Advice please/worth buying?- mil. surplus Russian Mosin-Nagant M91/30

[LukeTheDrifter]

Hey y'all!!! I've been silently trolling this site and lovin' it for waaaaay too long, so count me in as of today!!! WHOOOOHOOO! Feels good to be home.

Alright, so for my first post, I'd like y'all's advice please. I see all over the place that I can buy surplus Russian Mosin-Nagant M91/30 7.62x54 rifles for hardly anything. I love taking anything out to the range and slingin' lead with it, so I'm thinking real hard about buying one. They come with bayonets, ammo pouch, etc. Im not really concerned about that stuff. I want to know if they're worth my time getting one.

I mainly want to know if these things are:
1. Fun to shoot
2. Functional (should I expect the thing to reliably fire? Or is it destined as a wall gun?)
3. Accurate

I really look forward to hearing your opinions. One other question: I can't fire FMJ rifle rounds at my range of choice. Is there inexpensive, quality, non-FMJ ammo available for this rifle??

Thanks everybody!!!

 

[CoastieShep]

Welcome
Blast to shoot
Yes, very reliable.
Accurate? Depends on what you consider to be accurate. But, they are accurate enough to kill something.
The cheapest stuff will obviously be the milsurp rounds, but you can find cheap hunting rounds for not overly expensive.
Buy it, have fun. The money you save buying it over something else, can buy thousands of rounds.

 

[ball3006]

You could have picked one up at the Big Town gun show this weekend. Be warned, Mosin Nagants are like Lay's potato chips, You will not be satisfied with just one.....chris3


Forgot to add, I have a several Finn 91/30s that with a scout scope mounted will shoot around one inch groups at 100 yards with Privi 150 gr sp ammo. My old eyes need help these days. That is the reason for the scopes.....chris3

 

[792mauser]

I've got 5 of em. From my 1939 38 carbine to my 1917 long barrel 91. They are fun cheap to shoot. Ammo comes in cases for under a hundred bucks. There is modern softpint hunting ammunition made by several companies on the market now; even that's relatively cheap to shoot as well.
As for them being wall hangers; I use my pe sniper repro for target shooting nearly every time I go to the range.

 

[LukeTheDrifter]

I KNEW that posting here would be a wise choice!!! I really appreciate the quick responses.

Hey Ball3006, how much were these goin' for in Mesquite? This weekend has been crazy hectic and I completely forgot about that show!!! I'm seeing them online for $60-$90, so that's all I really want to pay. That should be reasonable, right? Did you happen to pick up a card from anybody selling these cheap (especially if they're in DFW area)? If so, please PM me the info and just wait for the good karma to come rollin' in!! Thanks again, y'all!!!
P.S. How big a job was it to find/mount the scout scope? I'll definitely want one of those.

 

[Telekinesis]

They're great guns. I bought mine for hunting rather than just plinking and looking pretty, so I floated the barrel and did a few other things and got it to just a tad bit over 1 moa. They can be really accurate if you put the work into them. Surplusrifle.com has a good section on the Mosin.

They're definitely fun to shoot and addicting. If I had any more room, I'd definitely have more of these things! They're incredibly reliable. Remember, these were made for the common Russian/Soviet peasant, so they're going to take anything you can throw at them. In fact, it's common practice that to open a stuck bolt, you take a 2x4 and hammer the bolt into submission!

As far as ammo, there's some Russian soft points marketed as hunting rounds that would probably do the trick. They usually cost about as much as the new manufactured FMJs. Also, if you do shoot any of the corrosive mil surp through it, make sure you clean it before you put it up.

Peloi makes a decent scope that's pretty cheap. There are a few types of mounts that you can do. One just replaces the rear sight with a rail which is good if you don't want to drill and tap the receiver. The other main one is the ATI which is a big block on top of your receiver. I know that with the ATI you will need to get a turned down bolt handle (I don't recommend the one included in the kit, it seems a bit weak...) Also, I saw one from a local gunsmith that looked really nice. It was almost like the original Russian mount where it attached to the receiver on the side, and it was removable so you could use the irons if you wanted to. (You can't see the irons with the ATI mount installed)

 

[Frozen North]

Look down the pipe, and check it out. Mosins are one of those guns that is best hand picked by you. There are some that the bore is just plain junk from the corrosive ammo used in them. I have an M-44 that barks and bucks, it is a good shooter. People always turn to look after I fire it. It is ridiculously loud and blows flames from the muzzle. It is just plain fun!

Buy one! Do it now!!!!

 

[epijunkie67]

Realistically there is no real reason to NOT buy one given the price. Depending on where you shop you could potentially get the gun, some ammo, nics check, and taxes for under $100. At most $120-140 unless you are buying a bunch of ammo up front.

Accuracy will of course depend on the condition of the barrel. Don't freak out if the muzzle has a huge hole in it. Many rifles were counter bored while still in service to restore accuracy and they can shoot just fine.

If you look at the ballistics of the 7.62x54R round it is very similar to the .308. With an accurate weapon and soft point ammo there is no reason you couldn't use one as a decent hunting rifle.

 

[Moose23]

Just picked up a very nice 38 with 1000 rds of ammo for under $200. Have put about 50 rounds thru it and its just plain fun to shoot! Buy one, you'll love it.

 

[jem375]

Myself, I would wait and find a really decent M96 Swede, K31, or a British Enfield.. I actually gave away a M/N 91/30 at my local gun range, piece of crap.... I do have a M44 M/N, I should have kept the 91/30 since I am collecting WW2 bolt action rifles and need a couple more..

 

[thralldad]

I have a 91/30 and a M44! They are AMAZINGLY fun to shoot. Just clean the cosmo out before and clean them after shooting cheap surplus ammo and you will be set!

 

[Rancho Relaxo]

I've got three. My advice is to slug the bore and shoot whatever bullets you can find that are closest to that diameter. My '28 Ex dragoon has a .314" diameter bore but shot a 2" group with Prvi 182 grain. I load .312" Hornady bullets with Varget and I get between 1.5" and 3" at 100 yards, I'm very pleased with that. They are fun, simple to use and cheap to buy more of. And once you have one they don't look so ugly anymore!

 

[dbb1776]

Check out Ammo Depot in Caddo Mills. Take exit 85? on I-30 heading east. They have a rack full of mosins, some swiss straight pulls, mausers and plenty of ammo.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I am always on the lookout for a nice Mosin Ngant. My first was a 1925 M91/30 in excellent condition, which shoots very well, but looks even better so will probably be a wall gun. My second is a 1953 Hungarian M-44 that has lost most of its blueing, and the stock has seen better days. Almost certainly saw action in the Hungarian communist revolt of '56. I plan on setting this one up as a nice hunting rifle; reblueing the barrel, new stock, glass bedding, turned down bolt handle, weaver rail, good quality scope. They are an addiction, man.

 

[huskershooter]

I've got a 1929 hex receiver and love it. Cheap and reliable but a bit bulky. Very good and cheap rifle for hunting.

 

[crazyivan]

For some the wood around the barrel is not tight and that can make it inaccurate.
Cut some strips of bottle corks and put them in it and see if they fit with the bands on.
Worked on my 91/30.

I have the ATI mount.

For the bolt handle I use the one that came with it but I welded it on,it is never coming off.
If you weld it you have to make sure you do it fast so you dont get the bolt too hot and weakin it.

 

[hiawatha]

Remember that although these shoot 7.62 ammo, most of them have a groove diameter larger than .308. The milsurp ammo usually has bullets from .310 to .312, which is more likely to match the bore than .308 ammo. But if you find a Finn M27 or M39 (also Mosin-Nagants), it may be .308, and it will definitely cost more than a 91/30. Oh, and don't be too quick to lose the bayonet. These things had the sights calibrated with the bayonet mounted. If you get a rifle that doesn't seem too accurate, try it with the bayonet and see if it doesn't improve!

 

[caribou]

Great advice for the most part, but I have a few corrections, in that All Finnish Mosins in M-39 configuration are .310 bore, and will shoot all Mosin Nagant 7.62X54r.
It was The Finnish Civil Guards M28's an later M-28/30's were made with .308 bores, and were fed loads from SAKO or ammunition made by the Guards man himself.
At the same time, Finnish Army was armed with the M-27 with .310 barrels.

In order to bring all these and the vast ammount of original configuration M-91,( M-24 in Finn service), into a common cartridge usage, the Finns relived the throat of the chamber so that longer bulleted Soviet Heavy ball could be used without a hitch.
They relied heavily on captured ammunition stores and made sure it could ALL be shot through a riflemans rifle.
No matter the bore size, if you have a "D" mark struck on the barrel shank, you can safely shoot all surplus through it.
Target rifles and M-28 or M28/30's without the "D" mark should have a chamber cast made, they may be relieved, and at the same time, fine your true bore size. Shouldnt cost much, and you will save $$ by starting out with apropriate ammo.
All Soviet Rifles can shoot all known 7.62X54R.
If I had enough $$ I would get an M-39 hands down. Comfy and accurate , they are a dream to shoot. On a tight budget, a Refurb M91/30 would do just fine. Look for the slashed box "Refurb" mark [/] to show it was inspected and brought into service spec, ready to clean and shoot, and then clean again
Keep and use your cleaning kit.
I do not "Sporterize", I use them as issued, and their value rises in time.
Accurate, fun and a powerfull round, Its an awsome rifle in any configuration.