old sewer pipe. I was barely able to get a .22 brush to go through after soaking the barrel in penetrating oil. What rifiling I can see appears to be missing large sections of the lands. Corrosive ammo and never cleaning afterward is my guess.

So my question is what to do with it? Are there replacement barrels available for them? Is it worth the cost? What are my options to make it functional again?
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Old January 6, 2013, 06:00 PM   #2
leadchucker
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Those barrels can look pretty bad. Get a good 30 cal bore brush and some Hoppe's, and spend some serious time scrubbing the bore before you give up on it. It will never shine, but it might clean up.

If it doesn't clean up;

Barrel replacement on that rifle is a fairly involved process, and would be expensive, and that's assuming you could find a decent correct barrel for it. It's definitely not worth as much as a good shooting M39, but it's still an M39, worth a few bucks to a collector, maybe. If you really want a good M39 shooter, pony up the bucks for one with a good barrel. They're still fairly common.
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Old January 6, 2013, 06:01 PM   #3
lordhedgwich
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that sucks i would love to have an m39 in good condition they look so coo. too bad someone ruined that one
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Old January 6, 2013, 07:20 PM   #4
DennisCA
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That truely sucks!

I hate to see someone mis-using a M39, they are fine rifles (and yes I own one). The one I have is a good shooter but as far as collectability - not so much.
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Old January 7, 2013, 08:19 PM   #5
GreaseMonkey4Hire
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Thank you for your responces gentlemen. I too was saddened by the condition and obvious neglect of this rifle. I have several Mosins, but this is the first M39 I've came across. I'll give the barrel another go this weekend when I get some free time but from what I saw of it the first time, it wont be salvageable. If anyone knows of where I could find a barrel, I would love to get it functioning again. Otherwise, it will spend the rest of my days hanging over my fireplace.
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Old January 7, 2013, 08:35 PM   #6
tater134
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I would shoot it first. I've owned, and currently do own, several rifles with terrible looking bores that still have acceptable accuracy.
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Old January 7, 2013, 09:52 PM   #7
zbones6
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I know you can buy UK59 machine gun barrels for a fair price. It wont be an M39, but you will have an extremely accurate sporter.
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Old January 7, 2013, 10:14 PM   #8
Cheapshooter
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I agree with tater134. My first Mosin was a Hungarian M44. The outside looks great, but the bore looks like a gravel road. At first I just thought built up dirt, and grease. Not so much, just very rough bore. But, it shoots as well as a couple others I've goten since that have very good looking bores. Give her a try, but don't destroy her with a Bubba job trying to make something it isn't meant to be.
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Old January 8, 2013, 02:23 AM   #9
straightpull
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If the .22 bore brush barely got through the bore, I wouldn't shoot it. Needs new barrel. Even if you are able to open up the bore to .308-311, it will be a pain to clean it after shooting. The best thing to do is get another one with prestine barrel.
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