Milsurp safety concerns?

[Guvnor]

I have been doing alot of milsurp research, and originally wanted to get a mosin nagant. But I read they do not have any sort of gas safety ports like the mauser or enfield, which are designed to vent gases away from your face in event of a failure.

Is the mosin generally a safe gun to shoot, assuming headspace checks out ok? Has anyone ever heard of a failure resulting in injury?

How about the Enfield and Mauser 98k?

I would love to get one of these old rifles but concerned about safety.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ccsniper]

mosins are awesome, I have three and they are built like a tank. I also have 3 mausers and had an enfield. buy one, you wont regret it.

 

[jackdanson]

I've never heard of anything like that happening with any of those rifles. Make sure to wear glasses/hearing protection.

 

[Norty]

Mosins are great guns for the money. Simple bolt design and ruuged. Also you can shoot them with a clear conscience because you don't have alot of money invested in the thing. Heres the deal as far as saftey. Its a gun made for battle. The saftey is more unsafe than the the gas port thing. Its like 30 pounds of pull on the knob and a twist and if you dont do it right you will lose the nerves in your finger tips. The gas discharge you fear can happen when the firing pin protrudes too far out and punctures the primer causing a backwards charge of gas through the bolt. I HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING. But no fear...the firing pin is very easy to check and if you are concerned, bring along a tool that can be found everywhere on the net and costs about 5 bucks. Its a multi tool that was issued with the guns to check the firing pin among other gun maintanance. Buy one of these first. Its a five dollar investment.
When you find your gun. ask the dealer if you can take out the bolt. Lift the bolt in the up position, pull the trigger and slide it out Then hold firmly, pull on the back knob and twist to uncock. This will make the firing pin come out. Make sure it is as far out as it can go. For a detailed instruction on how to use the tool go to "collecting and shooting surplus rifles" on the net. There are pictures to show you. Also bolt disassembly, adjusting and all kinds of stuff. It is a very simple procedure to adjust the pins on these guns. It takes about 5 minutes. With that said, I have never picked up a mosin that needed its firing pin adjusted. Good luck and just get one. Learn how to maintain it. Its a good idea knowing how ANYTHING that is old works anyways. Before I had a chance to shoot my first one I spent about a week straight tinkering with it and learning how to strip it down and put it back together. Thats half the fun!

 

[Slamfire]

But I read they do not have any sort of gas safety ports like the mauser or enfield, which are designed to vent gases away from your face in event of a failure.

The Mosin is an 1888 vintage design, adopted in 1891. It reflects the product development of its time.

Gas from a pierced primer will push the firing pin back, blocking the flow somewhat. Any left will flow down the firing pin shaft, but run into that huge cocking piece and be defected sideways.

As for gas leaking around the bolt body, well, it is going to leak.

The M98 action handles gas about the best of any action. The M98 is the safest action ever made. I hate to say it, but a lot of most modern actions handle gas poorly. You can look at many modern commerical designs, and gas handling was not a consideration.

The Nagant does not have a bad reputation in terms of safety.

 

[okespe04]

I honestly trust rifles that are tried an tested in battle over a rifle that was build for sale to the public.

 

[Yo Mama]

Milsurps are gerat! Have a smith check over what ever you go with.

 

[chuwee81]

as long as you have matching serial number (bolt and receiver at least), then you shouldn't have any problem. Just be on the lookout for mismatched parts and do the firing pin check with the $5 bolt tool. I bought mine w/out the tool, check for function, and actually went to shoot it Friday. Nothing's wrong with it and YES, it is battle proven (i have to tell that to my wife because she had the same concern).
I just received my second can of spam btw.

 

[karlsgunbunker]

as long as you have matching serial number (bolt and receiver at least), then you shouldn't have any problem. Just be on the lookout for mismatched parts and do the firing pin check with the $5 bolt tool. I bought mine w/out the tool, check for function, and actually went to shoot it Friday. Nothing's wrong with it and YES, it is battle proven (i have to tell that to my wife because she had the same concern).

What he said!
I have 11 Mosin's (All have matching numbers) and have never had a problem.
Enfields are the best of the WWII Bolt rifles, You can't go wrong with an enfield.

 

[RonE]

Mousan-Nagants are safe if you are behind the butt plate or off to one side or the other. They are totally unsafe if you are in front of them. Just kidding around, yes, they are safe.

 

[Dr. Unclear]

I was in your shoes a while back and ended with a simple $100 91/30. I checked the firing pin with the tool and never looked back. It's accurate as hell too. I'm no pro but I hit 300 and 400 yard plates at the range consistently with the basic iron sights. I ended up buying a second mosin this time Fjnnish m39 from a web site called gunsnammo.com. Amazing guns and loads of fun to sshoot.