The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I am new to this forum and enjoying very much. I have bought a 91 30 stamped 1940 with the Tula star. The central point on the star has the Cyrillic C for S in English, on one side and the Cyrillic upside down U for P in English on the other side indicating sniper but there is no sign of there ever having been fitted with a scope. Is this unusual? This gun has a round receiver and screwed escutcheons. Any help on this will be greatly appreciated,

Looking down into the area inside the rifle where you load the shells are there signs of bolt ends that have been welded over on the out side of the rifle. If so you could have an ex-sniper in your possession. Looking along the wood line one the left side of the receiver are there any old number groups or signs where some have been ground off and it has been reblue over them. Bill

Thanks for your interest, and no on all counts. I have checked the receiver inside and out. Also I am wondering if Tula was still in pre-war production mode in 1940 with screwed on escutcheons maybe an indicator. Chris

I believe some were marked for sniper use but never fully converted.

If this is a refurb then it can be in any stock due to the way the refurbishment was performed.

Best thing is to take some pics and post them so we can tell you what you have.

ParrotHead wrote:I believe some were marked for sniper use but never fully converted.

That was my guess except that so early in the war they must have used all they had, I could more easily accept this if the rifle had been made in 1945.

Lee-online wrote:If this is a refurb then it can be in any stock due to the way the refurbishment was performed.

Best thing is to take some pics and post them so we can tell you what you have.

Thanks, I will get some pix up soon.

If it's a refurb, that barrel could have come off a sniper and was put on that receiver. Pull the action out of the stock and look on the underside of the top tang, the year and arsenal marks for the receiver are there. They may be different than the 1940 Tula barrel shank markings.

If that indeed is a refurb anything could be the answer as they totally defy logic at times and are impossible to do anything but guess about. Bill

I broke down the rifle and there is a matching star and 40 on the tang. The stock has been covered with a thick tacky varnish. Can't wait to fire a few rounds. Thanks all for your help and insight. Chris

Shellac, the commie's used shellac, cheap and a monkey could apply it, in fact that is probably who did it. 40=1940, star= post 1929 Tula arsenal.

Does the shelllac have to stay? Does the year and the screwed on escutcheons indicate pre-war production standards were still in effect when this rifle was made? I must get another Mosin Nagant, they go for $169 and up around here.

I believe the rifles having the sniper markings and not drilled for a base are referred to as, "accuracy rifles" in the collector community. It's a non-official designation, but may yield better results when searching the internet.
I know some threads have been started on Gunboards about such rifles in the past, so you may get some more detailed info there with searching.

ground ape wrote:Does the shelllac have to stay? Does the year and the screwed on escutcheons indicate pre-war production standards were still in effect when this rifle was made? I must get another Mosin Nagant, they go for $169 and up around here.

Yes, please keep the shellac original on it. That is how it was stored away after being refurbed, and what it was issued with. The screwed in escutcheons mean little to nothing if it is ideed a refurb. I have a 1930 Tula (obviously, pre-war manufacture) in a stock that has the stamped, pressed-in escutcheons. It mainly means your rifle got whatever stock was next in the pile during the refurb. Yours got a pre-war stock, mine got a later one. I will admit, I like the screw in escutcheons better, I like their looks, but any 91/30 could have either type, or none at all; it just depends on what the next stock in the pile was when they reassembled them.

I must get another Mosin Nagant, they go for $169 and up around here.

Some reading on the same thing here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3309

Plus another explanation here (At the bottom of the page):

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewto ... f=28&t=925

OP I have the same, a 1940 Tula with sniper proofs but doesn't seem to ever have been drilled, oddly mine has a high wall 1940 Tula receiver but no prefix on the serial number, does yours have a prefix?

psmd wrote:OP I have the same, a 1940 Tula with sniper proofs but doesn't seem to ever have been drilled, oddly mine has a high wall 1940 Tula receiver but no prefix on the serial number, does yours have a prefix?

Refurbs defy logic and over any reasonable period of time defy any short range patterns you may wrongly try to apply. Oddities may apply in short range spurts so if you want to waste your time and apply them have at it. Just keep in mind they were assembled basically from piles of parts renumbered at times to match with varying degrees of parts staying together. You can not even guarantee the receiver is with the same barrel it was with originally with any great amount of surety. They are absolutely great buys even at the inflated prices sellers are quoting today and I shoot and enjoy many of them today but I don't care what arguments you use they are not collector rifles because of the way they are assembled and marketed. So enjoy your rifle for what it is as many of us do, myself included. Bill

Bill, if people collect them, then they are by definition "collector rifles".

millman wrote:Bill, if people collect them, then they are by definition "collector rifles".

Longcolt44 wrote:

millman wrote:Bill, if people collect them, then they are by definition "collector rifles".

Are you guys trying to start a fire using a match out of a book of collector matches? Bill