There's beavers in Finland, too!

[johntheplinker]

Made the trip over to Clarksville this morning to pay a visit to my favorite push...uh, dealer at Falls City Firearms. He had been holding this New England Westinghouse M91 for me and it was time to bring it home. Anyway, it is a very interesting rifle. Unlike most Finns, this one quite possibly still in it's original stock, its walnut and has the English contract mark, also the buttplate serial matches the receiver. The bolt is typical Finn, mixed arsenal parts but stamped to match. Also the magazine is unnumbered. The rifle as a whole has lots of character. The bluing is mostly gone off the muzzle end of the barrel and buttplate, magazine blue is thinning, while the receiver and lower parts of the barrel still have most of their blue. The stock is well worn, lots of dings, scratches, and other wear. Bore is actually in good shape, rifling is strong and doesn't look to be much pitting, needs some cleaning to be sure. Now a few pics'

Needs a cleaning rod, but that is small potatoes, and best of all, The Boss says there aren't any ghosts attached to it!

 

[other dave]

I've never had any Finnish Beaver but that one looks like it's been munched on a few times!

 

[Gunaria]

I guess in Finland they don't use teething rings for their young.

Last time I went to Fall City, Rick decided to close the shop and go to KCR.

 

[manygunsmike]

Oh Very nice M91 I like the been there done that look.

manygunsmike

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Very nice! I've GOT to make it down to Falls City. God willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll be planning to stop in when I go to the show in Louisville in December! From all I've seen and heard on here, I may not have any money left to spend at the show, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Interesting comment about the ghosts (or lack thereof)... I have a totally refurbed K98 that a friend says he gets a "bad vibe" from, even though I explained to him that this rifle in its current configuration never saw any battles.

 

[DSmith78]

i was in falls city few weeks ago he had a nice m1 garand on the wall for $900. nice place for older gun lovers, not so much if you like newer stuff.

 

[Miller Tyme]

I saw that a couple of weeks ago John, the "English Contract" stamp is a cool touch, that is a keeper for sure.


And you can't say enough about what a great guy Rick is, feeding our addiction like that.

 

[Denny347]

I love my Finn Mosins. I actually prefer the "well used" rifles.

 

[johntheplinker]

I've never had any Finnish Beaver but that one looks like it's been munched on a few times!

Me neither, but I'm not sure if I'd want any if they chew on rifle stocks for ...um... entertainment!

I guess in Finland they don't use teething rings for their young.

Heck that little guy must have been related to Simo Hayhaa.

Last time I went to Fall City, Rick decided to close the shop and go to KCR.

Best thing is to call ahead, he closes early sometimes to go to his tick farm in Perry Co.

Oh Very nice M91 I like the been there done that look.

manygunsmike

Me too. Got a few unissued/new ones but the BTDT ones really do it for me. New ones are nice, but you know they didn't do anything. The used ones, you have to wonder about what battles they were in, did they kill anybody, did the guy carrying it make it?

Very nice! I've GOT to make it down to Falls City. God willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll be planning to stop in when I go to the show in Louisville in December! From all I've seen and heard on here, I may not have any money left to spend at the show, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Interesting comment about the ghosts (or lack thereof)... I have a totally refurbed K98 that a friend says he gets a "bad vibe" from, even though I explained to him that this rifle in its current configuration never saw any battles.

Yes, please do stop in. If you like the older stuff, it will definitely be worth you while. Even if you don't buy anything, Rick is a great guy just to visit with.
My wife seems to be very sensitive to that sort of stuff. She has said things about well used rifles before I even took them out of the case or box, new ones she gets nothing from. She is geographically challenged but when I first started in the Finns I bought a Winter War capture 91/30, brought it home, still in the case, and first thing she said, "that rifle makes me feel cold, and I see soldiers walking through deep snow." cue Twilight Zone theme.

i was in falls city few weeks ago he had a nice m1 garand on the wall for $900. nice place for older gun lovers, not so much if you like newer stuff.

Yeah, not much plastic there. I think the only plastic gun I saw there Saturday was a old Remington 22, not the Nylon 66 but the one with a box mag.

I saw that a couple of weeks ago John, the "English Contract" stamp is a cool touch, that is a keeper for sure.


And you can't say enough about what a great guy Rick is, feeding our addiction like that.

It is a good one, goes real good with the captured 91/30 I picked up a couple weeks ago. I think I've added more and better "old stuff" in the last year and half than in any previous similar period. Rick is one of a kind, thankfully!

I love my Finn Mosins. I actually prefer the "well used" rifles.

Me too! The added character just makes them better.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yes, please do stop in. If you like the older stuff, it will definitely be worth you while. Even if you don't buy anything, Rick is a great guy just to visit with.
My wife seems to be very sensitive to that sort of stuff. She has said things about well used rifles before I even took them out of the case or box, new ones she gets nothing from. She is geographically challenged but when I first started in the Finns I bought a Winter War capture 91/30, brought it home, still in the case, and first thing she said, "that rifle makes me feel cold, and I see soldiers walking through deep snow." cue Twilight Zone theme.

Wow... Well, I do believe in ghosts and such. I've seen and "felt" too many things to feel otherwise. To me though, that just makes these old guns (and old things in general) more special. It's a connection to their former owners and the associated history, good or bad, that goes along with them. We've all heard the expression, "If these walls (or this gun, etc.) could talk..." Well, I think they can... It's just that not everyone hears it.

 

[Mosinguy]

Wow... Well, I do believe in ghosts and such. I've seen and "felt" too many things to feel otherwise. To me though, that just makes these old guns (and old things in general) more special. It's a connection to their former owners and the associated history, good or bad, that goes along with them. We've all heard the expression, "If these walls (or this gun, etc.) could talk..." Well, I think they can... It's just that not everyone hears it.

While on this topic, my first Mosin, a refirb'd 1938 Tula, had given me a weird experience within the first week or so I owned it. I was sitting in my room with the Mosin behind me and all of a sudden I could hear the sound of many people marching behind me. I turned around and of course it stopped. I was the only one in the house and I never watch tv so it wasn't on. I can't explain what happened and it hasn't happened again but it was weird for sure.

 

[johntheplinker]

Wow... Well, I do believe in ghosts and such. I've seen and "felt" too many things to feel otherwise. To me though, that just makes these old guns (and old things in general) more special. It's a connection to their former owners and the associated history, good or bad, that goes along with them. We've all heard the expression, "If these walls (or this gun, etc.) could talk..." Well, I think they can... It's just that not everyone hears it.

While on this topic, my first Mosin, a refirb'd 1938 Tula, had given me a weird experience within the first week or so I owned it. I was sitting in my room with the Mosin behind me and all of a sudden I could hear the sound of many people marching behind me. I turned around and of course it stopped. I was the only one in the house and I never watch tv so it wasn't on. I can't explain what happened and it hasn't happened again but it was weird for sure.

I read both your posts to my wife, and she is glad to hear that there are others that experience it, and also will admit it. The rifle I mentioned above is the one I refer to as the Haunted Rifle. I bought it 5 or 6 years ago and haven't shot it, and as long as I am the caretaker, it won't be. It came from a member on gunboards.com, and after receiving it we emailed back and forth a couple of times. Turns out the reason he sold it was because his wife didn't want it in house due to the vibes it gave off.
Another one, a well used Finn capture 91/30 I picked up last year she said made her really sad. Nothing bad, just that the soldier who carried it had to do some things he didn't really want to do, didn't like doing it, and felt really sad about what he had to do. When I bought it, I was actually there (Falls City Firearms) to pick up something else and saw it in the rack, picked it up and even if I had to leave what I was there for, it was going home with me. The feeling I got from it was that strong. That one is also retired.
And there are a couple others that I may to tell about later.
I may just have to start a thread about my rifles that have ghosts...