ptrthgr8
UZI Talk Life Member, , FFL/C&R
Hi, folks.
I've made the mistake of getting into another branch of Mosin Nagant collecting. Last summer I picked up my very first "real" sniper (I had a repro M91/30 a few years back, but it had no soul and I sold it), which was a Czech VZ54. Then a few months ago I bought a 1944 Izhevsk M91/30 PU from RGUNS. Then a few weeks ago I bought a 1943 Tula M91/30 PU from AIM. Then a week or so after that I bought a 1942 Izhevsk M91/30 from AIM. Last weekend I got around to taking photos of all four rifles. Pics and notes are below - I'm hoping to get these out to the range this weekend to see how they handle some of the match "Extra" Soviet surplus ammo and some handloads I worked up for my Finn Mosins.
1942 Izhevsk M91/30 PU
This is a fairly rare year for a PU sniper rifle - 1942 Izhevsk. It's one of the recent Molot rifles sold by AIM. This rifle is clearly a refurb and the scope is a refurbed 1943 unit from Plant No. 357 (Progress). Typical refurb - some lined out numbers, a few mismatched parts, but otherwise solid with a nice bore and great optics given its age.
Full album of photos can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1942-pu/page2.html
1943 Tula M91/30 PU
A Tula made M91/30 PU rifle - another of the Molot rifles sold by AIM recently. This rifle is also another refurbed example with several Izhevsk parts added during the refurb process. Of note is the mid-1943 dated scope manufactured at plant No. 393 (Krasnogorsk). This is a fairly rare scope and a great find on a rifle like this. The Krasnogorsk scopes were cast using silumin (basically an aluminum alloy), unlike all the other manufactures who use more traditional methods for scope production.
Full album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1943-pu/
1944 Izhevsk M91/30 PU
This is a 1944 Izhevsk-made M91/30 PU rifle I picked up from RGUNS. This is an extremely interesting example since it seems to be very correct; the 1944-dated scope manufactured at factory No. 297 (Yoshkar-Ola) seems to be correct for the S/N range on this rifle. Neither the rifle nor the scope appear to have any obvious refurb markings. This PU appears to be in as close to original condition as one could reasonably expect to find - if it's been refurbed at all, it's only been very minorly so (perhaps some simple rebluing on some parts). Scope numbers, fonts on the receiver stamps, parts, and stock all seem to be correct for an as-issued 1944 dated Izhevsk PU rifle. I'm still researching it to see if there's any conclusive evidence that this is basically an all original non-refurbed PU sniper rifle... but it certainly looks that way.
The full album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1944-pu/
1957 Czech VZ54
This 1957-dated Czech VZ54 is pretty freakin' special. Only a handful of these were imported in this condition - damned near all matching (only the scope mount is not matching) and complete with action cover/kit for the tools, accessories, and different colored lenses. It's definitely one of the more prized items in my collection. Other than the unique looks (hardly looks like a Mosin Nagant), one of the things that really jumped out at me was how the Czechs put S/Ns all over this rifle - the trigger guard, cocking piece, bolt head, butt plate, floor plate, stock... it seems almost German-like.
The complete album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/czech-vz54/
A few pics are below:
And now I fear that I've stumbled into another realm of Mosin Nagant collecting that will surely end in tears. Or at least a scolding look from the wifey every now and then.
I'm hoping to get these out to the range for some testing this weekend. I'll be sure to post results.
Cheers,
~ Greg ~
I've made the mistake of getting into another branch of Mosin Nagant collecting. Last summer I picked up my very first "real" sniper (I had a repro M91/30 a few years back, but it had no soul and I sold it), which was a Czech VZ54. Then a few months ago I bought a 1944 Izhevsk M91/30 PU from RGUNS. Then a few weeks ago I bought a 1943 Tula M91/30 PU from AIM. Then a week or so after that I bought a 1942 Izhevsk M91/30 from AIM. Last weekend I got around to taking photos of all four rifles. Pics and notes are below - I'm hoping to get these out to the range this weekend to see how they handle some of the match "Extra" Soviet surplus ammo and some handloads I worked up for my Finn Mosins.
1942 Izhevsk M91/30 PU
This is a fairly rare year for a PU sniper rifle - 1942 Izhevsk. It's one of the recent Molot rifles sold by AIM. This rifle is clearly a refurb and the scope is a refurbed 1943 unit from Plant No. 357 (Progress). Typical refurb - some lined out numbers, a few mismatched parts, but otherwise solid with a nice bore and great optics given its age.
Full album of photos can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1942-pu/page2.html
1943 Tula M91/30 PU
A Tula made M91/30 PU rifle - another of the Molot rifles sold by AIM recently. This rifle is also another refurbed example with several Izhevsk parts added during the refurb process. Of note is the mid-1943 dated scope manufactured at plant No. 393 (Krasnogorsk). This is a fairly rare scope and a great find on a rifle like this. The Krasnogorsk scopes were cast using silumin (basically an aluminum alloy), unlike all the other manufactures who use more traditional methods for scope production.
Full album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1943-pu/
1944 Izhevsk M91/30 PU
This is a 1944 Izhevsk-made M91/30 PU rifle I picked up from RGUNS. This is an extremely interesting example since it seems to be very correct; the 1944-dated scope manufactured at factory No. 297 (Yoshkar-Ola) seems to be correct for the S/N range on this rifle. Neither the rifle nor the scope appear to have any obvious refurb markings. This PU appears to be in as close to original condition as one could reasonably expect to find - if it's been refurbed at all, it's only been very minorly so (perhaps some simple rebluing on some parts). Scope numbers, fonts on the receiver stamps, parts, and stock all seem to be correct for an as-issued 1944 dated Izhevsk PU rifle. I'm still researching it to see if there's any conclusive evidence that this is basically an all original non-refurbed PU sniper rifle... but it certainly looks that way.
The full album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/1944-pu/
1957 Czech VZ54
This 1957-dated Czech VZ54 is pretty freakin' special. Only a handful of these were imported in this condition - damned near all matching (only the scope mount is not matching) and complete with action cover/kit for the tools, accessories, and different colored lenses. It's definitely one of the more prized items in my collection. Other than the unique looks (hardly looks like a Mosin Nagant), one of the things that really jumped out at me was how the Czechs put S/Ns all over this rifle - the trigger guard, cocking piece, bolt head, butt plate, floor plate, stock... it seems almost German-like.
The complete album can be found here:
http://public.fotki.com/ptrthgr8/soviet/czech-vz54/
A few pics are below:
And now I fear that I've stumbled into another realm of Mosin Nagant collecting that will surely end in tears. Or at least a scolding look from the wifey every now and then.
I'm hoping to get these out to the range for some testing this weekend. I'll be sure to post results.
Cheers,
~ Greg ~
