Learning about Mosin rifles

I've watched a few videos about old Mosins. I had never heard of these before.

If the videos are correct that these rifles are simple, robust and reliable, I think I might like to buy one in the near future. Parts support seems to be plentiful and the rifles themselves seem to be inexpensive.

Supposedly the Danish ones were the nicest. Is there a nation of manufacture that I should stay away from such as Russian or Chinese?

Did different nations chamber them for different types of ammunition?

They are cool rifles. They are not as cheap as they were just a couple of years ago. I have a Finnish 28/30 and a m44 carbine.

The video is correct, they are simple, robust and reliable. The rifles and ammo are not as cheap as they used to be, but still cost effective considering.

Most are chambered in 7.62x54r which is ballistically similar to .308 and .30-06. There are a few oddballs chambered in 8mm Mauser and 8mm Mannlicher, but those are very collectable and very expensive. The most common (and cheapest) is the 91/30 with other examples being more expensive, like the m38 and m44

One thing to remember is that most 54r ammo is corrosive, so Mosins must be cleaned well to preserve accuracy. However, they do have chrome lined barrels. The factory triggers are generally poor but can be made better if the owner is inclined to put some work in.

Yes , they are simple , robust , and priced in line with other Milsurps . 10-15 years ago they were dirt cheap , barely above free to good home .

If you haven't checked it out yet I recommend 7.62x54r.net as a resource to learn more about Mosin's.

Thanks guys. I'll check out 7.62.54r.net. Before I do, is there a manufacturing nationality that I should steer clear of or are they all built about the same? Supposedly the Danish (or Finnish?) were the best built but they're the most expensive.

Ponder_MD said:

Supposedly the Danish ones were the nicest.

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I assume you mean Finnish. The Danes never used the Mosin-Nagant.

And yes, the Finn Mosin Nagants are superior to the rest in the vast majority of opinions.

For general all around best use, I would recommend a Finnish M39.

Finn purpose-built rifles are top of the heap

In general the later Russian and Chinese ones are the most crude but they still work.

OP when you come for those tires I can show you some if you want to learn more. I have 1 or 2 I would sell as well if you're that interested.

Bertfish said:

Finn purpose-built rifles are top of the heap

In general the later Russian and Chinese ones are the most crude but they still work.

OP when you come for those tires I can show you some if you want to learn more. I have 1 or 2 I would sell as well if you're that interested.

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LOL, you'll end up getting all of my money! Yeah, I'd like to see your rifles.

Mosin's are a lot of fun, some would say not so nice things about them, they are not smooth, not highly engineered, or tight rifles. I have not been specifically warned away from any place of manufacture, Russian and Finland, parts were made everywhere, even in the US. But once you begin digging into them, you will find there are all kinds of things to consider. Since purchasing my first, I have found them priced all over the spectrum. I wasn't looking for one, I knew about them but had not considered one for purchase until I noticed one for $225.00 from a private seller at a show in November. Thought what the hell. I posted some notes about it early this month, part of my post is copied below:
They were mass produced, someone on here may know better, however, I read more Mosin’s were made than any other rifle. Hence the previously low price, in the mid 1990’s, you could buy a crate for little more than I paid for one gun! Now the prices are all over the place. Found one that looked exactly like my first, “after it was cleaned” for $900.00. Found another one that didn’t have an import stamp that was $1,500.00. Found two, relatively good shape, that were about $600. a piece, shiny stocks were covered in shellac. I was told by a collector, the guns were decom’d after the Winter war and stored in a Romanian salt cave. He said, the wood was shellac’d to protect it. Sniper rifles cost more, ones that have a US stamp even more.

There are a lot of different evolution's of the Mosin. My first is a hexagon breech, Mosin Nagant or M91/30 long rifle, receiver stamp 1897, Belgian stamp on it, 1942, still chambered to the original 7.62x54R. When I purchased it, the trigger spring was broken, it didn’t have a sling, cleaning rod or bayonet and it was dirty, there is no wood on top of the barrel, I don’t know if some rifles, where produced that way or it is just lost. The gun was completely unkempt, shot hard and put away wet! Taking it apart, grains of black powder, (like substance) fell out of it, from every part! It was nasty, messy and thoroughly enjoyable process, to disassemble the parts and begin cleaning/replacing, oiling each one, the barrel was a mess, I was hesitant to purchase it, it looked so bad. I broke a nice cleaning rod cleaning it out, but now it looks good, strong rifling in it. Ordered a new spring from Russia, (what I think is original sling also from Russia).
I purchased a second Mosin, two weeks ago $400.00. It’s the newer model, 1944 or 45, Carbine, shorter and the bayonet is attached. I purchased it in much better condition, well cleaned and ready to fire. Still fun, but I think working on the first one and bringing it back to shooting ready made it truly enjoyable.
Both of the rifles are beautifully beaten up, ugly marks everywhere, hard used, I can image the stories they could tell and they are just gorgeous! I have fired both of them and they still shoot well, at 25 yards! I have not had the opportunity to get them to an outdoor range for longer shots.
FYI bullets at shows are $1.00 each unless you buy bulk. Picked up a can of 440, for $260, still way high but now I have enough for a while.
Sorry went on a rant… Good luck in your hunt for the right one.

http://7.62x54r.net/

Here is a good website I have been using for over a decade.

Full length Mosins were sighted in WITH THE BAYONET ATTACHED. They will shoot high left until you get a taller front sight and correct the windage. My favorite is the M-38 carbine.

Got an Izzy M-44 in a trade a while back and after some effort, it is a 2 MOA rifle with the bayonet deployed and a favorite shooter with my hand loads.

They were built in a hurry with little attention to detail. A little finishing work in some key areas can make them operate smoothly.

Proceed with caution. A simple wartime 91/30 was my first milsurp. Ten years and thousands of dollars later here I am. Many others have a similar story.

Go to 7.62x54r.net as others have recommended and poke around. Gunboards also has a board dedicated to the Mosin Nagant rifles: https://www.gunboards.com/forums/the-collectors-forum-mosin-nagant-hq.3/
Lots of good people and info there.

Have fun.

Fresh out of the box factory iron sights they're not as accurate as a K31, 03 or Garand but can be tinkered with. My carbine has a Bubbaed Picatinny rail that I put a long releif Leupold 2x scope on. YUGGGGEEEEE improvement that makes it fun to shoot.

I've been over at that .net site. I read the part about the bayonet affecting the aim. Really interesting.
I'm really not looking to pump thousands of dollars into one of these. I would be willing to re-work a sloppy trigger.

I've never even shot mine lol. One of these days I'll get around to picking up some ammo for it

Dave said:

I've never even shot mine lol. One of these days I'll get around to picking up some ammo for it

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LOL... I'd wait a bit... no sense even trying to look for ammo of any kind today.

Doctor_M said:

LOL... I'd wait a bit... no sense even trying to look for ammo of any kind today.

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nope I went in on 1k rounds of M193 out of pity for a buddy that just got his first AR. 55 cpr, and that's probably a GOOD price now. sucks wanting to go shoot, but I'm not digging into my reserves at this point. on the other side, I've got a buddy that hasn't really shot his guns since '13 for the same reason. Don't want to end up that way