Mosin's of the Kossuth Crest

[Miller Tyme]

When I started seriously collecting many moons ago I instantly gravitated to Mosins because they were plentiful, came in more flavors than Baskin Robbins, and where, for the most part, cheap. I eventually took a liking to PU snipers, and really liked the Hungarian PU’s for there, imho, superior fit & finish.

Well along they way I stumbled into a matching PU sniper with the Hungarian coat of arms, The Kossuth Crest stamped on the receiver and have since been searching hi & low for more to add to the collection.



The Kossuth Crest stamp has a couple of theories which include there use in the 1956 Hungarian Uprising (doubtful) to a stamp put on Russian weapons loaned to the Hungarians post WW2, sort of a Russian version of Lease/Lend, to possibly some sort of Hungarian refurbishment stamp. Whatever it was applied for it is very uncommon, and on 4 PU snipers I am aware of here in the U.S. they are all 1943 Izhevsk PU’s of the same prefix, “BT”. According to long time member Alb87 he had documented ½ a dozen so stamped firearms over in Europe with one being a deactivated Tula PU sniper and another a PPSH41

The stamp has also been observed on both Russian & Hungarian Tokarev pistols in the U.S., but I have yet to secure one of these.





This one is a 45 Izhevsk M44 that I acquired from an infamous Mosin collector about 8 years ago. This was the 2nd one to join my collection and is the only one I am aware of in the U.S. that isn’t a PU. It is a forced matching rifle with a forced match bolt and buttplate (02) and resides in a Hungarian stock.






The next one was my 1st one to join the collection and is an all-original Russian matching 1943 Izhevsk PU sniper with a replacement scope. This rifle also isn’t import marked, unlike the M44.

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