Re: M44 Bent Front Sight -hood-
I get it, I was under the impression the post was bent. I've seen this before, although I haven't seen a 91/30 with a distorted hood yet. The hood on M1938s and M44s is built very different from 91/30s. The 91/30 hood is machined from a block or blank, the M38 sight base is machined without the hood. When done, it's just a square base with a dovetail on the bottom. They bend a steel strap to the shape of the hood and weld it to the sides of the base. They performed the final machining with the hood attached, and that's how they get it so clean. If you look closely at your picture, you can see a faint seam where the hood's attached to the base.
The last 1938 carbine I fixed with a hood problem actually had hood separation on one side. I fixed it by straightening & aligning the parts, and silver soldering the joint. I chose silver solder instead of rewelding since welding would have been much more disruptive and alse required refinishing, assuming nothing went wrong. The weld did hold on one side, so it was more cosmetic than anything else.
Here's my current Aztec 1938. 1944 dated, all matching, original laminated 38 stock (not M44 stock). It needed some work. When I received it, the firing pin threads were nearly stripped. This means it could have fired at random, and possibly out of battery. The seller had just given me a lengthy run-around about a more serious issue with another Mosin, so I just replaced the firing pin & cocking piece and called it a day. I'm glad I did, as it gave a very pleasant surprise on the range.
It's finished in polyurethane over stain. The original finish had more contrast between the laminations, but literally fell off the gun under the lightest touch.
I waited until the last flake of the original finish settled to the floor before refinishing.
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...20M38/th_1.jpg
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...20M38/th_2.jpg
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...20M38/th_3.jpg
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...20M38/th_4.jpg