Is a Mosin just something to have?

[LynnKCircle]

I'm certain you do need to be 21, because Federal law now prohibits you from buying a handgun under that age. (I'm not certain about long guns now; it used to be 18. But long before that, when I was under twenty-one, it was sixteen. I actually had a sixteen year-old friend in high school who held a Federal Firearms License (FFL#1). But that was more than a lifetime ago.)

The scopes I'm talking about are the Chinese-made pistol scopes which sell for between $29.99 to $49.99 depending on features. I think they are sometimes called "Nu-Star," and at other times marketed under other names --- but they are all really the same. FYI, another place to buy Chinese goods for really cheap prices is Harbor Freight Tool. A month or so ago there was a rush when people on the C&R mailing list found out you could buy electronic hearing protectors from Harbor Freight for $20.00. I let that one go by me, but those who bought them said they are certainly as good as the ones seen in Sportsman's Guide and other places for between $70-$100.

 

[clubsoda22]

what kinda quality do those $30-40 scopes offer. Have you tried them out?

 

[LynnKCircle]

Couple of things, first to Langenator. As I understand it, what you said is correct. so long as you don't make more than the cost of the rifles in the first place. If you do, you're still ok, so long as you can show you took that same amount of money and spent it on something else for your collection.

But while there's been a LOT of discussion about this at different times on the C&R list, the consensus seems to be that if you make a habit of this, you're likely to get audited by the BATF. The outcome is then up in the air. Those who do this usually clean up all the rifles and only gradually sell them off, rather than buy five, pick the best, and then dump the other four asap. Since I've never had the cash to buy a three-fer or five-fer, I don't know from personal experience.

But I DO know that when I got my first Finn, a used gun in excellent condition, cleaned it up, fired it, and then decided I wanted an even better one, selling my first Finn for the extra to pay for an unissued one was well within the guidelines. However, note that AFTER I'd paid for the unissued gun, I could easily show that I'd fully spent the little extra I'd made on the first Finn plus a few dollars more.

As to what someone asked about the scopes. I got CDNN's $49.99 one, and while I haven't tried it over 100 yards, at up to 100 yards it's fine for me.

 

[clubsoda22]

yeah, i was thinking of getting a burris LER scope or a S&W EER. They both seem to be in the same quality bracket. I can find them pretty cheap too. I'd really like a variable 1.5-6x LER...but i'll see what comes along, i'm not paying $150 for a scope on a $50 rifle.

 

[355sigfan]

i'm not paying $150 for a scope on a $50 rifle.
END

Optics are far more inportant than the rifle it self. If you had $1000 to spend on a rifle scope combination. You would be better off buying a $400 Ruger and a $600 Leapold scope than you would be by buying a $800 Weatherby and a $200 Tasco. It does not take much to make a reasonably accurate bolt action rifle. Most of the differences are in the smoothness of the action and in the cosmetics. Scopes on the other hand vary greatly and you get what you pay for.

Pat

 

[clubsoda22]

Mayby i should rephraise that. I don't have the money to put a $150 scope on a $50 rifle. Especially since the competition with my buddy is to make a nice scout rifle for around $200. It's a loose limit, but not that loose. The burris optics are pretty nice, as are the S&W (Made by hakko). They'll definately fit the bill. I certainly appreciate a good scope, but unless Ebay lists a Leupold Vari-X handgun scope for $60, it's gonna be hard to get the top quality.

 

[George S.]

I just picked up a M-N 91/30 rifle at the local Big 5 Sporting Goods store for $80. It's a 1931 dated rifle with matching serial number on everything except the bayonet. I had been re-arsenaled at some point ( has markings) and probably sat in a warehouse for years. The bolt is very tight and the muzzle crown is in great shape.

Took it to the range after a good cleaning (took about 15 patches to get the bore clean!!) and I was suprised to be able to get 3" groups at 100 yards using WWII surplus ammo. 7.62x54R Ammo is relatively cheap but the mil-surp stuff is corrosive so you need to clean the bore and bolt face with some ammonia-based window cleaner after shooting.

I had looked at both a M39 and M44 but the ones on the shelf looked in fairly poor condition. From what I have read, the M44 kicks like a mule so wear a recoil pad or use a slip-on pad on the butt to shoot it. Guess they have a pretty loud bark and a nice muzzle flash too.

There are a number of forums dedicated to the Mosin-Nagants and I found a lot of information about them. While I originallly bought mine for soemthing to display on the wall, this is now going to be a shooter.