The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I recently aquired this 1943 Izhevsk 91/30. I'm guessing it was a rearsenal and hadn't been fired until today. It's the cleanest Mosin I've seen in person. (Sorry for the poor quality pictures)

The pictures aren't that bad. Post some more.

Looks like a refinished stock to me.

Looks nice, take a Q-tip and dip it in some alcohol, Vodka will do but whatever you use should be clear in color. Pick some unnoticed spot on the stock and rub the Q-tip on it just a little spot. If the cotton turns color then you have a shellac finish, if not it's likely Poly and a US stateside refinish.

Based on the color variations of the wood and the shininess, I'd lean towards refinished as well. Hard to really say without seeing in person though. Otherwise nice rifle! Congrats.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:Looks nice, take a Q-tip and dip it in some alcohol, Vodka will do but whatever you use should be clear in color. Pick some unnoticed spot on the stock and rub the Q-tip on it just a little spot. If the cotton turns color then you have a shellac finish, if not it's likely Poly and a US stateside refinish.

Its hard to tell from pics so the JYD test is the best way. I posted some pics of a stock that was dull and flat looking and in the pics it looked like it was poly'd, waxed, and buffed out with a cotton wheel!

Nice rifle! I've never seen the sight leaf colored that green, only red. Did perhaps Bubba do that?

Looks like a typical refurb M91/30 to me!!!

Dolk

I will post more pictures this weekend. It doesn't appear to be altered after the arsenal refinish from Russia, I don't have another Russian shellac stock to compare it to.

Little_John wrote:I will post more pictures this weekend. It doesn't appear to be altered after the arsenal refinish from Russia, I don't have another Russian shellac stock to compare it to.

You better get out and get you one then!! No....really....go buy another one!

I took a few close up shots of some markings around the rifle, I couldn't get a good picture of the bore because I don't have a bore light but it looks like it has never been fired. Also it doesn't look like it's been taken apart, the screws holding it together aren't scratched up.

I can look at pictures of rifles all day and not tell what has been refinished and what has not. Even in person sometimes I am not 100% sure. Alcohol test is a great way to tell and even then I bet I have been fooled. I know of finishes that I have used on commercial guns that are oil based and act just like shellac. Just got to make some good guesses I feel. Then you get into some Finns that used Pomo Lacquers and I have been totally wrong on them more than a few times. I have had rifles coming straight off the importers pallets hand chosen by me that sure act like they are oil finishes and even can be duplicated on the inside barrel channel with oil finish tinted finishes I have bought in this country.

The guys who are professed experts that get to smelling are the people I get the most kick out of because if the rifle has been shot and cleaned a few times the products used to do that are all they will ever smell. Of course are they part blood hound, maybe they can smell stuff better than us? I try real hard to shut my mouth and not comment on refinished rifles brought up on here and other places because I am never really sure what I am looking at online. Let's put it this way new owner, I sure wouldn't kick that rifle out of my shop or collection! Congrats! Bill

99% of the time when you are dealing with a 1943 dated 91/30 Izhevsk , the most common date and arsenal of Mosin in existence, and currently the most affordable Mosin, any stock refinishing will be the cheap and fast variety, Good old Bubba poly. Rarely will someone take the time to do a high end oil finish, they will save that for the K98 Mauser, or maybe one of the Finn Mosins. I think the simple alcohol test, external use alcohol for the stock, not internal use for the tester, important distinction to remember, will tell poly from shellac. Most oil finishes will be apparent without any test, they both look and feel differently than shellac. Russian applied shellac is thick, cheap, and sloppy, it overruns the metal, and has a tendency to be flaking due to poor wood cleaning beforehand. It will lift off the forend and handguard when the rifle heats up during firing.

Do not sniff bores to determine if a rifle has been fired, do not sniff anything on a firearm. For one thing people seeing it done with think the sniffer is insane, and for another seriously dangerous chemicals are used in most bore solvents and stock finishes. This is the stuff that turns spray can huffers into zombies, one sniff will probably do no harm, but a habit of doing it often will result in cumulative damage, who knows how much is too much so don't do it at all.

My initial reaction to the first photo was Finn stock.

It goes two ways....

1. It's a clean unmolested refurb with an original, shellaced & nicely marbled stock (Which we all hope it is.)

2. Or it was a clean unmolested refurb that someone re-finished, possibly burned the marbling in & polyurethaned the stock.

First picture makes me guess the stock was refinished... Second one of the full rifle looks to be legit & darn pretty too.

The simple alcohol test Jim suggested will go a long way.

For anyone still interested, the stock is indeed shellac, took some denatured alcohol and rubbed a small area on the stock. The rag turned yellow and the finish was sticky, so it isn't "bubbafied"

Yes, shellac.

Good news. And it is damned pretty too!