Adventures in Surplus: An M91 Mosin of Many Flags
Finland
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7m 50s
Today we are taking a look at an early production M1891 Mosin Nagant rifle. This one has had quite a busy history...it was originally manufactured at the Izhevsk Arsenal in 1894, with several of the features of a very early M91 (like the palm rest on the trigger guard and the sling swivel on the front of the magazine). It served in the Russian Army in World War One until is was captured by German forces. It was put back into service by the Germans, stamped with a "Deutches Reich" marking on the stock and fitted with an adapter to mount a German bayonet. However, it then was recaptured by the Russians, and sent to Finland with a Russian soldier. When Finland declared independence, it was taken by a Finnish soldier, and used during the Finnish Civil War. After that it got a bit of a break, though - it was not turned over to the Finish Army, and instead remained in private hands through the Winter War and Continuation War. In fact, it remained in the family of the original Civil War soldier until a few decades ago, when it was given to the collector who now owns it.
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