Mosin-Nagant M/27 Pystykorva

About the Mosin-Nagant M/27 Pystykorva

The Mosin-Nagant M/27 Pystykorva is a Finnish bolt-action service rifle, the Finnish Army's first major reworking of the Russian Model 1891. Adopted in 1927, it retained the M1891 receiver and magazine but fitted a new, shorter heavy-weight barrel for improved accuracy, a sturdier two-piece stock, a redesigned front barrel band and nose cap, and a distinctive hooded front sight whose protective ears earned the rifle its nickname Pystykorva ('spitz', after the upright ears of the spitz dog). Chambered in 7.62x54mmR, it served Finnish forces through the Winter War and Continuation War.

The M/27 earned its nickname Pystykorva, Finnish for 'spitz', because the protective ears flanking its hooded front sight resembled the pricked-up ears of a spitz dog. It was the first of the series of Finnish Mosin-Nagant refinements that culminated in the celebrated M/39.

Mosin-Nagant M/27 Pystykorva specifications

Approximately 71,550 M/27 rifles produced between 1927 and 1940, the great majority by Oy Tikkakoski Ab, with a small number (around 2,550) by VKT (Valtion Kivaaritehdas). Many were built on receivers from older Russian-made M1891 actions.