The Holy Grail of WW1 Russian Rifles

50 BMG

Mosin Nagant Collector
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As most of you know I have been collecting Russian and Finland rifles and side arms for many years. It's safe to say given my "old dog" age I been collecting longer than some of my fellow NES members birth. Yes I am that old

I have been searching for a WW1 not commercial Winchester lever action rifle in working order and not sporterized.

I have been purchasing new additions to my collection from the Rock Island Armory auction house. I grew tired of the on line sources. Well finally there is a Winchester lever action rifle chambered in 7.62x54R.

I will share with you an article authored by Ian who works for RIA and makes some great videos on the history of all types of firearms.
The following article and please follow the link to view a video which provides a great history of this rare rifle. Enjoy!

Article and video provided by RIA auction company :



RIA: Russian Winchester 1895 in 7.62x54R
by Ian McCollum
The Winchester 1895 was the last of Winchester's lever-action rifles, and has an interesting place in a couple different parts of world history. On the one hand, the 1895 in .405 Winchester caliber is known as Theodore Roosevelt's "Big Medicine" for safari hunting. On another, it was the object of the largest military lever-action purchase ever, made by the Russian Czar during World War I.

The Russian military was woefully under-equipped at the outset of WWI, and needed rifles wherever it could find them. While waiting for a contract with Remington (and later New England Westinghouse) to provide Mosin-Nagant rifles, the Czar's military ordered 300,000 model 1895s from Winchester. These rifles were purportedly going to be available immediately form Winchester's existing production line, although in reality it took several months before deliveries began, The rifles were modified by Winchester to accept standard Mosin-Nagant stripper clips, and were chambered for the 7.62x54R cartridge.

They saw heavy combat use, and reportedly performed well, despite the lever action system having some fundamental inferiorities compared to bolt action rifles in a military context. What made them feasible was the action designed specifically for full-power smokeless rifle ammunition and the box magazine design which avoided the potential problems of spitzer cartridges in a tube magazine.

https://www.full30.com/embed/bc6c89e7a2251f826ccee802c6aa0a9e?ref=fw

Ian McCollum | February 2, 2016 at 6:27 am | Tags: Russia, United States | Categories: Lever action, Video | URL: http://wp.me/p1BdBm-4GP
 
My friend the auction is Febutary 25th,thru the 28th. I do have a bid and will be contacted by telephone when my lot numbers come up to bid. There are some very nice pieces. Original K98 snipers , G43s
You can view the entire inventory on their web site. I think you would find a few items
 
I think you would find a few items

That's always the trouble, Fred! [grin]

Best of luck with your bid.

But there is one other WWI Russian grail to pursue in 7.62X54r which is a notch above the Winchester M95. Not many will know about the Mosin Nagant M91/12, but they do exist!

Keep your eye out for one.

prorotype1_002.jpg

prorotype1_004.jpg
 
My friend I won a 11mm black powder Mosin in the last auction. I have a 91/12 which I won on RIA. It was from a private collection. It cost me a pretty penny. I just need the Winchester to help finish my war time collection.
 
My friend I won a 11mm black powder Mosin in the last auction. I have a 91/12 which I won on RIA. It was from a private collection. It cost me a pretty penny. I just need the Winchester to help finish my war time collection.

Are you sure it's a 1912 prototype? To my knowledge, there are only 6 remaining recorded specimens.

The 11mm BP, me gotta see!
 
Hi my friend. According to the paperwork from Rock Island Armory Auction house it is a 91/12 originally listed as a sporterized 91/30!!!!

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Simpson Ltd will import. I looked into the process, once. It's convoluted, expensive and risky - mostly from the shipping end, but even a pre-approval from customs is not a 100% guarantee that they will make out of port in NYC.

Much, much more than a C-note, too. I passed.
 
Simpson Ltd will import. I looked into the process, once. It's convoluted, expensive and risky - mostly from the shipping end, but even a pre-approval from customs is not a 100% guarantee that they will make out of port in NYC.

Much, much more than a C-note, too. I passed.

Hmm how much if we can get a few people ? Lol
 
I don't get why Winchester doesn't make special limited runs of these (even in .308) or full length stocks with handguards.
 
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