Mosin - Never Issued ?

John303

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I'm not much into Military stuff but my grandson is headed that way and I'm not going to discourage him in any way.
It's a good hobby IMHO. Just lately he purchased a Mosin I believe had never seen any service, it's just spotless and
I'm surprised by the finish also. All matching #s including the bayonet. Just how unusual a find can that be?
Any comments will be appreciated. --- John
 
If it's Polish they were around wrapped in cosmo about 10 years ago.
Russian would likely be a refurb at some point.
 
if its russian theres almost no doubt that its seen service. if its wartime it pretty much a guarantee. the fighting was pretty much up to the factory walls so i don't think too many went unused...
 
JTF; I'm really not sure it was / wasn't. It just seems in too nice a condition to have been in service but my point of reference
is mostly Mauser - those that had been in service are well, beat-up and so on.
There are no bruises on this one, on the metal / stock & it has not been counter bored, with nice sharp rifling. It has 1943 on it
which I suspect is the date of mfg.? So tell me what to look for to the contrary, surely some never saw service? --- John
 
JTF; I'm really not sure it was / wasn't. It just seems in too nice a condition to have been in service but my point of reference
is mostly Mauser - those that had been in service are well, beat-up and so on.
There are no bruises on this one, on the metal / stock & it has not been counter bored, with nice sharp rifling. It has 1943 on it
which I suspect is the date of mfg.? So tell me what to look for to the contrary, surely some never saw service? --- John

I have exactly the same rifle. If you post a pic we can see if it was refurbed. That would indicate some sort of service.
 
I have a 1942 that is all correct parts and matching except mag floor plate (bayo matches). I'm sure not all rifles were beat to a pulp, but were used. Is there is a marking on it box with an x, line or diagonal line?
Stock markings?
 
I'm thinking I have a never issued one as well. A friend and I bought them through a mail order years ago and I seem to recall they were less than $100. When the 2 boxes arrived I picked one and he the other to keep it fair. Mine didn't have a blemish, not a mark on steel or wood.

His looked like it had been used as a traction device for a tank...

I took the top wood off and unfortunately have misplaced it. Tula armory 1937 so It should have seen action but it's user must have been a desk clerk or the most careful Russian ever. All matching numbers.

20150328_212933_zpscpyk1wlz.jpg



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To tell for for sure you gentlemen have to make a) pictures and b) good pictures. That means metal finish, wood finish, marking and all serial numbers should be photographed. Any word description is worthless. Last rifle in the thread looks refurbished, btw.
 
Granson will be back tomorrow so maybe make note of the marks and post. Bottom line is he's a happy camper,
not a bad buy at around $150?? Take care all --- John
 
Look at the barrel bands, bolt, magazine, rear sight leaf etc for markings. The 34 hex I just picked up is near mint and numbers matching but there's a mix of tula and Izhevsk stampings on the removable bits and pieces. Basically it's in beautiful shape but with a mix and match of arsenal parts, some of which have been force matched. Like the bolt and mag floor plate, so it may look unissued but it really was through refurb. My 34's bore is crisp and shiny as well.
 
CP: It looks like sanding marks on the stock. Still a nice rifle. Part of its history will be refurbishment, however many times. Some people prefer their rifles a certain way. There are old, old rifles still in existence that have never been taken out of the shipping crate. Some old milsurps have been refurbed, upgraded, repaired, bubba'd, restored and so on. Most are in between there somewhere.

Some of the nice old No.1 Mk3's have parts on them from all over the map. Some of the Finn Mosins are a Wiki article themselves. Great stuff to study and discover. :)
 
I'm thinking I have a never issued one as well. A friend and I bought them through a mail order years ago and I seem to recall they were less than $100. When the 2 boxes arrived I picked one and he the other to keep it fair. Mine didn't have a blemish, not a mark on steel or wood.

His looked like it had been used as a traction device for a tank...

I took the top wood off and unfortunately have misplaced it. Tula armory 1937 so It should have seen action but it's user must have been a desk clerk or the most careful Russian ever. All matching numbers.

20150328_212933_zpscpyk1wlz.jpg



64b880ee-6543-4243-a410-1ea59e3e42e8_zpssn1betsd.jpg

That rifle has most definitely seen action, as it is has been captured from the Soviets by the Finnish Army. The [SA] mark on the top right section of the barrel shank stands for 'Suomen Armejia' and is the Finnish Army property mark. It appears to have a Finnish made stock and looks to have been reblued.
 
There are some very nice Russian Mosin 91/30 rifles out there. Finding one un-refurbed is a task by itself, but finding one un-issued is next to impossible. I think it would be a very good score to find a wartime rifle that was issued to a clerk or a remote unit that didn't see much activity, but I'm sure they are out there.
 
The Russians has more men than rifles. I doubt in 1943 they had the luxuary of setting a few mosins aside. Everyone made during the war was put into service as soon as it was made. I have had some really nuce mosins, some refurbs are better than others.
 
There are even nice Soviet Refurbs that 'look new' are all matching including the bayonet (I've seen at least 2x crates of these rifles).

Usually the only true un-issued Nagants will be Hungarian or more than likely Polish.

What is actually harder to find is a Soviet Mosin Nagant that wasn't refurb post-war - especially a non-Finn capture.
 
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