Mosin Nagant - Am I the only one who does NOT like these?

[EVEgreen2001]

I picked up mine from a local pawn shop this past summer (not even shopping for it). I saw one from 1943 on the rack and handled it for a minute or two. The guy who helped me had the idea to hand pick one still in it's shipping box from Century. Behold! It's a 1925 Izzy, ex-Dragoon (hex reciever). 48" long, 65" w/ bayonet, came with two double ammo pouches, a sling, an oil canister, and a tool kit. All of the numbers match except for the bayonet. That's okay. Yeah, it was covered in cosmoline, but hey, it was $107.00 all said and done!!! I've put 81 rounds through it so far, and I love it!!! My first rifle, WOW!!!

 

[nathan]

Just look at it as a centerfire brand of musket. Have fun.

 

[oldpapps]

wojownik
Nice!

OSOK

 

[mgregg85]

What else can you buy for $80 that might have killed some nazis in its time?

They are cheap, reasonably accurate, tough and ammo is widely available, whats not to love?

To the op, it sounds as if you might have gotten a bad one. Both my 91/30 and M44 have triggers that are under 10 pounds and shoot about minute of paper plate at 100 yards with me pulling the trigger.

 

[dirtyjim]

crude junk built for illiterate masses, sounds a lot like the remington 700.

 

[zoom6zoom]

My first (and my first milsurp as well) was an 1896 dated, bought from an ad in the back of American Rifleman and mailed to my door in the early 80's. At the time it might have been an inexpensive rifle, but it was definitely NOT a cheap shooter, as there was no surplus ammo to be had. About the only thing you could feed it was fairly expensive and hard to find Norma brand. Luckily the brass lasted a good number of reloadings.

Still have and shoot that old warhorse, and have added multiple relatives to the collection as well.

Yes, they can indeed be accurate. Especially in the hands of the Finns, who converted some into these M28/76 versions:


If you're not up with the recoil, you could always get one of the .22 trainer versions.

 

[caribou]

Only accurate rifles are interesting

I make a living with my Mosin.


Three shots, three Caribou.....

Double tap onna 8 foot BrownBears brain, 400yards.

600yard shot onna trotting wolf

200+ yard shot onna running wolf

10'2"sq Brown Bear the Miss's caught a couple years back





Even small game get to my guts via Mosin Nagant


Make mine a Mosin

 

[benzy2]

I don't get the craze. I've got one because it sounded cool but it quickly was tossed to the back of the safe and doesn't get touched. Sure they are cheap and ammo is cheap. Mine isn't accurate. I've seen reports of some being decent. Problem is that even the best seem to maybe compare to the average of a budget rifle being built today. Many options are available in the $300-$500 price point. I'd rather have a rifle that shoots 1-2" groups at 100 yards and costs $300-$500 than one that shoots 6-10" groups and costs $100. While I've heard of MN shooting better than that, I haven't seen one in person do so. Ammo is also harder to find. None of the mom and pop shops around here stock it at all. A couple of the big chains carry some of the expensive current manufacture ammo. If I want to get in on the cheap ammo boat I've got to ship it. It's not a huge concern but if I run out, I can't drive 10 minutes and have another spam can of it.

I don't collect so I don't appreciate what they offer there. For me, if I'm looking for a budget rifle, give me something current built for the extra money.

 

[6x6pinz]

absolutely love mine. I have the 44 and the 38. I don't know why anyone can't shoot them well. The ones we play with are as accurate as the shooter. They do give my K98 a run for its money but I still like the little 44 package better. These rifles got me into shooting the 54r round and now along with several semis I am in pursuit of a belt fed 54r.

 

[RatherNotSay]

I usually turn my cheek on anything century arms.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

Have an M-44 and I love it! Mostly because I DONT have to care about it

 

[theriflespeaks1863]

An interesting thought...

Maybe a Mosin is like what old president Teddy said about rifles, "their usefulness depends on the character of the user."

I give you three good examples, just food for thought:

Simo Hayha
Vasily Zaytsev
Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Mosin madness, for sure! Not flaming, just laying out a few counterpoints. A machine can only be as good as the man (or woman) wielding it.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[SleazyRider]

Speaking of counterpoints ...

I don't know, folks, according to Bud's website, "The Russians modernized their model 1891 rifle into what would become one of the most successful milita*ry arms the world has ever known! Its simple and robust design, accuracy and awesome reliability served the Soviets well as their main *battle rifle of WWII. Under appreciated until recently, the Mosin Nagant is one of the hottest collec*tibles on the market today!" What's not to like?

My only gripe is with the safety ... what were they thinking?

 

[RatherNotSay]

it's still manufactured by century arms....

 

[Auto426]

it's still manufactured by century arms....

Not. Even. Close.

Century doesn't manufacture any of the Mosin Nagants they sell. They simply import them into the U.S., add a serial number for legal purposes, and sell them. The majority of the Mosin's they import are Russian WWII manufacture, typically by either Tula or Izhevsk arsenals.

 

[towboat_er]

it's still manufactured by century arms

LOL...shows how much you know.

 

[ErikO]

Spend $30 every three years and no transfer fees on a rifle older than your grandfather. I anticipate having a few of these when I take the drit nap, don't ahve to worry about the wife getting swindled on them, either.

 

[ErikO]

I don't know, folks, according to Bud's website, "The Russians modernized their model 1891 rifle into what would become one of the most successful milita*ry arms the world has ever known! Its simple and robust design, accuracy and awesome reliability served the Soviets well as their main *battle rifle of WWII. Under appreciated until recently, the Mosin Nagant is one of the hottest collec*tibles on the market today!" What's not to like?

My only gripe is with the safety ... what were they thinking?

The safety kicks in after you've shot it five times.

 

[henrifirstman]

I got mine from a buddy for $100 and I'm happy. I have the cut down version and love it.
I guess since these rifles are so old, bore condition can vary, effecting accuracy.
Luckily mine's good. I fired an ar-15 moments after the mosin (fellow shooter at the range)
And haha what can I say, 7.62x54r for the win.

 

[henrifirstman]

Lets see...

When the MN was designed the average male was about 5'5" and in the regions it was used in the soldiers usually wore heavy winter coats. The rifle was designed with a LOP to fit smaller soldiers with heavy coats on, not 5'10" men wearing t-shirts. A slip on recoil pad works nicely to get the rifle out and away from your face and take the bite outta shooting it.

As for sticky bolts and horrid triggers, clean the dang thing. More than likely its been sitting in storage, packed with Cosmo, for at least 40 years. No, the trigger isn't gonna wind up as good as most commercial rifles but remember what it is and who it was designed for. If the trigger really bugs ya there are some how to's on line showing you how to clean it up yourself. If you really want, Timney now makes a trigger for them as well.

Accuracy? Well, they aren't usually tack drivers. The bores on most of the rifles are pretty beat up. That said many have been able to get near MOA out of the MN with a little fiddling. Shimming the stock, free floating the barrel, bore polishing, try picking up a couple different brands and manufacturers of ammo (surplus isn't necessarily bad, some users report good accuracy with some) and try shooting for groups with the bayonet folded and extended (many report that their MN's shoot the tightest groups and closest to POA only with the bayonet extended).

The MN isn't a good choice if you want a rifle that you dont have to fiddle with. If you dont mind spending a couple hours tinkering to work the bugs out, its a great rifle.

BTW, im not a MN fanboy. I dont even own one. My personal favorite surplus rifle is the Steyr M95. Its a light and quick handling straight pull bolt action that I love to shoot. I have shot and tinkered with quite a few of the MN's thou and I think they are hard to beat for the money. Sooner or later I will add a couple 44's to the safe.

I'm 6'4" and have the shorter version (m91/59) and it works fine, but then again my right arm tends to stick out a lil haha. Nothing a little practice won't fix (first rifle)

 

[RatherNotSay]

Not. Even. Close.

Century doesn't manufacture any of the Mosin Nagants they sell. They simply import them into the U.S., add a serial number for legal purposes, and sell them. The majority of the Mosin's they import are Russian WWII manufacture, typically by either Tula or Izhevsk arsenals.

They still need to be tested, safety checked and if necessary reassembled BY century arms before that "C.A.I. ST. ALB. VT.M91 7.62R RUSS stamp is put on." Granted some are restored/remanufactured after WWII with tula, izhevsk, and sestroryetsk but if century arms had anything to do with it then it speaks for itself. If this was a relic then maybe they could pass it off as such but I see no language saying so.

 

[RatherNotSay]

After some research arsenal refinishes only the hardwood and some metal parts. Everything else is inspected and reassembled and if necessary re-manufactured using safe parts. Given CIA's current and past quality control one can expect CIA work. I sent an email so we'll have some clear answers just in case

 

[Auto426]

They still need to be tested, safety checked and if necessary reassembled BY century arms before that "C.A.I. ST. ALB. VT.M91 7.62R RUSS stamp is put on." Granted some are restored/remanufactured after WWII with tula, izhevsk, and sestroryetsk but if century arms had anything to do with it then it speaks for itself. If this was a relic then maybe they could pass it off as such but I see no language saying so.

Century performing a function test on a Mosin-Nagant is quite a far step from them "manufacturing" the gun as you stated. Century is not making any of the parts on the gun and they aren't assembling Mosin's from bins of used parts. If they did, the gun's wouldn't qualify for C&R status. The vast majority of the Mosin's being imported now were arsenal refinished by the Russian's after WWII. They were covered in cosmoline, packed in crates, and placed in storage waiting for a war that never came.

Century is simply taking those crates of surplus Mosin's and electro-penciling the legally required information on them such as importer marks and a serial number. Hell, Century isn't even the sole importer of Mosin's. There are plenty of other companies out there importing them, and apart from the importer's mark you couldn't tell the difference between a Century Mosin and a Mosin from another company.

 

[wojownik]

Auto426 is correct. AFAIK, the only ATF requirement to do a safety test on an imported rifle is as part of the application process to import the products. That is, to determine if the type or class of weapon meets basic requirements - not testing individual weapons, but the overall type.

I've had many Mosins (and other rifles) from Century and other importers that were in the original wrapping, and absolutely caked in thick cosmoline. There would be no way the importer did anything more than peek at the serial number for recordation and stamp an import mark.

 

[sansone]

I don't want one, but surely the rifle deserves proper respect for it's age and durability