"These were made ex-snipers for a reason...." Indeed there is, when we are talking about "ex"-snipers: wasteful Marxist economics and b.s. Bolshevik bureaucracy. Many of these rifles were in excellent condition when they were arsenal Bubba'ed into regular 91/30 configuration on the orders of some vodka addled post-Stalinist bureaucrat, and some (like most of the 1947 Izhevshks) were mint and unissued, and probably still in their original Izhevsk arsenal shipping crates.

There's also a similar reason why ignorant and wasteful bureaucrats in our own country caused thousands upon thousands of nice - in some cases mint and unissued - 1903 rifles, 1911A1 pistols, M1 carbines, M1 rifles, M14 rifles, etc. ad nauseum, were torched, chopped up with a saw, or shredded and crushed.

However, the statement of mine being quoted above hass actually badly misunderstood and/or is being taken take out of context (I hope!), and was not about saving history by restoring ex-snipers. It was about re-scoping genuine, original WW2 condition and configuration, Yugoslavian issue PU snipers that simply happen to be missing their scope and mount setups. I had 20 of these, still in their Yugo captured original WW2 German Arsenal shipping and storage chests and have discussed and personally examined many more, so I do know a little about these rifles. Kind of like the 1903A4, M1D, and M1C snipers the DCM and CMP have sold off over the years that were complete and original except for missing scope and mount setups. These too were missing their scope setups "for a reason", but I doubt condition or shooting ability had anything to do with it. Not any of the ones I own or have owned, or any of the many others I have seen and personally examined or discussed in detail with their owners over the past 30 or so years. If anyone really does believe that simply replacing the scope and mount setup (or in the case of the Century "asterisked" Polish/Albanian rifles that still had the bases attached, the scope and mount) on an otherwise intact and all original sniper is "Bubba work that destroys the history of the rifle", I think they have serious brain damage from sniffing too much cold blue with the Wheeleristas.

P.S. Stan, cool wolf photo you have there. I love all canids, wild and domestic, and especially wolves. The newest member of my family is a wolf mix.


Not trying to put anyone down or sound egotistical, but 3 things folks should remember about Mosin snipers: 1. If you discuss Mosin snipers with me, you will learn (and hopefully I will too). 2. If you argue Mosin snipers with me, you will lose. I know a lot about these rifles, and have put a lot of time, money, and effort in acquiring, studying, and discussing them over the past 15+ years. 3. If you believe what you read on some of those other marginal, lunatic fringe, so-called Mosin forums (not the good ones like here, Gunboards, and 7.62X54r), you will end up knowing less than before you started, with very wrong and misleading information.

Now I realize that restoring ex-snipers is a subject that does stir up some debate and emotion. This is a personal matter, and I have many good friends on both sides of the issue. It doesn't make anybody right or wrong as long as they remain cognizant of the fact that their opinion is only THEIR OPINION...it may be totally right for them, but not necessarily for someone else. It doesn't make "RESTORATIONISTS" unconditionally right, and it doesn't make them Bubba's. Also, it doesn't make ANTI-RESTORATIONISTS (who like to think of themselves as "purists" or "preservationists") -as differentiated from rabid gibbering and shrieking restoraphobes, who are also out there - any more or less correct in their views. It's like which is better, a Ford or a Chevy, a cat or a dog? - Me, I like 'em all. Another way of looking at is that sniper restorers are "the glass is half full" kind of people and anti-restorers are "the glass is half empty" folks. Neither is right or wrong, both are correct. It's just how you look at things.


DOU, these replica snipers had standard 91/30 straight bolts that were modified, as were the originals, to sniper configuration by trained arsenal personnel. The best of the Ukrainian replica snipers are very well done and very close to the originals, as are the scopes and mount setups, and a person has to be fairly familiar and experienced with both real and replica snipers and parts to tell the difference. Heck, at first glance when they first showed up, even my good friend and well known Mosin sniper authority Vic Thomas wasn't totally sure if these Ukrainian rifles were real or not, and had to subject them to a more detailed study and comparison with his known originals, which supplied us with much of the information we use to help identify these rifles vs. real ones. There are fine details on the scopes and mounts that give these replica scopes away. Serial number is a big one. Screw heads are another, but remember also that genuine WW2 Soviet PU scopes that were refurbished post-war or post-war manufactured Soviet military and commercial PU scopes can also be found with the flat headed screws on the adjustment turrets. The type of machining and finish on the mount and base can also sometimes be a clue as long as one knows the different styles used over the years.

Some of these Ukrainian replica snipers were made using re-snipered genuine PU rifles, and to my way of thinking (others may disagree, as is their right) this makes these actually restored snipers instead of replicas.

Can you post some close-up photos of the mount and base on your rifle, and the markings on the scope? I'm guessing the serial number has a Cyrillic letter prefix that looks like a 4 or Y, instead of the correct Cyrillie A or B prefix of a genuine WW2 "Progress" scope.

Yeah, Fotodevice scope and mount setup. Very high quality items. They do represent a good value for the money - you couldn't put a replica sniper together for what they cost and they are as close as you can get to a real PU rifle without buying a real PU rifle or restoring a nice ex-sniper.

Also, for those who want to do a WW2 German sniper re-enactment but don't have the funds for one of the replica 98k snipers, these are an available and affordable alternative that is historically accurate and correct, since the various Mosin 91/30 snipers were used by the Germans in quantity second only to actual 98k snipers. Really, the PU sniper should be considered the 2nd primary issue WW2 German Army and SS issue sniper rifle, after the diffferent 98k models. Besides use by elite forces like the army and Waffen SS Gebirgsjaeger and Panzer units, these were also used by the Sniper Training Schools in Germany. Many of these units were equiped primarily or exclusively with Mosin snipers. There are many well known photos out there of German soldiers using Mosin snipers.

Interestingly, many of the PU snipers that Samco imported from former Yugoslavia - probably Croatia - came packed in WW2 German made storage crates with Latin alphabet markings indicating the chests contained 10 7,62 PU rifles each, as well as Croatian documentation affixed to the sides of the crates. While most of the 1944 dated rifles are probably part of the shipment of weapons including PU snipers that Stalin provided to Tito in early 1944, it is possible that the 1943 and some of the early 1944 rifles are German captured rifles that were later captured from the Germans and their Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian, and Albanian allies. Romanians and Bulgarians allied with Germany also fought in Yugoslavia before those nations switched sides in the face of Soviet occupation, but it isn't known if the Germans supplied them with captured Mosin snipers or if they captured any themsleves from Soviet and Yugo forces.