Very difficult to believe that this one remained on a forum trader board for eight hours, priced at under $1,000. You just don't find them often with the 1916 date, and rarely in this condition.
The Mosin Nagant Model of 1891, built by Remington Armory 1916 to 1918, was contracted by Tzar Nicholas for the desperately lacking-for-arms Russian Army. Though approximately 77,000 M91 rifles were assembled at Remington in 1916, about one quarter of them were rejected due to improper tolerances and/or poor construction. *
Further, many components which were manufactured in 1916 were later refitted and assembled throughout 1917 and 1918, both before and after the November 1917 Russian Revolution, after which all shipments to Russia were suspended.
This gun is one that was most likely assembled from previously rejected parts, and stayed stateside. It has seen very light handling since it was slapped together and stored.
Another indication of the parts gun would be the lack of the usual serial numbering of the bolt, cocking knob, floorplate and buttplate. The barrel also lacks both the provisional and final black powder testing proofs, though it did appear to receive two point of aim proofs.
The serial number applied to this barrel, 5A, is not consistent with any usual practice of either 1916 or 1917. It was also applied with a hand die, vs. the roll stamping of the logo, date and serial numbers of the general production of 1916. And even more mysterious, the second 1 and partial 9 of the date also appear hand stamped, as raised metal can be observed.
The receiver and barrel are not the original pairing. Witness marks do not align, vise marks and bluing loss can be seen on the receiver flats, and there is a gap between the receiver and barrel mating surface.
The stock of this gun was also a likely previous reject, due to the poor fitting of the buttplate and the general rough contours, as can be observed adjacent to the left front sling slot escutcheon. But overall, it is still quite nice with extremely sharp edges, very few scratches, and gorgeous walnut color and grain.
I received the gun with a handguard which was installed by the previous owner. But I removed the guard, as the fading of the bluing and light scuffing of the top of the barrel indicate that the gun had no handguard for most of its existence.
Some time after the gun was finished, it received a really cool set of aluminum stamped rack numbers, 112, on the buttstock. Perhaps this gun was slated for training rifle inventories, but never left the storage rack. Again, it just hasn't seen much handling.
After WWI and subsequent American Expeditionary Forces missions through 1920, there was no longer a need for Mosin Nagant M91 to be kept in US military stores. Large lots of surplus were sold off through the Government and the NRA. Others were bought by Francis Bannerman, to be brokered to foreign military organizations, or sporterized and sold to US citizens. I don't believe mine ever went to Bannerman.
So, is this gun with the low serial number of 5A really one of the earliest barrels to roll off the Remington production line? Maybe, but most likely not. Or is this simply rifle number 112, from storage for future training? Perhaps. Or is this gun a factory second, cobbled together from rejected parts? Seems that evidence points to this scenario. Regardless of the three identity possibilities, it's still one beautiful gun.
It now goes a long way toward completing my Remington collection, and more on that in a future thread.
Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the pics, and thanks for looking.
* reject, production information from p.6 American-Made Mosin Nagant Rifles, by Charles W. Clawson
The Mosin Nagant Model of 1891, built by Remington Armory 1916 to 1918, was contracted by Tzar Nicholas for the desperately lacking-for-arms Russian Army. Though approximately 77,000 M91 rifles were assembled at Remington in 1916, about one quarter of them were rejected due to improper tolerances and/or poor construction. *
Further, many components which were manufactured in 1916 were later refitted and assembled throughout 1917 and 1918, both before and after the November 1917 Russian Revolution, after which all shipments to Russia were suspended.
This gun is one that was most likely assembled from previously rejected parts, and stayed stateside. It has seen very light handling since it was slapped together and stored.
Another indication of the parts gun would be the lack of the usual serial numbering of the bolt, cocking knob, floorplate and buttplate. The barrel also lacks both the provisional and final black powder testing proofs, though it did appear to receive two point of aim proofs.
The serial number applied to this barrel, 5A, is not consistent with any usual practice of either 1916 or 1917. It was also applied with a hand die, vs. the roll stamping of the logo, date and serial numbers of the general production of 1916. And even more mysterious, the second 1 and partial 9 of the date also appear hand stamped, as raised metal can be observed.
The receiver and barrel are not the original pairing. Witness marks do not align, vise marks and bluing loss can be seen on the receiver flats, and there is a gap between the receiver and barrel mating surface.
The stock of this gun was also a likely previous reject, due to the poor fitting of the buttplate and the general rough contours, as can be observed adjacent to the left front sling slot escutcheon. But overall, it is still quite nice with extremely sharp edges, very few scratches, and gorgeous walnut color and grain.
I received the gun with a handguard which was installed by the previous owner. But I removed the guard, as the fading of the bluing and light scuffing of the top of the barrel indicate that the gun had no handguard for most of its existence.
Some time after the gun was finished, it received a really cool set of aluminum stamped rack numbers, 112, on the buttstock. Perhaps this gun was slated for training rifle inventories, but never left the storage rack. Again, it just hasn't seen much handling.
After WWI and subsequent American Expeditionary Forces missions through 1920, there was no longer a need for Mosin Nagant M91 to be kept in US military stores. Large lots of surplus were sold off through the Government and the NRA. Others were bought by Francis Bannerman, to be brokered to foreign military organizations, or sporterized and sold to US citizens. I don't believe mine ever went to Bannerman.
So, is this gun with the low serial number of 5A really one of the earliest barrels to roll off the Remington production line? Maybe, but most likely not. Or is this simply rifle number 112, from storage for future training? Perhaps. Or is this gun a factory second, cobbled together from rejected parts? Seems that evidence points to this scenario. Regardless of the three identity possibilities, it's still one beautiful gun.
It now goes a long way toward completing my Remington collection, and more on that in a future thread.
Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the pics, and thanks for looking.
* reject, production information from p.6 American-Made Mosin Nagant Rifles, by Charles W. Clawson
