"Collectors Forum" - All Mosin Nagant are discussed here. Also the Russian and "Finnish capture" SVT38 and SVT40. This is an excellent place for new Mosin owners to ask questions. We have some of the best experts here looking forward to your questions. If you post a Mosin sniper rifle here, we may or may not move it to the sniper forum.
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I received my latest Mosin, a 1927 Izhevsk Ex-Dragoon with no import marks as far as I can tell. This gun is definitely well used, and would have probably fallen to Bubba as just a beat up old Mosin - but it is now safe with me
First of all this gun is totally mismatched, no serial numbers match, and is a variety of parts from the different Soviet arsenals. Tang is 1927 Izhevsk. Top handguard is missing, and the stock has gone through several rough repairs. The Soviet crest has been pinged. Other than that I can't tell what kind of history this gun may have been through - any help from you guys would be HUGELY appreciated!
Interesting rifle with an interesting mix of features. The hangers are in the style of rifles imported from Spain in the 50's that were used I. The Spanish civil war. The problem with that though is that the Spanish civil war ended before the soviets started pinning the rear sight base when they refurbed or updated old rifles. The peened crest has shown up mostly on 'balkan' import mosins but on Spanish and Finnish ones too. Old import with post Spanish Civil war features, Id guess a Finn capture rifle. Maybe the hangers were added at some point later after import.
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Korean war bringhome maybe? Looks nice whatever it is
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
The commerce which maybe carried on with the people inhabiting the line you will pursue renders a knowledge of these people important ~Thomas Jefferson~ (to- Lewis and Clark)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), Inaugural Address, January 20, 1953
When I first saw this rifle I was hoping for it to be a Finn capture, but there is no SA stamp anywhere that I can locate. In fact the only marking that seemed out of place is a "00" mark on the upper right of the barrel shank, any ideas what that could be?
The pinned rear sight is a sure fire way to tell that the rifle went through refurbishment at some point?
The OO is an accuracy proof mark from the original production. It is most likely an ex-dragoon rifle. Dragoons were the same length as later 91/30s but had the m91 infantry rifles' sights. Some were updated in the 30s with 91/30 sights, but the bases weren't pinned. Check to see if there is a gap under back of the rear sight base where the dovetail is. That confirms it is an exdragoon and not a 91/30 prototype.
The rear bases weren't pinned until the 40's IIRC. Your rifle was at least partially refurbed somewhere, but received no stamps. If you can, check the stock under the buttplate. Sometimes there are interesting stamps there.
Also, not all Finn rifles were SA stamped. I have a D marked Westinghouse with no SA stamp.
On Facebook? Check out the non-sporter preservationist group at: OOOPS. Deleted by Facebook because it's evil to even discuss collectible firearms on social media these days.
This one smells of third world somewhere. Otherwise the stock would have been fixed different or replaced. It was sent off as aid somewhere and used good. I am in agreement with the vietnam or even afaganistan or someplace.
The commerce which maybe carried on with the people inhabiting the line you will pursue renders a knowledge of these people important ~Thomas Jefferson~ (to- Lewis and Clark)
Racerguy - Definitely ex-dragoon (my first), looked for the gap that so many speak of on this forum almost first thing I will also check under the buttplate for marks, haven't done that yet. Thanks for the extra info on refurb pins and marks!
Desdem - So I will probably never know where this thing came in from... All I know is that there are no import marks, which seemed very neat and again a first for my collection. The stock is definitely very well used, when I had the barrel and action out of the wood I noticed what is almost definitely a bullet hole through where the cleaning rod would have been. That is probably what caused the cracks requiring all the nails towards the end of the stock.
There are clues all over it, You just have to see them and then decipher them. That is the hard part. It is fun to speculate and i am not one who knows like these other guys but here is some. AS Racerguy00 says, it has been through a refurb and then updated. This takes several places out of play. First off is spain. If it had gone to spain it would still be in dragoon configuration as the upgrades were after that. This also likely leaves out finland as it would have been in dragoon configuration there also. So in play is countries that recieved aid late or where they sold them off as surplus. The peened crest would point to aid but not completely. So anybody getting soviet weapons after upgrades and using those stock mods will be how to narrow it down some.......Maybe
The commerce which maybe carried on with the people inhabiting the line you will pursue renders a knowledge of these people important ~Thomas Jefferson~ (to- Lewis and Clark)
I agree its most likely not Finnish either. Wherever its from, its a very cool rifle.
On Facebook? Check out the non-sporter preservationist group at: OOOPS. Deleted by Facebook because it's evil to even discuss collectible firearms on social media these days.
First time I see something really interesting like that rifle, man, you gotta start from the crown and work backwards with the best pics you can take.
Unique find, congrats !:d
"FOR WE ARE MANY"
An armed Public consists of Citizens, an unarmed Public consists of Subjects!
People used to make fun of me at the shows, they would be looking over all the clean rifles, and I would be over checking out some rusty relic in the bargain bin. But that was were all the really interesting milsurps were, the rifles that had been in exotic places and done interesting things, the rifles that had story's to tell. The silver worn blue and rust always caught my eye first in any pile of milsurps. Back in the day these rifles were the Finn capture M91/30's and Finn M1891's, SCW rifles, now look at what such rifles trade for.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Oh wow, this is quite a rifle for sure. I am having trouble in my mind discerning how Spain was eliminated from the possibility in the above post. Have to think about that one a bit. At any rate this rifle is like a time capsule, only with no notes inside, only clues. Very good find. How did you come about it?
The rear sight base is pinned on Russell, that is a post WW2 Soviet improvement, the Spanish aid rifles never got it.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
