Mosin Nagant - Am I the only one who does NOT like these?

Mosin - Love, Like or Leave?

  • Love the Mosin - will not be without at least one.

    Votes: 131 36.3%

  • Like the Mosin - take it or leave it.

    Votes: 141 39.1%

  • Leave it - nothing good to say about it.

    Votes: 89 24.7%
  • Total voters
    361
  • Poll closed .
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I bought mine for $45 a few years back. My brother gave me one for Christmas the same year. A cheaper good rifle you will not find. I like the way it looks, but my brother thinks they're fugly.
 
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.308 = 7.62 x 51 = $450 to $750
Mosin Nagant = 7.62 x 54 = $59.95 (the same as 10; TEN, .308's)

It shoots like a 30'06, with similar Ballistics.As one man told me Military Surplus Rifles increase in value better thatn your 401k ever will - I bought some just to keep in the box for that very reason.
And if you are reading this and don't get it, I bet YOU CAN NOT find one for $59.95 now...
 
Cob said:
.308 = 7.62 x 51 = $450 to $750
Mosin Nagant = 7.62 x 54 = $59.95 (the same as 10; TEN, .308's)

It shoots like a 30'06, with similar Ballistics.As one man told me Military Surplus Rifles increase in value better thatn your 401k ever will - I bought some just to keep in the box for that very reason.
And if you are reading this and don't get it, I bet YOU CAN NOT find one for $59.95 now...
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YUP...and some will go up in falue much faster. That is unless some bubba gets his mits on it, then wonders why it is worthless.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the enfield that someone called me to look at, I was pretty pumped to see it, US property marked rifle, that was suppose to be in good shape.....when I got there it had the barrel cut down, stock cut down, holes drilled for a scope and someones initials cut into the stock "just like the snipers did"....ahh ok. I told him that the rifle was worth around $50 as it sat and would be worth around $500 if it was in original condition.
 
I think a sporterized Mosin-Nagant is one of the hansomest rifles there are. I think the flow of the magazine into the triggerguard looks very elegant. My next sporter will be 19" barreled, full-stocked, with a quarter rib and three-leaf express sights and a butterknife bolt handle. My present M-N sporter started as a numbers matching '42 Tula 91/30, and got a Remington 700 bolt handle, peep sights, ATI stock (which I'm going to replace with a Boyd's stock I will reshape for a schnabble forend) and 22" chop and recrown. It shoots 1.5" 100 yard groups. The best part though, is the whining of the milsurp snobs at the 'destruction' I've wreaked on a pristine milsurp. Wait 'till I do the next one on a Finn...
 
And well you should! You see, for every Finish rifle you destroy, my excellent condition Valmet M39 goes up in value. Besides, I always love seeing the looks on their faces when you tell Bubba his former $500+ rifle is now less than $100!:evil:
 
It is what it is. It is a battle rifle. It shoots reliably. It will hit a target at 300 yds without issue. It will hit at 200 yds or less every time. If it hits the size of a pizza box at 25 yds then I would wonder more about the barrel or the shooter or both. It is rugged. The firing pin makes the word "robust", redundant. Trigger pull is a steady slow squeeze until it goes bang, and not 30 lbs. I have two and both fit the above description (except for the pizza box part). Both are 91/30's. Both are nicely machined 1938 rifles, one Tula, one Ishevsk. Roza Shanina did well with the M-N until she was killed in 1945. Buying a shoulder pad or a butt pad can solve any issues of "kick". There are worse "kicks" from American and European made rifles. Not liking them is a personal issue. Liking them is a personal issue. People need to try them and then make their final decision and not just based on someone else's personal issue.
 
Since I never plan on selling my Hungarian M-44, it's value doesn't make a lick of difference. It could be worth $300, or $30, I paid $150.

I think I'm gonna go take it out this weekend. I haven't shot it since I put on the new scope, and I picked up random milsurp ammo the other day, so might as well go make some noise (and zero the scope while I'm at it).
 
Grunt said:
And well you should! You see, for every Finish rifle you destroy, my excellent condition Valmet M39 goes up in value. Besides, I always love seeing the looks on their faces when you tell Bubba his former $500+ rifle is now less than $100!:evil:
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Yup I did not know what I was talking about...too bad the guy that wanted me to check the rifle out and was the customer knew that I did know what I was talking about.

IMHO take it or leave it, if you like vintage military weapons from every nation then you will like it. I don't think it is any worse then anything from any of the other countries including the Carcano and Arasaka even MAS 36...they are all great rifles. You like them or you don't....you just have to keep in mind the history of the rifles when you buy one...they could have lead a very hard life.
 
Grunt said:
And well you should! You see, for every Finish rifle you destroy, my excellent condition Valmet M39 goes up in value. Besides, I always love seeing the looks on their faces when you tell Bubba his former $500+ rifle is now less than $100!
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:) The more milsurp rifles that bubba butchers, the more my untouched ones will be worth. I guess some people can afford to destroy valuable rifles just to spite others. :banghead:
 
My M44 would put every round on a 2 ft diameter steel circle at 300yds with Irons and my barrel had been previously counterbored. it's much better with iron sights or a red dot than a cheap scope though, my last $70 scope would never hold zero.

I paid $89.00 for my russian numbers matching m44 and have had offers of $300 for it
 
I own about 9 different variations of the Mosin Nagant rifles. One thing nobody has mentioned is how great the sights are for older eyes. The Mauser was designed for the 19 year old soldier with 20-20 vision.

I also own several Mausers and they can just as easily suffer from sticky bolt syndrome as the Mosin Nagant based rifles. Especially when using steel cased ammunition. Even My '03 Springfield Mark I jams up with steel cased ammunition.

My original 91/30 sniper is sub MOA using Privi Partizan 150 grain SP ammunition. It also a great trigger.

One of my 91/30s shoots more like a Brown Bess, but on that particular rifle I really don't care. The Finns had the tightest specs on their rifles. 1.5 MOA. (Even the Mauser, 03 Springfield and Garand had a spec of 4 MOA.) This is the reason that rifles marked with the Finnish SA on the side shoot better.

I am not a fan of the M44 and only have one because it is marked as a DDR (East German) rifle. I just don't like the balance of the beast. My 91/59 is a great shooter and a handy brush gun. Very accurate too. My M38 is counter bored but an adequate shooter.

On another site a proud papa was showing the 4 x 5 mule deer his 14 year old son took with a reproduction 91/30 sniper at 275 yards. He was using 203 grain soft point ammunition. His son spent the summer practicing at 400 yards so he could become good enough for his father to allow him to use the rifle for hunting.

These are inexpensive rifles that will still bring down any beast in North America. If you are looking at a bunch on the rack, just do the bullet test and pick the one that passes the best. Stick the bullet upside down into the bore. Pick the rifle that leaves the most of the bullet showing.
 
I've got a pretty nice numbers matching '42 Izhevsk that I got a repro PU scope for. Refinished the stock with some shellac that I managed to mix to pretty much the same color as the original, just a lot prettier.

First post on THR, by the way. Been creeping for a while and decided to join.
 
TurtlePhish said:
I've got a pretty nice numbers matching '42 Izhevsk that I got a repro PU scope for. Refinished the stock with some shellac that I managed to mix to pretty much the same color as the original, just a lot prettier.

First post on THR, by the way. Been creeping for a while and decided to join.
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Welcome to THR. It's just like family here. All we do is argue.
 
I have a couple MN's that I enjoy very much. My favorite is a M-38. It's the short barrel carbine similar to M-44 but without bayonet. It is much lighter and easier to carry afield (original sling). I have lightened the trigger to about 3 pounds, with no creep $15. I have added a solid mount scope rail to the receiver (2 screws, pro style) $45. I tig welded a bent bolt handle to clear the scope $5. Target crowned barrel, floated in the original stock with full camo paint job ($30). I have worked up a handload with Sierra 165 grain btsp that shoots an excellent 3 shot group. All this fun from a rifle I paid $140 in 2005. Great fun, nice project, not too expensive, and something I couldn't do with a Remington 700, Ruger, Browning, Savage, etc. All in all, I probably have $400 or so in the rifle. It is an excellent coyote gun (I dont keep the pelt) and I wouldn't hesitate to hunt larger game animals with it. With a sandbag rest, the barrel jumps up about 6" and burns all the grass in front of me. Awesome.
 
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I was in at the LGS here today buying a borebrush when I happened to notice a 91/30 behind the counter. Right next to it was a shorter MN so when the owner came out of the back room with my brush, I asked to take a look at the short Nagant. He hands it over and it's a 1943 Izzy M38. Being a wartime gun, the machine marks on the receiver ring looked like an angry beaver may have been nibbling on it but I suppose in those days, that's acceptable as long as it shoots Nazis. Of course it's covered in cosmoline but from what I could tell, the numbers are all matching and it didn't appear to be an arsenal rebuild job. I figured it would have had a lot higher price tag but to my surprise, it was marked at $109 although it didn't come with a sling or cleaning kit. In any case, I am thinking of going back tomorrow and picking it up since that price is still VERY good for an M38.
There is the rub when it comes to Mosin-Nagant rifles. Right now they are pretty cheap with 91/30s being around $100. I remember it wasn't that many years ago that older M91s were around the same price. Anybody look at what they are running now? I bought my old M44 re-arsenal rifle for $80 a few years back. Look at what they go for on gunbroker now. My 91/30 PU sniper was I think $500 when they were first coming in and now for an original sniper, you are looking at $800 and up. My VKT M39 in excellent condition was bought for $180 or so years ago and now you can't touch them for under $300 in the same condition. My old 91/30 was a $40 purchase back in its day and since it wasn't one of the re-arsenal jobs and isn't in as good of condition, I doubt at this time with the market being as flooded with 91/30s that it will have appreciated in value...yet. There will come a day though when the market will dry up and the prices will climb. Look at Springfields. I got a low number 03 back when I was in high school for $125. I got another 03-A3 years ago for $350 or $400 and they are a lot higher priced now. Mosin-Nagants aren't there right now but the old war horses weren't priced the way they are now back then either. Not that I'm planning on selling any of them since I love history and wish these old guns could talk so they will always have a place here and the Mosin-Nagant is no different.
 
quote: Trigger pull was approximately 30 pounds.

His isn't the only one. My Finn reworked 1932 has a horrible trigger, sloppy, super-duper heavy... otherwise a very fun rifle and way accurate with consistent hits out to 500m with the cheapest ammo I can find. Ballistically a .308 to boot. Certainly Russia's 30-06!

Mine was $54. and I don't regret it. Later bought a Hungarian m44 with a nice trigger but seems less accurate and somehow clumsier than the long rifle. Almost feels heavier?

Not sure if I ever shot the third one before I traded it... Kinda like potato chips!

So it seems to be pot luck with these...
 
My 4th Mosin 91/30 had a terrible trigger. Long, gritty and heavy. Bought a couple of triggers from Tennessee Gunparts and swapped parts. Much better with first combo tried. Now use it for vintage rifle matches. Accurate with Bulgarian surplus.
 
Luck of the draw. Same as the others. I've had 91/30's with horrible pull. However, my M44 is pretty darn light and M38 is actually darn nice.
 
Good "Hog" shot. I have posted dozens of such vids here, on th ehunting forum, with me and my Mosin, most with Bears Muskox and Caribou. Th eMoisn in good hands can do anything any other issue rifle can do.

The Finns trademarks were spliced stocks, excellent trigger jobs, sight replacements, and shimming, all leading to better accuracy.

The Soviets only did that to Sniping rifles, the rest were issued within specification, but not 'hand tuned' like the Finnish rifles.

Im always aware that a previous owner may have better'd/worsen'd the rifle someway, and I inspect them very thourly each time, as its a true saying, "let the buyer be aware"......
 
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Sounds like that good ol' Russian battle rifle kicked you in the can there, OP :)

Great rifle, cheap to shoot, amazing history, smell of cosmoline, what else could you want?! :D
 
Hello,

I like mine for its durability and accuracy. Not sure what else I could want. The less-powerful firearms are used for defensive duty.

The Mosin has been used on everything from coyotes to trees that have large limbs falling and I'm afraid to approach with a chainsaw. I've downed a few like that now.

It's not my oldest rifle (that would be a Gewehr 88 made in 1892) and it's not the fastest to operate. However, it is rugged, far more precise than I am with open sights, and will take out raccoons with the bayonet.

Not particularly collectible, it and the 1911 are the firearms that get grabbed first and used the most in my house.

Josh
 
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