The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I recently got a Chinese 1953 M44 type 53 and Unlike most examples I see, the wood its decently pretty to look at. for whatever reason the trigger is extremely light but with only 10 rounds threw it I'm Not sure if I'm going to mess with it. The front handguard ring is a little loose and wobbles a bit but the handguard is pretty stable thanks to a tight rear band. Its also missing the bayonet and i'm not sure if I should get one for it.

Is there any common ways to tighten those handguard rings?
I really haven't found much info about my chinese mosin. I have even found a star in the wood on the bolt side of the butt sock on the side and can't find anything about it.

my other mosin is a 1943 Izhevsk 91/30 thats numbers matching. I have had that one a few months and love it so far. I have been pretty addicted ever since

Nice t53, where did you get it?? I ask because its been refinished. That's why it looks so good.. As for they bayonete I would get one for it, it ads something to the looks of the rifle and its something it should have..

That is a first generation Type 53 import from the late 1980's, the small import mark is a dead giveaway. You got lucky as many rifles in that batch were very rough, probably why the stock was redone. They look to have started with a pretty solid stock to begin with as I well recall the horrible condition much of the wood was in on that lot. These were being sold for $25 each back then, and since few people who hadn't served in the jungles of Vietnam recognized what they were they didn't sell well. The type 53 is a good quality weapon built to a higher standard of fit and finish than most wartime Soviet models. On the rare occasions one is found in unissued conditions they are identical in quality to any Polish, Romanian, or Hungarian M44. They do tend to have nice triggers. As for the band, it must have been forced open at some point to get it over the front sight, not much that can be done with it now. As for the bayonet, thanks to the influx of type 53's of late you should be able to find a bayonet for it . Welcome to the board, and to Mosin collecting

Very nice Mosins and also a very nice photo presentation.

Congratulations on the guns and thanks for posting.

Gsragtop wrote:Nice t53, where did you get it?? I ask because its been refinished. That's why it looks so good.. As for they bayonete I would get one for it, it ads something to the looks of the rifle and its something it should have..

I got em both at my local gunshop that I have been helping out at for the last 7 months
I am the one who refinished the 91/30 with tru-oil and the T53 was like that when I got it. previous owner had front sight post painted lime green , tin foil shims under the handguard that did nothing but ruin the fit of the handguard, and I still haven't checked yet but I'm betting the last owner also messed with the trigger. Its pretty bad as if I have the gun cocked and I slam the buttstock into something hard (like smashing stuff with buttplate) it will let the gun fire. I know its kind of unsafe but its rare I have anything in the chamber of the gun unless its while the gun is pointed down range while preparing to shoot. sure does make for a nice trigger though. The last owner had for sure messed with the thing for sure but I wanted a Carbine Mosin and this one came along with a good price. My 91/30 was still in cosmoline when I got that one.

You just need to get another trigger, and bolt stop/sear, replace what is on there before someone gets hurt. Liberty tree has the parts and they can come from any Mosin, or any year. Refinishing of milsurps is not something done by collectors except to fix some disaster done by Bubba, refinishing an original finish on an antique diminishes the value as a collectable but removing lime green paint is a reason to need to do so.

Kind of unsafe? I sure hope I am not next to you at the range! Get a new sear and trigger from Liberty, one of our sponsors, or someplace else as that rifle is dangerous to be around. You will get chewed up for the tru-oil as we are a keep as they were forum. It will pay you to go back and read the rules. There used to be many of the replacement bayonets floating around, Cheaper than Dirt and Tapco both had them at one time. That is an early Navy Arms import so you got a decent piece of wood there to begin with and are lucky to find one.

Automotive handle huh? MrRPM I think you will find this place loaded with gear-heads and ex-racers. We sort of lurk around in the shadows. Welcome aboard and enjoy your stay. Bill

you guys are talking about this https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/p ... ategory=17 ?
thanks for the tip, cool website all together.

as far as the Tru-oil, In my opinion it really made it look much better and thats all the really matters, my opinion.
After looking at Libertytree I see the bayonet lugs can be replaced and there are also replacement hand guard rings. If I really wanted I could take the lug off the replace that front ring couldn't I? (as in have a gunsmith do it) wouldn't be worth the cost and hassle of needing to re-sight the gun. Better spend the money on trigger and bayonet!

How it looks is a matter of personal opinion, but on a preservationist collectors board original is king. No, it wouldn't be worth it to replace the band by having the bayonet lug removed. A gunsmith would hit you with a bill higher than that of another entire type 53. I should have pointed out that Liberty tree is at the top of every board page, just click on their name and you will be directed there. Same for Cope's, Trinity, Okie, and Elby. Okie can sell you the headspace gauges so you can check your own rifles headspace, Elby has the sight adjustment tools that make life easier adjusting windage on the Mosins, Copes has ammo and gear, and Liberty tree has collectable Mosins and other Milsurps to feed the addiction.

Welcome, Nice pair

Welcome. You can get a bayonet and cleaning rod at Liberty Tree. I've purchased both at one time or another - more cleaning rods than anything else.

Yea, cleaning rods rarely, if ever, came with the type 53's no matter what country they were imported from.

Welcome aboard!!!! Nice pair of rifles also!!!

Did some more inspection on my T53 and the trigger parts were unmodified (as in polished or shimmed). My 91-30 has always had a very long and heavy trigger pull so I swapped the sears around to see if it would fix my T53 and It did. The rifle now passes the bump test with flying colors! Since the T53's sear didn't look bad I put it in my 91-30 for the fun of it and wow it really helped fix that horribly heavy trigger. so I also did a bump test on the 91-30 and it also passes with flying colors still. Now both rifles are a happy medium trigger pull id say around 6-7 pounds (no gauge on hand) and I plan to try out both today on range.

Parts swapping is how many of the army's that used these rifles fixed them. Good to hear it's been sorted out

Lucky you!

Since the last owner already messed with the original finish and didn't do a very good job I went and made due with what I already had and refinished it myself. I like how it came out, certainly more then the last finish job. I really love this rifle, its a great shooter and operates awesomely so I don't see myself getting rid of it anyway.

a closer look

Looks nice but for sure sanded to death. I hate to suggest trading parts around like that but often do it myself. I guess as long as you do the bounce test and check the trigger pull versus after the bounce test you are OK. Bill