I'm looking through that thread. There are some perfectly fine ones, but there are more than a few complete basket cases too. The one guy that paid for hand select and got the '41 Sako that looks like someone played cricket with it for a couple of years...

Further review and cleaning as in more than just taking pics and going to work show bore and rifling are plus rated and stock is solid. I'll Ned to check tang date. I think this rifle is better than I think but everyone says value is not there :/

I'll be honest - I'd be pissed if I paid $350 and got that. That said, yours does at least look to have a solid, if ugly, stock. The repairs look to be holding up fine. That's a lot more than some of the folks that got these can say - huge tang cracks, handguards cracked in half, active rust all over the receiver, etc.

However, I suspect that many of us who are turning our noses up at these are folks that already have nice M39s we got out of earlier batches, that we likely paid less for. We're still kinda stuck in the past where you could get a real nice rifle from SOG or Pat Burns for ~$250, but those days are long gone, and M39 prices have gone up. This may be the new normal, I'm afraid.

After shipping and hand pick these are $400 rifles, they should be damn near perfect for that kind of money.  I almost purchased one of the 1970 dated rifles that Pat had but it was over $500, wish I'd have purchased it now.  At least I did get a really nice VKT with beautiful stock, new bore and nice blue.  I paid a little north of $400 shipped from Pat.

I think you got an example that actually fits Classic description but the price paid is above the actual worth of this gun as it's "shooter grade". Finn collectors are damn picky especially when it comes to wood.  Nice tiger stripped wood goes for stupidly insane premiums for example.

IN for the updates

this

That's exactly how I see it.

I've seen exactly one Finn for sale locally in the last two years, and it was tapped for a scope.

I don't know of anywhere else where one can get a Finn under $400.

Tang date scrubbed. Found even another repair :/
Wonder what the most repaired stock looks like or is that mine?

I think you hold the record for repairs on an M39 stock, I'm afraid.

Like others have said...Not really surprised by the condition as these were the " bottom of the barrel " cracked and lesser condition rifles that Burn's was holding on to.

Classic though should have been more straight forward on the condition but My bet is they over paid for the rifles and will go with the sales method of keep sending them out till they stop coming back........

Were I live, Big 5 sold a lot of M39's but they rarely show up on the secondary market and when they do they are selling in the 400 range even common ones .

Sako. (Not hand select.)

That's pretty nice!  I love the stock, bummer about the rust patch near the bolt

It's not rust. It's cosmoline.

Looks like you got lucky. That's a good one.

Here my sako hand select ....

http://imgur.com/a/04eXx
I sending it back and will be trying to get a refund

I received a RMA from classic after sending some pics of my cracked stock to them. They also paid for return shipping label. If you received a cracked stock, i would act now because who knows how long they will be taking them back . Now i have to worry all over again what will be shipped to me. The PR hit they are taking is incredible. Anybody remember black horse arsenal/ royal tiger/ I.O etc.

Not even fit to use for firewood.  

Dang.. Yeah, I have had some really bad deals with classic. Sent a few back. Vowed I would NEVER buy from them again. Been a couple years, but when they got the Finns, I took my chances. I am disappointed for you. However, the first one I ordered arrived yesterday. Sako. Looks nice. There are plenty of handling marks on stock but no cracks. If there were, I would return too.

I have a second coming Tuesday. This thread has gotten me worried.

Mine are coming Tuesday next week and I'll post more pics.

Sako

VKT

beautiful rifles .... i was hoping for something like that

I'll breath a sigh of relief when I can put my hands on them and confirm everything. Cant wait to shoot them :-) I've loaded up a few hundred rounds I know are safe for them and a few test ladders to see which each prefers

I have one with quite a few repairs . I did not buy it from Classic nor did I pay this kind of money ,. It has character and I like it . I will rustle up a picture

I posted up a thread and poll trying to get a feel for what everyone was getting. Had bbb links and screenshots and it was removed for no reason. So Vic is censoring the situation.

On gunboards that is.

yep.. one thing bad about sponsorship going to your head.

Wait, there are other websites besides ARF and porn sites on the Internet?

wow.  I just read through most of the gunboards thread.  I was bummed I missed getting one in the first batch and was going to order one from the 2nd batch.  I don't think I'm going to now.  I have ordered from classic in the past and received 3 rifles I was happy with and 1 RC k98 I returned due to it not matching the description.

I hope Classic makes this right for everyone who ended up with straight junk.

You really hate to see this happen.

They are pretty good about making it right. However, I stopped ordering from them a while back because they sent me a cracked stock "hand pick" chinese SKS. They sent me return label. Then they sent in writing to the hand pick people "No cracked stocks" (it was written on my invoice).  It's nice that they hire handicap people, but they shouldn't use blind people in their hand pick area. Because what did I get the second time??? A cracked stock.. all the way down.

Anyway, they again sent me a return label but this time they sent me an email saying they would just give me a refund because "your expectations are too high"... Um, I just wanted an SKS that was safe to shoot.

Anyway, as I stated earlier, I am happy with my VKT that I received. I am hoping the other one that comes Tuesday is as nice. Else, I will be asking for refund.  

Here's my M39, I got this directly from Pat Burns two years ago.  Can't remember exactly how much I paid, I know it was something like $425-$450 to my door.  More than Classic but I knew exactly the rifle I was getting.

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Black Horse no thank you for the heads up.
I.O. and their sub R.T.I.? Hell  yeah and  lots of  the false stories they tried to spin to cover their mistakes. The BATFE drama....   I took a chance when Royal tiger had some colt  m16A1's kits on sale and actually got decent kits and mags. Link to pictures proving they sent colt parts and the uncleaned quality http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_123/680626_My_2_Royal_Tiger_Important__kits_Photos__also_restarting_thread_since_others_were_archived_.html  . I was hoping for conversations for the differences in kits because now they don't come with a colt bolt but a generic no name model. So the price is still the same but worse for the buyers, so it is a "if you get in early". The  died with no comments or requestsfor detailed images of any of the kits or extra colt mags they had the time. Which have also swapped out....

People need to heed the warning and if not immediately inspect and fire, then break down and fully clean to inspect a rifle from______________.
Especially if you have to return things, by the time I was done with Classic Arms sending back the same rifle and them returning it claiming it was a different one(pink electrical tie was never cut off the sling loop on any trip) not able to hold a magazine, let alone fire rifle for 6 months, the eventual refund I finally received wasn't much of comfort because the price had climbed by $200.00. Not counting my time and all the cellphone minutes I wasted dealing with them because of my work schedule. Lesson learned about  not waiting, if they can't make it right immediately get a refund and move to a different better dealer who has them in stock.  A second rifle from Classic which checked out function wise for feeding rounds  until I fired it and went to clean it .....Had the rear trunnion smashed on the inside making almost near impossible to remove the bolt carrier.... If I had popped the cover off, I would have caught it. By that point( a couple of months had passed and it would have made it a longer & harder fight) if I got anything besides heartburn and head aches)...... I was already way done with Classic Arms and warning people to stay away.  I still have their old webpages saved on an old hard drive from when they used to be good to go.  You can see the slow slide downward from honest misinformation to the trying to be a slick snake oil salesmen phase.     Putting new bands around a pallet isn't a hard skill and the do have to check every crate for the serial numbers and the unmolested claims starts getting fuzzy.....  The term  "Loss leaders" comes to mind.

When it came to Royal Tiger's  2015 labor day sale with G3 mags for $1 plenty of people jumped on that one and several other items for cheap.  There are lots of people who swear they'll never buy from ____ again... until the next sale comes around after they have cooled off and forgotten their getting screwed.    So there may be help for some of the companies  but RT/IO don't have an online appearance about wanting to be in business of selling much by way of prices that are on the upper end of full retail MRSP levels....  I  do wonder who all is buying the Inter Ordnance Rifles.  

This seems to be a problem a quiet a few discount retailers fall into.  They  gets lots of business and more than they can handle.   Instead of biting the bullet for extra  quality skilled  labor they let crap out  by overworked/rushed/unskilled staff/etc.  Ruining their name.  Remember Hunter's lodge?   How many companies  have we gone from looking forward to seeing what they were offering for sale to avoiding them at increased costs?  Same product that you pay more for at different retailer because if it is bad they will at least make things right.

I also agree with others in the thread, we are beginning to see the climb of prices as supplies are running out. Notice how the Mosin crate sized dropped to 6 for the buy it by the crate at Classic?  Plus we have some companies trying to create a  another panic  rush for their bottom line.  So the firearm market place we grew up with ha sadly become more corporate minded than driven by  Hobbyists.

A big part of the problem is people are paying way more than what surplus rifles are worth/cost.  But that is capitalism and supply & demand. It kills me when I see people I know who bought the Mosin Nagant pistols (that ammo is hard and expensive  if you can get it) trying to sell something they paid $80-$100 for with shipping and ffl  fees (worst case) for north of $350..... I can't see paying what an AK costs for a SKS, then a lot try to dress it up as an ak clone  But the market is full of people doing it.  I guess I'm an idiot for selling things at the old prices I feel are fair,  to people who I know aren't going to flip it.  Seems to being a dieing breed with every reality tv show about my junk items are worth thousands of dollars and I should get rich like those TV people. Some lose sight that old and used doesn't mean valuable. Looking forward to the bottom falling out like the beanie babies/sport cards/widget of limited craze did.

Who knows what the next  cheap surplus rifle might be? In the beginning there is an early testing the waters/risk involved for ammo and quality of firearms (anyone remember the   vz. 52/57 ?). Same thing with buying part kits(pps-43/41 anyone?  Let alone the Stens that were before my time/knowledge level). Although we are starting to run to the end of the line of known rifles. Perhaps some third world country will surprise us. Then again if the shift in politics happen and the import laws get reversed some....Prices could drop back down.

Mankind has made enough weapons to arm every person on the planet several times over since the discovery of gunpowder. Given not all survive but for the ones destroyed,  new ones are being made every day, so there should be a surplus hopefully through all of all  lifetimes.

Keeping on subject, I bought an old Finnish Mosin Nagant back before anyone had heard of them for $75 just to clean and restore it back for a relaxing mental distraction.  Had no clue about it, just liked the look and the price was cheap, $6 more than the cheaper sks models were going for at the time.  Finding the screw for the floor plate was royal pain back then. Shot great even missing the screw.

Classic response from Classic.

"Can you email me your order# and I can refund your hand select fee if you like.
Thank you,

William Belisle Jr.
Customer Service Representative
Classic Firearms
Monroe, NC 28110
Ph 704-774-1102
[email protected]

John 11:25
"When the government fears the people, there is liberty...
when the people fear the government, there is tyranny"
Thomas Jefferson

On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 4:41 PM, Ctc <> wrote:
M39 purchase. Non hand select. I dont really feel the gun I received is in good to very good condition. It very clearly is nra fair condition. Metal might be good but stock is not. Using a sling seems a dicey proposition. Add says rifle is not graded down due to "A" factory stock repair. This has "more than one". I count over 10 pieces of wood. You asked for review. This is how I feel. Is this condition what was intended to go out?"

Don't think they care what we have to say.

Yes, if a standard SAKO.

Thank you,

William Belisle Jr.
Customer Service Representative
Classic Firearms
Monroe, NC 28110
Ph 704-774-1102
[email protected]

John 11:25

"When the government fears the people, there is liberty...
when the people fear the government, there is tyranny"
Thomas Jefferson

On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 11:26 AM, < wrote:
I appreciate your willingness to refund my hand select fee. What I would appreciate more is someone who actually cares what I have to say and not just throws the minimum at me to satiate me. If you read what I said you might have answered my question Is this condition what was intended to go out? or you might have read this part "M39 purchase. Non hand select."

If it's not a hand pick, I would assume whatever condition they get the gun in is the condition they will sell it in.  I think they rated these good to very good.  In firearms speak, good condition is actually pretty crappy.  If you're not happy with it, and I would not be if I were you, send it back.

...as opposed to WHAT exactly!?!?!?

ALL the M39 SAKO's I've seen were stunning - the one CF "hand selected" looked more stunned than stunning

As I have posted in this forum before, I have been screwed by Classic a few times. I hate myself for ordering these two M39's from them as I feel like I went against my ethics.

However, I am glad I did cheat on my ethics. I got my second rifle today (Sako) and it looks exactly if not better than expected. Perhaps I just have lower expectations than you all have?

As others have posted... "Good" is crap. Very good is "Just above crap". My two have been just above Very Good as I "hand selected". The stock is a little dinged and finish is a bit worn.. But exactly what you would expect from a used wartime (41 and 43) rifle.

I am sorry if any of you got a cracked stock. That appears to be Classic's specialty in my experience. I am lucky to not get one. Those can not only be a waste of money but quite dangerous. I would send it back right away. If they offer you a trade, fine. You have nothing to lose. If the second one comes back the same way, fine.. send it back again and walk away. Don't buy from them again. ;)

If you are expecting these rifles to look anything like a refinished cosmoline stored rifle from Russia, you are going to be very disappointed and you have no business complaining about your own ignorance of C&R's and NFA ratings. Don't blame classic for that. They have enough trouble being blamed for the stuff they actually do wrong!

Received mine today

my sako

Love the sako, everything I wanted. Also received an SA sling I'll put on it. Guess if i had a wish would be original matching bolt as this one is stamped on knob but strikethru on the side

my vkt

The vkt I'm sorta mixed on. The upper handguard has a crack which should be a fix with wood glue or super glue. The stock is beautiful. The only other thing is the wood where the barrel exits has been carved out so barrel doesn't touch and there are shims in the stock. On one hand this should be a heck of a good shooter but until I find reference that they did this wartime I'm not 100% convinced. Mainly I don't want stock split issues due to it. Wondering if that's how the upper split.
Also have a sling for it.
Grand scheme they made it right and I'm glad to have them in my collection, especially my sako. Now.... Crap I gotta find more room my safe is full going to try to rearrange. Borestores helped me just stand them all in there. Going to open bolts and see. Then a few more can fit on wall perhaps. Not many more in my future unless I sell or get creative.

That bolt is normal for Finn guns.  Remember, they mostly started as a huge pile of recycled parts not as completely new built guns.

Don't ditch those shims!  They're part of the secret to the accuracy these things have a reputation for!

Also, in the video the fat guy from Classic said that they asked the seller (who we now know was Pat Burns) to rate the rifles, and Classic sold them a rank below what Pat said to manage expectations.  All the guns I've seen so far are in at least "good" condition, which means they look like shit but function.  I think expectations were too high from buyers and perhaps Pat negotiated with Classic a little too hard.  Classic may feel as burned as anyone on some of these guns.

I'm picking mine up today, and only just now thought to check this forum for a thread on Mosins. I'm hoping mine is in decent shape, but from what everyone is saying, I may be in for a letdown.

Well....on the bright side. If you did hand select, ship them back on their dime and have them replaced. I love my two new ones. Might even clean them up tonight.

Got mine in yesterday - too lazy to post pictures.

It's in good shape.  I haven't taken it apart yet, but the metal looks good - no rust or issues with the firearm aspect.

The stock has a matchhead sized gouge under the bolt - looks pretty new as the wood is a much lighter color than the rest of the stock.  

But no cracks that I've seen so far, just some nicks and dings here and there.  I was hoping to find some teeth marks left over from butt stroking a Russian, but found none.

Nice trigger pull once you pull the creep out of it - probably about a good as Mosin style will get, from my limited knowledge of how it works - it looks like the bolt moves down on this style with the trigger pull, so the creep may just be that movement.  Then it's a 2-3 lb pull, with no overtravel.

Good action, looks like a matching bolt, will have to check for another SN someplace else.

Mine's 1944 dated.

Overal, for 370 delivered, I'm pleased.  I know they used to cost less, for more rifle, but those days, like 20 bucks for a brick of 22 ammo, have come and gone.

Just wanted to share mine with everyone.  Came in on Monday but I finally gave it a bath, used a 20 gauge brush with Camp Fuel via a power drill to clean out the chamber in order to remove sticky bolt.  Only took about 6-8 passes.  Not a lot of cosmoline.  Bore is nice, I'm very happy overall.

There is a stock repair but it looks nice and I want a shooter, not a pretty safe queen.  This is a VKT hand select.

SOG has M39s now

Linko

Just wanted to share.  I took my M39 to the range yesterday and managed to shoot one last group of 5 shots at 100 yds.  I was re-using a target so I circled my 5 shot grouping.  I had one flier but it was a good day.  I was shooting Russian 147 Light Ball.



BTW, it was great shooting yesterday as I was able to sit next to a buddy of mine who had an incredible setup.  Let's say it must have been more than $5K in custom options.  I show this to say how good the rifle is and not me as I've only shot 100 yds about 3 times in my life.

Damn good shooting!!

Thank you but it really helped to have a long time shooter give me some input.  Talked to me about holding my breath and taking up the pre-travel in the trigger.  I managed to hold the gun somewhat steady and only fired on the exhale.  Made a big difference.  My first 5 shot group at 100 was three on the target for about a 8" spread and two fliers.

And I can't express to you just how incredible that guys custom bolt action rifle was that he had.  That gun had a 1/2lb trigger and a 4-30x scope that was incredible.

Not that I would've bought from them anyways, but Classic quickly sold out of their second batch of M39s.  SOG still has them available for now.  They were only briefly out of stock and then added about 40 more minimum if it hasn't reset since.

I am most interested in this part of SOGs description:



If true, these are not Burns rifles and everything we have heard about the overseas availability of these rifles has been 100% BS.  I'm very curious to see the import marks on the SOG guns...

ETA: can't believe Classic sold out that quickly considering the folks who got some from Classic's first batch weren't wildly over the moon with them.

Edited, just made a new topic.