Introduced in 1939 and rushed into service for the Winter War, the Lahti L-39 fires a 20mm anti-tank round from a top-loaded magazine and was capable of successfully engaging the Soviet armor of the era. While progress in armor technology left the L-39, and by extension the rest of the anti-tank rifles developed between the wars, out of a job, the Finnish army got pretty creative with the weapon. In addition to the standard anti-material function most AT rifles switched over to, L-39s were also pressed into service as fully automatic anti-aircraft guns, served as vehicle armament and were popular for counter-sniper work. "Counter-sniper work" being a fancy way of saying that if an enemy is hiding behind cover with a rifle, you shoot the cover with an L-39, hit the cover, the enemy, and anything behind the sniper, a tactic still used in the field to this very day by Barrett-equipped American soldiers and marines. Additionally, L-39 gunners were still able to harass heavier Soviet tanks by nailing vulnerable external targets, damaging treads and turret tracks, or whacking open hatches with incendiary rounds, causing burning phosphorous to splash onto any nearby crewmen. Measuring taller than a man and weighing in at close to 110 pounds, the L-39 is fitted with a ported muzzle brake, a long vented hardwood barrel shroud, left-offset blade and tangent sights, a dual-mode bipod with brass covered skids and swing-out spiked legs, crank-action cocking handle, smooth hardwood grips with an oversized steel handguard, wooden cheekpiece, and a rubber recoil pad. Included with the lot are a eleven extra magazines, magazine cases for all, a number of 20mm bore brushes, an assortment of small spare parts, an extra spike-base bipod and two cased maintenance kits.

Excellent with 90% of the original black enamel finish showing some mild wear and handling marks overall. The cheekpiece and recoil pad show a few light scuffs. The accessories are fair, with evidence of use and age. Mechanically excellent. NOTE: This item is registered with the BATFE as a Destructive Device. It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to understand and comply with all relevant laws and regulation that would apply to this item, including the Federal, State and Local level.