It's a little battle worn on the outside but has a very good barrel. Like many Russian weapons these rifles look deceptively crude but they're very reliable and were built to handle the harsh Russian winters. More than one German made the mistake of underestimating the effectiveness of these battle rifles during WW2. Are there any places in the U.S. that specialize in doing full restorations on these Mosin Nagant rifles? Someday I'd like to put a new wood stock and eventually a "New" original configured barrel on it.
Just bought my first Mosin Nagant 7.62x54R rifle.
- Thread starter Capstick1
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Ash
Member
Be sure you know what you have. Some "worn" mosins are worth a mint in unmolested condition.
Steel Horse Rider
Member
Clean it up, have fun shooting it, and don't worry about the restoration. I have five of them and they never fail to put a smile on my face when I shoot them. Blow up water filled milk jugs, full soda cans, or gongs at 500+ yards. Mosins are capable of doing it all. You may want to add something to cushion the recoil though.....
ontarget
Member
I have a M44 carbine that is very fun to shoot. I also picked up a 91/30 that I haven't fired yet but can't wait to get out. You will like the Mosin, have fun.
Yup. I would just get the cosmoline off (unless someone else has), then have fun. If your bolt is "sticky" IV8888 has a great little video on fixing that. I love shooting my Mosins, and love the cheap ammo! My son makes fun of me a little, because if we are going out in the woods, or the desert, and planning on doing some shooting. I will almost always grab my m44, instead of the rifles I have that are far more refined & civilized.
I am totally excited for you, seriously. I remember the first time I took my Mosin out, it's kinda like a first kiss or something.
I am totally excited for you, seriously. I remember the first time I took my Mosin out, it's kinda like a first kiss or something.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
Not quite like a first kiss, but it ranks up there. I have an M44 and a Finish M39. Love them both. The muzzle blast from the M44 is as good as any rifle I own. Good shooters.
Sergei Mosin
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If you have one that's straight from the former Soviet Union, it was probably refurbished at an arsenal there before coming to this country. Doesn't get much better than that. There are so many of them here and at such low prices I doubt anybody is doing any major work on them; in the unlikely event you wear it out, buy another one.
Panzerschwein
member
I wouldn't worry about refinishing it.
Like some said, probably it's an arsenal refurb. It might look a tad nasty, but it's a good gun. Mosins aren't meant to be pretty!
Like some said, probably it's an arsenal refurb. It might look a tad nasty, but it's a good gun. Mosins aren't meant to be pretty!
my first centerfire rifle was an 91/30. Love it I prefer the chinese Type 53 myself. Like an M44 but usually a bit better action than the Russian ones. Mine has a Chinese barrel and action, but everything else on it is Russian.
Good ol' dependable boom-clubs. Mine lives under my truck seat for trips to the cabin. Nothing I am going to run into out there that the 7.62x54r can't tamp down
I prefer the chinese Type 53 myself. Like an M44 but usually a bit better action than the Russian ones. Mine has a Chinese barrel and action, but everything else on it is Russian.Good ol' dependable boom-clubs. Mine lives under my truck seat for trips to the cabin. Nothing I am going to run into out there that the 7.62x54r can't tamp down
BCRider
Member
I have two 91's and an M44. They are superb fun.
A couple of things to ponder. First off is if you find that they group a bit big then try some GOOD ammo. The milsurp stuff can be quite variable in terms of quality and consistency. My own with the can of milsurp shoots at best 8 inch groups with some fliers on top of that at 100 yards. Then without cleaning or anything else I tried some Prvi Partizan ammo and the guns both immediately dropped to 3 inch groups at 100 for most of the rounds with me causing the odd "flier" which opened up the group a bit.
And best of all with the brass cased ammo the "sticky bolt" issue all but went away.
There's also some "secrets" to shooting the plain iron sights well it seems. I'm slowly learning them as I go along.
First is to go with a GOOD target that you can see easily. For me with my old guy eyes that means the 6 inch "Shoot N' C" targets for 50 and 100 yards. Then for 200 and 300 I switch to the 12 inch targets. And mount these on WHITE cardboard to get the most possible contrast. Paint it if you can't find the white stuff. The 12 inch targets are not cheap but with the pasters included on the target sheets I can get at least one full day from a single target.
Another option that occurs to me as I'm typing would be to try painting a hunk of corrugated cardboard with black paint and just pin white paper plates to the black backing. Some black masking tape or duct tape could patch the cardboard and the paper plates are cheap to replace frequently during the day.... Hmmmmm....... Gotta try that one.
The moral of this story is that you want a good size target spot to aim at and it has to have good contrast against any background.
Thanks to my "oldguyeyetis" issue I found that the hint of a "v" on the wartime Mosins was just nigh on impossible to see with any degree of effectiveness. The post war M44 has a much easier to use square "U" notch that is much like a handgun. The notch seems to act a little like a peep sight aperture and sharpens my view of the front pin. I've since filed and blued similar notches in my earlier full length Mosin rear sights and my accuracy improved remarkably. So that's something to keep in mind as well.
As you read around about your Mosin you'll run across a trigger tuning trick where you shim the trigger sear/spring with a shaped washer. Because of the round saddle this involves some serious hammer work if you opt for using the washer as suggested. When I did my first Mosin to lighten the trigger pull I had just finished working the day before with some of the plumber's soft steel strapping to hang some heating ducts. I had a "EUREKA!" moment and cut a couple of the scraps from the trash to make a couple of soft "washers" that formed easily into place as the sear spring was tightened back into place. I tried two layers and it was too much. One layer reduced the trigger pull to around a nice crisp 5'ish lbs and that's where I've left it at the time. I may try some additional shims made from pop can stock or I may just leave it as is.
A couple of things to ponder. First off is if you find that they group a bit big then try some GOOD ammo. The milsurp stuff can be quite variable in terms of quality and consistency. My own with the can of milsurp shoots at best 8 inch groups with some fliers on top of that at 100 yards. Then without cleaning or anything else I tried some Prvi Partizan ammo and the guns both immediately dropped to 3 inch groups at 100 for most of the rounds with me causing the odd "flier" which opened up the group a bit.
And best of all with the brass cased ammo the "sticky bolt" issue all but went away.
There's also some "secrets" to shooting the plain iron sights well it seems. I'm slowly learning them as I go along.
First is to go with a GOOD target that you can see easily. For me with my old guy eyes that means the 6 inch "Shoot N' C" targets for 50 and 100 yards. Then for 200 and 300 I switch to the 12 inch targets. And mount these on WHITE cardboard to get the most possible contrast. Paint it if you can't find the white stuff. The 12 inch targets are not cheap but with the pasters included on the target sheets I can get at least one full day from a single target.
Another option that occurs to me as I'm typing would be to try painting a hunk of corrugated cardboard with black paint and just pin white paper plates to the black backing. Some black masking tape or duct tape could patch the cardboard and the paper plates are cheap to replace frequently during the day.... Hmmmmm....... Gotta try that one.
The moral of this story is that you want a good size target spot to aim at and it has to have good contrast against any background.
Thanks to my "oldguyeyetis" issue I found that the hint of a "v" on the wartime Mosins was just nigh on impossible to see with any degree of effectiveness. The post war M44 has a much easier to use square "U" notch that is much like a handgun. The notch seems to act a little like a peep sight aperture and sharpens my view of the front pin. I've since filed and blued similar notches in my earlier full length Mosin rear sights and my accuracy improved remarkably. So that's something to keep in mind as well.
As you read around about your Mosin you'll run across a trigger tuning trick where you shim the trigger sear/spring with a shaped washer. Because of the round saddle this involves some serious hammer work if you opt for using the washer as suggested. When I did my first Mosin to lighten the trigger pull I had just finished working the day before with some of the plumber's soft steel strapping to hang some heating ducts. I had a "EUREKA!" moment and cut a couple of the scraps from the trash to make a couple of soft "washers" that formed easily into place as the sear spring was tightened back into place. I tried two layers and it was too much. One layer reduced the trigger pull to around a nice crisp 5'ish lbs and that's where I've left it at the time. I may try some additional shims made from pop can stock or I may just leave it as is.
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Panzerschwein
member
You must have had an original M1891. WW2 era Mosin Nagants- the M91/30, M38, and M44, all had the exact same sight picture.
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Panzerschwein
member
Indeed.
Most don't realize it yet, but due to the Ukrainian Civil War the dirt cheap 440 round spam cans of 7.62x54R is no longer being imported, with no plans to renew importation. This was confirmed by emailing the various ammo importers.
In the past 6 months, prices have gone from about $0.19 per round to over $0.35 per round. It is rapidly drying up, and it's now essentially the same price as cheap steel cased 7.62x51mm NATO ammo.
Lucky I grabbed several 880 round crates before that happened!!
Most don't realize it yet, but due to the Ukrainian Civil War the dirt cheap 440 round spam cans of 7.62x54R is no longer being imported, with no plans to renew importation. This was confirmed by emailing the various ammo importers.
In the past 6 months, prices have gone from about $0.19 per round to over $0.35 per round. It is rapidly drying up, and it's now essentially the same price as cheap steel cased 7.62x51mm NATO ammo.
Lucky I grabbed several 880 round crates before that happened!!
delrom418
Member
+1 on the recoil. Mine drew blood from my shoulder while shooting a 50-round, four-position shooting match. I think it was the prone position that did the most damage! After that I started using shoulder pad, as a recoil pad on the rifle would disqualify me from the "as issued" category.
Panzerschwein
member
The M38 is even lighter since it lacks the bayonet and hardware up front.
203 grain soft point hunting loads are NO FUN to shoot for extended periods in that rifle!
Ditchtiger
Member
So do I, years ago. Would need to do a census count to get a current amount.
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