I had been itching to fill the empty M24 "Lotta Savard" slots in my Finnish Mosin Nagant collection, and when rarely one became available over the past few years, I wasn't positioned to buy. But a few months back, a Bohler-Stahl (German barrel) was snagged, and I was going to be content with any SIG that came my way to bookend the barrel manufacturers.
I wasn't expecting to fill the slot in such grand fashion. Listed as a "Russian 44 Carbine" at auction, I knew from the one lonely photo that this one was a funny looking carbine. A message to the seller confirmed that I should bid until I owned it, and it turned out to be no more painful than to pay for a more common M24.
Presenting a very rare first contract run Schweiz. Industrie-Gesellschaft (SIG) unstepped barrel M24 from Switzerland, serial number 323 (of approximately 2500 straight barrels), no Civil Guard numbers and instead stamped KLP for the CG District of Kymen-Laakson Piiri. And a very fine specimen it is.
A couple of good links to show the M24 production and features, with a short history of the Lotta Savard (Finnish women’s auxiliary), the Finnish Civil Guard, and the birth of the SAKO Arsenal in Finland, where assembly took place:
THE M91/24 CIVIL GUARD RIFLE AND CARBINE
Finnish M24
The rifle also has a nicely spliced Russian stock with a Deutches Reich mark, and interesting rear sight graduation stamps. Pics tell the rest of the story.
Enjoy, and thanks for looking.
I wasn't expecting to fill the slot in such grand fashion. Listed as a "Russian 44 Carbine" at auction, I knew from the one lonely photo that this one was a funny looking carbine. A message to the seller confirmed that I should bid until I owned it, and it turned out to be no more painful than to pay for a more common M24.
Presenting a very rare first contract run Schweiz. Industrie-Gesellschaft (SIG) unstepped barrel M24 from Switzerland, serial number 323 (of approximately 2500 straight barrels), no Civil Guard numbers and instead stamped KLP for the CG District of Kymen-Laakson Piiri. And a very fine specimen it is.
A couple of good links to show the M24 production and features, with a short history of the Lotta Savard (Finnish women’s auxiliary), the Finnish Civil Guard, and the birth of the SAKO Arsenal in Finland, where assembly took place:
THE M91/24 CIVIL GUARD RIFLE AND CARBINE
Finnish M24
The rifle also has a nicely spliced Russian stock with a Deutches Reich mark, and interesting rear sight graduation stamps. Pics tell the rest of the story.
Enjoy, and thanks for looking.