Westinghouse M91 US Ordnance Surcharge Markings Cheap!

[smokeeaterpilot]

Hey Guys,

I've been searching tirelessly for a Westinghouse Mosin. Met with several heartache along the way.

I came across this gem.

Now I know the purists out there will probably take it down several notches because it's not matching.

The Bolt, receiver and trigger guard S/N do not match.

The receiver is Westinghouse and the Stock and Hardware is Remington (BUT the stock is ordnance marked as well).

I've seen all matching examples go for 1k-2500.00 Typically for the 1500.00 range on average in mint all matching condition.

I picked this guy up for $455.00 and since you can get all matching M91 Westinghouse's for 400-500 range anyway. Paying the same for a mismatch seems insane. But after the past 2 years these things have been sky rocketing in price. I recently watched a Bannerman Westinghouse with Ordnance Markings, cut down to carbine length, bent down bolt and gold inlay in the stock go for almost $500. But take into consideration Bannerman's are starting to get their own group of loyal collectors.

What do you guys think? Think I'm crazy? I saw a member on here earlier last year pick up all matching NEW (with been around the block look) go for $150 which is a STEAL!!!























I LOVE the rack number, screamin eagles and flaming bombs!

To put it in perspective here's a few photos I dug up online of US soldiers carrying M91s. Most were used for Marksmanship training and A LOT were sent to the New York National Guard.





Does anyone have any similar photos they would be willing to share?

Let me know what you think as well as your experiences, love to hear them!

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[K98]

Gee, with the production numbers on American made M91's, it's surprising not to see more of them around.

 

[OldNorth]

Really nice! I've let a few of these get away from me over the years and I always kick myself for not delving into them.

I'd be interested in seeing a better picture of the cartouche on the right side of the stock if you can.

Congrats on the great addition to your collection.

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

I'll work on the better picture.

Remember as far as production numbers go. The US Army only purchased 200,000 rifles from NEW an a smaller number (I don't have the exact number) from Remington. A lot were sporterized by Bannerman in upstate NY. So they're hard to find and I've talked to a lot of collectors. They don't like to let them go!

 

[majspud]

Welcome to the club!

Finned M91 NEW.






T

 

[martin08]

A great many of them were sold to Mexico, and made their way to Spain in the mid 1930's for the Spanish Civil War. Others with US proofs somehow made it to Bulgaria and/or Romania. Many more were shipped to the American Expeditionary Forces in Archangel and Vladivostok

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

I love that wood on your NEW, almost looks tiger stripped.

And I was never able to find out how they made it to Bulgaria or Romania. Possibly due to being Captured after the failed Archangel Expedition. I have no idea.

 

[martin08]

And I was never able to find out how they made it to Bulgaria or Romania. Possibly due to being Captured after the failed Archangel Expedition. I have no idea.

This might appear to be a likely source, at first. But when most all of Mosin Nagant M91 rifles from the Balkan Region pre-date the Russian Revolution (all seem to be 1917 or earlier), this would sort of rule out Russian capture from Archangel, and subsequent sale to Romania or Bulgaria.

Though no direct sales documents exist, the New England Westinghouse rifles which ended up in the Southern European region more likely came from the arming of the Czech Legion, which was also involved in the attempt to subvert the Bolshevik movement.

Interesting guns and interesting arms deals from interesting times, for sure.

 

[Eric H]

Awesome Mosin, really interesting history behind this one as well!

 

[smokeeaterpilot]

So other than being sent to the NYG and eventually being bought out by Bannerman, where did the US marked ones go? It seems very few got sold out of the country.

 

[martin08]

So other than being sent to the NYG and eventually being bought out by Bannerman, where did the US marked ones go? It seems very few got sold out of the country.

Although Bannerman is most widely known by collectors for his sporting rifle sales in the US, he was also a major small arms dealer on the world scale - which may be why we see these US marked gun coming back from Europe.

It does seem that yours might have been a build from both NEW and Remington parts, and could well have been distributed here in the States by Bannerman.