The M-91 Dragoon Rifle
in Pictures (Page 1)

 

 

This section has many high detail pictures of the M-91 Dragoon rifle. Virtually every part of the weapon is photographed and described.  The example in our collection was captured and reworked by Finland at some point in its history (probably during the Winter War).  Any modifications made by the Finns will be noted in the description.  To go to a specific part of the weapon simply click on the desired section below. I should warn you that some of these pages may take a little while to load.

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Rifle Main Page

 

 

Barrel Bands and Front Stock

The stock of the M-91 Dragoon rifle is made of solid birch wood.  Originally the weapon had sling swivels, but they were later replaced by simple sling slots as in our example.

Below you can see pictures of the barrel bands and upper handguard.  The rear of the handguard gives it away as a later M-91/30 version added when it was reworked by the Finns.  The barrel bands are also from 91/30 rifles for the same reason.  The bands are kept in place by metal springs in the stock.

 

 

Buttplate and Rear Stock

The three pictures here show the rear portion of the rifle.  The upper right picture is a general view of the rear stock.  Directly below is a picture of the buttplate.  The bottom right picture shows the serial number of the weapon as it is stamped on the buttplate.  These markings are original to the rifle.

 

 

The Receiver and Trigger

The receiver is the heart of any firearm and the M-91 Dragoon rifle is no exception.  It has many features that would later be copies and used in later versions of the M-91 family.

The top right picture shows the flip up sight, finger groove, and the hexagonal shape of receiver.  This feature can also be seen in the center right picture.  Below you can see the distinctive shape of the trigger and magazine.  It is virtually identical to all later versions.

A 5-round stripper clip can be seen just prior to loading in the center right picture.  The guides for the clip can also be seen just ahead of the bolt.

The bottom right picture is a close up of the hexagonal receiver.  This was standard for all rifles until the development of the M-91/30.  It should be noted that even some of those weapons have hexagonal receivers as the factories used existing tools and dies to make them until they needed to be replaced. 

 

 

Receiver Markings

The receiver of the M-91 Dragoon rifle has quite a bit of writing stamped into it.  You can see two views of our example below.  The writing states that the weapon was made in the Izhevsk arsenal in 1925.  This is followed by the serial number and the pre-1928 'bow and arrow' symbol.  Two hammer and sickle symbols within a wreath can also be seen.  The small letter 'D' is a Finnish symbol indicating that the weapon had been reworked and can use the Finnish D166 cartridge.