Mosin-Nagant questions

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SoOnToBeMosinNagantMan

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Ok everyone, my first post. I'm just starting to get into guns and I've been looking around for an affordable, reliable, and durable military rifle as a first gun so I came up with the mosin-nagant. I've heard a lot of people telling young first time gun buyers not to get them because although they are cheap they have expensive ammo and bad recoil and that you start with a .22. So I would like to find out what I need to do when I get one (cleaning wise,) and pretty much the basics on them. I prefer the m44 carbine and I plan on getting that but I can also get a 91/30 if the full size is somehow better. I plan on starting out with a recoil pad to get the hang of it but eventually I'll stop using it. Please don't bring up any small .22's i've used them and they give me problems with sizing issues (I'm 6'2" and growing) and I'd get a CZ but they are too much money.
 
You can't go wrong with a Mosin. I own 4 and love them...I just shot it again this morning. You probably don't need a recoil pad because I feel the recoil, though stout, is not too bad. Ammo is cheap and plentifull. Only issue is that much of the surplus ammo is corrosive so you should run water or windex down the bore after shooting then clean as any other rifle. Get either the M44 or 91/30, you'll be happy with either.
 
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re: Mosin Nagant questions

THANKS! I wasn't quite sure what the recoil would be like so far only shot a 1888 12 ga which wasn't fun at the ripe age of ten and a .22 which was really boring (and I was 8) I'm probably going with the m44 I just like them better.
 
You can learn a whole lot about marksmanship with one of these inexpensive Mosin Nagant rifles.

In light of your experience level I would humbly suggest that perhaps you stick with the somewhat simpler 91/30 over the M44 carbine, because the pig sticker on the carbine is supposed to be deployed to arrive at a consistent zero with the iron sights. If you fold it up, it will not shoot to the point of aim.

Not that the M44 is a bad rifle. It isn't. Just that it has one more thing to sort of mess you up when you are first learning the basics.
 
I would start with a 91/30 if this is your first rifle. They're long and heavy, but since you're a big guy that should be fine. I'm 6'1" and find the 91/30 fits me just right. The extra weight will help absorb the recoil, which is important for a first time shooter. The M44 carbines are neat but kick a lot worse.

I would buy one you can inspect in person. Pull the bolt out and look through the barrel from the breech end with the muzzle pointing at a light source. Make sure the rifling is sharp and there's no corrosion or pitting. Then do the same but look through the muzzle end. Make sure the rifling is well defined all the way out to the end of the muzzle, and no nicks in the crown (basically the edge of the bore right on the end). A lot of times the rifling is good on these but worn out at the muzzle end because of cleaning rod wear.

If you can find one where the bolt matches the barrel serial number that's a plus. Even better if the serial matches on the magazine base plate.

After that just look for appearance. Nice wood, no cracks, good finish on the metal, etc.

Then go buy a case of ammo and go crazy!
 
One observation on recoil, a lot of guys shoot only from the bench, and that magnifies recoil hugely. Standing on your hind legs and shooting offhand takes a LOT of the recoil out of the equation. Plus, if you can learn to shoot well offhand you'll be a better shooter all around.
 
i LOVE my mosin's first was a M44, and just got the second which is a 91/30 yestderday. the 91/30 is going to get a walnut stock, sniper bolt and a large scope for 200-400 yard varmit and deer hunting.

get a bottle of Hopes copper terminator, and nylon brushes as well as a quality Break Free CLP and then scrubb her down when i get home. seems to work great.

thus far doing that and witht he iron sights on my M44 i can get 2 inch groups at 50 yards with surplus heavy ball ammo and freehand shooting without a sling.
 
On most occasions I'd probably agree with what you've heard. I'm in love with my 91/30 and enjoy shooting it, but I am glad I owned and shot "modern" rifles beforehand. Not like the learning curve for milsurp is steep or anything, I just think it payed for me well to learn my way around a regular rifle before I started shoot, disassemble and clean older guns.

You don't have to go with a CZ for .22s. A few other companies make full-sized bolt action .22s. And it's not like you're tied to .22s. Bazillions of other bolt action rifles in centerfire calibers. I'm only saying go with something newer for your first gun because you won't have to put up with the cleaning rituals, ordering surplus ammo online or making trips to the gunshow, and there should be scads of aftermarket stuff for the rifle (if you want any of it) to keep you from having to make a Bubba.

If none of that sways you, Mosins are flippin' awesome. :grin:
 
I've heard a lot of people telling young first time gun buyers not to get them because although they are cheap they have expensive ammo
Click to expand...
Expensive? Compared to .22, yes. To any other milsurp ammo, no, it's actually the cheapest.
 
re: mosin questions

Thanks guys! Amazingly enough I went to Gander Mountain (the place selling it) yesterday and I wrote down the all the serial numbers and it is a all parts matching Tula made M44 with all orginal parts . There is also a place called FleetFarm which you guys have probably never heard of unless your from the midwest and they have a 91/30 with a walnut stock but anyways I'm being taught by my uncle who is one of the top ten marksmen in America on aiming and recoil control:evil:. Also I'm just fine with cleaning it and I don't need to order surplus ammo because fleetfarm sells it and I can buy Winchester and another company with a picture of a bear on the box at my local Gander Mountain plus I'm 7 miles from a Cabela's and live on a farm so I've got plenty of room to learn to shoot. But seriously the M44's are heavier than 91/30's? I haven't held the 91/30 yet but the m44 didn't seem too heavy but it'll definately get cleaned. Ah, the whole CZ or Mosin Nagant thing, my dad is buying it for me since I can't legally purchase guns and he wants it to have the Com-Bloc sights or it can be an AR (I know, an AR for a first gun, but he said it was O.K. as long as he got to use it) Right now, I know I'm not going in very good order here but ya, I'm going back to the place with the M44 today and I am going to try cocking it to see how difficult it is and check-out the over-all quality of it.

Thanks everyone,
:D Evan Holmstrom :D
 
From a guy that has 20+ guns in 7.62x54R,think about getting the AR !!!!!
You will be able to get a 91/30,M-44,M-38,M-39.... for a long time to come.
Come next year you might not be able to get an AR or 30 rd. mags.
Food for thought.
 
first off, you should start on a 22, and you can neverhave too many, and ammo is 2 dollars for a box of 50, you can't beat that.
Secondly , mosin ammo is about as cheap as it gets for full size centerfire rounds, and plenty of it is new made, which is non corrosive, and plenty of it is milsurp, which is corrosive, but is still easy to clean, and is even cheaper.
The hungarian, and the russian milsurp is about the hottest,stoutest ammo out there, that I have ever shot.
go to your local big box store, and look for a Butler Creek, SMALL SIZE, slip on recoil pad, about 9 bucks, and this will help a lot , with recoil.
go to a rifle shop, and go to the 22 section, new and used, especially used, and pick up 22's, until you find one with a stock that fits. the mod 60 has a bit longer of a stock, you could also add a slip on pad to these, to make them even longer.
 
MRIman, I'm not to worried about ammo or clips as my friend is willing to give me 10 30 rounders but If I saved all my money for 3 years I then could afford an AR because I have to pay for the gun+ammo but it all comes down to this: the AR series in general doesn't appeal to me, maybes it's because I play airsoft and everyone has an AR, who knows? I'm just not attracted to them like I used to be (I saw .223 bullets in person, instant de-traction). I was thinking about an SKS back when they were cheap but I couldn't get a gun then and now I saw Com-Bloc standard (7.62x39 for those idiots out there) and that bored me to death then, FINALLY in my search for Mosin-Nagant ammo and then I saw 7.62x54r two words: instant attraction. Rangerruck: I've had a few problems with just starting with a used .22 (my orginal idea) 1. there is only 2 places within an hour of my house that sell used guns one is a pawn shot and they sell PSLs, SVDs, and a lot of ex-military sniper and battle rifles but no .22s. The other place is Cabela's and alas :neener: they have no .22s either. problem 2. I can only have 1 gun so if I start with a .22 i'm stuck with it for 4 years which would result in::cuss: from me.
http://www.stelliott.com/guns/Mosin-Nagant_7.62x54mm_Carbine.JPG
That's a rough idea as to what the M44 carbine looks like.
 
i have a proud beautiful M44 yet i live in miami and i have trouble finding non-steel core ammo can anyone help
 
They have Mosin Nagants at Aim Surplus for $70 (you can pay $10 extra for them to hand pick a better one). How could you go wrong at that price? Soontobeamosinnagantman please don't compare a MN to an AR its like apples and oranges. Also if you get an MN the point of the rifle is that it is cheap (almost disposable cheap) and you can get 7.62.54r combloc surplus ammo for dirt cheap I'm not sure why you would go buy winchester ammo for the thing though. Also if your dad wants to buy you an AR let him. Just make sure he is not buying himself an AR and slipping it past your mom by saying its a gift for you.

Here is some advice, have your pops order you a MN from AIM Surplus get a couple crates of surplus ammo. Practice and save your money for a better rifle, be it an AR, FAL or AK you will probably want something better down the road as a MN is fun but has some very large limitations.
 
Not to sound like a phallus,but if you're really 14 yoa then no advice is valid. Take hunter safety - they teach it at Gander and Cabelas. and wait a few years until you can buy the rifle.
 
The best $80 I spent was on a 91/30. It's also one of the simplest rifles to disassemble/reassemble for cleaning, all you need is the teardrop looking tool that usually comes with it.

Fat_46:
If he has family that are very familiar with firearms and gun safety, then why mention hunter's safety. The only purpose for that course is so one can buy a hunting license. I've never taken a hunters safety course, I had the "at home" gun safety course taught by my dad and three of my older brothers; as I would imagine most on this board have.
 
So did you ever get that Mosin Nagant you wanted? I looking to get one right now to!?
 
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