Although full production began in 1930 and ended in 1944 at both arsenals there are many M91/30s on the market with earlier dates. These were originally built as Dragoon rifles from 1893 to 1929 at Izhevsk and from 1923 to 1929 at Tula. Dragoons were also built alongside M91/30s up to 1932, but that is outside the scope of this article. Some Dragoons were likely upgraded to M91/30 specifications prior to WWII but the vast majority were upgraded during the last major refurbishments of Mosin Nagant rifles carried out in the 1960s and 1970s. It's also possible some were upgraded by Finland. Collectively these are commonly known as "ex-Dragoons" and the original barrel marks are typically retained.
