The Mosin Revival: Part Two

The smaller stock on the top left is for a .22 rifle that just needed a new buttstock since it had been damaged. 

APRIL 2019

The planet has turned back towards the sun once more, so it is now time to finish this stock.

Since the depths of winter, the stock and other components have been stored in a closed plastic tote with some large silica gel packets to prevent moisture damage. So the stock remained ready to be clear coated/varnished, with one exception.

The wood putty around the end of the bayonet, nasty yellow stuff that it is, is still there and it has to be dealt with before the stock can be finished. This was surprisingly simple to resolve though, with some matte dark brown paint, the putty is almost unnoticeable unless you know what to look for.

Also since most of the time the bayonet will be folded back, it's going to be even less noticeable. 

Next came the long part, which was applying the clearcoat and letting it dry. Since the stock might get wet, I used an oil-based clearcoat. But oil-based coatings take a very long time to cure, especially in less than warm weather.

The wooden parts after the first coat had been applied to them.

After two days, the first coat had set up properly, and it was time for the second. A light sanding over all the stock and then a lot more waiting as the weather proved uncooperative again, forcing a several day wait as the wrist of the stock steadfastly refused to properly dry.

To provide plenty of air circulation and to allow for a single application, the stocks were suspended in the garage with butcher's twine. 

MAY 2019

May 3rd, all of the stock components are dry and the time is right to put the carbine back together again. Putting the M44 back together is done in reverse from how it was taken apart.

On the top is the handguard, then the barrel and action, the stock, the far left component on the bottom is the buttplate, then the bolt to the right, the magazine and trigger guard, and then the Mosin screwdriver/firing pin setting tool. 

First the buttplate went back on, this time I was able to use the screwdriver component of the repair tool which was the perfect size for all of the screws on the rifle.

Then the trigger guard and magazine was inserted into the stock, followed by the barrel and action. The screws go in to hold them together in the stock.

Something to note at this point is the many, many stampings on the underside of the action.

While I would like to go into detail on what they all mean, I don't actually know. Soviet sources are less than forthcoming on what they all mean, if they were recorded at all, and westerners trying to discern patterns have a limited pool of rifles to work with.

For legal purposes, this is the stamping that really matters for the year of production. While other parts might have different years, this is the one that is actually important.

Once the magazine and receiver are reattached, the handguard goes on the top of the barrel.

The arsenal marks for Izhevsk can be seen stamped into the barrel bands, these are what seem to be post-WWII stampings for that arsenal. They are triangles with an arrow inside them, pointed upwards. These stampings show up on several other parts of the carbine.

Last of all the bolt goes back into the action, inserted at the rear with the trigger depressed. And just like that, the carbine is back together again. The Izhevsk stamp can be seen again, stamped into the bolt just above the handle. 

The book that's been such a huge help in this project, a cleaning kit and its pouch, a brown paper packet of 7.62x54R, a loaded stripper clip, the M44 carbine with a stowed cleaning rod, and a sling.