Romanian Refurbished Soviet M44
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:25 am
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Presented for the Showcase is a Soviet 1945 Izhevsk M44 that I spied in an off the beaten path shop this Wednesday. It was REALLY different, so it came home with me. The first thing that I noticed was the serial number on the stock, and that the stock was not shellacked, but had an oiled finish instead. The furiture is all beech wood and beefier than beefy, as the wrist is much more substantial than any of my other carbines. It's in original metal finish, with some force matching of all Izhevsk parts except the bolt head (Tula).
It is import marked discreetly near the muzzle, CAI ST ALBANS VT.
A little more background from whence it came: The shop owner bought this along with about a dozen other carbines from the leftover wholesale lot of Pat Burns, about 1-1/2 years ago. I bought the last two (laminated M38, as well) from him. Wish I had found this shop much earlier, as I wonder if there were any other gems in the bunch.
I did a little search on Gunboards for the numbered stock, and came up with an eerily similarly configured gun in Caribou's thread. His is a bit over the top from mine, as it is an [SA] marked 1944, M44 (gadzooks!), but it was interesting to compare the two, nonetheless. Here is his thread on his incredible find.
Finn Capture M44
After a closer look at mine, it seemed apparent at first that aside from outward similarities of the finish, fonts and stock markings, the two guns probably had very different eventualities. His went to Finland, and mine has obviously taken a pit stop in Romania, from the triangle /c\ on the buttplate. But after some careful consideration of features, Caribou of Gunboards is also in agreement that his gun may have spent some time in Romania, even after its capture in Finland.
Links to two more discussions on the subject, and another example from the collection of Cookie91/38.
When were Romanian M44's Imported?
Interestin M44
The pictures of mine below depict the unique features of the Romanian refurbishment, and include the left side buttstock numbering, the Romanian beech handguard, the boxed [CR1] cartouche of the Cugir Arsenel, and the triangle /c\ buttplate marking.
The shank markings are a bit different, too. What I thought at the gunshop was a refurb slash in the center of the shank, turns out to be a stamp of what appears to be a partial triangle. There is also a boxed [2] near the Izhevsk crest. The lighting and camera didn't pick up the haloing of the original metal finish stamping around the serial number well, but it is there. Inside of the bolt channel is patina, but still in the white, as is the crown.
Next, the Romanian arsenal force matching is shown on the bolt, a scrubbed and renumbered replacement floorplate, and the original fitting of the buttplate on the replacement stock. I'm not sure if the 1950 dated Soviet sling is original to the gun when imported, but it surely fits into the overall scheme of the Soviet/Romanian package. Wish it had a cleaning rod.... can't have everything, can you?
Some interesting stamps on the bolt head, which is the only non-Izhevsk metal part of the action (Tula)
When curiosity had finally gotten the better of me, I took it apart to see if there was evidence of any recent stock swap, or a parts assembled offering from Century - even though the serial numbering, buttplate stamping, and stock cartouche and oil finish seemed like very strong Romanian armory evidence.
From the tang impression, it's quite evident that this stock has seen only one barreled action. Wood grain inside is definitely beech. Full of Romanian sand, grass, hair, evergreen needles, etc. It all stayed put when reassembled. There is evidence of the original fitting of a Soviet birch stock, as a line in the metal of the receiver about 1/16" above the current beech wood line.
Some more pics
Feedback received from collectors around the internet would indicate that this Romanian refurbishment configuration of a Soviet made M44 is not a commonplace find in the US today. So, I'm quite pleased that this little gun that caught my eye in a teeny-weeny gunshop in rural Maine is now resting peacefully in my vault along with its Mosin Nagant brethren.
As always, gentlemen. Thank you kindly for looking.
Discussion Section
Discussion Section
Presented for the Showcase is a Soviet 1945 Izhevsk M44 that I spied in an off the beaten path shop this Wednesday. It was REALLY different, so it came home with me. The first thing that I noticed was the serial number on the stock, and that the stock was not shellacked, but had an oiled finish instead. The furiture is all beech wood and beefier than beefy, as the wrist is much more substantial than any of my other carbines. It's in original metal finish, with some force matching of all Izhevsk parts except the bolt head (Tula).
It is import marked discreetly near the muzzle, CAI ST ALBANS VT.
A little more background from whence it came: The shop owner bought this along with about a dozen other carbines from the leftover wholesale lot of Pat Burns, about 1-1/2 years ago. I bought the last two (laminated M38, as well) from him. Wish I had found this shop much earlier, as I wonder if there were any other gems in the bunch.
I did a little search on Gunboards for the numbered stock, and came up with an eerily similarly configured gun in Caribou's thread. His is a bit over the top from mine, as it is an [SA] marked 1944, M44 (gadzooks!), but it was interesting to compare the two, nonetheless. Here is his thread on his incredible find.
Finn Capture M44
After a closer look at mine, it seemed apparent at first that aside from outward similarities of the finish, fonts and stock markings, the two guns probably had very different eventualities. His went to Finland, and mine has obviously taken a pit stop in Romania, from the triangle /c\ on the buttplate. But after some careful consideration of features, Caribou of Gunboards is also in agreement that his gun may have spent some time in Romania, even after its capture in Finland.
Links to two more discussions on the subject, and another example from the collection of Cookie91/38.
When were Romanian M44's Imported?
Interestin M44
The pictures of mine below depict the unique features of the Romanian refurbishment, and include the left side buttstock numbering, the Romanian beech handguard, the boxed [CR1] cartouche of the Cugir Arsenel, and the triangle /c\ buttplate marking.
The shank markings are a bit different, too. What I thought at the gunshop was a refurb slash in the center of the shank, turns out to be a stamp of what appears to be a partial triangle. There is also a boxed [2] near the Izhevsk crest. The lighting and camera didn't pick up the haloing of the original metal finish stamping around the serial number well, but it is there. Inside of the bolt channel is patina, but still in the white, as is the crown.
Next, the Romanian arsenal force matching is shown on the bolt, a scrubbed and renumbered replacement floorplate, and the original fitting of the buttplate on the replacement stock. I'm not sure if the 1950 dated Soviet sling is original to the gun when imported, but it surely fits into the overall scheme of the Soviet/Romanian package. Wish it had a cleaning rod.... can't have everything, can you?
Some interesting stamps on the bolt head, which is the only non-Izhevsk metal part of the action (Tula)
When curiosity had finally gotten the better of me, I took it apart to see if there was evidence of any recent stock swap, or a parts assembled offering from Century - even though the serial numbering, buttplate stamping, and stock cartouche and oil finish seemed like very strong Romanian armory evidence.
From the tang impression, it's quite evident that this stock has seen only one barreled action. Wood grain inside is definitely beech. Full of Romanian sand, grass, hair, evergreen needles, etc. It all stayed put when reassembled. There is evidence of the original fitting of a Soviet birch stock, as a line in the metal of the receiver about 1/16" above the current beech wood line.
Some more pics
Feedback received from collectors around the internet would indicate that this Romanian refurbishment configuration of a Soviet made M44 is not a commonplace find in the US today. So, I'm quite pleased that this little gun that caught my eye in a teeny-weeny gunshop in rural Maine is now resting peacefully in my vault along with its Mosin Nagant brethren.
As always, gentlemen. Thank you kindly for looking.
Discussion Section