World War I German Capture Mosin Nagant *pics*

skirsons

skirsons

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 99.4%
178   1   1
Location
Ontario
Although I've had this rifle for a while, I just got around to taking pictures (that's the theme of my last 2 weeks...wife's away).

Anywho, it's a World War I German capture (stock) Mosin Nagant. Remington Armoury 1916 manufacture. The stock is Tula Russian Birch. It has two "Deutsches Reich" stamps; one on each side. It came with a Finnish SA leather sling, and has the initials S.H. carved on it. I thought the members of the board would enjoy these pics:

M1891DeutshesReich0.jpg


M1891DeutshesReich4.jpg


M1891DeutshesReich5.jpg


M1891DeutshesReich3.jpg


M1891DeutshesReich2.jpg


M1891DeutshesReich1.jpg


M1891DeutschesReich6.jpg
 
Its a Finn rebuilt rifle, stock is from another rifle and is fitted with Finn sling swivels. Remington stocks were made of walnut. A true German capture would have German markings on the receiver also.
 
Finnish Mosin Nagant

The "SA" inside the square denotes Finnish Military property. The "D" on the barrel indicates a later rebarrel with a slightly larger bore size for later manufactured ammunition.

The Finns were part of Russia, until the 1917 Revolution. They used Mosin Nagant rifles for their Military. Finland did not manufacture any receivers, but kept refurbishing their existing rifles and receivers, (along with a pile of them captured during the Winter War), and upgrading the Mosin Nagant with improvements such as sights, stocks, triggers, etc.

.
 
Maybe the S.H. is for Simo Häyhä?! If so, you have a very expensive rifle!
 
The marking on the butt stock says "Deutsche Reich" which indicates German capture and re-issuement during WW1. The SA mark shows the rifle was sold to Finland (perhaps during the revolution ??) and assigned to the Finnish Army. The "D" mark is a Finnish mark to indicate the rifle was checked and modified to be able to take the later Finnish ammo D-166 round. I have the same mark on a Tikka M91 and a Tula capture 91/30.

I have seen pictures of Russian birch stocks retrofitted with Finnish swivels. However yours is a bit peculiar with it being what looks like a Finnish made stock and the "Deutsche Reich" emblem. Perhaps the stock was sanded ?

Do you have a picture of the finger joint ? I would be interested to see if they spliced on a new fore end when they did their modifications.

The only thing I can compare with is my 1917 Sestroryetsk I have that appears to have been WW1 capture, sold to the Finnish army, and loaned to the Civil Guard (civil guard marked as well). The stock modified to take a stock disc. Hand guard was replaced with a Finnish one. I think she had the Deutsche Reich emblem at one time but it would have been right in the spot where the stock disc modification is now. The only thing that really comes off as German is the repair depot marking on the butt plate.
 
Last edited:
JP said:
Its a Finn rebuilt rifle, stock is from another rifle and is fitted with Finn sling swivels. Remington stocks were made of walnut. A true German capture would have German markings on the receiver also.
Click to expand...

Good point. An American stock would have been made of walnut, plus this stock looks to have finger joints, however we need better pictures to be sure. Looks re stocked to me aswell.
 
By the looks of it your rifle stock is also sanded, typical of a Finnish rework. Here is a picture of another "DeutchReich" stamp for comparison. The stamp is on a 1901 dated M1891.

Feb18shoot009.jpg


Feb18shoot012.jpg
 
Nabs said:
I have seen pictures of Russian birch stocks retrofitted with Finnish swivels. However yours is a bit peculiar with it being what looks like a Finnish made stock and the "Deutsche Reich" emblem. Perhaps the stock was sanded ?

Do you have a picture of the finger joint ? I would be interested to see if they spliced on a new fore end when they did their modifications.
Click to expand...

The stock is solid one piece. No finger joint. I think that's a scratch you're seeing. It is Russian Birch while the receiver is American. It's one of the many that were sold to Finland by Germany after WWI. The Finns reworked it which is when it ended up with a Russian stock. Of course the Finns also sanded the stock and replaced the shellac with their special oil finish...the Finnish finish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom