Nagant 91/30 Sniper used by the Germans?

[sovblocgunfan]

Lithgow-I believe you are right about the amount of equipment captured. However, I thought the vast majority of the mosin nagant rifles were sold to the Finns by 1944?

[ObKrieger]

I always thought that Mosins, PPSh's, and other captured Russian weapons were frequently issued to Ostbattalions. This could explain the waffenamts since they were captured, checked, and then sent back out for field use.

[Bill Grist]

ive heard about a nagant captured by a german on the easern front then taken to germany and the captured by an american! what a trip!

I have one in my collection.. Duffel bag cut and brought home as a souviner by a GI....BILL

[lithgow]

Oh! Lordy no.-the Finns bought (not given) tens of thousands of non serviceable MNs for parts in 1944 but the Germans captured millions of them during the course of the war (not all serviceable but mostly so). Mostly issued to rear eschelon troops and allies but given the nature of the partisan war behind the lines in the East they saw much active use.

[sovblocgunfan]

Learning a little more about this as I go. Apparently there are certain depot stamps (not to be confused with manufacturers themselves) that the Nazis applied to small arms that went through inspection/refurb. There is a fairly strict methodology as to how these were applied-where on the rifle, etc. The stamps that I've seen referenced the most were HZa ((Heereszeugämter) Army Equipment Depot) and Su-something. Often associated w/ Carcanos and rebuilt K98's. The WaA stamps seem to always be in different places and denote different things, and are often actually German manufacturer stamps-these seem to be the ones most easily faked. I've been scouring 7.62x54r.net, but I can't seem to come up with any WWII-marked Mosins. I'm sure they are out there-wonder if Bill might post some pictures of his?!

[Berthier92]

I agree with lithgow, and another example is that many German soldiers during the winter ditched their German weaponary for Russian weapons, for example the PPSH-41, which was more reliable in dirt and ice, then their MP-40s