Awhile back I bid on a real beat-up filthy M-44 that nobody else wanted and got it. This on the outside looked like really only parts, but I had checked the barrel during the insp period and it looked serviceable. I had a lot of others to clean first but I did note here that it had Chinese characters on the buttstock. Well yesterday I got it out and started to soak it and clean it up. It is a 1944 Izhevsk. Above the year it has a perfect triangle with the DDR (East German) 1, under the SN it has 0000 stamped into it. The stock, buttplate and the magazine match, not the bolt. Now the real interesting part is the Chinese characters very artistically carved into the stock. The translation is: "May my friend who last carried this have peace" and a Korean name. My wife is Korean and she is amazed with the beautifully done carvings. This M-44 was evidently used in the final days of the war by Russian troops, then given over to the DDR for it's soldiers to use and somehow collected up and sent to North Korea for their use. How it got here is just a guess. Most of the Northern Koreans who live near the border with China are fluent in both languages. I will be putting up some pics when I get this cleaned and out of the solvent pan. This is another one that if it could talk, what a story.
Several other interesting items. Under the trigger guard are two steel reinforcement plates. I have gone through at least 50 Mosins in the last 20 years and don't remember seeing that before. Also what is the significance of the 0000 stamped next to the SN ?? The stock is a very early type as it is not finished in shellac, but soaked in LO. I had to soak in hot soapy water for hours and dry in the sun / wind to get it near clean. I just rubbed in LO, let it dry and rubbed in a 2nd layer and that's all. Looks much better. Bore is in very nice condition after I plugged it and soaked overnite.
Several other interesting items. Under the trigger guard are two steel reinforcement plates. I have gone through at least 50 Mosins in the last 20 years and don't remember seeing that before. Also what is the significance of the 0000 stamped next to the SN ?? The stock is a very early type as it is not finished in shellac, but soaked in LO. I had to soak in hot soapy water for hours and dry in the sun / wind to get it near clean. I just rubbed in LO, let it dry and rubbed in a 2nd layer and that's all. Looks much better. Bore is in very nice condition after I plugged it and soaked overnite.
