The stash of guns on the link are cool but did anyone else notice that they all look like they were painted Black, some right over rust pits even ? Makes me question what condition they are actually in. The Russian stuff has a reputation of sometimes being poorly refinished worn out junk. Not always but sometimes. "Lipstick on a pig"
I know this is post is old, but...
What your seeing is the re-arsenaled phosphate coating that Russia is "famous" for. Looks like crap, it's lack of handling durability is designed to be a quick and expedient method for on-the-rack preservation in case future service is required one day.
All of the old inventory is required to be maintained... And every few decades a sample of each crated/cosmoline covered lot is inspected and, if necessary, re-arsenaled again.
If your Russian surplus firearm has an importers mark (most do, especially if you bought it in cosmoline out if a crate) it was purchased from a governmental release contract... Meaning it has been re-arsenaled at least once post war. The late 40's saw the first large scale overhauls on Russian small arms inventory... The late 60's saw another. "Small" batch re-arsenal jobs where done case by case for training rifles, police lend/lease use, home guards, etc. Most re-arsenal jobs on Russian arms were done at the Izhevsk or Tula armories.
Re-arsenaling is the reason you happened across a "numbers matching" rifle for sale at your local gunship for $100... They were "force matched" (overstamped/scrubbed and restruck/etc... Sometimes the arsenal even just used an electropencil.)
Authentic - yes. Just not "straight from the battlefield authentic".
The real gems are "vet bring backs" (non import marked) or war captures by another country... Some of these are non import marked as well, depending on when it hit American shores.
A prime example is a Finnish stamped [SA], non-import marked Mosin Nagant...
Anyways, sorry to bring up an old thread. Just figured I'd try to share some info.
~Tejaas~
.I was at a gun shop up in NH a couple of weeks ago.They had a handful of Mosin Nagants still packed in cosmoline.Decent price to 145 bucks.I do believe one has my name on it.The price for the ammo wasnt bad either 119 bucks for 1000 rounds.
