Mosin takes a fall

[Cosmoline]

I was out hiking along a stream about 20 miles south of town, a few miles into the hills today. At one point the trail crosses the creek on an old bridge. I set foot on the bridge, take another step and the next thing I know I'm airborne Classic pratfall. I'd had my Tikka 91/30 over my shoulder and it launches into the air along with several other items including my glasses. The Tikka did its own pratfall, whipping around in a 360, flying over the side of the bridge and falling hard onto the rocks about ten feet below!

I gotta say that's a tough rifle. It has a scratch on the stock from the impact but once I dried it off there was no harm done. The military stock protected the barrel itself from any damage.

 

[KriegHund]

Gotta love those old boltys.

 

[DMK]

They don't make 'em like they used to...

Those Mosins are tough as nails for sure. How did the rock look?

I'll bet a Springfield '03 or an Enfield could have survived too (except for maybe a landing on the rear sights).

Gotta wonder how a new and improved modern commercial Remchester with optics and no iron sights would have fared though.

 

[GD]

Fall

I have two Tikka M91/30s, one a hex and the other a round receiver. Both are in like new condition. I cringe thinking about what happened to your Tikka! But yes, they are tough rifles. And very accurate.

 

[Cosmoline]

I'm just glad my new titanium glasses didn't hop over into the whitewater. They cost three times as much as that rifle. I'm getting some glacier grips before the next hike.

As near as I can figure, that bridge was covered with a layer of semi-frozen slime mold so slick it was impossible to walk on. I had to crawl back to the shore and ford the stream the wet way.

 

[Thin Black Line]

Cosmo,

This brand (Art-Craft) won't fall off your face (try the two sets in the
lower left hand corner with the "ear-wraps"):

http://www.eye-glasses-now.com/framesfc/Art_Craft-lhp-pnf-n.html

I'm not sure which model number I have (it's not one of these but
similar), but they were made in the US and were fairly inexpensive.
They're plain jane wire rim and actually approved as "modest and
simple" for wear by the Amish. They have also worked well
on deployment whether I'm running, bouncing around in a humvee,
or flying in a blackhawk. They will not fall off even if I'm hanging
upsidedown.

Titanium sounds cool, but like your old rifle, you want something
that works in the field --by not falling in the first place.

BTW, I do have polycarbonate lenses in them.

 

[.45&TKD]

I'm curious, what was the carry condtion?

Was a round chambered?

Was the safety on?

I've always wondered about the practicality of the Mosin safety.

 

[GD]

safety

You hear a lot of negatives about the mosin safety but I use mine all the time. I find it easy to use and more quiet than flipping a Mauser safety. It does take more strength than any other safety I've used but a normal strength man should be able to handle it. I also trust it more than any other safety I have used.

 

[GunGoBoom]

poor rock....

 

[TheEgg]

Had a similar experience once, carrying an M1. After retrieving it from the botton of the creek bed, I really could find no signs of any damage.

I, on the other hand, required liberal applications of alchohol, both on the outside and on the inside!

Makes us appreciate the design and workmanship in a lot of these old surplus rifles even more.

 

[Dr.Rob]

You dropped your rifle? For shame!

I've watched my dad take a fall so hard I thought at first he had purposely THROWN his model 760 pump gun into the snow.

His rifle and my brother's Savage 110 took a pretty good beating over the years... while you should never 'trust' a safety... you definitely feel better about it being there when and if you drop one/see one dropped.

Glad you AND the rifle are OK.

 

[Kestrel]

Glad you're okay. Gives you a good feeling to have a rugged rifle like that survive a test.

 

[Cosmoline]

I'm curious, what was the carry condtion?

Was a round chambered?

I was smack in the middle of bruin country, so a round was chambered with the safety on. The great thing about a Mosin's safety is it locks the firing pin and its base against the receiver. It also tilts the pin's shoulders out of allignment with the notch inside the bolt head so it's impossible for the pin to hit a primer even if it somehow snaps its thick, solid steel shaft.

The safety remained in place throughout. I put a lot more trust in it than I would in a flimsy Remchester's safety, and I would not go cocked and locked with a modern rifle or any firearm that does not positively lock out the bolt itself, as opposed to merely deactivating the trigger.

 

[Commissar Gribb]

sometimes simplest is the best