Mosin M38 advice

[PAshooter]

Empire Arms has a lot of stuff, some is kind of expensive. How do you like dealing with them...?

The M39 is my only purchase (so far) from Empire, and I'm very pleased with that deal. Everything I've read on other boards indicates they're really first class folks to deal with. Their firearms are very accurately described, and invariably arrive in better condition than expected. I will definitely be buying from them again.

 

[KINGMAX]

My first M38 was just $64

My first Mosin, a M38 was just $64.00. I did not mean to start a collection, now I am up to 7 Mosin's.

 

[squirrel sniper]

Go to AIM surplus and get them to ship you a mosin to your nearest FFL. Its $70 for a standard M44 or a 91/30. Use the remaining $80-$105 you would have spent on ammo.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Surplus_and_Used_Long_Guns.html

 

[bender]

that's an idea. There's an FFL in town that who charges $25. What is AIM's import stamp like? I don't like companies who stamp in big letters on an obvious place, such as the top of the barrel.
My samco rifle has a small import stamp under the barrel, which I don't mind as much.

 

[PAshooter]

BTW - there's nothing wrong with "run of the mill" Mosins either... and besides, you're going to end up with several... they breed like rabbits

I've been pleased with purchases from AIM and others in the past. One of theirs would be a good "first" purchase.

Most serious collectors eventually end up with one or more Finns... but that's in no way intended as "snobbery." The Finns represent a lot of interesting history, but do command a premium price. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First, they invariably have better fit and finish (no pun intended) than their Russian counterparts, as they were lovingly assembled and tuned by gunsmiths, not slapped together by Olga fresh in from the tractor factory. Hence, their renowned accuracy. Any Finn rifle that wouldn't shoot a 3 centimeter group at 100 meters was reworked until it did, or wasn't issued to the troops.

Second, their relative scarcity. The Finn rifles (all variants) were made in the hundreds of thousands. The Russians in the tens of millions.

Any Mosin, regardless of origin, is a rugged, reliable instrument of battle (and a not too shabby war club either).

Here's a pic of my M39. Not as good a pic as the one on Empire's site, but the rifle is every bit as beautiful as the one they show.

 

[bender]

I ended up buying an M38 dated 1943 from Ishevisk, and an M44 dated 1946.

The M38 was in very nice condition, with an "average" bore. The M44 was kind of beat-up looking, but it had a better bore.

$250 for both, at a local store. The store had lots of nice M38s... I compared at least 5 different ones. One had a great bore, but the markings were kind of worn smooth. I picked one with a bore not quite as good, but with sharp and clear markings. Stocks on all the M38s had the bayonet cutout groove.

I got the M44 for my 10-yr old. He's tired of .22s. We can have ourselves some shootin' contests with these old rifles...

I'm debating whether to reload for these or not. Guess I'll wait till I shoot them to see what I think. I got 2 boxes of Wolf Gold ammo to start out with.