Cosmoline
Member
Questions about what to look for and what to buy have come up several times recently and I wanted to post some of the things I've found in my years of Mosin hunting. I may add photos later if needed. The process I use is simple. IDENTIFY INSPECT EVALUATE
Before you do anything with it, check to make sure it's unloaded. Open the bolt and if unloaded continue pulling back while pulling the trigger. This will free the bolt from the receiver. Set the bolt down but don't lose it ;-)
1--Learn about the rifles and look for the unusual. The vast majority of Mosin-Nagants on the market today are Soviet issue 91/30's, M-44's and to a lesser extent M-38 carbines. The reason for this is simple, the USSR made millions of them. Well over twice as many 91/30's alone were made than Garands. HOWEVER, mixed in with this mass importation are an array of far more rare Mosin-Nagants. Often mis-marked as standard Soviet fare and priced very low. The key to Mosin shopping is separating the rare from the common. Most people, including most dealers, figure a Mosin is a Mosin. Educate yourself. Start here:
http://7.62x54r.net/
http://mosinnagant.net/
http://russian-mosin-nagant.com/mambo/
The fellow who runs 54R.net has a great list showing comparative rarity of different makes and years. In addition it can be helpful to simply steady the features of each type.
Learn the basic Soviet and Finn models:
M91
M91/30
M38 carbine
M44
M91 Finn, including early Finns
M27 soldier's rifle
M28 Civil guard rifle, and the 28/30 upgrade
M39's
M30's (finnish 91/30's)
2--Look for the [SA] lable. This was the property stamp used by the Finnish military in the WWII era. It can be found on an array of rifles both assembled and modified by the Finns and simply captured whole by them. It's the mark of something different from the pack, and often an indication of quality.
3--Look for hex receivers. These were the standard M-N receiver up until the mid 1930's and are an easy way to separate the rifles built in the runup to WWII with those before. Most Finns also use old hex receivers.
4--Look for unusual arsenal stamps. There are often dozens of odd stamps on a Mosin. Among the most important are those found at the barrel base just above the receiver. Lear the basic arsenals so you can figure out which is more common. Izhevsk triangle stamps are the most common, as this arsenal was far from the front and did the bulk of Mosin construction during WWII. Tula star stamps are next most common. After that there are an array of Finnish, Czarist and eastblock stamps as well as Chinese stamps. If you learn the main ones you'll be able to tell what stands out.
5--Look for a square with a slash through it, like a little diver's flag. This can be on the wood, metal or both. It's the sign for a rearenaled Soviet rifle. That means sometime after the rifle went into service, it came back in a state of disrepair and was given a cleaning and a new blue. Often a new bore and a new stock, as well. It's not a bad sign, but generally means you have a workaday shooter not a collector's piece.
6--Check for matching numbers. This is far less important on many Mosins than it is on most Mausers. Some of the very best Mosins are essentially Finnish parts guns. If the bolts and parts were assembled by good smiths this does not detract from their function one bit. But a genuine all-matching early vintage or rare rifle is worth more.
7--Check for Bubbafications. These are usually real easy to spot on a Mosin. The sights and stocks are usually altered. Sometimes a scope is crudly put on. They rarely work well, even if well intended, as the Mosin is considerably more challenging to modify than a Mauser. Plus, earlier home smithing projects often involved dangerous rechamberings, so if you do buy one of these make sure you have a smith take a chamber casting to make sure it's still in 54R.
Now that you've eyed the main markings and ID'd the rifle, it's time to INSPECT it.
1--First of all check the overall condition and balance of the rifle. The wood should feel stiff and not too greasy. Check the WRIST of the stock for cracks as well as the area around the BUTTPLATE, as these are notorious spots for cracks and splits. Check the handguard, esp. on M-91's, for cracks. If the stock wood can be damaged by your fingernail and feels greasy, you likely have cosmoline infiltration. This isn't as common or as bad on the Soviets as on some later Finns. The Soviets used industrial strength shelac made by enormous communist insects and the cosmo on them usually comes right off. A unfinished stock, as on late model M39's can be badly infiltrated by cosmoline and take ages to clean up.
2--Check for a good stock/receiver fit by grasping the stock and the end of the barrel and pulling opposite directions. If you feel the two move apart and the receiver screws are tight, pass on that rifle unless it's a rare bird.
3--Check the condition of the bore and crown. Rifling should be crisp and clean with no pitting. Some roundness to the lands is OK but will make cleanup harder. The crown should ideally have clear lands to the end of the rifling. Counterbores are not per se bad, though on some Soviet rifles they can be a sign that the bore was expanded and re-cut. On Poles and Finns they're fine as they discarded truly worn out barrels.
4--Check the tension and condition of the interruptor/ejector. Assuming you're not at the range and cannot cycle ammo through the rifle, you need to rely on your sense of touch to tell if the critical interruptor/ejector is tight. This device both ensures good ejection and prevents rimlock, IF it's in halfway decent shape. Check 54R.net re. what this part looks like. If it's spongy and weak, consider passing unless the rifle is exceptional in some other way. The good news is they can be replaced pretty easily.
5--Check the fit of the bolt. Assuming you have not loaded the firearm, put the bolt back in and cycle it a few times without dry firing. The bolt should feel loose and almost wobbly in the hand, quite unlike a Mauser style bolt you may be used to. A very tight fit even before you pull the trigger is not a good sign.
6--Check trigger pull. If the shop allows it dry fire into the designated safe spot. Trigger pull will be markedly better on most Finns. In general pull will be somewhat spongy with a crisp release. It should not be a hair trigger, as this is a sign that your sear may be worn and can lead to an AD.
7--Check mainspring tension. This one is easy on a Mosin. Just engage the safety by pulling back the cocking knob and rotating it to your left, then setting it on the receiver. Reverse to disengage. It should be strong and if you're not used to it, pretty hard to work. If it's very spongy or weak the spring may need replacement. These are very easy parts to replace so this isn't a major factor, but good to know. It can also tell you how much action the bolt saw, at least.
8--Check sight alignment. This one is easy but important. Keeping the rifle centered, use reference points to make sure the sights are not badly canted. It's not usually a problem unless for example someone taps out the pins on an M44's front sight bayonet assembly and it gets put back on crooked.
9--Check the blue. This is not of major import on Mosins. Those with worn bluing often have a nice patina and all of them seem remarkably resistant to rust from the environment. NRA blue grades don't always mean much, as a rifle with very low blue may be a rare war vet. And one with 100% blue may be a Soviet refurb not worth very much. I usually use the blue state to tell me how much field use the rifle has had. You can tell a rifle that sat on the shelf from one that saw front line action, though this does not apply to soviet rearsenaled rifles of course.
10--Check bore and bolt face for signs of corrosive ammo. blasts of rust specks in the bore and bolt face are a sign that someone, probably recently, shot corrosive out of it without cleaning up. It's a sign the last user was careless and detracts from value.
11--Check your own feelings on the rifle. How does it fit you? Do you like the balance? These are important factors if you're going to be shooting or carrying it. Personally I prefer the thin stocks and long lines of the M91's to the thicker semi pistol grip stocks of the M39's.
EVALUATE
This is where you compare all these features with the price tag and decide if you want to buy it. 54R.net has a rarity chart that's of great use, and you can also view closed auctions on Gunbroker to see what things are selling for. The more you know the easier it gets. For example I recently saw a nice looking 1940 Tikkakoski M91 on sale on gunbroker. I could see it had a nice dark Finnish style finish on it, and it had an overall good look to it. I've owned four other late model M91's and I love them. I put in a max bid of $200 since that's the low end of what the rifle is worth. I also noted it was an antique receiver and could be treated as an antique under federal law, thereby taking $25 bucks of transfer fees off the price. Lo and behold I got it for less than that:
http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=89867016
Before you do anything with it, check to make sure it's unloaded. Open the bolt and if unloaded continue pulling back while pulling the trigger. This will free the bolt from the receiver. Set the bolt down but don't lose it ;-)
1--Learn about the rifles and look for the unusual. The vast majority of Mosin-Nagants on the market today are Soviet issue 91/30's, M-44's and to a lesser extent M-38 carbines. The reason for this is simple, the USSR made millions of them. Well over twice as many 91/30's alone were made than Garands. HOWEVER, mixed in with this mass importation are an array of far more rare Mosin-Nagants. Often mis-marked as standard Soviet fare and priced very low. The key to Mosin shopping is separating the rare from the common. Most people, including most dealers, figure a Mosin is a Mosin. Educate yourself. Start here:
http://7.62x54r.net/
http://mosinnagant.net/
http://russian-mosin-nagant.com/mambo/
The fellow who runs 54R.net has a great list showing comparative rarity of different makes and years. In addition it can be helpful to simply steady the features of each type.
Learn the basic Soviet and Finn models:
M91
M91/30
M38 carbine
M44
M91 Finn, including early Finns
M27 soldier's rifle
M28 Civil guard rifle, and the 28/30 upgrade
M39's
M30's (finnish 91/30's)
2--Look for the [SA] lable. This was the property stamp used by the Finnish military in the WWII era. It can be found on an array of rifles both assembled and modified by the Finns and simply captured whole by them. It's the mark of something different from the pack, and often an indication of quality.
3--Look for hex receivers. These were the standard M-N receiver up until the mid 1930's and are an easy way to separate the rifles built in the runup to WWII with those before. Most Finns also use old hex receivers.
4--Look for unusual arsenal stamps. There are often dozens of odd stamps on a Mosin. Among the most important are those found at the barrel base just above the receiver. Lear the basic arsenals so you can figure out which is more common. Izhevsk triangle stamps are the most common, as this arsenal was far from the front and did the bulk of Mosin construction during WWII. Tula star stamps are next most common. After that there are an array of Finnish, Czarist and eastblock stamps as well as Chinese stamps. If you learn the main ones you'll be able to tell what stands out.
5--Look for a square with a slash through it, like a little diver's flag. This can be on the wood, metal or both. It's the sign for a rearenaled Soviet rifle. That means sometime after the rifle went into service, it came back in a state of disrepair and was given a cleaning and a new blue. Often a new bore and a new stock, as well. It's not a bad sign, but generally means you have a workaday shooter not a collector's piece.
6--Check for matching numbers. This is far less important on many Mosins than it is on most Mausers. Some of the very best Mosins are essentially Finnish parts guns. If the bolts and parts were assembled by good smiths this does not detract from their function one bit. But a genuine all-matching early vintage or rare rifle is worth more.
7--Check for Bubbafications. These are usually real easy to spot on a Mosin. The sights and stocks are usually altered. Sometimes a scope is crudly put on. They rarely work well, even if well intended, as the Mosin is considerably more challenging to modify than a Mauser. Plus, earlier home smithing projects often involved dangerous rechamberings, so if you do buy one of these make sure you have a smith take a chamber casting to make sure it's still in 54R.
Now that you've eyed the main markings and ID'd the rifle, it's time to INSPECT it.
1--First of all check the overall condition and balance of the rifle. The wood should feel stiff and not too greasy. Check the WRIST of the stock for cracks as well as the area around the BUTTPLATE, as these are notorious spots for cracks and splits. Check the handguard, esp. on M-91's, for cracks. If the stock wood can be damaged by your fingernail and feels greasy, you likely have cosmoline infiltration. This isn't as common or as bad on the Soviets as on some later Finns. The Soviets used industrial strength shelac made by enormous communist insects and the cosmo on them usually comes right off. A unfinished stock, as on late model M39's can be badly infiltrated by cosmoline and take ages to clean up.
2--Check for a good stock/receiver fit by grasping the stock and the end of the barrel and pulling opposite directions. If you feel the two move apart and the receiver screws are tight, pass on that rifle unless it's a rare bird.
3--Check the condition of the bore and crown. Rifling should be crisp and clean with no pitting. Some roundness to the lands is OK but will make cleanup harder. The crown should ideally have clear lands to the end of the rifling. Counterbores are not per se bad, though on some Soviet rifles they can be a sign that the bore was expanded and re-cut. On Poles and Finns they're fine as they discarded truly worn out barrels.
4--Check the tension and condition of the interruptor/ejector. Assuming you're not at the range and cannot cycle ammo through the rifle, you need to rely on your sense of touch to tell if the critical interruptor/ejector is tight. This device both ensures good ejection and prevents rimlock, IF it's in halfway decent shape. Check 54R.net re. what this part looks like. If it's spongy and weak, consider passing unless the rifle is exceptional in some other way. The good news is they can be replaced pretty easily.
5--Check the fit of the bolt. Assuming you have not loaded the firearm, put the bolt back in and cycle it a few times without dry firing. The bolt should feel loose and almost wobbly in the hand, quite unlike a Mauser style bolt you may be used to. A very tight fit even before you pull the trigger is not a good sign.
6--Check trigger pull. If the shop allows it dry fire into the designated safe spot. Trigger pull will be markedly better on most Finns. In general pull will be somewhat spongy with a crisp release. It should not be a hair trigger, as this is a sign that your sear may be worn and can lead to an AD.
7--Check mainspring tension. This one is easy on a Mosin. Just engage the safety by pulling back the cocking knob and rotating it to your left, then setting it on the receiver. Reverse to disengage. It should be strong and if you're not used to it, pretty hard to work. If it's very spongy or weak the spring may need replacement. These are very easy parts to replace so this isn't a major factor, but good to know. It can also tell you how much action the bolt saw, at least.
8--Check sight alignment. This one is easy but important. Keeping the rifle centered, use reference points to make sure the sights are not badly canted. It's not usually a problem unless for example someone taps out the pins on an M44's front sight bayonet assembly and it gets put back on crooked.
9--Check the blue. This is not of major import on Mosins. Those with worn bluing often have a nice patina and all of them seem remarkably resistant to rust from the environment. NRA blue grades don't always mean much, as a rifle with very low blue may be a rare war vet. And one with 100% blue may be a Soviet refurb not worth very much. I usually use the blue state to tell me how much field use the rifle has had. You can tell a rifle that sat on the shelf from one that saw front line action, though this does not apply to soviet rearsenaled rifles of course.
10--Check bore and bolt face for signs of corrosive ammo. blasts of rust specks in the bore and bolt face are a sign that someone, probably recently, shot corrosive out of it without cleaning up. It's a sign the last user was careless and detracts from value.
11--Check your own feelings on the rifle. How does it fit you? Do you like the balance? These are important factors if you're going to be shooting or carrying it. Personally I prefer the thin stocks and long lines of the M91's to the thicker semi pistol grip stocks of the M39's.
EVALUATE
This is where you compare all these features with the price tag and decide if you want to buy it. 54R.net has a rarity chart that's of great use, and you can also view closed auctions on Gunbroker to see what things are selling for. The more you know the easier it gets. For example I recently saw a nice looking 1940 Tikkakoski M91 on sale on gunbroker. I could see it had a nice dark Finnish style finish on it, and it had an overall good look to it. I've owned four other late model M91's and I love them. I put in a max bid of $200 since that's the low end of what the rifle is worth. I also noted it was an antique receiver and could be treated as an antique under federal law, thereby taking $25 bucks of transfer fees off the price. Lo and behold I got it for less than that:
http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=89867016
