I have always liked the Finnish Valmet over/under shotguns imported to the US in the 1960s and '70s under several brands, including Savage. They seemed to me to be decent entry-level doubles that are extremely reliable and handle reasonably well for certain purposes at a decent price.
Had always assumed that because of the top slide/locking block they were a modified/simplified version of the Remington 32 and/or the Krieghoff. But I was told on another board that the original model Valmet "Leijona" was introduced as a 16 guage in 1948 in Finland and was based on a design by Damon Petric of St. Etienne, France as redesigned by a Valmet technician Paavo Narinen. Can anybody confirm any of that? Does "Leijona" perhaps mean "Lion" in Finnish?
I have owned six of these guns and still have four (one's a 12x.308 O/U combination), but the only 16 guage I have ever seen for sale in the US was offered by a Western MA dealer ("Pack and Postal") and I was unable to buy it at the time. Never seen another even mentioned.
Do the Valmets bear ANY design relationship to the Rem 32 or the Krieghoff, besides the superficial resemblance of the sliding top lock? (I've never been able to compare these three designs side-by-side).
Any info greatly appreciated; hope you are all having a great Easter!
