Finland’s 7.62 Tkiv 85 Sniper Rifle
The 7.62 Tarkkuuskivääri 85 (7.62 Sniper Rifle 85) entered service with the Finnish Defence Forces in the mid-1980s. Developed by Valmet it took the standard Mosin-Nagant action and placed it in an improved stock. The second photograph above features three Finnish snipers armed with the new Tkiv 85 in 1989. Today, it holds the distinction of probably being the last Mosin-Nagant actioned rifle in service with a European military.
The Tkiv 85 replaced the also Mosin-Nagant-based Kiikarikivääri M76. The Tkiv 85 uses the Finnish 7.62×53mmR rifle cartridge and feeds from a standard 5-round internal magazine. Interestingly, the 7.62 Tkiv 85 is the only rifle in the Finnish Army’s inventory which is still chambered in 7.62×53mmR. A venerable derivative of the Russian cartridge with similar dimensions.
Finnish sniper with Tkiv 85 (source)
Sadly there is little information available on the rifle, an archived Finnish Army page lists the weapons length as 130cm (51in) and weighs approximately 7kg (15.4lbs) - likely a weight including optic and bipod, and has a range of 800m. The barrel is said to be around 27.5in long and it is most frequently seen paired with a Zeiss 1.5-6x scope. There are some variations to the stock profile and scope used.
While built on old receivers, it appears that the rifle’s barrel is free floated within the bulky wooden stock and it has a height adjustable buttstock. The scope is mounted just ahead of the action and a bipod can be fitted to a spigot at the front of the forend and folded back, flush with the stock. It has been somewhat supplanted by the Sako TRG and in May 2020, a fresh effort was launched to replace it, and the SVD-63, in Finnish service.
Sources:
Images: 1 2
7.62 Tkiv 85, FDF [archived] (source)
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