So here is the deal my brother told me about this rifle the other day. He says that there over 36 million produced and he can get his hands on some for a $100 each he tells me that ammo is cheep and these guns are reliable.

Now I never been a fan of things made by people who dance sitting down

but I thought I would see if anyone had some first hand experience.

Greg

As an ex C&R holder I have had several, still have a couple. These are cheap fun rifles. I suggest the M44 with Polish ammo at sundown, great fireballs from the muzzle. I was shooting my M44 at the range and two stalls down was a young man shooting his .22. After 5 rounds I look up and he is standing with a shocked expression and says "Oh my god! I could feel that in my chest!" The M44 is a cool carbine with a fold out spike bayo. I told my friends that's how the Russians beat the Germans. The concussion would knock five Germans over and the Russian would run up and stab them with the bayo.

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moratati

I don't know where he got 36 million from, 27 million is the more accepted value.

Mosins come in a huge variety of types, subtypes, countries of origin and build quality. They can be VERY accurate from day one (Finnish M39s especially) or they can be pattern makers if the muzzle has no rifling due to vigorous cleaning at the muzzle with a steel rod. Some deliberately have no rifling there as they are counterbored.

They come in various sizes from the original 1891 rifle with a 31.5" barrel down to carbines with a 20" tube. Most of the cheap ones in places like Big 5 are model 1891/30 rifles with a 28.75" barrel.

Collectible Mosins can go for big money, and just getting a good Finnish rifle can cost $250+.

Some sites for info:

7.62x54r.net
Mosin Nagant

Cheap milsurp ammo is about $85/440 rounds but it is berdan primed and corrosive. Ballistics are up there with .308.

Using history as a guide, you'll not go wrong buying one or 12 while they are available cheap. As the supply dries up, the prices go up.

I have a m44 mosin. It isn't my favorite rifle, but it goes bang every time I pull the trigger, and is reasonably accurate. Ammo is cheap and readily available.

Depending on the bore dia. and your ammo it can shoot like a .308 or kick like a mule. Bore dia. varies .004-.005" from .308-.313 so does the ammo. If they are matched the Mosin will shoot very well. My Finnish target has a .308 bore so I am going to reload for it, only ammo I have that is .308 is some old old Interarms reboxed surplus and I don't want to send all of thet corrosion down a pristine barrel.
They are litterally a blast and I have several put up for the grand kids.
Larry

First purchase on my C&R was a 1942 round receiver 91/30 made at the Tula arsenal. Refurbished, looks like new. Trigger's take some getting used to. If you haven't been kicked in the shoulder by a mule lately, I recommend these to remedy that. One round will usually have the AR guys craning their heads around trying to figure out if someone brought a cannon out...then you can just smile.

I make front sight adjusting tools for a lot of the different variations, there's a LOT of folks out there buying these up I can tell you. I'm currently running about three weeks on orders, don't know if it's because of tax return time or election year.

The LGS gets them in by the crate and sells them for $100 including the bayonet, sling, and cleaning kit. As stated above, there are a lot of variations and more than one Internet forum dedicated to their care and feeding.
Buy one. Where else are you going to find any rifle for a C-note, anyway?

I've only go 4 two m/91/30 rifles and two carbines 1 is a m/38 the other is a m/44. They are lots of fun.

I have three of them. A Russian 91/30, Romanian M1944 and a Finn. The Finn is in the worst shape but is by far the better shooter.

My understanding is also that if you are very, very, very, VERY, VERY lucky, you can find one of these made by Sako. Of course your chances of winning Power Ball are probably greater. I just bought a plain Jane M91-30 made in 1943 by Izhevsk yesterday. But it does seem to have a .308 bore instead of the .311 so if I can get some Boxer primed brass instead of the Berdan primed Wolf I have, I should be able to reload for it.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

aww the mosin nagant... i just bought a nonreferb completly original 1937 Izhevsk 91/30 and i LOVE it.. its a blast to shoot. just make sure the bolt its smooth in the action also make sure all the cosmosline is out, i saw someone that didnt get every nook and cranny and the bolt ended up sticking after being fired bout 10 times.

just my .02cents happy shooting
Matt

They are a very good gun for the money. I have the 1944 and it is a shooter. GOOD LUCK

I've had many over the last 20+ years, have given many away, and still have a few. There are several forums with a heavy emphasis on this sort of gun - you'd do well to research them.

Make sure that yours comes with a bayonet. Whether it is true or not, the story goes that the Russians sighted them in for use with the bayonet and that they'll shoot better with it on (or extended in the case of the carbines). There seems some truth to it. Plus that 17" of what amounts to a semi sharpened screwdriver on the end gives one an even more distinctive look.

The cheap surplus ammo in the spam cans will be corrosive. Get some windex, hot water, Dr Bronner's peppermint soap, et al - whichever cure for corrosive ammo you opt for.

Ah yes, a fine rifle held together with bailing wire, stocks of old pallet wood, kicks like a mule and fires corrosive ammo. What could be better?

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Still Running Against the Wind

My point exactly! More fun than a mud puddle.

MoNags are red hot right now. There are lots of them available and are

A: A great "prepper" rifle. $200 will get you a servicable rifle and a spam can of ammo.

B: A great entry level collector gun. There are gazillions available cheap but there are also dozens of variations, some of which are uber rare & historic. VERY few of the rare collectors will set you back a ton of money.

M38 & M44 carbines are already appreciating as supplies are drying up.

Unless they are exceptional quality or an uncommon variation I doubt anybody will make much money if they pay $100 a pop for the 91/30. Big 5 & Turners run regular specials @ $89 each. They are usually run of the mill rifles but they sell what they get & ocassionally a gem or two turns up.

Here's THE source of info on them.

Gunboard's Forums

Oh yes... worthless without pics. This is my 1944 M38. WAY fun to shoot!

It took all of 2 rounds through an m44 to realize it needed to be traded my son who was 13 at the time got mad because I wouldnt let him shoot it.i think its worse than pulling both triggers on a fox dbl barrel.

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The Lord cometh and right soon

A lot of reloaders use the Sierra bullets made for the .303 British. IIRC they are .310 or .311.

If you have a .308 bore you're golden.

All very true but it killed a helluva alot Germans and other europeans probably in the multi millions

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The Lord cometh and right soon

No idea if it's true or not (I wasn't there) but I read somewhere that Komrad Zaitsev made a confirmed kill at 600 meters with iron sights.

Heck, I can do that with my SW 642 158gr LSWC, non +P.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Top Ten Reasons to Buy a Mosin Nagant(Some True, Some Humor)
10. Inexpensive - $89.99 on sale.
9. Red shellac matches wife's fingernails.
8. If your rifle breaks, you buy a new one.
7. You can dig ammo out of a farmer's field in the Ukraine and it will still work.
6. You can hit the broad side of a barn...from two counties away.
5. The bayonet can be used in an emergency on your grill for shishkabob.
4. If the attachment for the sling breaks, just buy a new dog collar at Wal-Mart.
3. One of your rifle's accessories is a small tin can with a funny lid, but it's buried under an apartment building somewhere in Budapest.
2. When out of ammo, your rifle makes a supreme war club, pike, boat oar, tent pole, or firewood.
1. Recoil is often used to relocate shoulders thrown out by the previous shot.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

When Armageddon comes around, you could do worse than a Mosin-Nagant. It'll still be working after a lot of fancy semiautomatics have given up the ghost.

A good thing is that there is now available a recoil pad assembly that replaces that metal buttplate in about a minute.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

I have one, a M38. I couldn't pass on it's $89 price tag. It's a piece of history and I have it nearby when watching Enemy at the Gates.

Anyone have a Remington manufactured one? I did quite a few years back but foolishly let it get away. Haven't seen another since.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Like everything Russian the MN is heavy, ugly, awkward, and almost impossible to break.

I had a Remington MN for a short time, I bought it for $39 back when barrels full of Mausers sold for $89 each. The bore looked like a sewer pipe and it was big clunky and unrefined when compared to the K98. I sold it and never looked back. I still don't get the attraction with them.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

Okay, MNs have great sights, which makes them much easier to shoot well than a Mauser. Wartime guns are roughly finished but work. If you get one that is hard to extract, the chambers are often rough and the cosmoline has become like varnish. Take a 20 gauge brass brush, wrap it in brass wool, put the rod in a drill, dip in acetone and scrub the chamber. It also has one of the most clever magazine feeds ever designed, as it has an interrupter that allows the rifle to always feed that rimmed cartridge no matter how they were stuffed into the magazine. Oh, Minwax Red Mahogany is an almost perfect match for the Russian red shellac they used.

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Always bet on stupidity.

These are great rifles. I have a Finnish M28 and two Russian 91/30's. I just mounted a scope one of the 91/30's. Triggers on the Russians are terrible, the Finn's trigger is great. So plan on doing some trigger work if you get one. There are numerous options to refining the trigger. Some inexpensive some not.

ive had a few M44s great budget deer hunting rifles or plinking rifles. they also make an aftermarket polymer stock for them........... but who wants to replace all that pretty furniture?

I've got two or three.. :-)


Lots of neat variations if you really get into them. The Finns and the carbines are my particular favorites. I have a 1943 Izhevsk M38 that's my truck gun. It's not that hard to find a SAKO M39. Bob Burns at Wholesale Guns & Ammo always has a selection of them. What's much more rare is a Tikka.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

Like You...I fail to see the appeal as well.

FN in MT

I've got a nice one from 1939. I really want the shorter M44. Really nice rifles for what they cost.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

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NRA Certified Instructor
FFL

+1 on Tikka being harder to find then a Sako. I saw a Sako M39 at Cabela's on my last trip. $450.00 if I remember right.

I have 2 M38's. 42' & 43'. Both shot much different than the other.
M38's were the least built of them all and don't have a bayo. What is hard is finding a M38 without a M44 stock. My search continues.
Hornady jumped on board with some fine ammo, but it does not shot as well as Sellier & Ballot Match. I can make snowmen all day with S&B Match. I can do the same with my .270 T/C Encore that I have almost $700.00 invested into.....

Jude Law's character in "Enemy at the Gate" carries a M38 in the movie from time to time. It was easier to carry in tight spaces.

Lots of cool for just a little dough. FleaBay has lots of parts/accessories for them, and I highly recommend the butt pad.

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Insert short witty words here

I've got one of the Finnish guns. I bought it when they first started coming in. It's a durable, highly accurate rifle, especially with the old Prvi Partizan ammo that was coming in in the late '80s and early '90s.

I don't have any place to shoot a rifle anymore, but if I did, I'd get a 91/30 just to have one.

Saw this posted on the MoNag collector's forum. Quiet a few of those dispatchers of fascist occupiers were real lookers! Some real heroism as well.

Best Soviet Female Snipers Of WWII | English Russia

Put a red dot on it and you have a world class tree stand deer gun.

There are 2 different weaver type mounts for these guns. One is cheap and easy to find, the other costs about as much as the rifle itself. Guess which one really works? Anyone want a cheap one? Would Karma it, but don't want to make any one mad.

Being a bolt gun, you can handload to any (lower) power level you want and bypass that shoulder dislocation thing. A 150 grain pill clocking 2400fps will take any whitetail in N America.

Why do so many think corrosive ammo is a big deal? You do clean your guns after firing...........Don't you?

I bought a funny looking Russian rifle cheap off an old boy selling his collection about 10 years ago. I thought it was a Model 38 for years until I figured out it was a 91/59 carbine.

It's one of my favorite rifles to take to the range. Gets the AR boys' attention when I touch off a couple rounds. Big flame comes out the short barrel, shoulder get's punched, lotsa fun.

Raise the sights to 200 meters and hit the hanging steel target regular. Not so much at 300 meters.

These are real rifles that won a war - not planning on parting with mine.

I have two, a hex receiver from 1932, and a round receiver from 1943 when the Nazis were banging at the gates.
As I understand it, the MN91/30, as well as the vast majority of rifles used up to and including WW II, were designed from the get go to fire 'corrosive' ammunition.
Hoppe's #9 was formulated with that type of ammo in mind, so cleaning your firearm in the present day should not be that big a problem - just do not put it off and do it right away.
Many of the members of this forum have forgotten more good info than I will ever know, so please correct me if I am wrong.