I apologize if I repeat something that has been posted, I admit I got in late and din't read every post....mea culpa, mea culpa, etc.
At the Indy 1500 show this past weekend there were dealers still selling basic Izzy late model refurbed M91/30s with bayonet, ammo pouch, sling, and accessories for $99.00...
BUT I also heard this MAY be the last bunch for a while so prices WILL be going up.
A far cry from the 3/$99 days, right guys?
Basically, yes, you are looking for the difference between Tulas and Izshevsk, but there is more to it that that. Tula made a LOT of M91s but during the 91/30 process made a lot fewer...and rumor had it the Tulas were more accurate so more used for Snayperskayas, but that is unfounded...the Russians made 800,000 91/30 sniper rifles during WWII and yes used the ones tested as most accurate, but there were proportionately as many Izzys as Tulas so good ones are good ones....plus a LOT of early dated Tulas were actually M91s CONVERTED to 91/30 config at the Ishevsk plant, so the name means not much. Plus the Tula machinery was shipped out to Ishevsk so it didn't fall into the German hands in 1942 during the Nazi advance on Stalingrad and all rifles made after 1942 with the Tula Star were actually made on Tula machinery at Ishezk with Ishevsk workers, so go figure.
But finding aone with a Tula star is worth more to buyers, since they are more rare than the Izzy wreath with hammer and sickle...but they are no BETTER than the Izzys...at least as shooters.
Pre-1936, the receivers were hexagonal, like all M91s were before that. Many are "converted" M91s as well (We will get into "Transitions" later)
Post 1936, the receivers were all "round," which some people will say were not as strong as the hex ones (they lie) but the Hex ones bring more money.
The bad news is the jobbers and distributers have figured this out so their wholesale price has gone up on hexes and old ones...not long ago the hexes were the same price...
Not long ago as well you could find "transitions," as well, at the same price. Even though the M91/30 was "technically" adopeted in 1930, so therefore all receivers should be marked 1930 or above, you CAN find some with dates that are earlier. ( I have owned several, dated from 1918 to 1929)
While there WERE some "Cossack" 91s converted to 91/30, which are worth a ton of money, not ALL pre-1930 91/30s are "Cossacks" although the seller will want you to BELIEVE it....
They are "Transitions...." While both major arsenals started building 91/30s NEW in 1930, they also converted many M91s they had on hand to 91/30s. I like "Transitions," and they are worth a little (or a lot?) more. Basically they are any 91/30 with a date (on top of the receiver not on the bottom tang) earlier than 1930.
But even though chances are any of the refurbished 91/30s left are all Ishevsk, there is still enough variation I havre seen between them to attract a look....
First, is it a "correct" "Wartime" or not? Pre-mid-1942, you will find they wikl have nicely machined, low walled, round recievers in a nicely matching inletted stock, with metal escutcheons around the sling slots.
After about mid-1942, until the end of the war, you will find more and more "Shortcuts" in the manufacturing as the war progressed....the 'High Wall" receiver to avoid the extra milling (Rumor is they are stronger) rough machining marks no longer buffed out before blueing...."correct" stock (will have either just a hole in the rear wood and a metal reinforced bottom slot in the front, or later, (late 1943-1944) just a slot in the wood in front too)
Plus you can find variations in the metal in the stock, such as the handguards, which may have blued sheetmetal, brass, or copper metal.
Plus the Stocks of the wartimes have a lot different shape and inletting than the pre-wars....
I have a 1942 pre-war Izzy and a 1943 Wartime Izzy both with brass handguard ends and it is neat to see the differences between them.....
But unlike the Jap or German "Last Ditch" rifles where production quality slipped along with the finish, the Russian "Wartime" rifles skimped on finish and workmanship, but NOT on function....my wartime is my BEST shooter...
Pretty much all the 91/30s coming in over the past 5 years or so havce been arsenal refurbished ones in storage for the past 40-50 years....and now most of the "Collector" ones are long gone or being sold for a lot more than they used to be.....
Like I doubt I will find another converted "ex-Snayperskaya" I bought for $33 that I sold for $55....BEFORE I knew what that stock repair on the side was and what those filled in holes in the receiver that the stock repair didn't completely cover were for....
But all are still good shooters which WILL appreciate with age.
I have bought and sold maybe 50 or 60 of them over the years, and now am down to only 4....funny though, none from the current "refurbed" batches, and two of them from my 3/$99 "dropped in the rubble only once" condition that were Transitions....
But I looked at EVERY one of them at the show this weekend...and if I find one that trips my trigger I would happily spend $100-$150 for ANOTHER one...
