Mosin-Nagant M91/30

[diablopilot 2]

There are a few of these in my area for sale for less than $90, and I know next to nothing about them. Any aficionados have any insights?

Looking for a plink, fun, get better at shooting gun, and at that price I could see picking up two or three....

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

I have had three of them. Two were so inaccurate they couldn't hit dirt and the third was so-so, good enough for groundhogs under fifty yards.
Check on ammo cost. it's been a while since I bought any and i'm not sure what they are going for now.
Accuracy and ammo aside, they were a blast to shoot. I'd buy another without hesitation.
If you want something to shoot a lot to get good at shooting, best bet is a .22 rimfire. My preference has always been Ruger 10/22. Reasonably priced, accurate, tough as nails, and Ruger service is top notch, though I doubt you would ever need it.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[Amazon 7]

Ammo relatively cheap...

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Yugoslavian_1980_s_7.62x54R_182grn_FMJ.html

If you can find the rounds for the SVD you have some good stuff

Weapon stats.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/russianmosin189130/index.asp

[porpoishead 5]

that 7.62x54R is a loud motherfucking round.

even more so when fired from an SVT40.

my pops had some M91/30s that had fairly decent barrels on them weren't terrible on accuracy. he had some with spent barrels too that you couldnt get on the paper with. he made some real nice stocks for a few of them and was selling them for around $300

look in the barrels pick a winner.

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[porpoishead 5]

yep cant go wrong with a 10/22 carbine.

huge after market following. I have a couple 10/22s and 10/22 magnums that i used the receivers and built with volquartsen parts.

check out volquartsen they make some bad ass modifications.

accurate as all hell, fun/cheap to shoot.

you can get subsonic rounds and fast twist barrels and go silent with them too..

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[piper17 1]

I don't own a Mosin Nagant M91/30 model but I do own one of the very original M91s...made by a French arsenal in 1893 or 1894. Russia outsourced production to France until their arsenals could get cranked up. A really nice rifle. The 91/30 is a later version. Look around for one that was captured by the Finns and reworked. Check out the website 7.62x54r.net...a LOT of good information on the various Mosin Nagant models over the years.

If you are looking for a really accurate and somewhat more expensive (usually) Mosin Nagant, look for an M-39 which is a "re-manufactured" Mosin Nagant produced by Finland during WWII. The Finns captured a lot of Mosin Nagants in several wars with Russia/Soviet Union and purchased others from various European countries. The Finns used the Mosin Nagant receiver and some other parts but added their own stocks, barrels and other parts. These Mosin Nagants are known for their accuracy and usually have great triggers. I own two of these and love them. I have found them to be as accurate or more so than my other military surplus rifles which includes Springfield1903-A3, several M1s, M1 carbines, Lee-Enfields, Mauser K98K, etc. See the website www.gunsnammo.com for some good deals and selection. He also has other Mosin Nagant models including the 91/30.

Ammo is plentiful and cheap (comparatively) right now but treat the surplus stuff as corrosive. It's no big deal but does require a slightly different cleaning procedure but you probably already know that.

The Mosin-Nagants are inexpensive fun and many first-time buyers turn into real fans & collectors of the various models. I did. Enjoy.

"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling

[diablopilot 2]

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look in the barrels pick a winner.

What should I look for?

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

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look in the barrels pick a winner.

What should I look for?

Look for corrosion. A few tiny specks normally won't hurt, but deep pits will.
Look for throat erosion. That is the area where the chamber steps down to the actual bore. Again, a little bit of erosion is normal, but you don't want deep cuts and/or uneven erosion.
Pay particular attention to the last inch or two of the barrel, especially the muzzle. This area makes or breaks a good shooting barrel. It should be clean and free of pitting, fouling, sctratches, etc. of any kind. If the crown (the very end of the bore) is nicked or damaged in any way, pass on the rifle or plan on getting it recrowned.
And, of course, make sure it's not bent.
Best bet is to take a buddy who knows what to look for with you and teach you what to look for. I have a gunsmith friend who goes to shows with me and all I have to do is pay his way in ($5-$10) and buy him lunch. He has saved me WAY more than that.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[BIGUN 1,105]

This brings back some memories. Kinda on topic, but kinda not. Being trained in everything from "antique" carbines to .38 revolvers to nuclear weapons, I developed more of an interest in the "historical" weapons. I used to go to the guns shows and buy one one of each of these "types" of antique carbine rifles in chronological order until I had reached a point of having about 15 of them for display and the occasional shooting. Most became more of a historical display in the house than for shooting because of the varying types of rounds I had to keep in inventory (or even find) became more hassle than the joy and value I got from them as "pieces of history" and conversational pieces.

The point of this is... I spent on average of $100-$150 for each piece, would buy some ammo and go shoot it, then hang it on the display wall (after a good cleaning, of course). If you're looking for a weapon to have to fire on a regular basis, your money might be vested better elsewhere. If it is the first in the series of "collectables;" then it is a good piece to buy as a starting point.

Of my historical collection of antiques, one of my favorite pieces is not a gun, but a French M1874 Gras bayonet "STE ETIENNE - Juin 1878" with a wood handle and blue finish scabbard. In tracing its history, they were actually made in Argentina.

Another one of my favorites is the British Enfield MkI .303 (which was very popular beginning with the first design in 1895 thru varying modifications and re-designations into the late 1960's). I was fortunate to pick up on a later 1960's version called the No. 4 Mk I that was shortened and converted to the 7.62x51mm and designated as the L42A1 (however, the troops simply referred to it as the "Jungle Carbine").

While the 7.65x51 is "technically" not the equivalent of the .308; a barrel chambered for the 7.65x51 will shoot a .308 just fine and it makes for a great deer rifle with a proper scope. (note: if memory serves and feel free to correct me, but a barrel chambered for the 7.62x51 can shoot a .308; but a barrel chambered for a .308 does fair as well with the 7.65x51 - it's been awhile).

I'd go hunting with other guys and they take their $1,000.00 plus rifles with $500.00 scopes on them out of their cases and I'll take out the $200.00 Jungle Carbine with $100.00 scope... which always leads up to "What the hell are you going to shoot with that old piece of shit?!?!?!"

Probably more than you wanted to know or give a shit about, but those "antique weapons" can be just as effective as the newest and latest polymer AUG or HK and they make for a great piece of history.

Edit: Depending on which one you buy, the Mosin-Nagant has a history dating back to ~1890

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Amazon 7]

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I'd go hunting with other guys and they take their $1,000.00 plus rifles with $500.00 scopes on them out of their cases and I'll take out the $200.00 Jungle Carbine with $100.00 scope... which always leads up to "What the hell are you going to shoot with that old piece of shit?!?!?!"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I grew up with the old sporterized military surplus rifles and inherited a few of them from my granpa. He bought them thru the old DCM programs. He collected a lot of old European rifles and their variants.

My Grandfather particularly liked to sporterize the straight pull bolt action M1911 Schmidt Rubin 7.5x55 Swiss. I shot my first whitetail with that rifle. I think it cost him all told about $95 to put it all together with the scope. Damn thing was super accurate, cartridge is similar to the .308 and I was taught to reload while rolling my own cartridges for that rifle. He had several of the Swiss model 1911 and K31 rifles and so he bought the dies... we always used standard .308 bullets, and the brass was boxer primed Norma. If he had the rifle.. he would buy the dies and brass for that cartridge, needless to say the shelf with the RCBS dies was a hell of a stack of oddball cartridges from around the world.

[millertime24 8]

I have 2 of them. A 91/30 and a M44 (tanker model). The surplus ammo is pretty cheap and shoots ok, but you have to be sure and clean the shit out of them as soon as you get home (or sooner) as most mil-surp ammo is very corrosive to the bore. If you spend a little more on the ammo and get the good stuff (or even hand-load for that matter) you will be pretty surprised at the accuracy you can get out of those things.

Me and my brother use them to go hunting as well. Its a great rifle to hunt with because it doesnt much matter if it falls out of a tree stand or in a river or even if you run over it with your car. They're only $90 bucks.

Just be sure when buying one that you check out the bore and make sure it isnt pitted. Most of them that you can get are actually still soaked in cosmoline and have never even been fired before. Just make double sure you clean all that crap out of it before you take it to the range.

All in all, I would reccomend these rifles to anyone looking for a fun plinker or a cheap hunting rifle.

Muff #5048

[BIGUN 1,105]

M1911 Schmidt Rubin 7.5x55 Swiss

What a magnificently beautiful weapon. I'm too lazy to go take a pic and zip it thru. Mine has the original wooden charging handle (some have after an aftermarket metal fabricated piece) and the original leather sling.

You and everyone else in WA have a great New Year. I'm bowing out for a couple of days.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[JohnRich 4]

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What should I look for?

Look for corrosion... Look for throat erosion... etc.

Another thing you can do is to take a cartridge along with you, 7.62 x 54, and perform "the bullet test". See the attached photo #1. You stick the tip of the bullet into the end of the barrel, and note how far it inserts. This is a measure of how tight the lands and grooves of the rifling are. If the rifling is worn out, the bullet will go deep into the barrel. If it's still crisp, the bullet won't go as far. So if you have multiple rifles to choose from, do this on all of them, and select the one with the tightest rifling - where the bullet inserts the least.

Of course, assure the management that under no circumstances will you insert the live round into the chamber.

Oh, and take your own bore light along. Sometimes the pawn shops or gun show vendors won't have those available. Maybe on purpose, because they don't want you to see how crappy the barrels look on the inside. So take your own, so you can examine it for yourself. See the attached photo #2.

If you really want to get clever, take your own cleaning rod, brass brush, patches and solvent too. If the bore is dirty, scrub it out yourself to see how it looks when it's clean.

But for about $100 each, you can't really go wrong. If it doesn't shoot well, you're not out much, and you can turn around and sell it to someone else.

I would buy just one at first to see if you like it. If it works out, then go back for more. But military surplus rifles come in a wide variety of conditions. Some are great, and some are crap.

The cartridge is stout, and with a light carbine rifle, the kick can be formidable. It makes it a challenge to eliminate your flinch.

[wolfriverjoe 1,368]

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There are a few of these in my area for sale for less than $90, and I know next to nothing about them. Any aficionados have any insights?

Looking for a plink, fun, get better at shooting gun, and at that price I could see picking up two or three....

They are fun rifles to shoot. About the same as a 1903 Springfield, Enfield or 98 Mauser. Turn of the century, bolt action .30 caliber. Some kick, lots of noise. I work as a Range Officer at the local range, an I see them quite a bit. Some are quite accurate, some less so.

Before you get one, find out about ammo availability/cost. If you can't get it locally, mail order is an option (Gun List or Shotgun News are good places to look). Most of the surplus stuff is corrosive. That isn't a big problem as long as you clean properly and right away. One of the regulars at my local range runs a patch soaked in Windex (ammonia removes the corrosive stuff) down the barrel immediately after shooting, and says he has no problems.

Like others have said, check the bore carefully before buying. Mosin Nagants (and Enfields) are available around here at a big store called Fleet Farm.
A friend of mine bought one, and insisted on examining every one the store had (about 15), before choosing the best one.
Like someone else said, if you don't know all that much, take a friend who does. I'm always willing to go look at guns, especially if I'm going to get to shoot whatever gets bought.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[martlet 0]

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There are a few of these in my area for sale for less than $90, and I know next to nothing about them. Any aficionados have any insights?

Looking for a plink, fun, get better at shooting gun, and at that price I could see picking up two or three....

They're fun and relatively inexpensive to shoot.

Look at what gun clubs or forums are in your area. I belong to a group, and we usually buy this stuff in bulk. We recently bought 4 cases of Mosins, and even including shipping the cost came out to 60 bucks each.

[diablopilot 2]

Thanks for the tips. I don't know anyone locally yet who's an expert, so teaching myself some.

Ended up picking up two of the M91/30's and a Yugo SKS. Next step after getting them home is learning how to strip them down and clean them up. They are covered in storage grease.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

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Thanks for the tips. I don't know anyone locally yet who's an expert, so teaching myself some.

Ended up picking up two of the M91/30's and a Yugo SKS. Next step after getting them home is learning how to strip them down and clean them up. They are covered in storage grease.

You're going to have lots of fun with them, no doubt.
Here's a website with a lot of good info. I forgot all about it until you mentioned cleaning your rifles.
www.surplusrifle.com/sks/carbine/index.asp

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

Ammo relatively cheap...

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Yugoslavian_1980_s_7.62x54R_182grn_FMJ.html

I found what looked like some pretty good deals on Ammo for both the M91/30 (7.62x54R) and the Yugo SKS (7.62x39) on "Aimsurplus".

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/7_62x54R.html
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/7_62x39.html

What can I expect from them? I know much surplus is corrosive and requires immediate cleaning of the weapon, but how about reliability?


Now I've got to figure out why I can't have Ammo shipped to Yolo county CA.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[martlet 0]

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Thanks for the tips. I don't know anyone locally yet who's an expert, so teaching myself some.

Ended up picking up two of the M91/30's and a Yugo SKS. Next step after getting them home is learning how to strip them down and clean them up. They are covered in storage grease.

Cosmoline can be a pain to remove. There are several good methods, some safe, some not.

If you're planning on doing this more, you may want to build an oven. They are cheap and easy to make, and get rid of the cosmoline pretty easily.

If you're interested, shoot me a link and I'll dig up some links to sites that have instructions.

[mpohl 1]

Just aim it point blank at your head and pull the trigger. If you see a tunnel w/light at the end it has done its job.

Who needs a FUCKING gun as a hobby? How about getting a girlfriend?

P.S.: This gun culture of ours is crazy.

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There are a few of these in my area for sale for less than $90, and I know next to nothing about them. Any aficionados have any insights?

Looking for a plink, fun, get better at shooting gun, and at that price I could see picking up two or three....

[Amazon 7]

The 7.62x54r from PRVI Partisan I have used in the past is boxer primed and was not corrosive. It was actually good brass and made good reloads. No problems with quality at all. They also carry many other european calibers. There are a lot of really cheap tuna cans of russian or other former soviet block ammo around.. much is corrosive

Gettimg shipment in CA... cant speak to that.

[Waldschrat 0]

The best sniper in WWII was using an earlier version of this rifle....
He most used only an iron sight!

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The unofficial Finnish frontline figure from the battlefield of Kollaa places the number of Häyhä's sniper kills at 542(only within 100 days!).
A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M/28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

[JohnRich 4]

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Now I've got to figure out why I can't have Ammo shipped to Yolo county CA.

Welcome to gun control. Thank a liberal. You might shoot somebody!

Lost Angeles city council just passed a law banning the purchase of mail-order ammo too.

[JohnRich 4]

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Just aim it point blank at your head and pull the trigger. If you see a tunnel w/light at the end it has done its job.

Who needs a FUCKING gun as a hobby? How about getting a girlfriend?

P.S.: This gun culture of ours is crazy.

What's crazy is people advocating suicide for gun owners.

What's crazy is someone trying to tell other people what hobbies they should have, when they're obeying all laws and not bothering anybody.

[diablopilot 2]

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Just aim it point blank at your head and pull the trigger. If you see a tunnel w/light at the end it has done its job.

Who needs a FUCKING gun as a hobby? How about getting a girlfriend?

P.S.: This gun culture of ours is crazy.

What is crazy is jumping from an airplane as a hobby. What is being afraid of a gun.


Oh, and I've already got a girlfriend, she likes shooting as well.

This thread was started to talk about a specific make of weapon and advice about it. If you want to debate gun ownership, please start your own thread.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.