Mosin Nagant and young shooter

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xcgates

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I was at a friend's house, their young son was facinated that I have a Mosin Nagant. That family primarily does shotgun stuff, and he has apparently read quite a bit about WWII, especially the guns.

He definitely wants to see it some time, and I want to let him shoot it. Except I'm a bit nervous about the recoil. I have a .22LR rifle I'll certainly make sure he knows how to use, but seeing as I never got my hands on any gun until I was 19, would a M-N be a bit much for a kid in elementary school?

I'm not sure what year he is, nor how old, I just know that I was impressed the first time I shot a M-N, and I was a good 150 pounds. And yes, I'll talk to his dad, my friend, who, if I know him at all, will also want to shoot it. Fine by me as long as they bring some of the toys I've heard about! :evil:
 
Order one of the 7.62x25 or .32 (multi- you can shoot S&W, S&W Long, Magnum, or ACP) adapters for it. 7.62x54 is probably going to be a bit too much for him. Sportsmans Guide sells them.

You might also be able to find some of the light weight Czech training ammo floating around as well, but that is harder to do now than it was in the past.
 
"...a bit nervous about the recoil..." Depends on the kid. No point worrying about it until you how he deals with an empty rifle. Wouldn't hurt to get a slip on recoil pad. Mind you, they do add an inch or so of stock length. That won't be a good thing.
Had small statured, female, Cadets(13 to 18 years old, at the time) who had no trouble shooting a No. 4 Lee-Enfield, when I commanded a CF Army Cadet Corps, long ago. One of the 5 foot nothing girls could shoot circles around most of the 6 foot plus guys with either a No. 4 or a C1A1. A Mosin isn't that much different in felt recoil. A shot or two isn't going to hurt him, assuming he's big enough to hold the rifle up, and you teach him how to hold it tight into his shoulder. No bench resting though.
"...wants to see it some time..." That one, of course, is a given. Even if it's just letting him muck about with it. Letting him run around with a fixed bayonet isn't a great idea though.
You reloading? Make some DP rounds if you are.
 
Well how does it compare with the recoil of a shotgun?

I remember going pheasant hunting with my father and his friend back in middle school and I shot one then. And I was rail thin back then (although very athletic)
 
If the kid can handle a 12 guage slug out of a pump, he should have no problem with a M-N, in my opinion. Of course the length of pull is quite a bit shorter on the M-N than say, a Remington 870. A recoil pad could help with that too.
 
you can also look into buying a polish wz-48 22 cal mosin trainer.
my nephews love mine and since its a single shot it takes them longer to burn through a brick of ammo
 
Do you reload? If you do, try about 17 grains of SR4759 behind a 150 grain slug. Virtually no recoil. You'll just have to do a sight adjustment to get a different zero. My wife shoots 17 grain SR4759 loads in .308 and 6.5x55 Swede with 150 grain bullets in each. You can vary the load up or down a few grains. The powder is perfectly suited to that and is very "fluffy/bulky" so it nicely fills the cases. Pretty much anything in that approximate case capacity will be suited for the 17 gr /150 grain bullet treatment.
 
While in terms of ft-lbs, the 7.62x54mm will produce less recoil energy than a 12 or even 20 ga shotgun, the recoil velocity is much greater with the mosin. It's the difference between being pushed and being punched. Also, the metal buttplate on the mosin is kinda brutal, especially compared to the soft rubber recoil pads on many modern shotguns.

That being said, if the kid is really interested in shooting the Mosin, have him wear a recoil pad on his shoulder as well as a heavy coat, and let him fire from a standing position rather than the bench.
 
I don't reload (yet) so those options are out for now. I will have plenty of cases to reload, I just have to break down and figure out how to reload the boxer(berdan? get those to confused all the time), as people say it is, but there isn't really any established tools that I have found to do it. Maybe I'll just have to break down and not get the (possibly) steel cased surplus ammo in favor of real brass. I haven't actually opened the can of ammo yet, but the other cans I've seen have been steel-cased.

I really like the idea of the chamber adapter, certainly looks pretty useful. I'll have to see what .32 costs next time I'm out and about.
 
Limbsaver slip on pad sure tames down my Mosins. If he can shoot a 12ga slug, he should probably be fine.

Just have his Dad shoot the Mosin first and let him judge.
 
Thank you all for the responses, especially when all you should be with family!

Like I said, I never fired a gun until I was in college, so I have no idea what recoil does to those who are smaller-statured.

Thank you again for ignoring your family and sitting at your computers. :D

Merry Christmas!
 
I don't know this young man, nor you or his family, but I bet he wants to shoot it because it was a featured weapon in the video game Call Of Duty:World At War. I am constantly amazed at how many youung people now "know" guns due to those games. More than one time at the range has my AR been called a "Call of Duty gun" or something like that.....
 
Perhaps, we actually played some Call of Duty (It was XBox, other than that, I was handed a controller, and went to town). What pleased me was that he made a comment about some other kids he knew that thought they knew everything about guns because of games.

He was clear that games aren't near to reality, and it seems that he at least thinks for himself.

Of course it hadn't occurred to me that people learn about guns from video games. Especially after I went from video games to actual guns and cars. The real thing has always been so much more fun. And much more expensive!:eek:
 
I notice a huge difference in recoil when i have a light jacket on, and even more with a medium weight jacket on in the winter. When i shoot mine in the summer, i usually dont leave without a bruise (even with my marine friend showing me proper technique)
 
Some kids get scared of recoils and bangs, some enjoy them for their awe factor.

Have him shoot a smaller round and find out what camp he's in. After that it's just a matter of having him shoulder it right, and maybe have him try shooting it while standing to take the bang off his shoulder. My first shot with a Mosin was when I weighed 125 lbs and it wrecked my shoulder. The next time I shouldered it on my deltoid and I had a blast running through a box with it, just a few days later.

I'd suggest you use light-grain FMJ rounds if possible.
 
My 91/30 with a slip on recoil pad and "light ball" ammo is actually quite easy to manage even sitting and I'm scrawny. Shooting 7.62x25 with a chamber insert is fun...it's like a .22LR.

Slug (even a 2 3/4") from a pump is much more brutal recoil IMO.
 
Failing the ability to load down with custom reloads, I think Jason W is on the money. Recoil pad, jacket, and shoot standing. Make sure he leans INTO the rifle and not AWAY from the rifle.

Another option would be to borrow a LEADSLED or some other recoil compensated rifle rest for off the bench. Might ask around, you never know who's got one.
 
I don't know anything about em but i would say the 7.62x54r to 7.62x25 inserts would be good for training. Does anyonw know more about those inserts and how they work in relation to a mosin barrel? Being that some are rather large bored.
 
"...played some Call of Duty...he made a comment..." Smart kid.
"...I have no idea what recoil does to those who are smaller-statured..." Hi. About the same as it does to us fat old guys. Lee-Enfield pound me due to the narrow butt. My hair weighs more than most kids. It's more about teaching the kid to pull the rifle tight into his shoulder. The relatively wide butt stock makes a difference. Mind you, the kid's 'I wanna shoot' makes a difference too.
Assuming you have an 1891/30, it's a 48.5", 9.5 lb rifle. The kid may not be able to hold it up, but let him try. Just letting him play with it will give him a school yard war story and make you a hero.
Then get him and his da shooting a .22.
 
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