Albanian Stocked Izhevsk M44

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AlbIzh01.JPG (24684 bytes)

While there is no proof that the stock on this rifle is from Albania it certainly doesn't seem to be standard Soviet production and shares several characteristics with stocks found on Albanian M91/30s.  The rifle itself is a 1945 Izhevsk M44 in typical configuration.  The bolt is mismatched with a 5 digit number that would not be found on Soviet rifles after 1938 when the Cyrillic prefixes were adopted.  There is also a triangle 21 mark on the bolt body and the knob has a gentle rather than sharp transition from the handle.  This mark and characteristic are found on bolts from China who was known to supply military aid to Albania.

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The floorplate is matching with the full stamped number including the prefix.  The buttplate is Izhevsk and while the numbers match, the Cyrillic prefix does not.

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The stock itself appears to have been sanded,  has no visible cartouches, and the wood doesn't have the characteristics of a Soviet birch stock and is apparently beech.   It seems to have had the standard post war pressed sling slot escutcheons at the rear at one time but they have been removed.  The slot itself is approximately 3/4" farther forward than typical.  The front sling slot is also bare and doesn't show evidence of an escutcheon.  It is slightly closer to the rear of the stock than typical.  The wrist has a circumference of 5" compared to 5 7/16" on a Soviet stock.  While it seems that this stock could be dismissed as simply one that an overzealous owner decided to "improve upon", there are some characteristics that can't be explained by simple sanding and refinishing.

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The finger grooves are well centered on the recoil cross bolt and the bayonet groove is very pronounced at the rear but tapers almost to nothing towards the front.  Soviet stock finger grooves are typically offset and the bayonet grooves are more uniform throughout their length.  The rear section of the handguard is very prominent and larger than the steel endcap.

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The fit between the stock and the action is very sloppy with the trigger guard/magazine assembly set extremely deep.

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As seen in these comparison pictures the comb is shorter and has a pronounced flat spot compared to the Soviet stock in the rear.  This type of comb is also found on some Chinese T53s.  There are also differences in the details of the inletting with this stock showing signs of more fitting after it was finished, most notably in the area of the interrupter/ejector.  This area is one where the rifle could be assembled without removing enough wood for proper function which wouldn't be apparent until test firing.  The action bed itself is set much lower in the stock as seen by the exposed cross bolt.  When the rifle is assembled there is no contact between the receiver and the stock except at the tang with the barrel making contact at the front.  The cleaning rod nut is further forward and the cleaning rod channel "window" is much shorter.

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The holes for the action screws are very sloppy and the hole for the trigger is much smaller than typical with the trigger actually rubbing the sides.   The relief for the floorplate latch screw at the rear of the magazine cut out is shallow and does not accommodate the screw.  The floorplate pivot pin reliefs appear to have been done by hand.

AlbIzh19.JPG (144960 bytes) AlbIzh20.JPG (136656 bytes) AlbIzh21.JPG (150166 bytes)

Individually the features of this stock could be dismissed as minor variations in production along with refinishing, but when viewed as a whole, in the context of the Chinese bolt, the odds that this stock was produced outside of the Soviet Union are great.  Considering the experience that China had producing large numbers of T53 stocks and the limited experience Albania had, it seems that the latter is the most likely source.  Thanks to "blacst" of Gunboards.com for selling the rifle.

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