Mosin Nagant - What should I know?

[truckemup97]

I'm thinking about a Mosin Nagant. Likely a M44, but maybe not. Might get two or three just because they're cheap. Surplus ammo is pretty cheap, too. So what should I know? What should I stay away from, and what should I look for? What modifications are worthwhile? I'm really just thinking of plinking, but it would be nice if it were fairly accurate and fairly reliable.

So, whaddaya think?

 

[stantheman86]

You can't go wrong with a good Mosin Nagant rifle. 7.62x54r ammo isn't going anywhere, it's still used all over the former East Bloc and the Russian Federation, and surplus should be coming in for years.

I've been buying them for 8 years, my first rifle was an M38 I bought in 2002, and it turned into almost 40 more Mosins.....M91's, 91/30's, etc. I vastly favor the long rifles over the carbines.

You can stay as "basic" as you want with the refurbished rifles, or become an advanced collector looking for the rarer Finnish stuff. You can look for the different arsenals, receiver types, but IMO when it comes to the refurbs, one is as good as the next as long as the bore is in good shape.

I like the 91/30's myself, good balance, excellent accuracy. Look for one with a sharp bore and you should be good to go. I don't like counterbores, but they don't affect accuracy, in some cases can improve accuracy if it was done to fix a worn muzzle. I just don't like the look of a counterbored muzzle.

You can't wear out a Mosin, I have a 1942 Izhevsk 91/30 that I've been shooting for years and it's still as good as the day I got it.

 

[Fredo Batali]

I started out collecting them about eight years ago also. I have waaaay more of them than I need. I like the long rifles, but some of the carbines can be tack drivers. This is especially true of the 1891/59 I have. I have a couple of M38's that will give it a run for its money too. The carbines make great truck guns also.

De Oppressso liber

 

[stantheman86]

A Mosin is the bolt action equivalent of the AK47.......simply made, loose tolerances, very tough and hard to break. May not be the absolute most accurate rifle ever made, but not designed to be. Hitting a man sized target at 300 meters, with area fire out to 1,000 was good enough for the Soviet army. The Mosins are capable of excellent accuracy though.

People complain about the "lousy trigger" of the Mosin rifles, they sell all kinds of gimmicks to improve the trigger pull, but I don't bother with them. These are infantry rifles, not match rifles, and they shoot just fine as is.

The Mosin has everything a battle rifle needs and nothing it doesn't. It was designed for minimally intelligent conscript soldiers to be able to use and maintain, and to be "soldier proof", i.e. hard to break. Anyone who's been in the service knows soldiers are good at finding ways to break stuff........ I found a few 91/30's that had been buried in loose, dusty soil for a long time in Iraq and I am sure they would still have worked.

 

[Trooperdan]

As was mentioned above, watch for the Finnish army captures as denoted by the letters SA enclosed in a box. Sometimes you'll see them at "normal" M-N prices. These will be the rifles, not the M44 carbines usually. Buy any and all Finnish marked if prices less than 150 percent of the common herd. Oh, and by a M44 just for the "whatthehellwasthat" factor at the range when you set it off.. preferably around dusk to enhance the fireball!

 

[Gutpile Charlie]

I've got a number of MNs and have accumulated them over thirty years.

The good thing about them is that they are cheap and plentiful. There really is nothing bad. They just are what they are. They are a rough and tumble, simple infantry rifle that is reliable and becoming available in ever better condition and quality.

What I need to do is buy some of the refurb 91/30 that are all over the place now. My 91/30s were purchased back when average to "beat all to ****" was the norm.

The first one I got was a 28/31 Finn. I didn't realize it when I bought it for about $100.00 nearly thirty years ago...but it one of the most desirable.

The M39s were the last ones built and they are truly an accurate rifle.

The M38 and M44 are esentially the same thing, just one has a bayonet and the other doesn't.

If you want a really old and historic one, I have a U.S. manufactured Westinghouse, M1891. The were manufacture for the Ruskie before the revolution and were even used by U.S. troops around WWI in Russia.

To add a little interest, the Chinese made their own copy of the M48. They are usually not the best quality....but they are interesting.

Today....go out and get one or more of the "new" refurbed M91/30s. These are an excellent bang for the buck.

There are some other "varieties" that are simply 91/30s that were cut down to be M38s and M44s. They are essentially the same....but what the heck....collectors love all the varieties.

I think at the "Big Tulsa Gunshow" in a couple of weeks, I just made take my own advice....again.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Surplus ammo is normally corrosive. Use Windex down the bore and in the action.

 

[sheriffoconee]

I have a M44 I shoot 203 grn softpoints in, and if I do my part with bad eyes and iron sights I get about 4 inches at 100 yards...I haven't blooded it yet in the deer woods, but I will one day.
If you get one....take it ALLLLL apart and clean it...and make sure it is clean...everywhere. There is a lot of info on the net...god luck and have fun with it

 

[stantheman86]

Luckily for us the Soviets cranked out millions of 91/30's, they are the cheapest Mosin right now. There were fewer M44's made, relatively, but they are still "common". I love how some dealers are asking $3-400 for refurb M44's now, saying they are "rare". Just because the fresh imports of M44's have stopped doesn't make them rare. I was seeing M44's for $60 back in 2001 or so, I just didn't buy many of them.

The Mosins are so cheap because most shooters don't find them "refined" enough and unfortunately many people buy them and hack them all to pieces to make them into cheap deer guns. They are often the cheapest gun at the gun show, and are bought as beaters and truck guns.

In 20 years 91/30 refurbs will still be cheap, there are just SO many of them out there. Imports are still coming in, and the refurbs will never be "collectible".

Now, the rarer stuff has shot up in price, again I recall seeing SA marked 91/30's and 91's at gun shows for $100, I bought a few of them. 10 years ago the SA marked Mosins were nothing special, it was "just another property mark" and then interest in the Winter War and Finnish Mosins went up and the SA stamp started to carry a premium.

Century used to have M91 and 91/30 U-Fix-Em's for $20 each, a lot of them just had cracked stocks. Those days are over.

Things change, 20 years ago Mosins were rare in this country, and collectors paid a premium for the Soviet rifles. Remington M91's were cheap years ago, because a lot of them never left the US and Bannerman bought a bunch of them and hacked them up, and converted some to 30-06.7.62x54r was an oddball round no one had heard of in the US, kind of like 7.62x39 was.......now the stuff is everywhere, along with rifles that fire it. Now a minty, matching Remington M91 with no SA stamp or import mark can bring over $1,500. An older guy told me he paid $700 for a non-refurb M44 in the 1980's, you just couldn't find many here, and most were Vietnam bringbacks.The gun market does strange things sometimes.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Hell of a rifle for the price. My common m91 built in 1944 with the spike bayonet is accurate and kicks like a mule. Use non-corrosive ammo or clean it immediately if non-corrosive ammo is used and the M-N will outlast us all. If you are interested there are M-N websites and one of my favorite gun books, "Collecting Classic Bolt Action Rifles" by Paul S. Scarla has a good long chapter on M-Ns. Have fun!

Main Page
Collecting and Shooting the Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 - HISTORY

 

[mkk41]

A few issues ago , GUNS magazine did a shoot-out of the major WWII sniper rifles. US 1903A4 , 1903A1 , Brit No.4T , German ZF-41 Mauser and a Mosin Nagant.

The Mosin was the only rifle still printing anything that could be called groups at 700yds and beyond.

 

[2152hq]

My favorite was the Finn M39. Very accurate and comfortable to shoot. Excellent sights, the front is adj for windage. You pay more for the Sako produced version but the VKT I had was just as accurate.
Don't loose the small brass shims used to tweek the bedding if you take it out of the wood.
With any of the M/N or variations, I'd avoid one with a counterbored muzzle if you can. Though they can be just as accurate as any other, there is no way to tell till you shoot it. If needed to repair,, it is more difficult than simply recrowning a standard bbl.
With so many of these around, with some searching you should have little problem finding a M/N in some version with a VG to excellent bore.

Ammo has gone up in price in last couple of years but the supply seems to be strong unlike some of the other milsurp calibers. Still a bargain for the centerfire rifle shooter.
Don't let the corrosive ammo thing bother you. Just clean it properly afterwards. It's corrosive primers,,not errosive ammo.
Boxer primed brass, components and dies available if you want to load for them and many do.

 

[rond]

The safety on these rifles is a pain to use, I carry the rifle with an empty chamber, it's quicker to work the bolt than the safety. Only have 3 of these but am on my second case of ammo. You will enjoy any of the models that you get.

 

[Ogandydancer]

My son had one and says they make a fine deer rifle.

 

[palmetto99]

I picked up a M44 a couple of years ago. I can understand why some folks consider them (the carbines) good truck guns.

The M44 does make a pretty big BOOM and as the sun goes down, the muzzle flash can be pretty neat.

I passed on a very nice 1891/59 carbine a couple of years ago and still come across some Finn's in my neck of the woods.

 

[bubbiesdad]

M 44's have a little recoil to them.

 

[Andy Griffith]

If you can, buy a case of them.

Can't be a bad investment.

 

[DGNY]

M-N - What to know?

These rifles are today's equivalent of the inexpensive military rifles of the vaunted [and wonderful] "Good Old Days'' of the '50s and '60s. Second the motion on carrying a M-N with empty chamber, as the safeties on mine are a trial to use, as they require at minimum reasonable strength and non-slippery hand/glove to operate. Doesn't mean we should avoid using them at all...

Have/had various models. I take bayonets [mark them and store] off shooter M-44s and drift the front sight to correct lateral zero if needed. Carbine is lighter that way and no stab factor.

Buy and try a few kinds of true noncorrosive ammo, and you will find one that shoots well, I have found. [Or experiment with corrosive and rapid thorough cleaning.] A few of mine are superb shooters, with good triggers.

If you are handy with tools, it is often convenient when shopping to have a loose .310-.312 jacketed bullet to try in muzzle, and an empty new case with a few thousandths of tape over primer pocket to rough check headspace for approx No-Go. Or, better by far, go online and get full details and more sophisticated tools.

And carry with empty chamber, or fully master the safety.

Have fun,

Dyson

 

[PALADIN85020]

The Mosin-Nagants were Soviet Russia's main battle rifle during WWII, and were good enough to help win the war on Germany's Eastern Front. It's good to have one just as an example, but they are inexpensive, good shooters and surplus ammo is readily available. I'd look for bore condition, as most were fired with corrosive ammo. Other than that, look for matching part numbers. It would be hard to go wrong. The 7.62X54mm Rimmed ammo is equivalent to our .30-06 in power and range.

Mine is an 1891/30 model made in 1939 at the Tula Arsenal. A bit long and unwieldy at 48.5" overall, it still did the job. I have an original bayonet for it, as well.

John

 

[mkk41]

The 7.62X45mm Rimmed ammo is equivalent to our .30-06 in power and range.



John

Typo alert! 7.62x54R is what ya meant.
That's something a lot of people don't realize , or refuse to believe for some reason. And out of the long barrel of the 91/30 , the 154gr spitzer boattail bullet of the standard issue round is actually kicking the 30-06 butt.

The M-N action might seem a bit crude and homely , but legendary gunsmith and wildcatter P.O. Ackley did many blow up tests and the M-N proved to be one of the strongest bolt actions ever made.