My 91/30 ex-sniper rebuild

[mrtank]

Did you cut the boiled linseed oil with any thinner? Thanks for the heads up on the scope, glad to hear it isn't like the accumounts self centered reticule. I am tempted to pick one up to use on a non-mosin firearm.

Did you get to the Harrisburg show?

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[Aragorn243]

No, I don't cut the linseed oil with anything. The can is really old, it was old when I got it and I've had it 20 years. I rub it on with a finger a coat an evening while I watch TV until it gets tacky. After that, I rub it until it's not sticky and then put another coat on after a few days. It gets to the point where it's almost like the shellac only a lot more durable and easier to finish.

I did get to the Harrisburg show. I looked at the "snipers" they had there and some did have the repro scopes on them, these were the $400 ones, others looked like they might be the real deal but these were going for $575. Price was up on all the Mosin Nagants, I think $119 was the lowest and most were asking $125 and up. Dunhams is running their $79 sale today only, with the price going back to $89 tomorrow. There were half a dozen dealers selling them so I guess they aren't drying up yet.

[mrtank]

I was going to say it looks a lot like the blond wood with light shellac on my 91/59, I like it.

I got to stop in at the show late Sunday. One vender had a table of the repo snipers and clamming they were legitimate and was offering paperwork.

Some of the venders had packed up when I got there and even when I was walking around, I kick myself for not going earlier. I did see one of the ATI imported proper PU snipers wasn't that far from the main door 43 Izivesk with a 41 dated pu scope. It looked like they cut the shellac with chocolate milk.... They have USA and German import marks and modern proof marks, the vender was asking $995 or so ATI lists them on there web page for $679.

I like the linseed oil finish you did, it isn't overly shiny like some of the bees wax top coats I have seen. It seems close to the finish on the Yugo Mosin Nagant and some of there other rifles.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Can someone give me a quick thumbnail on PEM / PU and save me some surfing?
Thanks

[Aragorn243]

PEM scope:

http://mosinnagant.net/sniper%20sect...COoffmount.jpg

I learned my lesson on going to gun shows on Sunday. I was never finding anything and figured all the good stuff was going early on Saturday. I got a great deal on a K31 early Saturday, and that's the rifle I was hoping to find.

One oddity about the stock on this particular rifle is that it's short. About an inch and a half short. There is a repair on the end and the handguard was shortened to match. I checked all around and found no information on a short stock so I figure it is an arsenal repair.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

PEM scope:

http://mosinnagant.net/sniper%20sect...COoffmount.jpg

Sorry for my poor wording of my question. I was looking for a quick description of the diffrence in the two scope setups.
I have heard them discussed but not certain of the basic diffrence.
Thanks

[mrtank]

The PE is a center mount 4x scope. It was on hex and low wall round receivers. The scope had focus adjustment.
The PEM is a side mount 4x scope based on the same scope as used on the PE, though it lacked the Focus adjustment. It was found on the high wall round receivers.
The PU is a side mount 3.5x scope. The scope did not have focus adjustment and was designed to be mass produced. Was only found on high wall round receivers. There were some early aluminum tube examples but they are rare. There is also the SVT scopes the scope tube is larger in the rear to act as a recoil lug. The svt scopes were also found on PU Mosin Nagants. They further simplified the scope to the and removed the large step in the scope tube, giving us the Pu scope that we all know and love. There were also some 6x Pu scopes one svt variant that I can't find much information on and one later Polish version built off of WW2 scopes. Note the soviets used the straight tube PU scope on heavy machine guns, a lot of time they will be painted green.

Nice picking up the K31, I feel everyone should have one. They are so well built, and accurate. If you are shooting the surplus save the brass. The correct berdan primers are available again. I was lucky enough to pick up a 1942 Tula ex PU sniper. Did you get a K31 that had the tag?

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Mrtank
Perfect synopsis! Thanks!
K-31? Really odd looking rifles but the ones I have seen are really nicely made and reasonablly priced (relitively speeking). Several dealers have them any recomendations?

[Aragorn243]

The K31 does have it's tag. Just got some surplus yesterday, looks like I got the last that AIM had for the moment.

[Aragorn243]

K31's are in short supply around here. Cabelas got a shipment of them in a couple of years ago and ran various sales on them. At the time, I wasn't interested because they weren't WWII related in my opinion. But having read a good book on the Swiss in WWII I decided that part of the reason they weren't involved in the war was because of that rifle. Not the rifle itself perhaps but the spirit of the nation etc. So belatedly, I decided I wanted one. Cabelas had no more by that time and I didn't see another until a gun show about three months ago where they wanted $375 for it. I was seeking one for $300 so that was out. Sarco had half a dozen of them as of two months ago but they were either in the same price range or they didn't have a matching magazine. The Harrisburg show had one at a dealers table and it was reasonable at $325 and I had planned to go back to offer $300 when I encountered a fellow carrying one with a for sale sign. He wanted substantially less than $300 so it made my day.

What to look for:

The bore should be very bright and sharp, if not, which is rare, don't buy it. The metal exterior is usually well maintained but the finish may be thinning or thin. Serial numbers are located on the bolt, the receiver and the magazine. A partial serial number will be on the barrel, last three digits. These are the ones you can see, those you can't see are on the two pieces of the stock which will be in the barrel channel. It is rare that the barrel, bolt and receiver will not match. The magazine on the other hand seems to be the weak link. About 50% are mis matched. Some will have slings, some won't but they are not difficult to get and originals are in the $20 range. They are usually black with grime and a simple washing will probably turn them into a dark to even light brown. The Swiss emblem will be at one end and the company and date of manufacture at the other, may be hard to find due to the grime. Most should function perfectly as they were well maintained. There are two types of stock, walnut and beech. Samco is selling both types but they are cracked. Not sure if this means they should not be fired but it doesn't sound good. Walnut is more desirable for several reasons, it will be a prewar or mid war rifle, it wears much better than the beech, and is more sought after. The stocks are the weak point with these as a lot of them are really beat up, especially the beech stocks. I've read stories this is because they set them down before going inside and when they came out they had to kick them to break them free of the ice to them being used as ladder rungs to get over obstacles. Some of the nicer looking stocks have been sanded down. They will have a very strong Swiss emblem stamped in them on the butt stock on one side. If this is light, it's been sanded. This was done at the arsenal level so it is seen quite a bit with the beech stocks. This was one of the factors that lessened my interest in the Cabela's rifles. most had very light markings and a few had none. While these did not see combat, they did see very extensive and realistic training and mobilization exercises so they will show wear. The Swiss rifle forum had links to just about all the information you should need.

Almost forgot the piece of paper under the butt plate. These rifles are somewhat unique in that they were only ever issued to one individual who kept it in his home for as long as he remained in active or reserve status. They used a plasticised piece of paper to write their name, unit, rank, birth date and home address among other things. Most are on one side, a few are on both. Mine has both sides written on but no date of birth. So there was no real set in stone standard. If these individuals wished to keep their rifle upon reaching the age they were no longer considered eligible for service, they could buy them from the government at cost. The rifle would then be stamped with a "P" denoting it was privately owned. Not all will have the paper and I've seen a few for sale at times which is unfortunate because for once, there is a definite recorded historical link to the person who carried it that can't be duplicated accurately if you purchase one for your own rifle that had been missing its.