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Contributing Member
Questions about an 1891 Russian rifle captured by the Germans/Austrians
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02-02-2013 12:53 PM
# ADS
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Contributing Member
I went back knowing a bit more what to look for.
It is a Tula made rifle, 1898. Has a mix of Tula and Izhevsk parts on it. The bore has strong rifling but is pitted and looks to have either rust or dirt in it now. It is an Austrian capture "AZF" marked on the receiver. The imperial crest on the receiver has been peened out, the imperial crest on the barrel is still present but an effort was made to grind it off although smoothly. It has been re-blued after all of this. The barrel bands are not the first type as I said earlier but the second type, without the spacing for sling swivels. The barrel is also stamped "AZ" top center where it meets the receiver and there is an "R" just to the left of it. There are serial numbers on the barrel, bolt, charging handle, buttplate and magazine base, none match each other. I believe the rear sight may be a Type I Finnish sight as it is not flat but curved. The adjustable portion has the bow and arrow stamp on it which would be Russian made. The stock was heavily sanded then coated with the shellac. The marking on the stock was not a German eagle but more like a leaf of some sort. It is small, about 3/8's of an inch tall and 1/4 inch wide.
I found reference to the "R" being seen on Finnish M28's only which this is not.
Web research: An "R" was used to indicate an arsenal rework in Bulgaria although it is marked on the barrel, not the receiver. The symbol on the stock could be the Bulgarian pinecone, on this, I'm not pretty sure that's what it is.
Last edited by Aragorn243; 02-02-2013 at 03:52 PM.
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Legacy Member
If it's scrubbed, likely a Balkan import and not Finn. The leaf mark on the stock is a tell tale Bulgarian pine cone mark. Finn rear sights also had the arshins crossed out or shaved off and new meter marks applied. Finns used standard Russian curved rear sight leafs and only made their own flat rear sights starting with the 28/30.
Last edited by Homer2; 02-02-2013 at 08:52 PM.
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Contributing Member
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Contributing Member
AZF means ArtillerieZeugsFabrik. If there are no Finnish markings on it, make sure the rifle is not one of those converted to 8x50R. Some of the conversions even still had the 7.62 diameter barrel, while being chambered for the Austrian caliber!
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I need to check the caliber. I was aware of that. It would bump up the collector value quite a bit but I doubt it was done being accepted into Bulgarian service.
I ordered a new front sight from Numrich and have a cleaning rod coming from another location. Have not located an appropriate sling for it yet. I need to work on the bayonet as it doesn't fit past the front sight.
I found that the R stamped over the AZ on the barrel is most likely a Bulgarian arsenal rework mark. The G on the receiver is still a mystery. Only reference to that is Finnish but I really doubt this ever found it's way to Finland.
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Contributing Member
I took it out and shot it today. A first for me, shooting one of my rifles within a week of getting it. Talk about trouble finding the paper. I fired 1 shot off the sled to ensure it wasn't going to blow up in my face and then five more off the bench. Forgot to take a spotting scope so I'm blissfully unaware I'm not hitting anything. Walked up and looked, no fresh holes on the paper or through the backstop. Looked at the ground behind the target and guess that I'm hitting at least 12 inches low.
Second group, no hits again, I was aiming at the top of the paper this time. Third round, I put the front post bottom in the bottom of the V in the rear sight and put the top of the post at the top of the paper. This time I'm about 3 inches low from the bull so I fire a five shot group. Extremely awkward shooting this way but I produced a three inch group with one flyer that I knew was going off and even with that had a 5 inch group. Not bad for a 115 year old rifle.
Can't wait to get the proper front sight for it. That 91/30 sight is just bad news.
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Contributing Member
I now see why the rifle was shooting so low. The front sight of an 1891 is about 1/4 shorter than the pin on a 91/30. Multiply 1/4 by 100 and that's 25 inches.
New sight arrived today and is now in place. Still waiting on the cleaning rod. Tried to get a sling today but lost the bidding war.
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