Non Finnish M91 Mosin Rarity?

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Selair_Chapman

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Howdy
Curious just how uncommon, dare I say rare, is a m91 mosin dated from before WW1 that is not Finnish. That is, unmodified from original, Russian, no Finnnish markings or Finnish signs of any kind. In Canada that is.
Cheers!
 
In Canada fairly rare. A few came in from Spain in the sixties, surplus from the Spanish Civil War. The last one I had came from Europe.
 
They are pretty rare, I think. I have seen one all original Westinghouse M91 that wasn’t Finn marked, and the seller wanted a hefty price for it.
Funny, but I have a Remington M91 that is all original and matching (except for the Westinghouse cocking knob), including unsanded wood, but it is SA stamped and bears the Civil Guard stamp on the buttstock. Go figure.
 
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Most of the ones not SA marked would be US manufactured ones that were never sent to Russia (I have one made by Westinghouse, no SA marks, tons of US arsenal marks) Many did get sent, of course, so they either ended up in Russian hands and rebuilt or in Finnish hands with all the different things they did to them. So, Dimon, the one you have is likely from the batch that did make it to Russia - debatably it as a richer history than one that mostly sat in an arsenal in the US, maybe getting pulled out for a bit of reserve service during WW2.

Other manufacturers - exceedingly rare. I have a russian made one with no SA marks but in all honesty I think it's a case of the SA mark just being missed. (It's a 1915 Sestroretsk with a German stamp on the stock, no finnish stamps but has a suspiciously finnish looking sling hanger)
 
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I would say uncommon, yes. Not really rare. There are several sources for them as it was mentioned above. US manufactured ones, are probably most common in this category. They either stayed or returned to US and has been trickling to Canada. They have US army property markings. Then there are SCW rifles. Then there are all other odds and ends. I have a factory matching Sesty in unissued condition and god knows how she ended up here, with no provenance I would categorize her under "odds and ends". But I have seen a lot of US rifles and several SCWs, and I think I have each from those categories as well.
 
I remember that Karl-Heinz Wrobel had one for sale many moons ago. It was an original, unissued 1893 Chatellraut with a matching bayonet. Since it was advertised on the American site, I'd imagine it went to the States. The asking price then was 3300.00 USD, and it was sold when I contacted him.
 
A few years ago, I was lucky enough to buy for a very good price, a Remington Mosin which was refurbished by the Finns (mainly stock and bolt) which has NO SA marking on it. The finger-shaped tip mortices, on a two-piece Finnish arctic birch stock, indicate pre-war or war type refurbishment. It has intact Russian Imperial markings on the barrel shank and receiver. It has a SN in the low 200k, indicative that it was shipped to Imperial Russia before the October Revolution and eventually captured by the Finns. The sling is an original Finnish sling with an SA mark on it. Quite an interesting historical piece. I wish the rifle would be able to tell its story.
P.S. A very good shooter. The Konovalov rear sight is much better than the modified one on a 91/30.

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My recent find. No Finn signs that I can see. Also no SCW identifiers. First non-US mfg m91 I've seen like this outside of the Halifax Citadel museum... of all places.

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Selair_Chapman said:
My recent find. No Finn signs that I can see. Also no SCW identifiers. First non-US mfg m91 I've seen like this outside of the Halifax Citadel museum... of all places.
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A Sestroretsk M91 Mosin! Beautiful. I envy you! I wish I had one in my collection. Do you shoot it? Or just contemplate?
 
I have a very interesting one that I added to the collection, thanks to a good friend of mine. It does not show any signs of being in Finnish hands. According to gunboards it’s the last know Russian made m91 to exist based on its serial number. It’s a 1926 Tula M91
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Neat 1926! A buddy of mine has one from 1924 I think with Arabic script on the right side of the stock. Apperabtly the Russians supplied them to Turkish resistance fighters.
 
Selair_Chapman said:
Neat 1926! A buddy of mine has one from 1924 I think with Arabic script on the right side of the stock. Apperabtly the Russians supplied them to Turkish resistance fighters.
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What resistance?
Here are sources for MN with Ottomans:
"Rifles captured in Balkan Wars, rifles given by AH with sights modified to Metres/ and Script Markings, Booty Rifles from Germany ( Deutsches Reich Stock Roundel) and Rifles captured from disastrous 1914-15 Armenian Campaign.
After WWI, Ataturk and Lenin ( 1922) resolved border dispute in Armenia with a supply of M91 rifles, and tons of US Made 7,62 Ammo."
 
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