1897 Tula M91 - Finally found myself an antique!

[Lotema]

I was finally lucky enough to find an antique Mosin to add to my collection and it's a pretty good looker if I do say so myself! I was browsing Armslist yesterday afternoon and as I scrolled through my normal watch list, up pops the title "Rare Nagant - $225". At first I thought it was a "rare" Nagant revolver but looking at the photo, it was indeed an m91. I figured at $225, that was a pretty decent deal for an m91 but I read the description and it stated that it was an antique, 1897. There were no photos of the barrel shank or receiver but I figured that if it really was an antique for $225, I needed to jump on it and hope I got into his email queue before anyone else did. He contacted me a few hours later and we arranged to meet this afternoon. He was a very nice older gentleman who had obtained the rifle from some other family members who had had this one for a "very long time".

For $225, this rifle just puts a good old smile on my face. It is indeed an antique, 1897 Tula in a two piece Finnish stock, [SA] marked, D stamped and best of all, absolutely NO import marks! The barrel does have about a 3/4" counter bore but still has plenty of rifling so I'm pretty hopeful that it'll be a good shooter. Most of the other parts are the usual mix of various other arsenals, NEW, Remington, Sestroryetsk, Izhevsk, basically a little bit from everything except for Chatellerault.

Enough of my blathering, you're here for some photos after all..

1897 Tula M91, [SA] & D stamped.


[SA] stamp. There is a little bit of pitting under the wood on the barrel shank but looks like it was blued over by the Finns.




The receiver tang is also 1897 Tula.


Came in a two piece Finnish stock (cross cannon logo on the butt)




Interesting trigger, neat stamps, an extra hole etc.. Couldn't get the sear screw out, it was just too tight. I'm going to soak that with some penetrating oil overnight and try again in the morning.


Izhevsk magazine body, old serial number marked out


The front barrel band had a screw in front of it but the rear one had a pin holding it in place.


It's got a counter bore but still has some good rifling..


Found this under the rear sight...


Looks like it's probably Finnish and has likely been there for a little while..


Westinghouse bolt body


Didn't find any import marks anywhere on this one.. Nothing under the wood, nothing on the receiver or on the front of the barrel..






That there is a good way to start the holidy weekend. Now I just need to wait until tomorrow to get her out to the range and see how she does!

[Titanium Hammer]

WOW, she's gorgeous Lotema! So glad that worked out for you today! Really looking forward to seeing her at the range tomorrow! Would be proud to have that one in my collection!

[willyj73]

Really nice looking rifle. My only antique is a Tula as well--and it's my only imperial era Tula M91. Unfortunately, my bore was badly rusted when I got it. Yours looks incredibly good.

[cj1964]

That's an extremely attractive M91 there. Congratulations!

[Lotema]

WOW, she's gorgeous Lotema! So glad that worked out for you today! Really looking forward to seeing her at the range tomorrow! Would be proud to have that one in my collection!

Hey, I found you an 1895 & 1897, it was about time that I found one for myself!

[Longcolt44]

Way to go. I was reading an article on Civil War sharpshooters today and it said that they sometimes used pieces of playing cards to dial in their ramp sights. That piece of cardboard in your sights is just another tool in the sharpshooters toolbox.

[racerguy00]

Very very nice!

[Kiwi Mosin man]

Very nice, looks fantastic in the Finn stock too [emoji4]

[Lotema]

Way to go. I was reading an article on Civil War sharpshooters today and it said that they sometimes used pieces of playing cards to dial in their ramp sights. That piece of cardboard in your sights is just another tool in the sharpshooters toolbox.

I've read a similar thing about the civil war sharpshooters. Not sure whether this greasy slip of paper was used for that but I've sure not seen one in there before. Doesn't seem like it would be doing a whole lot other than maybe just help hold some grease in place on the top of the rear sight base. Could very well be just that simple.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[neal45]

I always like to see a M91 posted and yours is a beauty. Great price too.
Congratulations.

[Fledge]

Looks good, and the price was great.

[bunkysdad]

Lotema, this was an amazing find. I really like all of the evidence of old grease and light grime only in the hidden places that show it's true unmessed with condition. Not only hard to find, but bought around half to 1/3 of it's value I'd say.

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[King Johhny]

Nice!

[Cj556]

Nice Mosin. Between the Russo Japanese war, WWI, and the various wars in Finland im sure this gun saw some history.

[Lotema]

Thanks all, I'm extra happy with this one. Took it to the range today even though I felt a bit guilty about it. It dialed in really quickly, actually was shooting a little low so was able to move the rear sight and get it on target. While I won't be winning any marksmanship competitions with it, it did incredibly good for a 120 year old rifle.

Lotema, this was an amazing find. I really like all of the evidence of old grease and light grime only in the hidden places that show it's true unmessed with condition. Not only hard to find, but bought around half to 1/3 of it's value I'd say.

My wife was very happy to see that appraisal My wife saw that and asked when I was going to sell it and double my money. I told her I wasn't going to be doing that. That's her job after I'm gone because this one isn't going anywhere while I'm alive!

Nice Mosin. Between the Russo Japanese war, WWI, and the various wars in Finland im sure this gun saw some history.

Without a doubt. There's a guy on one of the other forums that'll do some individual rifle lookups from the Finnish records. This one might be interesting to try to lookup and see where it might have been, when the replacement stock was given to it etc.

[bunkysdad]

I heard that! Double your money and you only have money. It would be a lot easier to make more money than it would be to find that deal again.

[qz2026]

[steelbuttplate]

Tula M91 owner (1916) says,, Yep, with a bore like that it should shoot a 2" group The barrel bands have been the most troublesome thing with mine, 100 yr. old screws will break, but they are great old rifles.

[Lotema]

Tula M91 owner (1916) says,, Yep, with a bore like that it should shoot a 2" group The barrel bands have been the most troublesome thing with mine, 100 yr. old screws will break, but they are great old rifles.

It certainly seems like it'll be capable. Whether my eyes are capable of that is a completely different story. Yup, I've broken one band screw by trying to tighten it too much, which wasn't really much at all. Fragile things for sure. As long as you remember they're reverse threaded you should generally be in good shape!