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Russian Mosin Nagant -- share your knowledge
plains scout
Member Posts: 4,563
So here are some rookie questions.
Is there a particular model you would look for?
How available is ammo for this rifle?
How pricy is the ammo?
What are some features or things in particular you would look for?
What price would you expect to pay?
I have a hankering to get another weapon and I don't have one of these yet.
Is there a particular model you would look for?
How available is ammo for this rifle?
How pricy is the ammo?
What are some features or things in particular you would look for?
What price would you expect to pay?
I have a hankering to get another weapon and I don't have one of these yet.
Comments
What kind do you want? You can get old milsurp real cheap (around $70 for 800 rounds is easy to find) (but it is corrosive and may not go bang each time you pull the trigger)
Brand new steel wolf runs $150/500 on sportsmansguide.com, the brass "match" rounds are around $10/box of 20.
I have 5 of them.
M91, M91/30, & M44. I do not care for the short M44. Lots of recoil and two feet of flame from the muzzle...in the daytime!!
Ammo is cheap. The Czech 148 grain silvertip (light blue box with silver stripe) is VERY accurate ammo.
I would lean towards the M91/30 in the 1940's production. Price - $79 to $99.
Bores on the Mosin are either good or ugly. I use an electronic bore cleaner on these...wash with carb cleaner...then clean/brush/clean.
Treat ALL of the milsurp ammo as corrosive. Nothing a little Windex will not take care of though.
Do you reload? If so, may I suggest a different rifle?
Swiss K31. ASTOUNDING accuracy. Milsurp ammo...not so cheap. $28/60 rounds. But, if you reload, price is VERY reasonable. I use 150 to 174 grain bullets. Ballistics at/near a 308. Have not seen a bad bore in any of these rifles. Find one that has all matching numbers (receiver, barrel, bolt, and clip).
I would put any of my K31's against any rifle at the range for accuracy.
I use 284 Winchester brass, neck up to 30 caliber, and you are set.
Privi, FNM, & Wolf produce reloadable ammo as well.
Ammo is fairly common and not too expensive for milsurp, which as noted above, should always be considered corrosive.
I haven't been to a gun show in ages, but you should be able to find a good shooter for $150 or less. If you want a really nice one maybe as much as $225.
The Finns took captured Russian Mosin Nagants and reworked them. They rebarreled them with high quality Finnish barrels, most made by Sako or VKT. They put on new stocks and sights. The M39 is one of the few WW2 rifles with adjustable sights. The only original parts left were the receiver, bolt and magazine.
If the reworked Finnish M39 would not make a 1 1/4 inch group, it was not permitted to leave the factory. So, these are considered the highest quality, and most accurate of the Mosin Nagants.
You can get a good shooter for $200.
The Mosin Nagant action is rather crude, compared to the elegant Mauser. The Mosin Nagant safety is weird, and difficult to use.
But the actions are very rugged and reliable. Guys who buy one Mosin Nagant usually wind up buying several more.
But as said earlier, be ready for some recoil. And with the steel butt plate (like I keep on mine (comes original)) it will bruse your shoulder. I have come away from the range with my shoulder really brused a number of times.
Ammo is cheep. I buy surplus stuff sealed in sardine tins for about $50 for 440 rounds.
They are good and accurate. I group 3" at 200 yards with iron sites from the bench.
The 91/30 is also a good choice. I have one of those too. I just prefer the shorter barrel.
For both of mine I paid $79.99 each from Big 5 sporting goods when I still lived in California. I still see them advertised at that price alot.
If you can sort through them and find ones with the stocks in good shape. Some are pretty beat up, but I found them with stocks that look almost new.
Depends on how much you want to spend or your tastes; for a good deal and a good shooter, a Russian 91/30 as I like rifles more than carbines. For a real tack driver, a Finn M39, still a grat deal.
How available is ammo for this rifle?
Very. Surplus right now is a glut on the market. $59 for 800 last week at the gun show. Most is sure fire, and while corrosive, as said, it is nothing hot soapy water or a water based cleaner (Like windex, or black powder solvent) can't handle.
How pricy is the ammo?
Cheap for milsurp; cheapest new manufacture is about $8/box/20
What are some features or things in particular you would look for?
Bore condition first and foremost. Make sure it isn't a sewerpipe. Some light pitting is ok, often called 'frosting'. Make sure the crown is good and the rifling crisp to the crown. Matching parts are desireable but not needed really, and often command a premium
What price would you expect to pay?
$69 for a regular stocked 91/30 from southern ohio gun, up to $300 for a nice Finn M39; rarer models are more than that, but most everything else falls in between.
I have a hankering to get another weapon and I don't have one of these yet.
http://www.7.62x54r.net/
I had an M44, huge concussion everytime you pull the trigger, big time muzzle blast. Draws a crowd at the range. Lotsa power. Haven't shot a 91/30, but if I were to buy another that's what I'd look for.
AIMSurplus had 91/30's for $69.95, or $89.95 for a laminated stock. This is where I bought my M44. The bore was excellent on mine. Of course I drove to their location, maybe they gave me a better rifle since I was there. I also bought my ammo from them.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Rifles.html
Their ammo has gone up a little....$39.95/440rds of Hungarian light ball.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/7_62x54R.html
Duck..
1927 Tula 91/30
1928 Tula 91/30
Both great rifles, and great deals. If I were to buy another I'd either get an m38 carbine, or one of the rare 28/54 I think it was called? It was a carbine reworked in 1954ish they are rare and collectable!
I bought my M44 with the attached bayonet from Big-5 for $70. I think that it was either unissued or a rearsenaled one, it looks like new. One thing that I read was that when you fire it, the bayonet should be in the fixed forward position. It said that it was made to be fired that way. If fired with the bayonet folded against the rifle, it messed with the barrel harmonics and decreased accuracy. I don't know how true this is because I haven't gone to the range with mine yet. From reading the other replys here, it looks like I'll get a slip on recoil pad before I do. I bought a 20rd. box of 150gr. Wolf Gold performance ammo from Cheaper Than Dirt for around $12. It's brass cased and boxer primed, says non-corrosive. I also bought an 1895 Nagant revolver it go with it. I thought it looked kinda cool.
On the M-44:
If shooting with the bayonett folded in takes away on acuracy then I would be super dangerus with mine. I can hit a pepsi can every shot at 150 yards. And I group 3" groups at 200 yards. I have never shot mine with the bayonett extended. I just never felt the need too.
I shoot Hungarian surplus ammo. It is very cheep, but it is corosive. But I clean mine as soon as I get home every time I shoot it, and the bore looks exelent.
I also bought mine from Big-5 about 3 years ago. It still looks like new. And I paid the same price as you did.
Mine is also my primary hunting rifle this year. I'll let you know how it does. But with the groups I shoot with it I'm sure it will do just fine.
I don't use a recoil pad on mine. And yes my shoulder turns a nice shade of black and blue after I go out and put 50 rounds through it. But I just suck it up and deal with it. It is very comfortable to hold just as it is and I don't want to mess that up with the extra length from a reciol pad. But that has to be an individual desission.
Bottom line: I say the M-44 is a great rifle. Take care of it and it will give you many years of great service. Infact I'm sure it will out live you and you can pass it on to your kids.