Vasilia Zhietzev
Member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2003
- Messages
- 81
Well, I am the proud parent of a 1933 Moisin Nagant as of last week....as I've been seeing & hearing of a cache of Moisins being imported in, I thought THR might want to hear a first hand report - I took it to the range Sunday & let me tell you, it was a much better rifle than I expected. I bought it private sale - it was kept in excellent condition, all the serial numbers matched & it has a hexed reciever. The wood was in good shape, but I may refinish it to seal the wood properly. It came with all kinds of original accessories, including a nice fur ushanka (that funky hat the slavs wear)...I'm sure I'll look like an idiot in it, but hey, it'll be good for a laugh...
Range conditions were light breeze & low 80's, mostly sunny. The victims were half a dozen pumpkins & three silhouette targets, all at 100 yards. It took a full five rounds of 7.62 & 54R to get used to the sights, the kick & the bolt action. The round does a nice job of knockdown & ate into the pumpkins quickly - they were toast after the usual 5 rounds. Silver Bear was the brand used. I inspected the brass(er..steel..), and not one had an off center dent in the primer - note no light cratering, so the firing pin was in pretty good condition for a gun that was over 70 years old.
The actual feel of the gun was surprisingly well balanced & I could pick it up by the reciever and it could balance in my hand. I have an old Lee Enfield .303, and it is top heavy in comparison. The recoil was pretty firm, but not as rough on me as the Enfield was. The stock was a good snug fit for my size shoulder - in fact it felt a lot more comfortable than some more expensive & higher rated rifles I've been lucky enough to fire. I did pad with an old towel later in the day, to cut down on a sore pectoral.
The accuracy was quite good, though I took my time with each group of five rounds, as it was the first time I was firing the rifle. I was able to lay a good pattern , about a three inch diamter circle in the 2nd group, and managed to tighten that a bit more with 2 more groups. I had it propped on a handmade sandbag (a pants leg filled w/ sand & cable tied)
With humour I add my old russian lover had a nice bark that startled all the usual range guys with their cute little .22's...I can't wait to take this piece to a real long distance range & see what it does....
I think it's a good buy for $100 - 120 US, and a nice piece of history to boot.
See ya. Pumpkins beware.
Range conditions were light breeze & low 80's, mostly sunny. The victims were half a dozen pumpkins & three silhouette targets, all at 100 yards. It took a full five rounds of 7.62 & 54R to get used to the sights, the kick & the bolt action. The round does a nice job of knockdown & ate into the pumpkins quickly - they were toast after the usual 5 rounds. Silver Bear was the brand used. I inspected the brass(er..steel..), and not one had an off center dent in the primer - note no light cratering, so the firing pin was in pretty good condition for a gun that was over 70 years old.
The actual feel of the gun was surprisingly well balanced & I could pick it up by the reciever and it could balance in my hand. I have an old Lee Enfield .303, and it is top heavy in comparison. The recoil was pretty firm, but not as rough on me as the Enfield was. The stock was a good snug fit for my size shoulder - in fact it felt a lot more comfortable than some more expensive & higher rated rifles I've been lucky enough to fire. I did pad with an old towel later in the day, to cut down on a sore pectoral.
The accuracy was quite good, though I took my time with each group of five rounds, as it was the first time I was firing the rifle. I was able to lay a good pattern , about a three inch diamter circle in the 2nd group, and managed to tighten that a bit more with 2 more groups. I had it propped on a handmade sandbag (a pants leg filled w/ sand & cable tied)
With humour I add my old russian lover had a nice bark that startled all the usual range guys with their cute little .22's...I can't wait to take this piece to a real long distance range & see what it does....
I think it's a good buy for $100 - 120 US, and a nice piece of history to boot.
See ya. Pumpkins beware.
