The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

In 1936 Sergei Simonov began working on improvements to the basic 91/30 design. There were several minor changes that were tried, but none of them seem to have made it to production. Here's one of the "trials rifles".
All numbers match and appear to be original (same font). There are no import marks, but there is a "USSR" stamp on the rear sight. This is consistent with other Spanish Civil War rifles, but I don't really know if there is any SCW connection! It's very likely, but the "USSR" stamp is double struck - poorly. I'm open to other opinions. One of the main differences on these trials rifles is the front sight and bayonet attachment. The bayonet lug is a metal sleeve pinned to the front of the stock. There is another metal sleeve that acts as a retaining band that slides over the bayonet lug and barrel. There is a gap in this sleeve which allows it to pass around the bayonet lug as seen in the photo. The other barrel bands are unique to these trials rifles. They are spring steel with a gap underneath that just fits over the bayonet lug grooves. There are at least three different front sights used on these trials rifles. The one I have is pretty cool looking, but it's much larger than any of the barrel bands/sleeves. Unless you remove the front sight, you are stuck with the bands rattling around on the barrel while you clean it!

When I first removed the handguard, I noticed a spiral design on the barrel. It might be evidence of an oil-cloth wrapped barrel.
Ref: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12086
Whatever the markings were from, I decided to take a photo of them before I cleaned the barrel!! Many trials rifles are seen with painted black stocks. There is black paint under the handguard and in the finger grooves on the stock of my rifle. Somewhere along the way, my stock was sanded down and given a shellac. The color is not quite as red as what is seen on refurb rifles, but it appears very consistent with Soviet shellac. There are no "refurb" marks on the stock and I can only speculate as to why it is like this. Perhaps it was part of the trials...? Luckily, whoever sanded it did not completely wipe out the trials code on the buttstock! There are quite a few different proof marks under the barrel, but most all of them are lightly struck or incomplete. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary in that...

That is a really cool rifle.

That's a pretty rare score.

nice rifle

Wonderful rifle! That's a Holy Grail for my SCW collection. How did you come across this rifle?

The "USSR" mark is indeed constant with a 1950's/60's SCW imported M91/30. Indeed it seems that most, if not all, the Simonov Trial rifles in the US came from these imports from Spain. I don't know how many have the import mark as your rifle does, but it verifies that it did come from Spain.

Your rifle is in excellent condition. I don't know if I've seen that example of a front sight on one before, but to be fair I haven't seen many. It looks like it copies a version of the Czech VZ rifles. I have a Czech made M30 Persian Musketoon that has a sight like that. They certainly used a number of different types on these trial rifles. I'm also glad it still has the trial markings on the butt stock. Again, I haven't come across any information on the exact meanings of the markings, but they are found on many examples.

In any case thanks for sharing!

The two screws that hold the trigger/magazine to the receiver pass through metal spacer sleeves. These sleeves are fluted and fit in such a way that they isolate the action from the stock! I'm not sure if they work better than shims, but it appears the end goal is the same. As you can see, the front spacer sleeve is a sort of cradle for the receiver lug. The receiver lug is actually milled down in size to fit into this cradle! There are a few stamps next to the milling of the lug. That's about it - I think I've covered most of the unique features. The only picture left that I forgot to post is the tang date. Here it is: Enjoy and be educated.

Nice rifle

I was looking forward to the photos, and WOW! That's a holy grail rifle for sure. I think it's a no-brainer for the showcase. Beautiful.

Wow, that is just plain cool! I've never seen one of those before. Thanks for the great pics & for sharing with us!

Gosh Darn it, yet another Mosin I have to keep an eye out for..lol

Honestly, wow... Just wow!! For it to have survived intact for all these years is amazing !! What a great score !! Where did you find it??

Wow excellent find, good eye.

You Done, Very GOOD.

Excellent pictures

Thank you for your efforts, and a Great purchase

I have I thing to add........................



SHOWCASE !

Miller Tyme wrote:I have I thing to add........................



SHOWCASE !

+1

millman wrote:

Miller Tyme wrote:I have I thing to add........................



SHOWCASE !

+1

+2

HOLY CRAP What a score. SWEEEEEEEET

Fantastic find!

Wow. Very cool. Good to see something like this so if someone else ever finds one the know it isn't bubba work.

Can you imagine something like that coming out of a crate of refurbs? Holy cow. I love it. Where did you say you found it?