A mosin-nagant question

[ljnowell]

Hey guys, I should start out by saying that I know absolutely nothing about rifles. Zero. That being said, I was looking at buying a Mosin Nagant, just because they look cool and I am slowly getting into milsurp stuff. I found one that appears to be in really great shape for a cheap price, but there is something that I am not sure of. When you dry fire the rifle the bolt jumps. It seems real easy to turn the bult the 90 degree turn it makes before coming back, and it jumps a little when dry fired. Is this normal? Is this unsafe?

 

[Cosmoline]

You mean the cocking piece jumps forward? Yes that's normal, that's how it fires. You'll find they fit pretty loose on most Soviet Mosins and have a lot of play. This is intentional and helps them work better in the muck. The Finns experimented with locking down that cocking piece with wings that fit into tracks in the receiver, but it ended up jamming too much.

The Mosin bolt has three main pieces, so it's always going to feel much looser and more wiggly than a Mauser bolt. But it's not unsafe. Headspacing is the only real safety issue.

 

[toivo]

I have a 1943 Finnish M-39. It's definitely NOT easy to move rotate the bolt from the locked to the unlocked position, and there's no visible motion of the bolt when dry-firing, except for the cocking piece coming forward. The bolt seems to stay pretty rigidly in place. This may be explained by the difference between the Finnish and the Russian variants that Cosmoline points out, although they use essentially the same receiver, AFAIK.

 

[XxWINxX94]

Mosins are great rifles, however there are a few things to consider:

1) Can the gun fire? Lots of rifles "look" like they are in good shape, but you could have a pitted bore, broken bolt, and various other mechanical problems, especially in older guns like Mosins, however they were built like tanks, so you shouldn't have a problem.

2) Do the numbers match? If you are a perfectionist or history buff, you may want your serial numbers to match, otherwise the gun is a bunch of parts with different numbers.

3) Symbols/Proofs/Markings: Again if ya really like your history, you might want to look for certain proof marks, years, numbers, symbols, etc. This can determine alot about your rifle's origin, use, and refurbishment. This site could educate you a little more:

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSerial.htm

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // Mosins are great low cost rifles, just be careful, I passed up several.

When closed my bolt is tight front to back but a little loose for a quarter inch up and down then tight again.
I have no extraction problem and no need for a 2x4. My stripper clips needing broken in are the only problem.

Check to see if rifle is shot out:
Look down barrel with a bore light or flashlight are grooves sharp?
I found a pen like the bullet in size and check to see how far down the barrel it goes, if too far that is bad.

Do all # match:
Including bolt,butt plate and mag. floor plate.

Buy from a reliable source:
This is one firearm I would prefer to buy from a brick and mortar store.
Also ask if you can see them all, they might have more in back.

I'd tell you how accurate mine is but you would not believe me.

$90.00rifle///$98.00tunacan(440rounds Hungarian Mil.Surp.)///$65.00rubber butt pad,sling,cleaning kit(funny metal box),bayonet,oil canister and 2 ammo pouches. For a total of $253.00.... I'm content

 

[NMGonzo]

Read the manual and check the headspace.

My Mosin m44 is silly accurate.

 

[tbone3]

Mine does the same thing. I just picked it up last week and was curious about the same thing. It's my first Mosin so I am pretty ignorant about them in general.