Old Russian Lady rescued, N.E.W M91
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:42 pm
I received a couple of photos out of the blue a couple of weeks back of what was a very dirty sad looking M91 Mosin, that on closer inspection turned out to be a New England Westinghouse produced example.
With my interest piqued I went to have a look at it a few days later and I have to say that it appeared that this rifle had been to Hell and back and was by far the dirtiest, greasiest Mosin I've ever seen!!!..... But I could also see the potential and once I found out the ridiculously low price I could have her for and picked myself up off the floor I decided she was well worth restoring.After a couple of hours once the worst of the muck, Cosmoline and grime was cleaned off she was starting to shine bit more.The stock and handguard are the original American walnut items, the magazine assembly and sights etc are all original (the rear sight is still marked in Arshins) and other than the N.E.W stamps and marks and Russian proofs there are no other countries marks on it.....she wasn't Finnish-acquired/captured nor did she end up in the Balkans like many M91's so where she has been all these years is anyone's guess.
The cleaning rod was missing, as were most of the parts for the bolt assembly and both the barrel bands had snapped screws (which are a pain as they are captive screws!).
Fortunately with the help of folks across Europe I was able to source the parts I needed, which are all N.E.W-marked, and all arrived within a week.The bolt parts were from Finland, the cleaning rod from Sweden, barrel bands from Estonia and a period Russian leather sling from Bulgaria......all for a Russian rifle made in the USA!!!
I was able to assemble her yesterday and took the opportunity to check the headspace, which was spot on as the bolt closes on a "Go" but won't close on a "No-Go", and set the firing pin protusion etc and give her a final clean.The chamber and bore are in amazing condition for a 106 year old rifle, the rifling is still very sharp and the crown is original with sharp rifling right to the end, in fact the muzzle is a tighter tolerance than both my '26 ex-Dragoon and the '44 PU sniper!.
All that needs to be done now is a trip to the Birmingham Proofhouse (unfortunately!) and she'll be coming home.
An interesting article that details the New England Westinghouse Mosins.......
http://www.mosinnagant.net/USSR/US-Mosin-Nagants.asp
A few quick photos I took yesterday, I would have taken some outdoor ones but the weather wasn't the best......
With my interest piqued I went to have a look at it a few days later and I have to say that it appeared that this rifle had been to Hell and back and was by far the dirtiest, greasiest Mosin I've ever seen!!!..... But I could also see the potential and once I found out the ridiculously low price I could have her for and picked myself up off the floor I decided she was well worth restoring.After a couple of hours once the worst of the muck, Cosmoline and grime was cleaned off she was starting to shine bit more.The stock and handguard are the original American walnut items, the magazine assembly and sights etc are all original (the rear sight is still marked in Arshins) and other than the N.E.W stamps and marks and Russian proofs there are no other countries marks on it.....she wasn't Finnish-acquired/captured nor did she end up in the Balkans like many M91's so where she has been all these years is anyone's guess.
The cleaning rod was missing, as were most of the parts for the bolt assembly and both the barrel bands had snapped screws (which are a pain as they are captive screws!).
Fortunately with the help of folks across Europe I was able to source the parts I needed, which are all N.E.W-marked, and all arrived within a week.The bolt parts were from Finland, the cleaning rod from Sweden, barrel bands from Estonia and a period Russian leather sling from Bulgaria......all for a Russian rifle made in the USA!!!
I was able to assemble her yesterday and took the opportunity to check the headspace, which was spot on as the bolt closes on a "Go" but won't close on a "No-Go", and set the firing pin protusion etc and give her a final clean.The chamber and bore are in amazing condition for a 106 year old rifle, the rifling is still very sharp and the crown is original with sharp rifling right to the end, in fact the muzzle is a tighter tolerance than both my '26 ex-Dragoon and the '44 PU sniper!.
All that needs to be done now is a trip to the Birmingham Proofhouse (unfortunately!) and she'll be coming home.
An interesting article that details the New England Westinghouse Mosins.......
http://www.mosinnagant.net/USSR/US-Mosin-Nagants.asp
A few quick photos I took yesterday, I would have taken some outdoor ones but the weather wasn't the best......