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#Post#: 2621--------------------------------------------------
Uncommon 1941 Tula 91/30
By: racerguy00 Date: November 5, 2013, 5:31 am
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I scored this refurb back when I started collecting and let it
go for what I considered a great trade. At today's prices it was
still a good trade money-wise but the rarity of it makes me wish
I never had. I felt almost as though since this one was sitting
there for so long locally to me that it had to be fairly easy to
find another some day. Nope. 41 Tula 91/30s are rare enough,
this is still only the second known dual marked one.
Here is a write-up I did for another forum.
This highly unusual 91/30 refurb was sitting on the rack of my
local box store during a sale for well under $100 . I usually
pop in to see what they have and this one jumped right out at me
even though it had been passed over many times by other buyers.
It was one of the 'uglier' of the lot, but not to me.
The barrel shank is stamped with the Tula star and 1941 date,
this is a very uncommon year for a Tula 91/30. Production of
91/30s had mostly ceased at the Tula arsenal, and in the latter
half of the year the German invading army was on the very
doorstep of the plant. Many of the weapons produced at that time
went out the door and directly to the front lines a short
distance away and attrition was high.
There are three main clues on this rifle that lend credence to
the belief that although the rifle barrel was produced at Tula,
the final production and assembly was actually completed at the
Izhevsk arsenal. Perhaps leftover rifle barrels from the Tula
91/30 production run were shipped to Izhevsk even before the
outbreak of hostilies with Germany in the latter half of '41.
First, a very unusual feature of this rifle is that the barrel
shank also sports the Izhevsk arsenal triangle stamp. The use of
recycled receivers is fairly common and leads to many rifles
having multiple arsenal stamps on the barrel and receiver of the
same rifle, but both arsenal stamps on the same barrel shank is
something not seen often. In fact, at the time of purchase, this
particular rifle was and may be still, only the second
documented 1941 Tula 91/30 with the Izhevsk stamp on the same
barrel shank.
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture003-1.jpg
Second, the date of 1941 does not appear to have been entirely
stamped at the same time. The '194' is struck normally, and the
depth matches the Tula star stamp. However, the second '1' in
1941 is struck much deeper and appears to have been added later.
This fits with the rifle barrel being produced and partially
dated at Tula and the rifle being completed and dated at
Izhevsk.
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture018.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture019-1.jpg
Third, the receiver is an undated roughly machined Izhevsk
highwall receiver. This is typical of early war receivers that
were produced as quickly as possible to get the rifles out the
door to help stem the tide of the German advance when the fate
of the USSR was in doubt.
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture014.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture016.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture006.jpg
The rifle is a typical Ukranian import 91/30 in all other
respects. It has the typical mix of arsenal markings on the
assorted parts, and resides in a post-war style stock, and the
serial numbers are arsenal force-matched. The bayonet's serial
number also matches the rifle. The bolt body and cocking knob
show staining and patina, and the shellac on the stock is very
flaky. These two details led to this rifle being passed over by
many others before I was able to purchase it.
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture005.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture026.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture025.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture010.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture030.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture031.jpg
HTML http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/Mobile%20Uploads/Picture028.jpg
All in all, this rifle is a highly sought after year and arsenal
combination, and along with it's other traits makes it probably
the most unique refurb that I will ever find on the rack in my
local store. Thanks, for checking it out.
As an aside, a few more 'common' refurb 41's have turned up for
sale lately. I missed snagging a photo of a gunbroker one that
went for $550.
A 1940 overstamped with a 1 was grabbed by stopsign in his
latest binge. He traded a Bohler M24 and some $$ for it. This
rifle is consistent with others in that all that I have ever
seen have had the second 1 in the date added later. Some appear
to have only had 194 applied at first, others appear as though
the the 0 in 1940 was scrubbed and then the 1 added. this is the
first simple overstamp that I've seen.
HTML http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab168/plain-old-dave/41tula4_zpse005f343.jpg
HTML http://s860.photobucket.com/user/plain-old-dave/media/41tula4_zpse005f343.jpg.html
A Century hack job fake PU recently popped up....and went for
$700 :o :o :o What a shame.
[URL=
HTML http://s126.photobucket.com/user/racerguy00/media/more%20mosins/pix197690088_zpsad8bfa04.jpg.html][IMG]http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p99/racerguy00/more%20mosins/pix197690088_zpsad8bfa04.jpg[/img][/URL]
This well worn refurb popped up for $600, and had several
offers. The buyer needed funds to put towards a vehicle, but
when the vehicle deal fell through he withdrew the rifle from
the ad.
HTML http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo334/greasepencil/null_zps39b3c924_corrected_zps84b71fab.jpg
The coolest I've ever seen was picked up by Homer2,
unfortunately bubba beat him to it. Luckily only the stock was
destroyed. It was one bubba that was worth saving for sure, a
Finn capture. wasn't for sale.
#Post#: 2645--------------------------------------------------
Re: Uncommon 1941 Tula 91/30
By: mat!_SW Date: November 5, 2013, 9:54 pm
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Nice one, what did you get in trade for it? I've been on the
lookout for those in the wild for quite some time. Sucky about
that century built sniper.
#Post#: 2648--------------------------------------------------
Re: Uncommon 1941 Tula 91/30
By: racerguy00 Date: November 5, 2013, 10:06 pm
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I got 2 m91s and some cash IIRC
#Post#: 2649--------------------------------------------------
Re: Uncommon 1941 Tula 91/30
By: mat!_SW Date: November 5, 2013, 10:12 pm
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At todays prices I could live with that.
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