The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Why would an arsenal modify an Ex Dragoon stock in this way? The repair looks the same for both sides of the stock. Stock is original with this Izhevsk manufactured M91/30 Ex Dragoon, per all matching stamped serial numbers. Can anyone guess when it was done? Well, being a first time poster I have not figured out how to post a small picture.

Got no idea what you are talking about. Would help if you provided pictures.

Use the Full Editor & Preview and you can just drop your picture in here. If you page down and don't see an option to upload pictures, press the Full Editor & preview button. Then you can either go below to add an attachment or simply drop your photos in this window.

Going out on a limb and guessing that there's a repair at the end of the barrel channel on each side between the band spring and end cap? Only because of how common that repair is.
Since your mosin is an ex-dragoon it's a virtual certainty that numbers aren't original matching, but matched during update/refurb. Hope you can post some pics

Not there. It is where, on an Mosin Nagant 1891, there is a groove behand the lower barrel band (on the right) so a soldier could put his thumb to push off the band. I think it is present on a Dragoon also. On a normal M91/30 it isn't present. The arsenal sawed out a chunk of wood and replaced it with another piece of unmatching grain. The odd chunk shows on both sides. I have emailed administration to, again, provide me with instructions as to how to post a picture. No answer to either. Is the administration tended by an AI? Aah, now I see "full edit"> But it still will not allow me to drop a pic here.

Photos
viewtopic.php?f=95&t=21412

The little groove you mention was dropped in wartime to speed production IIRC. I've seen a few stocks without the thumb grooves chewed up or cracked there where it looked like someone took a screwdriver or bayonet tip to pry between the little shoulder of the stock and the band to get the band to slide. Maybe a repair for somethimg like that? I've seen refurbed stocks with that repair on either side or both sides.

Makes sense. But there would be an outstanding question. Were Ex Dragoon stocks originally both with and without the thumb groove on the right? If "always without" or "sometimes", then the makes sense still holds. If "never" then the possibility would be that my stock was swapped for a repaired one.

The chances of a refurbished rifle's stock being a replacement is about 100%. There is no such thing as an Ex Dragoon stock other than to say it would be more realistic if it were a prewar stock. But, even in that case the stock used for the refurb would be random and come off the top of the stack and be fitted to the rifle. This stock obviously had damage and it was deemed acceptable to repair it rather than discard it. What can be said definitively is that some stocks had finger grooves for the barrel band and some didn't. It seems, however that these grooves began showing up in the 30's with the advent of the 91/30. There isn't much information on this. One of the great reference sites 7.62x54r.net has shut down and all of its data is gone. Of interest that I noticed when I was collecting 91/38's is that many of the stocks were cut down M-91 stocks. And because these 91/38's were originally designed to have bayonets, a bayonet groove was milled into many of the M-91 stocks. And, in many case this barrel band finger groove was milled as well. But, your rifle is not a mystery. It had damage. That damage was repaired during refurbishment. The result, a cool repair.

Thank you! I accept this analysis with no reservations.

There's a very good possibility that the only thing original to your rifle is the barrel and receiver.

Today I took off the stock to look at the underside of tang. 1925. Interrupter is solid one piece milled. The receiver has the Soviet hammer and sickle inside a wreath. Same on the barrel. Also I noticed that the front of the stock had been repaired on both sides. I only was "tiped off" by seeing the cut lines from the inside.