X-Factor
I don't say please
So I decided to do some further research into my Mosin. At the outset I knew that it's Hungarian and even IF the numbers all matched, the M44 type makes it not worth much....my numbers don't match. 7.62x54r.net puts the rarity at "1" out of 10.
However I DID learn a few things. Mine seems to be a bit of a Frankengun, whether it was cobbled together later or not is unclear. The numbers on the buttplate and receiver match, however the magazine floorplate and bolt do not.
Stock: Marked with the circled B next to the number 02, meaning it was made in the Budapest armory of Hungary. The stock was severely damaged and repaired well (structurally), but you can still see where it was repaired both under the receiver (used as a club, perhaps?) and the lower handguard. I am missing the Rear Barrel Band Spring and Cleaning Rod. Interestingly, though, BOTH barrel bands are marked with the "I" in a triangle, suggesting they came from the Russian Izhevsk arsenal.
Receiver/barrel: Typical Hungarian "low wall" machined round receiver. Again, markings here confirm Budapest arsenal, but as with the butt-plate, the arsenal is written as BF instead of the circled B on the stock. Not sure what that refers to aside from arsenal. This receiver is identical to the ones made in Izhevsk arsenal in 1941 for the transitional 91/30. The barrel has NOT been counterbored but is also not in great shape...accuracy at 100yds is dismal even with the 147gr Polish light ball (ammo thread coming later). The front sight housing is noticeably bent and has some markings on the rear of it that I cannot make out, clearly there is an "02" mark but there is a circled character that I can't read. Almost looks like an N but I'm not sure.
In any case, my M44 is INCREDIBLY reliable; the bolt is a bit sticky but goes bang every single time no matter how much I shoot her (100+ in an afternoon). I've had to put her down for a while because she was too hot to touch but she still went bang... Accuracy is, as I said, dismal, but is more or less MOM at 100yds. "Kentucky windage" is a MUST.
So there you have it. My take was that this gun was heavily repaired at some point, probably since manufacturing. My thinking is that the stock repairs were done in later decades but that this IS the original stock. Parts were missing or damaged and were replaced with what was at hand (barrel bands, bolt, magazine floor plate etc), though not completely, so perhaps they were done here as opposed to Europe. Maybe both, who knows.
All information in this thread came directly from my gun in particular, or from http://7.62x54r.net in general.
However I DID learn a few things. Mine seems to be a bit of a Frankengun, whether it was cobbled together later or not is unclear. The numbers on the buttplate and receiver match, however the magazine floorplate and bolt do not.
Stock: Marked with the circled B next to the number 02, meaning it was made in the Budapest armory of Hungary. The stock was severely damaged and repaired well (structurally), but you can still see where it was repaired both under the receiver (used as a club, perhaps?) and the lower handguard. I am missing the Rear Barrel Band Spring and Cleaning Rod. Interestingly, though, BOTH barrel bands are marked with the "I" in a triangle, suggesting they came from the Russian Izhevsk arsenal.
Receiver/barrel: Typical Hungarian "low wall" machined round receiver. Again, markings here confirm Budapest arsenal, but as with the butt-plate, the arsenal is written as BF instead of the circled B on the stock. Not sure what that refers to aside from arsenal. This receiver is identical to the ones made in Izhevsk arsenal in 1941 for the transitional 91/30. The barrel has NOT been counterbored but is also not in great shape...accuracy at 100yds is dismal even with the 147gr Polish light ball (ammo thread coming later). The front sight housing is noticeably bent and has some markings on the rear of it that I cannot make out, clearly there is an "02" mark but there is a circled character that I can't read. Almost looks like an N but I'm not sure.
In any case, my M44 is INCREDIBLY reliable; the bolt is a bit sticky but goes bang every single time no matter how much I shoot her (100+ in an afternoon). I've had to put her down for a while because she was too hot to touch but she still went bang... Accuracy is, as I said, dismal, but is more or less MOM at 100yds. "Kentucky windage" is a MUST.
So there you have it. My take was that this gun was heavily repaired at some point, probably since manufacturing. My thinking is that the stock repairs were done in later decades but that this IS the original stock. Parts were missing or damaged and were replaced with what was at hand (barrel bands, bolt, magazine floor plate etc), though not completely, so perhaps they were done here as opposed to Europe. Maybe both, who knows.
All information in this thread came directly from my gun in particular, or from http://7.62x54r.net in general.
