Mosin Nagant Dragoon
When the original Three-Line Rifle M1891 Mosin Nagant was adopted, a slightly shorter model followed soon after to fill a unique role in the army of Tsar Nicholas II
The History
As the nineteenth century came to a close, the French had set the world of military small arms afire with the introduction of their M1886 Lebel rifle and its smokeless powder cartridge. This would prompt a rapid reaction from the Germans, who fielded their own Gewehr 88 design just two years later. For the Russian Empire, the Tsar’s armies were in need of not only their own smokeless rifle but also a repeater, as at the time the single-shot Berdan II rifle remained their primary service arm.
The distinctive Konovalov rear sight is the most important indicator of an unaltered Dragoon rifle
Development had been long and troubled, but in the end a viable design was chosen in what was designated as the Three Line Rifle, Model of 1891, which would commonly be known as the Mosin Nagant, taking that name from the designer of the action, Sergei Mosin, and the magazine, Leon Nagant of Belgium. This infantry rifle would equip the soldiers of the Imperial Army in the Boxer Rebellion and Russo-Japanese War before being carried to its greatest test as the Great War began in 1914.
The Konovalov rear sight ladder, with graduations in arshin, the old Imperial Russian measurement
Despite the adoption of the full size rifle, their was a need for a shorter weapon to equip the Empire’s various mounted forces, and in 1893 the Dragoon model was adopted. This was a far cry from the traditional carbines commonly used around the world in that era, with a length approaching 50 inches, the new Dragoon rifle was in many ways more akin to a full length rifle in size as well as weight, even though it was three inches shorter than the M91 rifle. This choice was done primarily as a reflection of the doctrine of the Imperial Russian Army, which emphasized dragoons (mounted infantry), who fought on foot after riding into battle on their horses. A variant was produced for Cossacks, which differed only in markings and in being sighted for use without the standard Russian socket bayonet fixed.
The front sight of the Dragoon, as on the M91, is a simple blade, lacking the protector seen on later Soviet models
The Dragoon rifle would see service in the Great War, being commonly used not just by the dragoons but also appearing in the hands of Russian support personnel, as well as appearing to be popular with female soldiers. Following the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War, the Dragoon would remain popular, indeed being more so than the M91 rifles. In the Soviet Era the Dragoon pattern would be standardized in production, and eventually would be updated into the M91/30 rifle that would serve as standard issue to the Red Army in the Second World War, albeit as an infantry rifle, with a true carbine, the M38, having taken over the Dragoon’s role from the Tsarist Era.
The mechanism of the Dragoon is indistinguishable from that of any other “hex receiver” Mosin Nagant rifle
The Design
The Dragoon is at its core a basic Mosin Nagant mechanism. As such it is a cock-on-open rotating bolt action rifle, with a single stack internal box magazine. The magazine features an interrupter that is intended to prevent rimlocking of the 7.62x54mm cartridges, which also serves as a feed lip and ejector.
As compared to the M91 infantry rifle, the Dragoon features a three inch shorter barrel, along with a handguard from the beginning of production (handguards were not added to the M91 until 1894). This was also designed differently to the retrofitted style found on the M91, being retained be the barrel bands and protruding both forward and rear of them. Originally, the handguard wrapped around the rear sight base, although this proved fragile and later examples would only partially wrap around before the last Dragoons featured the M91/30 style handguard.
The receiver markings, showing the serial number, year of production and manufacturer. The Romanov Imperial Eagles are defaced on this example, as was common in the Communist era
All Dragoon rifles were fitted with the Konovalov sights (barring the earliest, which featured flat Lebel-style sights) of the M91 rifle, as well as the “hex” receiver pattern also seen on Imperial rifles. many Dragoons were converted to the M91/30 pattern after the adoption of the modernized design, and these are the most commonly encountered today, with the replacement with Soviet-style sights being considered the most important metric to differentiate the Dragoon from the “Ex-Dragoon”.
The end of the handguard on the Dragoon rifle curves around the rear sight base. On earlier models, it wrapped around the entire assembly
This Example
The Dragoon in the author’s collection was manufactured by Izhevsk in 1902, and although the serial numbers do not match on most of the components, all major components aside from the barrel bands are early components with the pre-Soviet manufacture markings. The rifle retains its Konovalov sights as well as the distinctive Dragoon handguard, and is in overall very good condition. As is common with Imperial Russian firearms, the Romanov eagles stamped on the barrel and receiver have been defaced, with the one on the receiver still partially visible while the one on the barrel has been completely scrubbed.
The bolt, like the rest of the mechanism, is identical to all other models of the Mosin Nagant
Opinions
The Dragoon makes for an interesting example of the Mosin Nagant family, and an unaltered example, particularly one produced before the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, is quite rare on the American market today. The rifle in general is very similar to the M91/30 that is relatively ubiquitous, and in comparison, the Dragoon has a few subtle but notable differences. The stock is slightly heavier while also being slimmer, and of course the Konovalov sights provide a different sight picture. In general, the author feels that the build quality of earlier Imperial rifles tends to be better than most Soviet era Mosin Nagant rifles, and that this continues with this rifle as well.
Russian Cossacks with their rifles slung during the Great War
Helsinki Museum
Observed Values and Frequency
Updated: February, 2024
AVERAGE VALUE (USD): $800 - $1,000
FREQUENCY: Very rare
COLLECTOR’S NOTES: Imperial-era Dragoon rifles are significantly less common than Communist era examples.
The most important factor for determining a Dragoon rifle as opposed to an “Ex-Dragoon” is the presence of the Konovalov rear sight, although other features such as the handguard and barrel bands are also notable.