The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I've been meaning to ask around since I got this a couple weeks ago. There is a big "5" stamped in the wood next to the receiver on the 1944 M38. Any idea what it might mean?

At first I though you were figuring it was a "Big 5" mark.......not a "Big" 5 mark! (you know, Big 5 sporting goods store.....never mind!)

Unknown mark. I have seen numbers placed there before, but there are not a lot of them.


Dolk

I see several other numbers on the reciever on the left too. Nice pic. No one will ever know.

Most of the odd stamps found on the Mosins are unknown and there is no information coming out of Russia about them. This is one of them.

dolk wrote:At first I though you were figuring it was a "Big 5" mark.......not a "Big" 5 mark! (you know, Big 5 sporting goods store.....never mind!)

Unknown mark. I have seen numbers placed there before, but there are not a lot of them.


Dolk

My first thought too! I about freaked out and thought Oh God don't tell retailers are stamping the things now too! Bill

Mine has a "2" in the same spot Division mark??

There is no telling. 5th row of trees in the forest produced the wood? 5th guy to make M38 stocks? The first 4 are in the gulag for screwing up. Stocks mfg during the 5th month? Final inspector #5?:?:

My favorite answer so far is Inspector пять (PYAT or 5 in Russian)

Look at it from the bright side: You may have the one and only Mosin Wood marked this way!
....and this is not said in my normal sarcastic ways!

You may have a genuine something that no one here has seen before. And all of us probably will never know what it means...there are too many with marks we don't understand.

And I certainly would not have liked to work in these armories just to know what I am not supposed to know....

The 5 stamp is my personal property mark, please return my rifle

I thought you were number 4? Bill

I only used number 4 until April of 1988, after that I wore out the 4 stamp and had a 5 stamp made from hardened steel.

If JYD used 4 and 5 and I have 2 who is 1 ??

I used 1 back in the 70's but had to stop as too often the number was confused for a ding in the stock

Junk Yard Dog wrote:The 5 stamp is my personal property mark, please return my rifle

If someone was going around with a hammer popping stamps in to that narrow strip of wood I'll bet half of them are "repairs"...CRACK, (oops in Russian)

Junk Yard Dog wrote:The 5 stamp is my personal property mark, please return my rifle

When they start sending you the number 5's I want all of the Finn crossed cannon stamps that have the Z in them as they are all mine! Bill

No, they are mine, Z for Zezuzaskowits

Is that a Polis subcontractor or what? Bill

Polish/Russian/Hungarian/Hungarian/Bulgarian/and whatever else is needed to get that many Z's