Description
Own a Mosin Nagant that was made in the USA, saw service with the Imperial Russians, was captured by the Bolsheviks & then captured by the Finns!
The outbreak of World War I in August 1914 caught Imperial Russia seriously short of military weapons. The existing stockpile of small arms was inadequate to arm Russia’s huge army & the situation became rapidly worse through the expansion of the armed forces & the normal loss of weapons by capture, accident or otherwise.
By the second year of the war the small arms deficit had became critical. Russia sustained frequent defeats at the front & at one point was suffering a loss of rifles at the appalling rate of 240,000 per month. Despite the purchases of some 2,461,000 rifles from foreign sources during the war – among them Arisakas from Japan & Great Britain & Model 95 Winchesters from the U S & the capture of rifles from their enemies, the Russians never acquired a sufficient quantity of firearms for their troops.
In 1915 the Imperial Russian government ordered 1,500,000 M1891 infantry rifles & bayonets plus 100,000,000 rounds of 7.62×54 mm ammunition from the American firm Remington-UMC & an additional 1,800,000 of the rifles & bayonets from another American company, New England Westinghouse.
The New England Westinghouse company was founded in 1915 in East Springfield, Massachusetts. Its primary purpose was to fulfill a contract to produce Mosin–Nagant rifles for Czar Nicholas II of Russia during World War I. In order to produce the rifles, they purchased the J Stevens Arms & Tool Company in Chicopee Falls, MA on 1 July 1916 & acquired all its holdings which included firearms & tool manufacturing facilities. The Stevens firearms facility was renamed the J Stevens Arms Company & its machinery was retooled to meet the Mosin–Nagant contract. In 1917 the Czar was deposed in the Russian Revolution & the Russian government defaulted on the contract so New England Westinghouse did not receive payment.
Other US Mosin-Nagants also made their way to Russia in 1918 via the Arctic port of Archangel where they were carried by some of the American troops sent to intervene in the civil war then raging between communist (Red Russians) & non-communist (White Russians). This use of the guns was based on the theory that it would be cheaper to use locally-available ammunition rather than to add to the expedition’s expense & baggage by shipping cartridges halfway around the world for use in standard-issue Springfield M1903 rifles. Most of these American Mosin-Nagants were abandoned in Russia when the last US troops left in 1920.
This particular example is especially valuable as it has the Imperial Russian Crest stamped on the receiver meaning it was one of the rifles actually sent over to the Russians. Making it even more collectable is the fact that this rifle was captured from the Soviets by the Finnish Army either during the Winter War or the Continuation War when Finland came into the war on the side of the Nazi’s. This is shown by the SA inside the square stamped on the receiver & the fact the serial numbers have been forced matched by the Finns. This also displays the spliced stock which is unique to Finnish captured soviet rifles. They did this to shorten the rifles & add strength.
Remington & New England Westinghouse versions of the Mosin-Nagant M91 are highly sought after by collectors this is an especially fine example. It is in very good condition as can be seen in the photos. Not unusually, it is not matching numbers.
This a chance for you to add a rare & highly collectable Mosin Nagant to your collection. These do not come up often.
Do your own research & you will know if this is for you. Please view the photos carefully & make your decision based on what you see as they form the main description & override all written information. Ask for more if desired.
We think we have described it accurately & correctly but do not claim to be infallible so if we have got anything wrong, it is unintentional & are happy for feedback from people who know more than we do.
Whilst we check these out for serviceability, the warranty has expired & this is sold on an ‘as is’ basis. As with all used guns, we recommend you have this checked by a suitably qualified person prior to shooting.
We have a pretty unique refund policy on our collectable guns whereby we will refund your money if it is not as described when you receive it. Just let us know before you send it back.
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