1943 Tikka M91 - Double AZF

[cj1964]

I was discussing this rifle with a fellow forum member last week and thought I'd post a photo.
I picked up a really clean 1943 Tikka M91 that I believe to be built upon a double captured receiver. I know that there are a lot of examples of captured rifles with more than one capture mark (AZF or otherwise), but this one is a little different. The two AZF stamps are different sizes and the larger stamp is weathered much more than the smaller one. I know the photo isn't the best, but you get the idea. There was a lot of give and take along the Austrian line in WWI and I think this is a double captured receiver. Of course that's just my opinion and we'll never know for sure, but it's an interesting variation from what I typically see. Now you've seen it too.

[cjsimoh]

Another nice score, Chris!

[Junk Yard Dog]

Entirely possible, but without any real documentation we can only guess, The vicious nature of the eastern front war during the Great War makes the idea of rifles changing sides more than once very believable.

[catcracker]

Very Cool

[desdem12]

Nice

[Titanium Hammer]

Nice pick up, congrats!

[Emdawg]

Karl! Vhat is wrong wit yur stampenkopf, yu fool!

[Greasemonkey]

Nice

My '42 Tikka has double AZF stamps, one smaller than the other.

[catcracker]

Copycat!!

[TopperT]

[TulaTom]

Nice!

[jimpierce7]

Score!! Nice indeed.

[Fishin Finn]

I saw a variation of the double "AZF" stamp, one on the receiver and one on the barrel, on a gun auction site last week. It was on a Russian Mosin-Nagant M91 made in 1899, which was a Finn capture. It had the Finn SA and 'D' marks, one piece Finn stock with hangers. The bolt and barrel serial numbers matched.

I own a Finnish M91 with a single "AZF" and an "OEWG" on the receiver with Tikka barrel dated 1940, but the double "AZF" are the first I ever heard about.

I guess all of these were included in the 4,900 rifles purchased by the Finns from Hungary in 1936 and 1940. These were included in rifles had been captured by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in WWI from Russia, and of which some 50,000 were converted to the 8X50mm Austrian, by either a new barrel or reaming a forcing cone into the chamber and using the 7.62mm barrel. Some of the captured MN's ended up with Hungary after the break up. According to http://www.hungariae.com/Mosi91.htm.

I wanted to add some pictures of it but I could not figure how to do it. I will add pictures if I figure out how to do it.

[Titanium Hammer]

Fishin Finn, host your pics on a site like photobucket or imageshack. Then when you respond to a thread or start a new one, click on the little icon that shows a mountain with sun on it. It is down on the third row...same row as the YouTube icon. Then paste the link to your pic and you should be good to go.