Mosin Nagant #3
So this is one time when I think some of the shooting community will skewer me and put my head on a pole.
To my knowledge, the rifle in Mick’s hands does not and can not exist. That said… my knowledge of Mosins is NOT expert, when it comes to the history and the stamps. For all I know, thousands of these exact rifles exist. Or I’m describing a diesel engine 56 Chevy convertible. Look, just suspend some disbelief, right?
I’m not going to go into heavy explanations often, but for those wondering wtf I’m talking about, here it is: The markings on a Mosin tell its story. Where it was manufactured, what it was used for. There is, AFAIK, no such thing as a “really rare” Mosin on the regular market. Most “rare” Mosins retail for about $200-$300 at gun shows. Cheap for a rifle, but we’re talking about a gun that normally retails for $100 here.
Mick’s rifle is a Tula 1944 M91/30, which means it was likely used by a Russian soldier to fight the Nazis. The triangle with a 1, however, indicates that after the war, it was issued to an armory in East Germany. This would make it a very Communist Bloc rifle. As I have mentioned, but not really shown yet, Mick is into Commie firearms. So that’s why he’s freaking the fuck out.
Again, if you’re a hardcore Mosin nut, and I’m totally wrong here, please, be merciful in your lambasting. I am working off a meager knowledge of Mosins. And if you reply with an informative response, hey, you’ll teach us all a thing or three about the history of these kickass rifles.
All I know is that my Mosin shoots straight and without fail, and I love it to death.
That there is a 1938 Tula 91/30, picked up at a Cabela’s sale almost a year ago. It’s very fun to shoot, easy to clean, and it’s awesome to own a rifle that might have been on the same side as my American grandfather in WWII.
True story: I was poking around a gun show, and had PROMISED myself I’d be good. Was just looking for a .22 auto to teach with. Was NOT going to get another Commie gun. Then I saw some Makarovs with the crappy importable thumbrest grips on them. Said to the dealer,
“Got some new-manufacture Bulgies, there?”.
“Nope. Cold War Bulgarians. That’s a 1964.”
Ding. Bulgies don’t have dates.
“Let me see that gun…”
It did, indeed have “Bulgaria” stamped in English on the slide, by the importer. It also had a circle with split triangle on the side of the frame.
“Gimme a 4473, please…”
Nice!
Um… unless the positioning of the triangle one makes a difference, isn’t the gun you drew basically the same as the gun in the upper-right corner of the link you posted? Tula 1944 made M91/30 with the Triangle 1 stamp?
Picky picky picky. 😛
Muahhaha! It does exist! 😀
Well, your American grandfather was in the Pacific theater, actually.
But on the same side, da. Russians and usns were allies.
🙂
There are some rare varieties, strictly Russian issue you have the Remington, Peter the Great, Cossack, Dragoon, etc. Then you have the Finnish variants, which can get crazy. All those can get very pricey for the right collector. The sniper models get costly as well, but you’re seeing many fakes on the market now so do your homework.
I know this is old, but…. I don’t think you have a Tula. I don’t pretend to be an expert; merely an amateur collector of the Tula breed specifically; but Far as I am aware, Tula’s have always used this symbol (assuming it works on this messaging setup) —
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/487166_10151475087265676_1500666621_n.jpg
(If the linky no workee, picture this – a triangle, inside it is a circle, inside that is a T.)
Now, of course since I do not have your rifle in my hands; I cannot look it completely over and say 100%; But given the supplied pic, I am relatively certain that – assuming yours is not a piecemeal; or actually has the symbol or word TULA stamped on it elsewhere – she’s not a Tula. (You may know of this; Im commenting as I read through the comic.)
BTW – the image is of a TOZ-17.
Alex, please see
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinRef02.htm
The arrow-in-star mark was the mark used by Tula from about 1928 through some SKSes (early ’50s). To more directly address what you said, you can clearly see from the Mosin Nagant reference that Tula Arsenal (later Tula Arms Plant) has most certainly used symbols other than the one you linked.