1929 dated Mosin Nagant

[gunauthor]

I recently picked up a 91/30 and would like to get some info. As it is marked 1929, do I have a rare beast? It appears to be the same as other Mosin Nagants I have owned so maybe the barrel is mislabeled? Any info would be much appreciated.
gunauthor

[tomme boy]

Ex Dragoon. Post a pic of the top of the barrel. You can find out then what it is. Should be a hex receiver also.

[beemer]

A lot of the older rifles were reworked into 91/30's. Around 1930 the receivers were changed from hex to round. Not unusual to find a hex 91/30 but they are a bit more desirable. The receiver is dated at the tang on the bottom of the action.

[mac60]

7.62x54R dot net is a website devoted to the Mosin Nagant. They give rarity on a scale of 1 to 10, a 1929 ex-dragoon (either Tula or Izhevsk) gets a 4.

[Flophound]

It's relatively rare. The 91/30 is derived from the original Mosin Nagant which was adopted in 1891 by the Russian Empire. There were several different models, carbone's, dragoons, etc. Before the Soviets decided to update it some. Off the top of my head the biggest change was to the sights. Totally different system on the 91/30.
As it often goes, the old M91s still in service were converted to adopt the updates. In fact you can even find antique 91/30s since they were built off of an old pre 99 receiver.
I collected Mosins for years. Really enjoyed just how many different models there were and how much history is behind them.
Heck, even American companies made them back when we were on decent terms with the Russians before the communism set in. Remington and Westinghouse, I wanna say.
Anyway, you have a legit Mosin. It just started life as a different model, or it might have been late enough in production that it sat around and got turned into a 91/30 as it's first incarnation. Stranger things have happened. I had a 1943 dated M44 carbine.
That headscratching is the appeal of collecting Mosins, IMHO.