I have actually been hunting for what seems a rare beast, an M-38 dated 1939,1940 or 1941. I have seen 5 in my life, all in mismatched M44 stocks, and all dated 1943. They looked like, well, Soviet War-Time Rushed Product. Enough said. You could use the barrel as a backscratch on one I saw, it was so unfinished (there were easily noticable and tactile circular ridges going down the whole barrel).
If anyone has an M-38 of those dates, let me know, I am interested. I really don't mind if it is in an M-44 stock.