The M-91 Dragoon Rifle
in Pictures (Page 2)

 

 

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

 

 

The Bolt Assembly

The M-91 Dragoon rifle bolt is identical to the bolts used on all  Mosin-Nagant rifles (except the sniper variant with the turn-down bolt).  It has been called overly  complicated in design, but this was largely due to its creator trying to avoid infringing on the Mauser patent.  Still, it is rugged and reliable, even if it is hard to take apart.

The mark on the bolt is the pre-1928 Izhevsk arsenal mark.

 

 

Front Sight Assembly

Here are some views of the front sight.  It is a non-adjustable post sight that is not covered by any sort of protective hood like later versions.  The front of the rifle and even the cleaning rod can also be seen in these pictures.

   

 

Rear Sight Assembly

Here are some views of the rear sight of the rifle.  It replaced the earlier flat sight when the M-1908 'spitzer' bullet was introduced.  The sight was originally measured in an old Imperial Russian measurement called arshens a measurement for paces equal to about 71 centimeters or 27.95 inches.

It is graduated out to 3200 arshens.  For shooting at targets less than 1200 arshens away the sight was flipped down, and the markings on the left side of the sight were used.  These markings can be seen in the top right picture.

For engaging targets much further away the sight was flipped up.  The weapon could then be sighted out to the rather optimistic range of 3200 arshens.  The numbers on the sight can be seen in detail at the bottom right.  The sight has no adjustment for windage.

Some rifles captured by Finland have the left side arshen marks crossed out and their metric equivalents placed on the right side.  Our example does not have this.

    

 

The Rifle and Bayonet

Like most M-91 type rifles the Dragoon rifle can mount the standard M-91 bayonet.  In these three pictures you can see how the bayonet attaches to the rifle by means of its locking ring.  Note how it fastens around the front site.

The locking ring was considered to be weak in comparison to the earlier Berdan II bayonet and was eventually replaced when the M-91/30 bayonet was introduced.

  

 

Accessories

The M-91 Dragoon rifle was equipped with many accessories to keep it clean and otherwise maintain the weapon.  The picture to the right shows an oil/solvent bottle and its pouch.

We currently have no Tsarist ammunition pouches or cleaning kits for our weapon.