The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Interesting find. Very dark stock with much lighter handguard. The rear barrel band is a bit too fat to fit into the retainer spring. It slides down there but stops against the main stock while still partially covering the raised "pushy thingy" on the spring. I didn't want to try & force it there in the store. The front band clicks right into its retainer clip. Any ideas on the receiver marks or the stock cartouches? Is the circular mark on the the stock a "CCCP"? This beautiful old wooden warhorse looks a bit outta place up there next to the modern weapons in black polymer. Maybe I should take her home??

A few more pix.

Not sure what you have there. Look it over good for odd marks. Looks reblued and stock looks redone. Has the Izhevsk circle mark on the butt and I don't see any refurb marks so if it looks ok I would be for lowball pricing on it. Stock is a wartime stock so not correct for this year but, it looks like I see the pins in the rear sight so it was refurbed in the 70s probly. Make sure it is not a bubba done stock and reblue.

You have to open the band to get it to lock in the retainer. Some are tighter than others . Especially the rear. Original hand guard probably broken. Replacements are often light colored.

It depends on what the price is. Big 5 used to give me rifles like this at their sale price even if they are not on sale, or you could put them on hold until they went on sale and then get them at the sale price.

The stock is 1942-43 Izhevsk, so while not original to the rifle, it is correct for this rifle for WW2 use. The band springs are the early style milled version which would be correct for a 1934 rifle.

So price and bore condition would be the deciding factors if you think you might want to add this to your collection.

The rear band doesn't fit because the hand guard isn't matched to the stock. Look at the spot on the stock and spot on the hand guard where the size changes from the forearm to the "main" part of the stock. Those transitions don't line up, with the hand guard sticking out further, hence the band can't go in far enough...

desdem12 wrote:Not sure what you have there. Look it over good for odd marks. Looks reblued and stock looks redone. Has the Izhevsk circle mark on the butt and I don't see any refurb marks so if it looks ok I would be for lowball pricing on it. Stock is a wartime stock so not correct for this year but, it looks like I see the pins in the rear sight so it was refurbed in the 70s probly. Make sure it is not a bubba done stock and reblue.

Looks like typical bluing and stock for a refurb to me? Also note the grease all around the rear sight, etc.

This sort of thing is common with the refurbished rifles, they used whatever stock was on top of the pile when they put the rifles back together again, same for the rest of the parts. I have seen color differences between stock and handguard before, but rarely.

Miss-fitted and wrong color hand guard on a refurbed stock which isn't particularly right for the action but typical for a refurb. It would have to be dirt cheap before I would look twice at it. Sorry not my cup of tea. Bill

zeebill wrote:Miss-fitted and wrong color hand guard on a refurbed stock which isn't particularly right for the action but typical for a refurb. It would have to be dirt cheap before I would look twice at it. Sorry not my cup of tea. Bill

It is quite a coincidence that I bought a 1934 Izhevsk that had that same stock/hand guard mismatch as yours. What I learned was that such a mismatch prevented the rear hand guard retaining ring having a solid hold. The first time I went shooting with this rifle that ring released and the hand guard slid forward until it hit the front site. I complained to Classic Firearms where I bought it and sent the hand guard back. A couple of weeks later a hand guard with the correct dimension was received and the problem was solved. You can probably get a replacement hand guard on ebay for $15 to cure this problem.

zeebill wrote:Miss-fitted and wrong color hand guard on a refurbed stock which isn't particularly right for the action but typical for a refurb. It would have to be dirt cheap before I would look twice at it. Sorry not my cup of tea. Bill

Not everybody has your millions to spend Bill, everyone has to start the collection someplace.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:

zeebill wrote:Miss-fitted and wrong color hand guard on a refurbed stock which isn't particularly right for the action but typical for a refurb. It would have to be dirt cheap before I would look twice at it. Sorry not my cup of tea. Bill

Not everybody has your millions to spend Bill, everyone has to start the collection someplace.

I live on a fixed retirement income of about $2500 a month if you can find me some millions I will be more than happy to partake of it! There are a lot of things I do without in a month and I still squeeze a few bucks and much time into collecting things of value, meaning not just a rifle like you do with your music boxes. My gun buying account has more than once been into the negative area to get something worthwhile that I really wanted. I like and respect quality and not quantity in any endeavor for I have found that is what holds and gains value. What little of it I have left in the bank of gold investments at $300 and $400 an ounce brought $1500 plus last year and bought me a couple of nice pieces! Invest slowly and carefully and reap the benefits later in life is one thing my Grand pop taught me. Live and learn to be patient about things is something I still try and do but it is almost impossible these days. Bill

That kind of collecting comes with age and experience, especially experience, in the meantime you pick up what comes your way and learn from each one. With this one he is learning about Soviet refurbs, many folks also do not have access to your network of gun informants, and dealers, again, that comes with being in the game for a long time. Some of these guys are restricted to what shows up within 50 miles of home. This isn't a bad refurb example, it has a good mix of parts and will make for a good rifle to learn the type with. In time he will have the knowledge to be able to spot the M27 rv hidden on a table full of refurbs, we all started with stuff like this, or even with bubba rifles.

What store is this? The reason I am saying bubba "maybe" is the stock and handguard do not fit right. The handguard is against the rear sight and will never line up with the barrel band. Unless I am missing something. The possibility that this was removed from its "original" refurb stock is something to consider here. No refurb mark on the metal and also no refurb on the stock and you have to also consider bubbas handywork here. This is of course just my observations from your fotos. Just points to look at when considering buying rifles. NOW if this is cheap then it is a no brainer. I would give it extra scrutiny if the stock does not fit right. That goes with the bluing also. Are there rifles with extra good bluing? Yes. Are there rifles that bubba has reblued? Yes. Make sure of what you are looking at before jumping on them. This is an excellent thread to do this in. It is also hard to do this from fotos most of the time.

desdem12 wrote:What store is this? The reason I am saying bubba "maybe" is the stock and handguard do not fit right. The handguard is against the rear sight and will never line up with the barrel band. Unless I am missing something. The possibility that this was removed from its "original" refurb stock is something to consider here. No refurb mark on the metal and also no refurb on the stock and you have to also consider bubbas handywork here. This is of course just my observations from your fotos. Just points to look at when considering buying rifles. NOW if this is cheap then it is a no brainer. I would give it extra scrutiny if the stock does not fit right. That goes with the bluing also. Are there rifles with extra good bluing? Yes. Are there rifles that bubba has reblued? Yes. Make sure of what you are looking at before jumping on them. This is an excellent thread to do this in. It is also hard to do this from fotos most of the time.

Kind of looks like Big 5 to me which means that they're probably asking $209+tax for the hex if it's not on sale. I don't think they would be selling a Bubba'd Mosin there but regardless, at $200+ I would pass on this one.

Ha I bet it is big 5. I didn't notice the tags. Then this is probly from century or pw. Unless they changed recently that is where they get there stuff from.

Tags look like Dunham's tags too. If you look at the picture of the front band the entire blond hand guard is moved forward about the same in the front as the back. The entire hand guard just needs to be slid backwards. My thoughts on refurbs is plainly why waste the time and money there when you can get maybe two real nice ones every 6 months or so. The learning can be done right on here by reading and taking the time to absorb what is being said here. JYD your film clips are very helpful to beginners just absorb what is in there and use it when you buy say one Finn M91 every two months or so. You will all reach a point where the hunt is almost better than the prize. We ain't living on Cracker Jack here and most of us shouldn't need a prize every week to be happy with what we find in rifles.

I just don't want anyone to waste their time on refurbs like I did and maybe save them selves some time and money and start at a different level if possible. Refurbs are great shooters and just a ball to have around but there is more to be found if you just have the patience to look and hunt for them. The rewards in the future are there as I am finding out and guess what it is usually money well spent that you can shoot and enjoy. I think one thing that all of us have to realize and I am perhaps the worst offender of this, is that many people only dangle their feet in the lake and others dive right in. I guess I am assuming that the people who buy cases of refurbs are wasting their money but heck 5 months from now they may have sold all the stuff off and be building a street rod. Older collectors like me are really set in our ways and it upsets me when I see collectors wasting their money and in 6 months spending more on refurbs then I spend in a year at times on rifles I wish to collect.
I always try sincerely to except the fact that it is their money but I know the mistakes I made and money I blew and that really hurts. Bill

Depending on the price, I wouldn't walk away from it. A refurb hex with a wartime stock isn't uncommon. I like the metal and the very clear Soviet crest on this rifle. The light color handguard is a minor distraction. Any time you find a nice hex at a good price, it is a go in my book.

zeebill wrote:Miss-fitted and wrong color hand guard on a refurbed stock which isn't particularly right for the action but typical for a refurb. It would have to be dirt cheap before I would look twice at it. Sorry not my cup of tea. Bill

Uncle Bill has been known to rub salt in a kittens eyes. It may be ill fitting and wrong colors but if you like it that's all that matters.