About 9 months ago I purchased my first 91/38. It was an 1893 Chatellerault 91/38. Two weeks later I had a chance to buy an 1894 one for 700 dollars. It was the summer and money was tight, so I passed. Last week the same 91/38 came up for sale from a different owner and at a cheaper price so I had to jump on it. It is an extremely interesting carbine.
It is 1894 dated on both the barrel and tang. It has the evidence of a bayonet lug pin very visble near the end of the barrel. The stock is a Russian m44 stock with a piece of wood added to fill in the bayonet groove. It looks really cool but I have no idea what the purpose of filling it in would be. The handguard also is quite unique. It has two cracks but both have been repaired with tiny wood dowels. I have a 91/59 with a similar handguard repair. The numbers are all stamped matching except the bolt which is electropencil. The finish on the stock looks just like my 1893 one.
1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
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Shelbygt500
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Those are amazing. I'd love to find one of those..
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Very nice pair! 
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Lotema
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours. -- Richard Bach
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours. -- Richard Bach
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
They're beauts!!
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People live together.
Governments don't give you a fair word
or a fair fight. I've come here to give you either one.
Or get either one from you.
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Longcolt44
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
I would have bought it just for the repairs.
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Nice find!
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Some things are worth waiting for
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
I have a pristine 1948 M44 with a handguard repair like that. I've heard it called a toothpick
repair. You have a nice pair of rare rifles!
repair. You have a nice pair of rare rifles!
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Junk Yard Dog
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Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Just goes to show you... With any Mosin there is always something different even with their rebuids. The addition of the wood in the bayonet groove is something I have never seen before. Very cool
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Thinking a little more about it, I'm betting that maybe there may have been damage to this area and the piece of wood was a repair. That would make more sense to me as the entire groove isn't filled in.
Re: 1894 Chatellerault 91/38, my second French 91/38
Could be. I've come to believe that these and the 91/59's were made in multiple locations. Some had access to a variety of stocks, others were capable of reworking M-91 stocks, some opted for M-38 stocks and others the M-44 stocks. It could also be that available stocks were just not there and they had to make due with what they had. This is a good example of that. Always fun to speculate about these.