How can you tell what year a Mosin Nagot 91/30 rifle was made?

Question

How can you tell what year a Mosin Nagot 91/30 rifle was made?

Answer 1

Looking on the top of the receiver.

Answer 2

The 4 digit date of manufacture is stamped on the barrel just a few centimeters up from the reciever.  The drawback is that most of these guns have been rearsenaled and there is no guarentee that it has the original barrel from when it was first made.  So, you can definitely know the manufacture date for the barrel, but are left to assume that the stamped date is correct for the rest.  If you suspect a rebarrel job was done, 7.62x54r.net had a chart that would indicate year of manufacture based off style of barrel bands, high/low wall reciever, and a few other components.    

Answer 3

It should be printed on top of the receiver. Just behind the rear sight. Mine says 1939, above the serial number. Some also have a serial number on the floorplate, but these were often exchanged parts, so no guarantee that even if it has one, that it's the right date.

Answer 4

Also, you should look for the arsenal mark. A star with an arrow in it indicates Tula Arsenal. A triangle with an arrow in it indicates Izhevsk Arsenal.

Finally, if it has a triangle with a 1 in it, its DDR marked and valuable.