
On top is Anastasia and on bottom is Nourhan


I recently acquired Nourhan and Anastasia. Nourhan is a beautifully preserved 1944 Mosin-Nagant M91/30 with an 18" detachable bayonet. She is fully functional, and fires an unforgiving 7.62x54 mm sniper round still used today in the Russian SVD Dragunov sniper rifle and the Soviet PK machine gun, both weapons used by insurgents in Iraq and other third world countries. She also has matching serial numbers on the bolt, reciever, buttplate, magazine well and rear sight leaf.
Nourhan

Anastasia, is also remarkably well preserved. She's a 1944 model Mosin-Nagant M44, also firing the big 7.62x54 mm round. She has a permanently attached 12" swivelling bayonet. She, too, has matching serial numbers on the bolt, reciever, buttplate, magazine well and rear sight leaf.
Anastasia

Nourhan is my clear favorite as she seems to be better balanced. While heavier, the load is more evenly distributed over the full length of the rifle. While difficult to shoot from the shoulder because of the length, the M91/30 boasted superior accuracy to the M44 - explaining why 95% of tallied sharpshooter aces of the Eastern Front were Russian marksmen carrying this particular model rifle, including the famous Vasily Zaytsev, with over 400 kills.
You can see how long the rifle is with the 18" detachable bayonet:


I named Anastasia because it means "resurrection", and Nourhan after a girl I know, which also means "Light of the Sun". Edit: Nourhan tells me that 'Nourhan' is also translated as "divine light"

Arright, ladies commence freaking out, guys commence nodding with crossed arms, sipping your beers and grunting appreciatively
