Mosin Nagant M38

[Muncus Agruncus]

Found a small shop that has a few M38's for$125. One of which looks quite good overall. I am unfamiliar with what to look for when picking. Whats the opinion on these handy carbines? I understand they can create a nice fireball with certain surplus loads. Are they generally accurate or should I pass. It's just for the range and some plinking.

What 7.62x54r surplus ammo seems to be of good quality these days? I know I missed out when prices were considerably cheaper than they are today.

Thanks

 

[OpelBlitz]

I have an M44 that I occasionally shoot. I use Czech surplus ammo and seems to work fine; pretty much any surplus will work IMO. As everyone will tell you, remember the ammunition is corrosive and it's important to clean accordingly.

 

[the rifleer]

Look for a good barrel with good rifling. Look for one that is in good shape. Dont expect a tack drive, because it you probably aren't going to get any better than 2 MOA, more likely 3 or 4. its good for shooting water melons 300 yards if you are good, however it isn't going to win a rifle competition, unless you are competing with other vintage military rifles, and even then you probably wont win with a m38. Its just a fun cheap rifle to shoot.

Again, clean well and get the corrosive salts out, clean every metal part well.

 

[rangerruck]

... a fabulous rifle, consider it a 308 on a bit of steroids. Look for 3 matching numbers; reciever/bolt/under maghousing. look in the muzzle, could be counterbored, but no worries. for 125, it is a good buy, since these are drying up. anything shoots good through these; milsurp or new made ammo.
the 170 to 180 class bullets shoot far and accurate.
the 205's can from brown bear can be sick accurate, but they will have quite a point of aim drop, from shooting the 147's up to about the 180's.
I think silver bear makes a 180-ish.
I would not pay over 9 bucks a box, and you can find milsurp in the tuna cans for much cheaper; like 5 to 6 bucks per 20. if you do shoot milsurp, it is ALL CORROSIVE. just remember to clean with hot, hot water, maybe a bit of window cleaner, this will cut the salts out of the left over crud.
you can also do the simplest trigger job ever, on any mosin nagant you buy.
check these 2 sites for all your mosin info.
I think they are a great buy, and make sure you get the big , fat, green
dog collar sling, with the leather ends.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/russianmosin189130/index.asp
http://7.62x54r.net/
Lastly , the nightime fireball shots of these in pictures or video, is very
impressive!!!! the second rifle being fired here is the mosan; the fireball
is actually leaving the right side of the video picture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-akaK8wtoQ

 

[ArmedBear]

M38s are much rarer than M44s. The M44 has a bayonet; the M38 doesn't have a bayonet or any sort of attachment. It's a good deal lighter, and generally a more practical civilian rifle -- though the M44 has the bayonet cool-factor going for it.

The only downside to the M38 is that it kicks like a mule with a narrow, small steel buttplate, and not much weight in the rifle. I don't think the Russians cared, since they probably wore thick cold-weather clothing most of the time when they were training or deployed.

 

[M2]

I have a "bunch" of Mosins, they are great rifles and "Mosinitis" can be a problem!

As for M38s, for some reason the majority of them that I have seen have been counterbored. That really isn't much of a problem but I would prefer otherwise. Still, the one M38 I have has been, and it's a great shooter.

Another thing to look for is the notch on the left side of the stock for the bayonet. Many M38s were fitted with M44 stocks, and the notch is for the bayonet when it is folded back. Mine has a wartime stock (no metal around the sling holes on the stock) and no notch. That is why I bought it, despite being counterbored (again, there is not problem with counterboring, it is just a personal preference).

I just looked at one a few nights ago, but it was a M44 stock and had also been counterbored so I passed on it. It was a nice carbine, I just had two M44s on their way (a Hungarian and a Romanian) and felt I needed to save my money for an ex-Dragoon (I told you that Mosins are addictive!).

And the shorter Mosins do kick like mules! Don't expect to shoot more than 20-30 rounds at the most through them before the bruises on your shoulder stop you. But you will have a big grin on your face for several days afterward...

Cheers! M2