"Balkan" 1919 Izhevsk dragoon

[racerguy00]

I was able to pick up this uncommon M91 dragoon with the help of forum member Zeebill, thanks Bill! 1919 Izhevsk mosins are a lot less common than those from Tula, and even the Tula ones are scarce.

1919 was during the thick of the Russian Civil War, and the entire country was in turmoil. Izhevsk was suffering from a manpower shortage, and many if not most Izhevsks from that period often used recycled older receivers as that was the most difficult part to manufacture. Not many rifles from that period survive, and many that do show markings indicating a hardness check of the barrel and receiver. It has been speculated that due to poor quality control many were later withdrawn from service as well as lost through combat attrition etc.

This particular example appears to be what's commonly called a "balkan" import even though it is very likely it was imported through Romania. It features a beech type 2 dragoon handguard that appears to be a newly made arsenal replacement. It retains the solid dragoon barrel bands but sits in a late/post war style stock with force matched buttplate. A 1913 Izhevsk receiver was used to build it, and the bore is decent with no counter bore. There is a peened wedge behind the rear sight spring. There is also a "gearwheel" or sunburst stamp on the stock that is usually attributed to Romania.

When 1919 Izhevsks do turn up, they tend to be refurbed and converted to 91/30 specs by updating the sights. Finding one still in dragoon configuration is a big bonus.
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