Modern Mosin-Nagant based rifles...

[A Historian]

I have not read the article, but if they experienced a lot of hangfires, they should have replaced the mainsprings.

The mainsprings in these rifles are over 60 years old. Who in their right mind would expect 60 shock absorbers, 60 year old tank of gas, 60 year old batteries to work? Why then should anyone expect a 60 year old compressed spring to be at its rating.

They are usually not.

Guns gunwriters dafame good firearms but don't know enough about firearm maintenance to replace old mainsprings??

That is not a fault of the rifle.

A bud came over this weekend with a couple of CMP Springfields and I dropped in one of this actions a Wolff 20 pound mainspring. Really improved the lock time.

His old mainspring was weak. Might have fired, might have had hangfires.

The Mosin has this huge firing pin cocking piece. I expect once they got it going, just the mass of the thing had enough umph to to light off the primer.

I agree. In their defense, I just read from somewhere else that they tried Hornady Match-grade M1 Garand rounds in the M1903 after the surplus rounds, and managed to surpass the Mosin Nagant at 300 yards.

I think they were shooting for going with equipment that was 100% true to the times so that "things were equal." I give them credit for that, but really the results they produced were inconclusive. I think they should have followed up with a test that addressed all the issues with the first test; at the very least use ammunition that's not going to hangfire. I think they acknowledged they pitfalls, but, still, proper follow through would be nice.

 

[Blue Brick]

Finnish M28/76 7.62X54R 27in Target Rifle.


http://www.jgsales.com/product_info.../4438?osCsid=ad93c576420baa38eee52d3904b2fad2