91/30 Identifying Questions

Hello,

I just got this 91/30 two days ago (shot it yesterday). I was looking for some more information on it. I've been looking on this site and 7.62x54r.net to help find out some things.

It looks like the mark is a Tula one but it's been rubbed off pretty hard. The thing I really don't understand are the numbers on the bottom of the magazine. The glare from the flash kind of obscures it in the picture, but only one number matches the others .The other is something completely different with a single scratch thru it.

I'm also not a huge fan of the shininess of the stock, but it seems to be a common thing so I'm not too concerned about it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

It is a 1943 Tula as you suspected. The base plate has two numbers because it is not original to the rifle and has been renumbered during the arsenal rebuild without scrubbing the old number off first.

Thanks for the info.

Is there anything I can do about the stock? I DON'T want to sand it down, but I really don't like the chips and scratches where the what I guess is varnish has come off. If I can't remove them is there something I can do to make them less noticeable?

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Originally Posted by Mako275

Thanks for the info.

Is there anything I can do about the stock? I DON'T want to sand it down, but I really don't like the chips and scratches where the what I guess is varnish has come off. If I can't remove them is there something I can do to make them less noticeable?

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It is not varnish, but shellac. Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, it is processed and sold as dry flakes, or dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac. This makes removal an easy task, by wiping the coating away with an alcohol based solvent. I used a paper towel saturated with "Brake Clean" and lightly wiped away the finish. As the towel gets full of shellac or dries out, just use a fresh soaked towel and continue until clean. You can then apply your choice of finish to protect the wood.

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Originally Posted by Mako275

If I can't remove them is there something I can do to make them less noticeable?

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If you are very careful, you can indeed make them less noticeable by using a very fine brush dipped in alcohol (methylated spirits is fine) to moisten the edges of the scratches. Just enough to soften the shellac, not wash it off. Then polish with a linen rag around the scratches, using a very light action, so that you spread the softened shellac into the scratches. Not easy to do, but you can take the highlights out of the scratches.

I personally never had much luck smoothing them out with alcohol, I may simply lack the "touch". It either does nothing or all comes off when I've tried it.

If it's a rifle you intend to use, I'd take it off as it is not a very durable finish. I use BLO after getting the cosmoline out of the stock which can be removed in a variety of ways, citristrip is my current favorite. It will also remove the shellac very easily.