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Probably the Last Straggler From Cole's Stock of Original Matching 91/30s

2K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  fireman 
#1 ·
I had somehow missed the listing for this rifle until the thread about Cole's was posted on the Collectors Forum last week (thanks again vaughn99). :)

Pics next frame . . .
 
#2 · (Edited)
It's a 1943 Izhevsk, and appears to have quite probably not even been fired outside proof rounds. Even the bolt face is dead-mint.



I haven't previously encountered a Soviet 91/30 with a stock finish exactly like this one. It's very dark, has a lot of coarse cross-sanding, and has much more "texture" than I'm used to seeing:


I was a bit amused to realize another original matching '43 91/30 I own was quite likely run during the same shift as this one (serialled 648 rifles apart):


Neither rifle has been reblued (thus not buffed), but the barrel of the new acquisition is much smoother than the other one. I have a theory why-can you spot it?

 
#18 ·
Nice rifle O'Relic. I used to have one just like it. I believe that the finish on your rifle is what the factories applied. Then later the shellac was added for storage. This one missed it.

It is possible that the mark you see is the circle 0 mark and it looks like the circle C. A possibility. Or your theory is a good one also. Thanks for sharing.
Nope, it's definitely the (c) mark. The circle 0 accuracy proof is accounted for.
 
#27 ·
They were imported several years ago (maybe late '90s, early 2000's I think). Don't know what they sold for them (I'm sure it would seem a pittance now), but I paid $215 for this one on GB, an absolute white-hot bargain.

The import marks varied a bit, I think all the 91/30s had a faint Cole's logo on the side of the barrel near the muzzle as this one does. Some also had a serial stamped inside the receiver in the bolt race.
 
#29 ·
Yes, just acquired it. It was in the batch of leftover 91/30 stock that Cole's has listed currently on Gunbroker. It's funny, I'd actually been watching their listings to see if anything interesting turned up, but had somehow missed this one. After a thread about the current offerings was posted on here a few days ago, I decided I'd better check to make sure I hadn't missed anything because of the extra attention the listings were inevitably going to receive because of the thread. When I saw the listing picture of the bolt, I went into high alert mode, and after seeing the rest of the serials I couldn't hit "buy it now" soon enough. :laugh:
 
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