Lahti-Da?
 

Starting the thought process towards acquiring a Lahti. Any thoughts or pertinent websites? Approx cost for "High end Shooter/low end collectible"? All unsolicited opinions welcome!

I know the L-35 is considered a better built gun than the L-40 (If I remember my terminology correctly (??)). But that's the extent of my knowledge...

Yeah, but if you bought a m/40, that would really be Swede! Heehhehahah

Yea, I know about that too - which has something to do about build quality.

Hi,

These pistols are heavier than just about any other.

Also, they feel strangely in your hand, after you have shot a Luger for a while.

Sieger

The Swedish M40 is your better bet for a shooter. If you're patient, a decent one can be found in the $500-700 range.

I'll keep looking - they're asking RIDICULOUS money on GB, but what else is new? They're not much cheaper on the collector's sites either!

I keep reading that the Swedish guns are of inferior metallurgy...

Zormpas
I find that claim about Swedish metallurgy very hard to believe. I have long personal experience with Swedish steel and it is very high quality. I have been involved in a few shunts both on and off the track with my beloved Swedish SAAB cars and have always been amazed at the strength of the steel those cars are made of.:)
Kinda kick myself for not buying a Lathi when they where reasonably priced.:crying:
Bob

An ideal one has bolt accelerator, this design feature is very rare on pistols. Harder to find. I saw a collector getting one last year. If I remembered right, the feature is visible from exterior, it has a bulge on top of the gun (or side?, I cannot remember).

I would call that an urban legend. The M/40 was taken out of service because some of them developed cracks, from what I have heard there were even some accidents where the shooter got hit by parts flying off the gun. However, this doesn't have anything to do with the steel quality.

The Swedish M/45B "Carl Gustav" submachine guns use a 9mm round especially developed for use in submachine guns. Sometimes you find it as surplus, packed in brown boxes marked M/39B. This round has a bullet with a very heavy jacket, actually heavy enough to qualify as armor piercing (even though it isn't). This ammo is easy to come by in Sweden, and it has been the demise of many 9mm handguns.

The heavy jacket causes more resistance in the bore, which in turn leads to higher pressure and a more violent recoil. Some people claim that it's a hotter load, but it's simply a matter of the bullet itself. The M/40 pistol is designed to work with standard 9mm pistol ammo, but many of them have been shot extensively with M/39B ammo just because it's easier to come by. This is what caused the infamous cracking in these pistols, and it happens in just about any pistol you shoot with this ammo. I know that many SIG 210s (a popular target gun in Sweden) have met the same fate.

This made authorities realize that the next service pistol needed to be of a type that could be shot with M/39B ammo, so this was one of the requirements in the trials before adopting the Glock 17 as Pistol M/88. Sometimes you will find surplus M/39B advertised as "armor piercing", "personal defense" etc, but my recommendation would be to stay away from it. You can compare this with some Com-Bloc surplus ammo, it happens that you encounter a submachine gun variety that's simply not suitable for use in handguns. You'll see the same thing when somebody shoots commercial 30-06 in an M1 Garand. This is a very well built rifle, but parts can start flying around if you use the wrong ammo.

So there's nothing wrong with the steel quality, the problems are caused by operator error.

No, no bulges. (Early examples had a cartridge indicator on top of chamber but no accelerator bulge). The frame covers the accelerator & pin when assembled.

The accelerator can be seen through the ejection port when the bolt is locked back.

Good web site here -

http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/m40/pist40_1.htm

Thanks for the info! I misunderstood the function of that bulge. It's great to know.

I also bought a "off-center" pistol from jcoe of gunboards, he has some great items for sale. I just bought a "svw46" P38 from him. I'm not a regular player of P38, but have a P38 could be fun. I guess it's the last P38 variation made by Mauser.

The late Ian Hogg put that to print in Military Small Arms of the 20th Century at least in the 6th edition which I own about the Swedish metallurgy. The claim is the specifications were changed in the steel to suit wartime availability of steel in Sweden. It also is noted in the early 80's the 9mm Service cartridge they were using was hotter for use in submachine guns too that were in use led to cracked frames and the withdrawal of the pistols in exchange for the older m/07 Browning 1903.

Heh...There is a Lahti M40 barrel on eBay right now... :p

Swedish LAHTI M40 9mm Pistol Barrel

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Swedish-LAHT...-/291544282545

I do not recommend anyone buying it - here's why -

Condition: Used
Seller Notes: “Used with removal dings at the hex area, nice bore”

Heh, heh..."removal dings"...heh, heh...You trashed it you douchehead!!! :soapbox:

So - how are you going to clean it up? :)

'Cause you're one of the few that could actually fix it! :cheers:

Channel locks can be used on many things. Apparently pistol barrels is one of them

If it were a reasonable price (like $20, which is all it's worth like that) I'd buy it, cut off the front sight band [and bore & tap it for a custom barrel] for later use and make another receiver thread chasing tool out of the rest. The Lahti thread is the same as the Luger (although the shank is longer) and there are some Luger barrel extensions ['receivers'] that are crudded up pretty bad with old dried up powder/grease/dirt.

As is, the only part of this barrel that's worth anything is the front sight.

Yes, a thought. IMHO, the tapered barrel [trumpet shape] is much 'prettier' than the hex barrel. From the gotavapen site it appears that the hex is the older/original style and the tapered/trumpet style is the newer/arsenal refurbished barrel. I would look for the newer style, particularly the arsenal refurbished Lahtis. The finish is quite well done, although it is [lightly] buffed.

I do like the front sight band on the hex barrels. :)

I don't like the square-ish thick trigger guards of the hex style Lahtis. :(

Boy, what a snob I am. :D

That's OK - your redeeming quality is that you like Nambus, ya can't be all bad! :D

Flattery will get you anywhere! :D

Thank you Sir! :cheers:

Don't call me 'Sir'!!!:grr:

I *work* for a living!!!

Call me 'Sergeant'!!! :thumbup:

Yes Sergeant! :D

I'll include this in my other thread, but FYI (if you've bought one)...

When my Lahti M-40 bolt was disassembled for refinishing it was found that the firing pin spring [14] was broken into two pieces. :eek:

It still functioned (I shot it dozens of times) but it is still something that I think should be removed & examined.

The firing pin and spring are both held in place by a pin [13] which needs to be driven out to clean & inspect the firing pin/spring.

Pic attached. :thumbup:

Resurrecting this thread, I'm "fairly interested" in this L-35 at Checkpoint Charile's :

http://www.checkpointcharlies.com/ec...indicator.html

From my research this is a so-called “fourth variation”, assembled post war from surplus parts. However, the bbl has me puzzled. It looks like a Swedish M40 bbl grafted onto a Valmet frame!

Comments?

Yes. It has a swedish barrel. I know a dealer in Finland who has nos finnish barrels.

I think I'm gonna pass on this one - I found another that is in at least as good a shape for $300 more with the correct bbl on it already.

$1,500 for a Lahti??? :eek: The Finnish L-35 or the Swedish M-40???

If that's the going price, I'm going to have to do some serious soul searching... ;)

Zorba, I bought my Lahti from Bob Simpson a couple of years ago. He had a number of complete rigs for sale at that time. You might check with him and see what he still has in stock.

IIRC, my Lahti (which was an equivalent to brand new "H" prefix commercial made by Husqvarna) cost considerably less than what you've quoted. It's more rare than a military gun.

Its an L-35 and its at Simpson's.

Still on the fence, but L-35s are expensive everywhere I've seen. If somebody wants to sell me one for 3 figures, I'm all ears; but they ain't cheep anywhere I've looked.

It's rare you see one anywhere. The Swedish Husqvarna M-40's are much more common. And considerably cheaper. ;)

With the loaded chamber indicator? Su-weet! :D

Rig, includes a commercial production military pattern leather holster in very good condition, with an extra original magazine, cleaning rod and tool.

Not an unreasonable price for a Valmet w/LCI, 2 mags, tool, & holster...IMO... :)

Simpson's does consider offers... :rolleyes:

It certainly seems to be market correct - I've always noticed that price estimates on fora like this one tend to be on the low side! :bigbye:

Unfortunately, reality intrudes.

You must strike now! Once Hillary takes office, she'll put a stop to all sales. It'll take a while for her to get some kind of gun-surrender program infrastructure up and functional, and by then you'll have had some fun with the L-35. :)

I'm hoping we'll be able to just surrender the serialized frames and sell the 'parts kits' left over. ;)

BTW, I mentioned/described my 1900AE purchase from Simpson in another thread, but it bears repeating: if you call and ask for a salesman and give him the lot number, he will go to the safe and pull it out and describe it to you and answer your questions. I got 'Floyd' and he was very honest and descriptive about the flaws (poor bore, blue gone to brown, mismatched/damaged mag). :)

You don't find that kind of service very often. :thumbup:

Unfortunately, someone scooped me on the Simpson's Lahti. Oh well...

Just won a similar one on GB, 4th variation w/LCI, Israeli contract.

Congrats Zorba!

Now you can "Lahti" the way forward!!!!

Yea, looking' forward to it. It apparently has been a safe queen for the last 30 years...

First look. Better pix when I have in possession...