Mosin Nagant
Russian M1891/59
1920 Tula
s/n N191241
Importer: C.A.I. ST. ALB. VT.
I haven't, intentionally, posted to the showcase for awhile but do have a couple of guns that I think warrant consideration.
The first is a gun that I purchased from a forum member. I believe he responded to a post about a 91/59 (I could be wrong), but indicated, in passing, that he had some 91/59's he was contemplating selling. Since, I'm always on the lookout and can't control the impulse to seek more information, I PM'd him. I have found more than one rare carbine with just a simple inquiry. He gave me a description of two of the guns but then he indicated that he had this other old gun - a 1920. I believe he mentioned it was a Tula or indicated it had numerous lines of stampings. I almost fell off my chair. At this point, not being able to type too well, I responded and asked for pictures and a brief description. That's all it took. We settled on a price that made both of us happy. But, for those who know me, in my mind, this is just near holy grail territory for 91/59's. I had no ide,a nor had I ever contemplated, that one of these existed. I would have expected such a rifle in 91/38 configuration. Even in that configuration, it would be rare - I've never seen or heard of one. Of course, every time I make such a statement someone from the forum posts a picture saying "Hey, I have one...".
The stock appears to be an/or the original M-91 stock, cut down with a war time tabbed sling slot cut into the forestock. The configuration (tabbed front end with prewar, war or post war slots in the rear) is typical of the 91/59's along with the mix of parts used to assemble them, although there are a few exceptions like the use new M-44 stocks and Ukrainian refurbished M-38 stocks in a small number of 91/59's. The rear sight is a bonus that, apparently those who built these, decided not to repair. I'm not complaining. The chamber and bore are not pristine, nor would I expect them to be on this particular gun. The bore has some pitting but the rifling is strong and certainly serviceable. The crown is very good and doesn't eat a bullet. The rifle appears to have the original receiver. Head space is fine.
Very interesting and rare carbine. As a 1920 Mosin this was either a Second Pattern M-91 or an M-91 Dragoon (not likely) in it's previous life. These are fairly rare rifles to find in their original configuration It is difficult enough to find 1920 to 1923 Tula's in M91's, Dragoons or 91/30 refurbs, but virtually impossible to find one that was converted to a carbine. One might expect this type of rifle to have been converted to an 1891/38 since they converted rifles of the Imperial Age of Russia, although 1920 was post Imperial. It is interesting in that my latest dated 91/38 is a 1920 Izhevsk and my earliest dated 91/59 is a 1920 Tula. I remember fantasizing about such an overlap but put it out of my mind thinking "no way"... I can't help but think that there are very few, if any other RSFSR's in 91/59 configuration. Note the welded rear sight base. This indicates to me that the original rifle was a Pattern 2 M-91 and an early conversion to 91/30 configuration - perhaps a testing or proof of concept rifle or, simply a repaired/refurbished rifle that was released back into service.. I would have guessed it had once been a Dragoon but it is thought that Tula did not start making Dragoons until 1923. I could be wrong about this. I suggest "early" because of the crudeness of the weld. Most converted Dragoons had the new 91/30 sight bases attached with pins to a welded-on internal base. This is different. It is always possible that, in this case, an M-91 long rifle was actually used by the 91/59 project. It's also possible and likely that the original rifle went in for refurbishment and a damaged muzzle required that the damaged end of the muzzle be removed. At a later date, it ended up in a pile of "91/30's" to be converted to a 91/59. The more you learn about these "special project" guns, the more you find you don't know. For sure, the history would be fun to know. Overall, a very nice and rare, perhaps one of a kind, example of a 91/59.
Other than the description of the manufacturing facility, the primary difference (with exception of the plant name's location on the shank) in the two Tula 5-line shank stampings are the political designations. This is probably known information for most people. But, many new members may not know what these shanks say or imply to Westerners. I see this question continually come up on Facebook.
Р.С.Ф.С.Р. - Russian (Cyrillic) abbreviation for "Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика" which when translated to "Roman" Russian it becomes "Rossiyskaya Sovetskaya Federativnaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika", i.e. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. This was used on the five line expression from approximately 1920 until 1923/4. Shanks so stamped, would translate to "First/Foremost Tula Guns//Weapons Factory Р.С.Ф.С.Р.
С.С.С.Р. (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) is a Russian (Cyrillic) abbreviation for the Soviet Union. When translated from Cyrillic to Russian, it becomes, "Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik", i.e., "Union of Soviet Socialists Republic", "USSR".
1920-1923
ПЕРВЫЕ = FIRST/FOREMOST
ТУЛЬСКИЕ = TULA
ОРУЖЕЙНЫЕ = GUN/WEAPONS
ЗАВОДЫ = FACTORY/PLANTS
РСфСР = RSFSF (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic)
1924-1928
ПЕРВЫЕ = FIRST/FOREMOST
ОРУЖЕЙНЫЕ = GUN/WEAPONS
ЗАВОДЫ = FACTORY/PLANTS
C.C.C.P. = (Union of Soviet Socialists Republic)
BТУЛА - B = IN, ТУЛА=TULA "IN TULA"
Discussion Section
Discussion Section
RFSFR M1891/59
RFSFR M1891/59
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