The m/91-24 “Lotta” Rifle, Sako’s origin

[gangsterofboats]

This is what Sako considers their very first rifle. The money to build these was raised by the Lotta Svard who were a women’s auxiliary organization of the Civil Guard. They were assembled in Helsinki in the Civil Guard rifle workshop that later became Sako in Riihimäki. This particular example is 100% original which is very rare, from the Tampere Civil Guard. The barrels were procured from SIG in Switzerland and Civil Guard engineers designed improved sights, a two stage trigger, and a method to attempt floating the barrel.

 

[icebear]

Nice one. Original condition, nice clear markings, Civil Guard number matching on bolt and barrel. I like it.

Here's a link to a post of mine from a few years ago about one of my m/24 rifles with markings that mirror the historical relationship between Finland and Russia. There is a minor error in the dating of the hammer and sickle marking, but it doesn't affect the overall story.
https://sakocollectors.com/forum/threads/an-m-91-24-with-a-lot-of-history.14077/

One addition to the above post - m/24 barrels were purchased from SIG and from Bohler-Stahl in Germany. The rifle in the linked post has a Bohler-Stahl barrel.