My Mosin-Nagant's history?

[DontBurnMyFlag]

Hey all.

Is there anyway I can find out what my Mosin-Nagant m44 has been through? It was one of those $80 bargain buys at a gun-show.

Anything to look for besides the date (1944)? Import marks etc?

Chances are it just sat cosmoline soaked in an armory somewhere until recently.

Im just curious.

Thanks for the help.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

http://7.62x54r.net/

Have a good time reading

 

[MikeG]

I don't think there's any way to really tell what a Mosin Nagant has been through. The best you can do is read the stampings - when it was made, any different marks like E. German or Yugoslav - to show what events ocurred after it was made and where its been.

It might have been in the vanguard that took Berlin, or sat the war out with the 85th Guards Samovar Repair Brigade.

 

[Dionysusigma]

Sit down with a bottle of vodka, a jar of pearl onions, a tiny bit of caviar, and ask it.

I don't think documenting rifles' whereabouts weighed heavily on the Soviets at the time. 'Sides, a good deal of them were captured from other people...

 

[Reginhild]

The DeerHunter gave the best link - there is everything you wanted to know about markings at that site.

I have a Tula 1944 Ministry rifle:
-Tula: Stamped with star surrounding an arrow
-Ministry: Stamped "MO"

Concerning your rifle being an M44 from 1944:

The most common are Izhevsk M44 models (two wheat shears surrounding a hammer and sicle) made from 1944-1948: rated "1" on 1-10 scale of rarity.

If the M44 has a laminated stock then it is slightly less common: rated "3".

Tula M44 models (star surrounding an arrow) made in 1944 are fairly uncommon: rated "6" for rarity. If the Tula has a hexagonal receiver instead of round it is a "7".

A DDR marked M44 has a triangle with a "1" in it and is fairly rare - rated "8".

An M44 marked "MO" is rated "9"

An M44 marked "SA" with surrounding box was Finnish use and is very rare at "10" on the 1-10 scale.

 

[ball3006]

Ditto what Dionysusigma says.....

I have done that numerous times with my rifles......chris3

 

[Cosmoline]

The stamps tell you some things, but not always the whole story. Most M-44's and M38s for sale right now have been rearsenaled. They will have a square with a slash through it on the wood and/or metal. These have been reblued, restocked and sometimes counterbored. This process erases a lot of their past. In this respect the beat up ones that have never been rearsenaled will "tell" you a lot more. The wood will be banged up and may even have bullet or shrapnel scars on it. Some still have shrapnel in them. The blue will be worn and the bore may be badly eroded. The late war M-44's certainly could have seen serious action in the massive assault that rolled back the ostfront through East Prussia and into Germany itself. Those that did will certainly look like heck and probably be in the bargain bin.

With Finns and less frequently with Soviet rifles you can also find "trench art" on the rifles. Usually this is some code or symbol carved in by puukko or pocket knife. Some have very obvious score marks, corresponding to number of enemies shot. The Finns in particular are known for this as they had more of an ownership feeling towards their rifles and weren't as strictly disciplined as Soviets or German troops. But I've also seen it with Enfields. More recently you can find it on rifles from the Bosnian conflict. The Serbs often painted or carved orthodox crosses on their rifles, while other rifles have pasted pictures of celebrities on them. That's the origin of the legendary Hasselhoff Mauser. My Tikka M91 has these initials, but no photos of the Hoffmeister:



Some will also have big painted numbers on the side, which usually correspond to a where it was stored at the garrison.