1943 Izhevsk

[sfal]

New member here posting this 43 Izhevsk, which a friend has had for awhile and wants to sell. Having knowledge about all different kinds of milsurps but not Mosins, I joined here to learn, and I have learned alot.
Sn EC4318
At first glance to me, rifle was all matching, but come to find out its been refurbished in what looks like Ukraine.
As the buttplate, bolt and floorplate all share the same number and font they dont have the letter suffix's of org sn.
Stock is post war with pressed in sling pieces, the hand guard has a old school look to me, with brass ends.
Overall all a very clean rifle, bore is very nice, it came with the cleaning kit, ammo pouch, oiler, sling, cleaning rod and bayonet.

most of the parts are Izhevsk, the bolt head is 11 in circle (Poland), mag box is a Star (Tula?)

While rifle is import marked it is very hard to see looking straight at it. you need to look at it from an angle to see it.

one question, if the slash in a box, which is on the stock is Ukraine, the bayonet also has this mark, but would that be from the 1st Grau Arsenal?

Had alot of fun, and learned alot researching this, Love the history
Thanks for any help/input
Al

pic link

[Junk Yard Dog]

Welcome to the board. First off, it was refurbished in the USSR, Ukraine was just another Soviet republic at that time. This refurbishment program for WW2 weapons was going on at different facilities all over the USSR for over 40 years. We refer to these as Soviet refurbs, as the USSR was a government this refurbishing is not considered a Bubba hack job of any kind. The numbers were force matched at the end of the refurbishment process, a process that involved weapons being disassembled and like parts from hundreds of rifles done in batches. Old numbers often ground off and the new number made to match the barrel number. No effort was made to match parts by arsenal or era, if they passed spec they went on a rifle and nobody cared if Tula or Izhevsk, or whoever made them. I don't keep track of prices, I should as I have many of these type rifles, but I figure that will be up to whoever ends up managing my estate sale, let them earn their commission. I am told $400+ is not uncommon for a Soviet refurb 91/30 these days, but others can chime in on that.

[steelbuttplate]

Yes the average price is around $400 now, for some reason these '42-'43 Izhevsk sell higher, sometimes over $600 . Maybe wartime production adds value for some collectors.

[sfal]

Thanks for the input...I understand the rebuild process with regards to just making a functional rifle. It seems this was done early on as the numbers are stamped on changed out parts, which to me has more appeal than if they were EP'ed. It just makes the look of the rifle flow.
other things I noticed
the crown looks like it was smoothed out
the mag box is alittle pitted at the wood line, and was polished out then reblued to use again
the front sling retainer seems older as it very pliable and doesnt look new like the rear one
again Love the history
Al

[stonewallskullworks]

I was at a small show yesterday, only saw three mosins, one was a refurb 91/30 and they want 499.00. I listed one for sale on another forum about two months ago for 450.00 and I still have it. I think if you listed it below 400.00 it would go pretty fast, above 400.00 and it might take a little while

[bunkysdad]

My first Mosin was a Izhevsk from 1943. Typical rough wartime receiver metal but solid and all matching. Can you believe I bought it for 59.95 back in the day. under 125.00 with a can of Bulgarian heavy ball ammo including shipping. Those were the days. The refurbished rifles are really an amazing testament to a time in firearms history that will never likely be seen again. The prices were low because the online or mail order gun houses had crates of 20 rifles stacked to the ceiling and filled their back room storage area. They had ammo cheap by the crates also Al. It was a sight to behold. There are members here who collected as many as a hundred rifles or more. Many from Finland of various models. If you get a chance to buy a Finn M39 it will be a rifle that never disappoints at the shooting range. Prices are high now because inventories dried up and sold out. Go to J&G Sales and see the prices on the small stock of Mosins they have. It’s shocking if you have been around since the happy days of cheap and plentiful rifles. Welcome to the forum Al. [emoji41][emoji3]