CmdrSlander
Member
So, my nephew has gotten straight A's, I'm not bragging, just saying the implication of this is that he gets to have a rifle for Christmas. His father is somewhat knowledgeable about guns, and is enthusiastic about it, but I am the only person with multiple firearms in the family (they have a .22 and that is it) and have thus been declared the "expert" and placed in charge of setting everything up so that all my brother (his father) has to do is buy it and pick it up. My nephew is a history buff and it was his idea to get a surplus WWII rifle, with not a Springfield or Garand in sight, and with a limited budget to work with we settled on the M-Nagant. So my question is: is this a good first rifle?
Obviously weight and recoil are factors, but this kid is tall and strong for his age (about 6 feet tall) and has fired .308's .45's and 20 Gauge shotguns without trouble. Is this something he can maintain and enjoy with limited intervention on my part? Obviously it will be stored securely and shot with direct parental supervision (btw, he has taken an NRA-sponsored safety course) but he will be in charge of the maintenance and pay to fix anything if it breaks and has already formulated a list of upgrades and enhancements that he would like to install down the line.
Finally, I'm having his father buy it from Bud's Gun Shop online, are their Mosin's of good quality? I don't want him to get it out on christmas day (after I've cleaned off the cosmoline and nicely repackaged it some days before) and find a warped, rusty disappointment.
Obviously weight and recoil are factors, but this kid is tall and strong for his age (about 6 feet tall) and has fired .308's .45's and 20 Gauge shotguns without trouble. Is this something he can maintain and enjoy with limited intervention on my part? Obviously it will be stored securely and shot with direct parental supervision (btw, he has taken an NRA-sponsored safety course) but he will be in charge of the maintenance and pay to fix anything if it breaks and has already formulated a list of upgrades and enhancements that he would like to install down the line.
Finally, I'm having his father buy it from Bud's Gun Shop online, are their Mosin's of good quality? I don't want him to get it out on christmas day (after I've cleaned off the cosmoline and nicely repackaged it some days before) and find a warped, rusty disappointment.