Curisosity peaked for Mosin-Nagant

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

neviander

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
547
Location
Kilgore, TX
I must admit, before I started perusing THR on a regular basis, I had never heard of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. I don't think I've read a single post saying anything negative about it.

What, if any, are the drawbacks to these guns? Are the 7.62x54mm rounds hard to find? and is the ammo expensive?

I see that the rifles are pretty cheap and good shooters and with the "buy a gun" week coming up, and me probably not having enough dough from Uncle Sam to get the Witness Elite Match I wanted, I figure as much good as I've heard about the Mosin-Nagant, I might as well spring for one.

Also, there isn't any weird communist culture surrounding these things is there? I wouldn't think so, but I hadta ask:)
 
NO, but a weird Finnish culture...

Ammo is easy to get. Accuracy is good in some, not so good in others, but often this can be remedied. Mine have all been pretty good, but then I'm a Finn lover.

Ash
 
Are the 7.62x54mm rounds hard to find? and is the ammo expensive?
Click to expand...

No, and no. That's one of the upshots to ownership of one. Ammo is plentiful and isn't too hard on the bank account.

They're fun. Buy one and you probably won't regret it. If you do, they're cheap enough to give away as a gift.
 
Another thing I forgot to ask; which model is not terribly expensive and easy to find? and doesn't need a ton of work to make it shoot straight.
 
Hehehehehe...
The M1891/30 is the easiest to find, in a barrel in your local gun store with cosmoline all over it on sale for $80.
No kidding.
Or you could go for the M44 carbine with the funny bayonet. Or the "rare" (as in $120, *gasp*!) M38 carbine with no bayonet.
Good rifles, for what they do.
By the way, no I did not miss a zero. $80. Really.
 
1891/30.
The model was introduced in 1930. They were through WWII and look pretty good for it. My dad's was made in 1939, I think they stopped making them around '45.
 
Made after 1930, or converted over if already around at that time. They'll all still run, in any case. The Finns have sniper rifles built on 19th century vintage M-N receivers, if the internet is to be believed ;).
 
Neviander:
Two nights ago I ordered my fourth can of surplus Bulgarian ammo:
300 rounds for about $52, plus shipping. Still have two cans in reserve. For me, the only cheaper ammo is .22. Quite a value for the gun and ammo which helped push the Wehrmacht back west of the Oder River etc
The M44 is my plinking gun, along with a few others. Have another Soviet design, the SKS. Both of these are superb values.

By the way, if you are totally unfamiliar as I was, you might enjoy reading a little about the Finn-Soviet, long-forgotten "Winter War" on the Internet.
The Finns had lots of Mosins and beat the Soviets with their own guns.

Off the subject, but because this was followed immediately by WW2, we are not told much about this-neither are we about the horrors in the "Battle of the Huertgenwald", which was just east of Belgium in the German forest, and days before the "Battle of the Bulge" began.
 
They are fun to shoot, generally accurate if barrel not too worn, and reek of history. Downsides are a hard to operate safety, windage not easily adjustable, and many times sticky extraction. I have 3 mn's.

gary
 
I have a 91/30 and M44. $80 for the first and $90 for the later when on sale at Big5 and when not they run about $120-$140. I haven't shoot any surplus ammo through the 91/30, but ran a couple boxes of new stuff through it. Deffinately a fun gun to shoot. Won't shoot my M44 though, I'm just not comfortable with the barrel condition, so it'll be a wall-hanger next the the Austrian Steyr M95. These are also a great buy when you catch a sale on them.

garyhan
hard to operate safety
Click to expand...
:what:There's a safety on a M/N?! :neener:
many times sticky extraction
Click to expand...
I found stripping the bolt all the way down and soaking it in WD-40 solved this problem. Also cleaned the breach and chamber very well, and used a little gun-grease swapped around the chamber. This seemed to solve the problem for me. Any tricks up your sleeve to solve the problem?

LJ_Mosin
That wall looks like you've been doing some bayonet praticing. :D
 
There's a safety on a M/N?!
Click to expand...

Yes.

Any tricks up your sleeve to solve the problem?
Click to expand...

I had a sticky chamber on my M44. I fixed the problem with a drill and a 20 gauge bore brush. Remove the bolt, attach the brush to a cleaning rod section. Attach the rod to a drill. Dip the brush in your favorite cleaning solution and give the chamber a good scrubbing. Worked like a charm! :)
 
I am no military arms buff, and i don't make a ton of money. That being said, whether you are or not, rich or not, I cannot recall anyone not liking a mosin; they have about 5 moving parts, they can be thrown as a weapon. Ammo is everywhere and cheap, you can get a long range model 91/30 with a nice posp type sniper scope, which by the way are excellent. Or you can get a small m38, slip on a small recoil pad, and spit fire from the short muzzle, with a rifle that is light and easy to carry. It is also not uncommon to find one that is unfired, with all matching numbers, and it be a pretty accurate shooter.
The old dog collar slings are 20 bucks, get a rifle bag, a ton of ammo, and all accessories, plus the rifle, and do the whole thing for 300 bucks. Whats not to like?
here is mine, when I got it , it came out of a box, it was unfired, all numbers match, and i got it for 100 bucks. Last pic shows the SMALL SIZE slip on recoil pad, 8 bucks.
vivi054.jpg
vivi053.jpg
vivi055.jpg
 
The trigger is usually dismal, and only a limited amount can be done to improve it. The carbines will kick hard with service-grade loads, though cast bullet loads will easily tame it.
Considerable variations in groove diameter over the years can be found, and gauging the bore may be desirable to determine the best bullet to use.
 
It's funny, I think they have great triggers, but I shoot the Finns, which do have great triggers. The only Ruskie I shoot is a 91/59. It's trigger isn't too bad, but it is long and usually surprising when it lets off.

Ash
 
These comments about bruising and such... I guess being a fat guy has its plusses, as I shoot 80 plus rounds through my M-N when I take it to the range. No bruising or other untoward issues, although occasionally a little cosmoline will still leach through the upper handguard when it gets good and hot.

I love plinking at clays on the 200 meter berm. It is just fun.
 
Mosin Nagants

I started looking for something in .308 that my son and I could shoot. Looked at Ishipore's from India, but they were rough, then I looked at Enfields, and they were pricey and pretty rough. Then I came across this MN 91/30 that had the ATI rail mount and the ATI bolt ( I think you can pick this mod up for 30 or 40 bucks). The price was 79 bucks.
attachment.php


I had to work on the stock to get it looking like it does in this picture, but for a dime a round, I don't see how you can beat it.

Check out that link for the historical points, and then go for it and join the club.

KKKKFL
 
great guns. ...and when you need a tank tread tool or a tomato stake, you are good to go.

There's a safety on a M/N?!
Click to expand...

Da! Pain in tail to be the using of safety. Real man not need safety. Is supposed to be dangerous. No Borscht for you!


There's a guy on Gunbroker who sells cocking pieces that have rings welded to them. Much easier to use Glorious Peoples Safety Device with that addition.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
308 rounds fire in a mosin nagant?
2
Replies
32
Views
5K
No4Mk1*
N
T
  • Locked
Is all 7.62x54 really 7.62x54R?
Replies
7
Views
6K
benEzra
benEzra
D
  • Locked
Mosin Nagant Safety?
2
Replies
30
Views
12K
Heavenlyfire
H
M
  • Locked
New Mosin-Nagant. Scope?
Replies
11
Views
548
OldWolf
O
Redlg155
  • Locked
Gun Show this weekend. What Nagant to get?
Replies
10
Views
1K
Tropical Z
T
Back
Top