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I have a strange fascination with Milsurps...

allisd17 said:
I've owned two M44s and sold them partly because the "accuracy" was so bad. I kept them for as long as I did because people at the range loved seeing the HUGE fireball... especially at dusk. 😊
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Not all Mosins are inaccurate. A few years ago there was a Winter Shooting Event with local guys on who could score the highest shooting 10 rounds out of a milsurp at 100 yards. I won that event with a 91/30 using heavy ball shooting a 98 3x. The combo just just worked. Nobody was more surprised then me!

MSN.jpg
 
Equipment that is declared "obsolete" by major armies sees lots of service in minor ones. In the 1967 War the Israelis used M4 Shermans-admittedly upgunned-M3 half tracks. Recall seeing a picture of an Indian soldier from the 1962 border war with China-with his Lee-Enfield
 
Quite frankly, what is strange (to me) is that apparently the vast majority of gun owners seem to give a blank stare when I mention Mosins, Enfields, even G3/HK/PTR-91s, FALs....or M-14/M1A, or simply haven't ever handled any of these.
They mostly are pretty confused about where the safeties are---which is to be expected.

Many of them are fairly young, very seasoned guys with pricey gear on their ARs. Some of them are infantry veterans of the recent OIF etc.
A friend who retired from the Navy Rifle Team had never shot any Enfield, but got a perfect bullseye at 100 yards with my Enfiield #4/Mk. 1, while sitting on the ground---his first shot with an LE.

4v50 Gary: It was about 2012 (?) when Shotgun News advertised mint or near-mint "Persian Mausers" at Samco in Miami :( .

Had I known that they were Czech Mausers, I would have grabbed one.
Soon after being puzzled about these rifles manufactured in Persia (it seemed) I saw a review of them in a milsurp magazine ("...What do you mean "Czech!?":(:oops:). But Samco was sold out, then went bankrupt a while later.
Why couldn't they have been titled "Czech-production Persian"?

Rockrivr1: Iirc the Finns took the better MNs and modified whatever components to improve them.
Of course the Soviet Union used the best as sniper guns, ie the "Enemy At The Gates" movie about Stalingrad.
 
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Totally agree with the OP on this. I love shooting and reloading for milsurps and I do find the history of how they were used after there initial use super interesting. I have a 1953 IHC Garand. Has all the British proof marks before it was sent back to the US in 1979. Doubtful it was used in Korea and really no way to tell where it was sent and how it was used since it was the Interarms company that was acquiring them and test proofing them in England before the trip home. Muzzle is just hideous looking but the LMR barrel is still surprisingly good as it is able to shoot sub 2 MOA.

My fav is my M1917. With its antiquated ladder sights, I can shoot 1 MOA to 300yds. I really enjoy my M96 but it is almost boring to shoot because it is so accurate and easy to shoot.
 
Miami_JBT said:
Venezuelan National Guard.... Basically a government gunded militia of the PSUV. They use Mosin-Nagants to intimidate the common people.

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I'll tell you what I see regarding Chavez/ Maduro arming his street soldier loyalists with Mosin bolt action rifles. It isn't because Venezuela can't afford Kalashnikov (ak-47) rifles which are abound in the world , it isn't because Venezuela doesn't have enough semi/auto rifles to go around, it's because like all authoritarian regimes they don't trust the people even their so called loyalists and while they have disarmed opposition and armed loyalists the bureaucratic state is going to make sure they keep ultimate control.
 
lionking said:
I'll tell you what I see regarding Chavez/ Maduro arming his street soldier loyalists with Mosin bolt action rifles. It isn't because Venezuela can't afford Kalashnikov (ak-47) rifles which are abound in the world , it isn't because Venezuela doesn't have enough semi/auto rifles to go around, it's because like all authoritarian regimes they don't trust the people even their so called loyalists and while they have disarmed opposition and armed loyalists the bureaucratic state is going to make sure they keep ultimate control.
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D'uh. Heck, Venezuela makes their own AKs. CAVIM licensed production from Izhmash.


1714704793372.png
1714704817092.png
 
I’ve been cleaning up stocks on two that fit this thread lately. The MAS 36 that was a bit late for the big show but saw a lot of use in Algeria, Syria, and Indochina. I’m pretty sure mine spent most of its life sitting with the metal butt on a cold concrete floor in a French armory waiting for the Soviets to come (or de Gualle to come back). Almost no wear except the top of the metal butt plate where moisture would condense.

The other is the anachronism that is the Yugoslavian M48A. This one was manufactured and stuffed in cosmoline to wait for the apocalypse to come. Then, when it did come to Yugoslavia, they apparently forgot where this one was squirreled away. I know a lot did serve in the 1990s in Bosnia.

It’s a celebrity at the range and gets remarks for its looks. But like many celebrities, it’s beautiful on the outside and poorly finished communist stamped steel on the inside. The wood is rough and the magazine and trigger guard are impressive works of stamping where most would cast or machine metal. It also had some persistent bits of Comrade Tito’s earwax (cosmoline) holding out in there. Still, it shoots well and is starting to look even nicer with a cleaning and some linseed oil.
 
Ignition Override said:
4v50 Gary: It was about 2012 (?) when Shotgun News advertised mint or near-mint "Persian Mausers" at Samco in Miami :( .

Had I known that they were Czech Mausers, I would have grabbed one.
Soon after being puzzled about these rifles manufactured in Persia (it seemed) I saw a review of them in a milsurp magazine ("...What do you mean "Czech!?":(:oops:). But Samco was sold out, then went bankrupt a while later.
Why couldn't they have been titled "Czech-production Persian"?
Click to expand...

Some were actually made in Iran, at their Mosalsalsasi Arsenal using tooling provided by the Czechs at Brno. The classic Persian M1949 Mauser carbine was manufactured there, a model based on an earlier Czech M30 pattern carbine acquired in a 1938 contract [Mowbray & Puleo, Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World, p244.] Fit and finish quality was evidently quite good on the Persian-production rifles as well -- I wish I had one in my collection.

I did recently acquire a Brno-production Persian long rifle from an estate sale, a very pretty thing indeed!

PersianBrno.jpg

PersianBrnoReceiverL.jpg PersianBrnoReceiverCrest.jpg PersianBrnoRearSight.jpg PersianBrnoStockMarkings.jpg
 
Ignition Override said:
Maybe you have a standard-length FAL with a 21” barrel , so that the long “tall”Mauser won’t ‘feel’ so awkward and lonely…?
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That would be nice, but I'm in CA and we can't have nice things (and I won't do those stupid paddle grips!) My M1 Garand and M1A Tanker are both shorter, though the Garand is roughly the same weight.

I've got plenty of other long rifles to keep the Persian company, most recently an 1895 Mauser Chileno:
1715277605558.png

Hmm, now I've got chile rellenos on the brain -- Mexican for lunch! :)
 
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