1943 Izhevsk pu identification

[walruspajamas]

I've spent several days researching on this forum and I just wanted to chat and see if anyone has some extra info on the mosin sniper I picked up recently.

The good:
-1943 Izhevsk KT5893 falls within known sniper serial numbers. It looks to me like the T is a bit faded on the barrel from refurb
-C stamp on barrel shank
-Scrubbed og scope number on left side of barrel shank
-No stamps where og scope number would have been
-Serial numbers matching, force matched on mag plate
-plant NKV no297 Yoshkar-Ola scope

Suspect:
-Stock cuts to accommodate scope base look so so
-Serial near front of barrel says M91 30 I can't make out an s
-Scope and mount do not match the gun, but they do match each other

Unsure:
-Bolt looks good to me but this may be more nuanced than I am aware so not sure
-Scope mount looks ok to me, but unsure

My best guess is that this is a true refurb sniper, but I am no expert. Thanks for taking a look!


IMPORT MARK PHOTO


BARREL/RECEIVER PHOTOS






MOUNT/SCOPE/BASE PHOTOS





BOLT PHOTOS






OVERALL VIEW AND EXTRA PHOTOS

[Miller Tyme]

Well sir, we need much better pics of the area the scope s/n was scrubbed from because I am not seeing things clearly enough in your pics but there appears to be inspectionmarks in the wrong places. I also don'tsee the sniper "C" stamp. So more pics of the entire barrel shank would help. The scope is legit, the mount is a Tula mount so if this is a sniper it is definitely a replacement. The stock is also not original as Izhevsk didn't use those sling liners in 1943.

[Darryl]

Miller,
Is this an early " Century Import"?

I noted:

No scope numbers on the left side of the barrel shank.

Looks like inspection marks on lower left side of barrel shank removed" (originally)?????

Base, mount and scope look real but (mixed makers), scope mound serial numbers don't match barrel shank. It could be a replacement to the original rifle.

Incorrect sling slots.

This could be a "put together" sniper rifle from Century.

Darryl

[Miller Tyme]

Miller,
Is this an early " Century Import"?

I noted:

No scope numbers on the left side of the barrel shank.

Looks like inspection marks on lower left side of barrel shank removed" (originally)?????

Base, mount and scope look real but (mixed makers), scope mound serial numbers don't match barrel shank. It could be a replacement to the original rifle.

Incorrect sling slots.

This could be a "put together" sniper rifle from Century.

Darryl

Yes sir, early Century, and the rough barrel machining, and those inspection marks make me think it's a century put together too.

[walruspajamas]

Was struggling to get some good pictures with my lighting so I took 2 short videos one with flash and one without. That's kind of a bummer that it might be a century put together... Does that mean they took a regular 91/30 and put spare pu parts on it? Why do all the serials match then? I didn't know about the incorrect sling slots. Sucks they are incorrect, but I'm really glad to learn. All these details are really cool to me. Thanks Miller and Darryl!




Hope these videos help. I originally thought that marking to the left of the sickle and hammer was a C, but now I'm less sure. Maybe it was stamped upside down? Looks like during refurbishment they really smoothed the barrel area, the date stamp is barely visible. Let me know if any more videos/photos help!

[Darryl]

Yes, Century sold both "put together from spare parts on a standard M91/30 rifle and also real snipers side by side with no distinction.

Sorry, but this one is a "put together".... or so it looks like.

When they do that now we call them "fakes" but Century gets away with is a little.But "collectors" know the difference.

Darryl

[Miller Tyme]

I hope to get a better look at this tonight, but I agree with Darryl that it looks like a Century put together.

[walruspajamas]

The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is that if this was a put together rifle wouldn't the bent bolt not match the rifle? It really looks to me like the barrel shank on the left had some material removed from it. You can see the difference in the machining around that area. Did Century go out of their way to add that in themselves? Not trying to disagree just want to learn more about this stuff. Thanks guys!

[Zdzislaw]

What bothers me is the prefix of the serial number - even the importer put the latin transcription above the original one as "KG", repeated on the barrel shank [ in cirilic whout be "КГ" ] not a "KT". The "T" letter in a prefix on the bolt seems to be a little bit differently stamped than the "K". "KT" prefix is within the known sniper production list - "КГ" is not.
Or it is just the photo?