MacTech
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Yesterday, I went into my LGS to pick up my "NewUsed" re-arsenaled Mosin 91/30 I had put on 7 day hold (I LOVE 7-day hold at the LGS, makes researching a gun I'm interested in much easier and more relaxing.....)
I went up to the trades counter, presented my hold tag, and they got the gun out of the hold closet, I then proceeded to go over it with a fine-toothed comb, paying particular attention to the bore, which still had some cosmoline in it, after a solid cleaning, the bluing is largely intact, just a tad rough around the muzzle, the bore looked bright, rifling sharp, bolt throw is crisp and precise, no wobble or looseness, trigger is a bit "mushy", but not bad for an 80 year old battle rifle....
It's a Tula, made in '39, the bolt and reciever have original matching numbers, the floorplate has been re-stamped with matching numbers, so it's possible the floorplate was not original and replaced during re-arsenaling, the wood's in pretty decent shape, tangent sight moves smoothly from 100 to 2000 meters
It came with the bayonet, sling, dual pocket ammo pouch, and accesory kit (muzzle protector, wedge tool/screwdriver.firing pin protrusion checker thingy, cleaning rod jag, cleaning rod handle), and the best part is, since it was their floor display model, it had been cleaned of all the cosmoline (well all except the bayo, which had some cosmo on the inside of the barrel shank, that cosmoline is slimy, icky stuff (not the THR Cosmo, mind you, the protectant oil stuff
)
When I first put the 91/30 on 7-day, they tried to get me to take one of the "new in box" models, they had one sent up for my inspection, aside from still dripping with Cosmo, the stock had clearly been patched in two places, it had a nice grain to it, better than the grain on mine, but the stock patching I didn't like, so I had them put the floor model on 7 day
Yesterday, I came back to pick it up, and gave it another inspection, it looked good, so I started the paperwork, while they were getting the 4417, another guy at the trades counter asked what kind of rifle it was, we got to chatting , and he seemed interested in the 91/30, I told him where they were on the gun rack, he went over and grabbed one, brought it over, marveling at the solid build quality, and ecstatic over the price ($125 for a "new" re-arsenaled rifle with the accessory kit)
I then went over to their NICS counter to complete the paperwork, the NICS specialist commenting on what a nice old rifle it was, and that she might have to look at one herself, especially when she saw the price...
long story short, predictably, I got a "Proceed" as I always do (the wonders of being exceedingly boring and mundane, I guess ) it took about 45 minutes this time though, as NICS was slow and they were busy, so I used the time to look for ammo (sadly, no 54R in stock, oh well Internet to the rescue! ), picked up a boresnake (I have one for each of my calibers) and checked out the shotgun rack (nothing interesting this time), the .22 rifle rack (same, nothing called out to me) and the lever-action rack (a couple nice 45-70 Marlins just outside my price range, dammit....)
Once I got the clearance to proceed, we finished the transaction, and as I was leaving the store, I saw the guy I chatted with earlier, he remarked that he was also buying a 91/30 as well I told him to enjoy his new rifle, they're a lot of fun (had a M-44 in the past, fun, but not as accurate as I wanted, so I traded it off) and headed out
so, as it stands, the store sold 2 91/30's in a little under an hour, and the NICS specialist may be thinking about one as well....
As I was walking to my car, rifle slung over my shoulder, bolt open, a guy stops me in the parking lot...
"Is that a Springfield?"
Nope, Mosin Nagaint, old Russian WWi/WWII gun, shoots a 7.62x54R cartridge, about the power of a 30/30 or .30-06 or so
"cool looking gun, what'd that run you, if you don't mind me asking?"
this one's a factory refurbished re-arsenaled gun, they're asking $125...
"$125, that's *IT*?!?! that's amazing!"
yeah, and it comes with the sling, the ammo pouches, the cleaning kit, and bayonet
"No way, all that, even the bayonet, for $125? (he leans down to his car, to speak to someone in the passenger seat) Honey, I'll be right back, I have to buy a gun...., (leans back up) Thanks, I think I'm gonna buy one of those now..."
Yeah, I think they said they have four left in the warehouse, it's a great deal, kicks like a mule though
"I'll bet, thanks for the info though, enjoy your rifle"
Thanks, hope you find one you like up there...
We headed on our ways, me, to put the 91/30 in the trunk of my car (just barely fits in the trunk of a Saturn Ion, good thing I didn't mount the bayo, it'd never fit.... ) and him, i'm assuming, to the gun floor to pick up a 91/30 of his own (maybe two, he should get one for his wife too )
so, not bad for about an hour or so, two Mosins going home to new owners, and two more potential sales on the way
Now, I just need to find some 54R rounds locally so I can test this grand old rifle out, I do have a box of Winchester 54R FMJ, but I want to hold onto those rounds "just in case", you never know if the events in the Stephen King novella/movie "Maximum Overdrive" will happen, and I want to have a rifle capable of taking out an evil sentient car's engine (or armor-plated Zombie Møøse*)
*Møøse bites kan be pretti nasti....
Next purchase, a set of reloading dies for 54R and some brass cased ammo or empty shells to reload, and to slug the bore to find out what size bullets this thing likes
I went up to the trades counter, presented my hold tag, and they got the gun out of the hold closet, I then proceeded to go over it with a fine-toothed comb, paying particular attention to the bore, which still had some cosmoline in it, after a solid cleaning, the bluing is largely intact, just a tad rough around the muzzle, the bore looked bright, rifling sharp, bolt throw is crisp and precise, no wobble or looseness, trigger is a bit "mushy", but not bad for an 80 year old battle rifle....
It's a Tula, made in '39, the bolt and reciever have original matching numbers, the floorplate has been re-stamped with matching numbers, so it's possible the floorplate was not original and replaced during re-arsenaling, the wood's in pretty decent shape, tangent sight moves smoothly from 100 to 2000 meters
It came with the bayonet, sling, dual pocket ammo pouch, and accesory kit (muzzle protector, wedge tool/screwdriver.firing pin protrusion checker thingy, cleaning rod jag, cleaning rod handle), and the best part is, since it was their floor display model, it had been cleaned of all the cosmoline (well all except the bayo, which had some cosmo on the inside of the barrel shank, that cosmoline is slimy, icky stuff (not the THR Cosmo, mind you, the protectant oil stuff
)When I first put the 91/30 on 7-day, they tried to get me to take one of the "new in box" models, they had one sent up for my inspection, aside from still dripping with Cosmo, the stock had clearly been patched in two places, it had a nice grain to it, better than the grain on mine, but the stock patching I didn't like, so I had them put the floor model on 7 day
Yesterday, I came back to pick it up, and gave it another inspection, it looked good, so I started the paperwork, while they were getting the 4417, another guy at the trades counter asked what kind of rifle it was, we got to chatting , and he seemed interested in the 91/30, I told him where they were on the gun rack, he went over and grabbed one, brought it over, marveling at the solid build quality, and ecstatic over the price ($125 for a "new" re-arsenaled rifle with the accessory kit)
I then went over to their NICS counter to complete the paperwork, the NICS specialist commenting on what a nice old rifle it was, and that she might have to look at one herself, especially when she saw the price...
long story short, predictably, I got a "Proceed" as I always do (the wonders of being exceedingly boring and mundane, I guess
) it took about 45 minutes this time though, as NICS was slow and they were busy, so I used the time to look for ammo (sadly, no 54R in stock, oh well Internet to the rescue! ), picked up a boresnake (I have one for each of my calibers) and checked out the shotgun rack (nothing interesting this time), the .22 rifle rack (same, nothing called out to me) and the lever-action rack (a couple nice 45-70 Marlins just outside my price range, dammit....)Once I got the clearance to proceed, we finished the transaction, and as I was leaving the store, I saw the guy I chatted with earlier, he remarked that he was also buying a 91/30 as well
I told him to enjoy his new rifle, they're a lot of fun (had a M-44 in the past, fun, but not as accurate as I wanted, so I traded it off) and headed outso, as it stands, the store sold 2 91/30's in a little under an hour, and the NICS specialist may be thinking about one as well....
As I was walking to my car, rifle slung over my shoulder, bolt open, a guy stops me in the parking lot...
"Is that a Springfield?"
Nope, Mosin Nagaint, old Russian WWi/WWII gun, shoots a 7.62x54R cartridge, about the power of a 30/30 or .30-06 or so
"cool looking gun, what'd that run you, if you don't mind me asking?"
this one's a factory refurbished re-arsenaled gun, they're asking $125...
"$125, that's *IT*?!?! that's amazing!"
yeah, and it comes with the sling, the ammo pouches, the cleaning kit, and bayonet
"No way, all that, even the bayonet, for $125? (he leans down to his car, to speak to someone in the passenger seat) Honey, I'll be right back, I have to buy a gun...., (leans back up) Thanks, I think I'm gonna buy one of those now..."
Yeah, I think they said they have four left in the warehouse, it's a great deal, kicks like a mule though
"I'll bet, thanks for the info though, enjoy your rifle"
Thanks, hope you find one you like up there...
We headed on our ways, me, to put the 91/30 in the trunk of my car (just barely fits in the trunk of a Saturn Ion, good thing I didn't mount the bayo, it'd never fit....
) and him, i'm assuming, to the gun floor to pick up a 91/30 of his own (maybe two, he should get one for his wife too )so, not bad for about an hour or so, two Mosins going home to new owners, and two more potential sales on the way
Now, I just need to find some 54R rounds locally so I can test this grand old rifle out, I do have a box of Winchester 54R FMJ, but I want to hold onto those rounds "just in case", you never know if the events in the Stephen King novella/movie "Maximum Overdrive" will happen, and I want to have a rifle capable of taking out an evil sentient car's engine (or armor-plated Zombie Møøse*)
*Møøse bites kan be pretti nasti....
Next purchase, a set of reloading dies for 54R and some brass cased ammo or empty shells to reload, and to slug the bore to find out what size bullets this thing likes
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