johntheplinker
Master
In a nutshell. Soviet WWII tank crews weren't issued Mosins, or any other personal weapons for that matter. The M38 was a carbine for issue to machine gun crews, artillery, and other troops that had other primary jobs. Because these weren't their primary weapons they tended to get misused and beat up. The Soviet command in a rare moment of wisdom found the M38 to be a better all around weapon than the 91/30 with the exception of not having a bayonet. So, they stuck a folding bayonet on it and thus the M44, which then became the standard issue bolt action rifle.At one point I had a cheap Mosin M1944 or M1938 tanker. The crown had been counter bored. I guess the story goes that they were knocked around in the tank and their barrel crowns got messed up. With the short barrel, it kicked like a mule!