Custom Mosin Nagant

[TheGent]

Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate them all. I'm not a collector by any means. I use what I buy, gun or knife. An $800 dollar custom, handmade knife with mammoth ivory scales will go in my pocket to be used and appreciated that way. Same with a gun. I'd use a Schofield revolver in a heartbeat. I buy every gun with that intention. I didn't do a hack job in any way like some locals I've seen at the flea markets. Even at $200 dollars I would have customized my Mosin.

"i see nothing wrong with it and i wouldn't put any stock into anything the collectors say.
sporterizing is an american tradition the same as hot rodding is. there are well done examples and hack jobs. the problem with collectors is they cant see the difference between the two, imho collectors are the liberals of the shooting world."

Well said.

I'm likely to buy a few more and do different custom jobs. I've got all the milling, and cutting tools to do excellent work of these Nagants. They'd look a hell of a lot better when I got done with them then how they came out of the Russian factories.

All said, these are some great guns. A blast to shoot and enjoy.

 

[Cosmoline]

I don't have a problem with someone painting up a 91/30 Soviet. I do take issue with the narrow minded absurdity of trying to turn every single military rifle into a Remchester. You can pull it off, if you know what you're doing, with a nice Mauser action and a fresh barrel and good wood. If you are very, very good you can pull it off with something more exotic like a Commission Mauser. I've seen some very nice sporters on those models.

But in many years of perusing racks for Mosin-Nagants I have NEVER seen a home-cut Mosin made into a typical scoped American hunting rifle that was halfway decent. The Finnish arms makers, which include some of the world's finest, did about as much as can be done with these rifles by adding heavy barrels and improved sights and triggers. At the extreme end they turned them into competition target rifles. You can do some interesting things with them, but they resist being turned into Remchesters. The further you get from the military configuration the more difficult the project becomes and the more likely you are to end up with a pile of worthless parts. The fact that you may be destroying an important piece of military history out of ignorance is icing on that stink cake.

For example: You can bend the bolt, but mounting a scope is tricky and easy to screw up. And when you get the scope on there you have the problem with the stock that doesn't put your head in the right spot for a scope. Plus you now have to break your weld to cycle the action. Plus the loading is slowed down, the cycling is slowed down, and the rifle is now a notch heavier and out of balance. Take away the long stock on a 91/30 and you have an exposed pencil thin barrel way way out there, without any of the tuning effects the stock had been contributing. It just whips around there. Cut the barrel and you have bad blast and flash from the 54R. Plus loss of velocity. Then you've eliminated so much wood and steel your rifle is now too light and recoil becomes more of a problem. What usually ends up coming out of this process is a stumpy-barreled rifle with an ill-mounted oversized scope, and mangled bolt handle and an aftermarket flash hider. It doesn't cycle well, it doesn't handle well, it doesn't aim well and its groups are still pretty middling. It's like adding more milk, then more cereal, then more milk. All because you really didn't like this cereal to begin with. Doesn't make much sense, and it doesn't end well.

It is much easier, and much more fruitful, to stick with a standard Mauser action, in the white, and build your dream gun from the many excellent barrels and stocks available for that rifle type. With basic knowledge and research you can make yourself an excellent scoped hunting rifle in any chambering you can imagine that will fit in the action. And they make magnum sized actions for the bigger rounds.

 

[bigedp51]

Some Mosin stocks should never be painted.
(I think I'm in love "again")

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

The M44's have doubled in value over the last year. I would expect the 91/30's to do the same eventually.
I also noticed that a sporterized 1903/A3 is worth half as much as the military version.
If you want to modify a gun why not just modify a modern gun that is still in production?

 

[rondog]

FWIW - Boyd's offers some really nice lookin sport stocks for Mosins. Don't have to damage your original, just swap 'em out. http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Boyds-Mosin-Nagant-Socks-s/172.htm

 

[ifit]

as we speek have seen the m44s already at the $200 mark and the m38s at $250, but you still see the regular mosins still at $89 bucks, which i prefer to mods on. like rondog said theres stocks out there you can tinker around with to suit your needs instead of modifying the original stock.

 

[leadchucker]

If you must bubba a Mosin, at least find a 43 Izhevsk with electropenciled numbers to do it to.

 

[dirtyjim]

i prefer to cut up remington 1891's. this ones in 220 swift AI, eventually i'll put it in a decent stock.


here are a few pics from the wed & a few other forums.
7x53r sporting rifle from finland.

mosin sporter with an austrian influence. double set trigger, tang safety, butterknife bolt handle & clawmounts


remington 1891 built in america during the 20's


heavily engraved mosin that i missed out on by about 20 minutes.

 

[caribou]

Dirtyjim....Dirtyjim.....Dirtyjim........

What you show there in those pictures is absolutely what SHOULD happen when a Military Rifle is rehabbled into a nice light accurate Hunting Rifle, something I have no problemo with atall.......I have more than a few that were "Hacked" and I loan 'em out to kids and guys who need 'em.

Those are way beyond 'hacksaw, electric drill, sandpaper and a permanent marker' and the Names "Gunsmith" "Machinest" "Artist" come to mind....rather than "Bubba", when I see such usefull Deadly Beauty.

Its too bad far too many unalterd, intact rifles are simply hacked up with no real purpose other than to "Improve" something that needs very little improvements, as it is the way it starts.

If only they all came out of the basement as such, who could complain.......????

 

[ZCORR Jay]

I think that was a slick looking project. What's cool is you have the two rifles to satisfy the traditional and customizing crowds.

Well done

 

[hartmen]

omg. found this old thread and figured i post my M/N im currently woring on. im loving it to death.

has busnell scope24x with lighted reticles. green and blue
custom magazine that will hold 10rds. mag finished but waiting for the spring to come in the mail. hard work is done already

stock is off some muzzle loader. piced it up at a pawn shop for 40bucks. wish i new what model and make it came from.

also currentlly making a silencer for her. here are some pictures
also could use a bipod

 

[leadchucker]

Maybe it's just me, but making a $200 rifle out of a $1000 rifle seems to be very stupid.

 

[dirtyjim]

there are only a handfull of mosins that will ever break the $1000 mark.
when my m28-76 stops shooting good it will be rebarreled to 6.5vostock, i didn't buy it to polish it and keep in in the safe.
some of us also like to tinker and we have mill's, lathes and welders in our garages.
you can put thousands into a renchester and you still have a generic remchester that gets lost at the range.

 

[Panzercat]

I'm no expert or collector, but I wouldn't do that to a Mosin. I would be worried I'd damage the value. I suspect they will increase in value over the years because they aren't making any more of these.

iseewutudidthere

 

[hartmen]

myself i dont think mosins have any value at all unless they are modified. the last one i modified i sold for $400.

here it is in all its glory. i miss it alot. custom stock i made from scratch. custom milling the on bolt action. nice and smooth. so many things i cant remember them all. this new one im keeping and plan on blowing everyone away at the knob creek gun range in kentucky