Mosin Nagant, YAY!

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N3rday

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Well, I'm not 18 but I have almost convinced my mom to buy a Mosin nagant...almost.

Anyway, I was planning on getting a 91/30 and I was wondering if anyone had some inexpensive scopes and/or scope mounts they could reccomend.

Any additional info would be nice, I'm new to the scope thing so bear with me...:uhoh:
 
Why scope one?
I can hit with open sights on mine pretty well and there is nothing like the feeling you get when you slide up the rear sight to 300 meters and make a shot that some guy next to you with a scoped Browning can't make.
If you can see the sights, use 'em. ;)
 
uhh...I was kinda under the impression that you could easily take off the scope whenever you wanted to...

right?

Anyway, I wasn't gonna spend that much on the scope anyway...I'm insanely frugal
 
Most scope mounts out there require that the bolt handle be modified. The mods requre cutting and drilling/tapping. No simple bolt bending job here. Plus the bolt mods make it a bit harder to work the bolt. The bolt on a Mosin often requires some vigorous action to get it to work correctly.

MNT5201_md.jpg


A scope would also make it a bit harder to engage the unique safety on the rifle.

I'd just stick with the stock sights. The rifle is best enjoyed that way. There are many other worthy candidates out there if you want a scoped bolt rifle.


Good Shooting
Red
 
A good 91/30 might be harder to come by than the M44. Never fired, unissued, M44's are out there in large numbers. I think AIM surplus has 91/30's (I could go check I guess).. but I see m44's at all the local gunshows. That's where I got mine.

I'd hold off on the scope though. You're better off dumping the money into extra (cheap) Wolf ammo for the thing and learning the iron sights. You didn't just watch "Enemy at the Gates" by chance, did you? :D

While most here would say a .22LR would be a better choice for a first rifle I don't think an MN is a horrible choice. I might have said this to you before but there's some history behind the MN's and as such it makes them more interesting to learn about and shoot. Given that the design saw use in WWI and WWII (and other wars) it can be seen more as a "neat collector's item" to your mother which helps make the whole deal more politically correct.

Oh, and buy a pad for your shoulder. :D
 
I am DYING to see Enemy at the Gates...:D

Anyway, I'm kinda into history, but all the other old bolt actions (Lee Enfield, Mauser 98) have expensive-ars ammo. .303 is running at $.50 a round, and 8mm about the same.

The Mosins are so cheap I could buy two and scope one....but I would never own 2 of the same gun, especially my first two!
 
First off, let me echo the thoughts so far, the Mosin is just fine the way it is. As far as I'm concerned, they have the best sights of any surplus bolt rifle. However, that being said, I had good luck with a B-Square scout mount and an NcStar 4X pistol scope. The B-Square takes alot of patience and quite a few rounds to get just right, But it does work. A more expensive, but fram everything I've heard, a superior mount is the one that Darrel makes over on another board. If you're into old surplus rifles you need to check out this board anyway.

http://pub113.ezboard.com/bparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums
 
Oh, and N3-if you're not 18 (21 in some states and with some online retailers) and since you're getting your mother to buy the rifle for you, I assume you're not (not that this is a problem-I encourage young people to shoot), you'll need your mother/father to purchase the ammo for you as well.

There's tons of online retailers selling (literally) tons of surplus 8mm-AIM Surplus, InterOrdinance, gunsnammo.com, ammunitionstore.com. And there's all sorts available-Yugo, Eucudoran, Turkish, Romanian. I even picked up 200 rounds of genuine FN Herstal 8mm for just $20 last week.

Of course, Mosins are generally less expensive than most Mausers at the moment, and 7.62x54R is available cheap from just about everywhere.
 
Instead of scoping that Nagant I would look at one of the sights from Mojo sighting systems. I recently got a rear only ghost ring for my m-44 and love it.

One word of caution though, if you get one, go ahead and spend the $5 for a c-clamp to install it, I buggered up the top of the sight trying to install it without one.

Mino
 
I have an Romanian M44 with a lot of character, and I just bought a beautiful arsenal-refinished M38. The iron sights are good enough for easy 100 yard shots. I have Darrell's scout scope mount, and a Simmons 4x pistol sight, but I haven't had a chance to put it all together with the M38.

I strongly recommend getting some training in safety and marksmanship. I was extremely lucky in having a rifle club in my middle school (Fairbanks, AK). Unfortunately, such opportunities are less frequent now. Look around for an NRA sponsored class or an experienced friend or family member to help you.

That being said, I think an M-N is a great choice for you. It is a sturdy, yet elegant design with a lot of history behind it. It is great for the budget-minded and you will probably never outgrow having fun with it.

About the only negative thing that is normally said about them is that the bolt is hard to operate. There is nothing really wrong with it, Mr. Mosin just designed it that way. I think mine are still breaking in after 50+ years! :D

The average surplus M-N will not be a tack driver, but I think that's fine for target shooting and blasting. I think accuracy requirements are a bit snob-driven on some of these boards anyway. You could certainly go hunting with it in the future if you don't exceed the limitations of the gun and your experience.

Load carefully to avoid rimlock, and take advantage of the surplus ammo market. I like the 196 grain Yugo surplus for plinking. Treat all surplus ammo as corrosive and look up some cleaning tips on the milsurp boards. I clean with Windex and/or boiling water followed by Breakfree, and have never had a problem with rust. Always clean right after shooting, and you will be fine. Shoot only in safe places, and have fun!
 
So...why is 8mm so expensive in some places and so cheap in others?

any similar sites that sell .303 for cheap? That WWII Lee-Enfield looks nice!

I AM under 18, unfortunately...Now that i know there is 8mm ammo for cheap, I will consider the Mauser 98s as well:D

What are the going prices for Mauser 98s, Lee Enfields and Springfield '03s?
 
i'll be picking up my 2nd 98-22 (brno/czech 98 mauser in 8 mauser) for $115 tomorrow... they are available quite a bit cheaper if you look hard enough, but around here that is the going rate for them for the person who needs instant gratification (me!) :D

if you want to sporterize the gun (scope, bolt handle mods, etc), bear in mind that to have a 'smith do all the work for you will eventually raise the price to well beyond what a new remington goes for... but, a couple things... first, you can piece together the mauser, meaning you can have the bolt re-worked this week, then in a couple weeks you can have it modified for a scope, then in a couple weeks, etc... then there is the reason i got into the mausers, and that is doing the work myself. the cost of tooling up isn't cheap (tools never are), but then you have the tools forever, and can use them for a number of different (even non gun-related) things (incidentally, i found that the cost of tooling up will cost the same as having a 'smith re-work the gun... but, then you have tools and knowledge, making the 2nd gun cheaper, the 3rd cheaper yet, etc)...

then, the last thing to consider... these guns are a riot to shoot as-is. you don't have to modify a thing to have a blast. in the case of my 98-22 shooting 8 mauser ammo, recoil is almost non-existent, the 'cool factor' is pretty low, but the fun factor is way high...

so there you have it... what to do w/ a cheap gun??
 
Actually, if you are looking for "cool factor" then pick up a M/N M44. They are essentially a shorter version of the 91/30 with a bayonet attached. It makes a very impressive BOOM at the range & an even more impressive fireball with the short barrel.

What are the going prices for Mauser 98s, Lee Enfields and Springfield '03s?
Click to expand...
Well, I'm not 18 but I have almost convinced my mom to buy a Mosin nagant...almost.
Click to expand...

M/N w/ a tin of ammo, affordable
Mauser w/ a tin, almost as affordable
L/E w/ ammo, you'll need to save until you can buy it yourself (18)
'03 w/ ammo, you'll need to save until you can get it with your own C&R (21)
 
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