1899 Izhevsk M1891/38 "Scrubbed"

[qz2026]

Mosin Nagant
M1891/38
1899 Izhevsk
s/n 65148
C.A.I. ST. ALB. VT.

Discussion Section

This is a gun that I saw advertised as an M-38. What attracted me to it was the scrubbed (except s/n) barrel and the stock. I think when ever you find one of these Mosin's with only a serial number on the barrel, there is a story waiting to be told. Even though undated, the stock indicated to me that it might have been an earlier M-38.

But, closer examination indicated that this, in fact, was not an M-38 as advertised. It was really an 1891/38 and, it appeared that only one other person (a forum member) realized this. The first indication was the circle T and "boxed arrow" stamp on the receiver. The "boxed arrow", as I call it, is only seen on 1891/38's and most of the circle T stamps you see are also on 1891/38's, although I have seen them on some other Mosins in the past. In general though, these stamps are usually only seen on these rifles. The thoughts are that they represent some sort of inspection stampings. Obviously, this gun also attracted my attention be the receiver was an older hex. I am always interested in finding an Mosin carbine with a hex receiver.

Although I am interested in hex M-38's, I am also interested in making sure that the rifles are in the proper stocks. If an older M-38 (1939-1941), you would expect to find them in an appropriate Pattern 2 stock. This was the second generation M-38 stock that still used the prewar escutcheons. Later M-38's had a new stock made for them very similar to the later M-44 stocks with the exception that there was no milled in bayonet groove. The stock on this rifle didn't look right - like it had been arsenal refinished in that wonderful honey color (which prompted some of my friends to think it was a refinished bubba, and had a bayonet groove milled on it. Obviously not an M-44 stock but an M-91 stock. It didn't take me long to figure out that this was an 1891/38. The rifle was advertised incorrectly and the seller, who is pretty knowledgeable, should have known better.

So, I have lucked into, in my view, a one-of-a-kind 1891/38 that will enhance my collection. One could speculate for months on how and why this occurred. But, my thoughts are that the scrubbing was done after the 91/38 build. Why would be anyone's guess... The Czech star is missing from the shank but the "mystery" number "7" is still there. There was a giveaway Czech star on the front sight ring as with most of these rifles. There is a faint "O" in the correct position on the shank to indicate that this was an Imperial Izhevsk barrel. (Оружейный Заводъ). At one point, with my magnifying glass, I thought I saw a very faint "4" in the position the date would be in that could have indicated an 1894 barrel but I can't find it any more. Maybe I was seeing things. Although it is uncommon to see these rifles with mismatched barrel/receiver combinations, there are a few out there. But, for now I will simply call it an 1899 Izhevsk.