Mosin Nagant

[Rlong1985]

Do any of you own a Nagant? Have you shot it? I have been interested for awhile and would like to buy as they and the suplus ammo are cheap.

[Joeyd6]

Two co-workers bought one through some program. It took them WEEKS to clean it, as it came packed in some grease and plastic. That said, they are able to get ammo at a reasonable price and boy, is it fun to shoot. The muzzle flash alone is incredible, and then you add in this huge "BOOM." Try looking for night fire on You Tube and you will see. If the price is right and you don't mind minor cleaning or restoration, go for it.

[Rlong1985]

Cosmoline can be a *****, Soviets love to add it to their guns to protect it....it does work but its not fun to remove.

[Chris-]

Cheap to shoot and pretty accurate if your eyes are still worth a darn.

I picked up a 91/30 for $109 a few years back. The best ive gotten is 5 shots within 6" at 120 yards. The best part is the target was stuck too a tree that was about 16" diameter....penetration was amazing. All the rounds went through the tree, then through a few more 3-4" trees behind it before digging into a hill.

If you do pick up some mil-surp ammo, dont buy a ton up front. Every mosin shoots some mil-surp better than others. Mine for example shoots Bulgarian light ball quite well, but hates wolf ammo and Chinese rounds.

[kels]

1. do not store in the closet with another Mosin Nagant. THEY BREED IN THE DARK.

2. If you havnt been to the forum at www.gunboards.com, it is your first stop for Mosin Nagant info.

3. If you shoot military surplus, it will be corrosive. You need to clean the barrel and wipe down the bolt
with Windex with ammonia as soon as you are done. Then clean normally. Check a couple of days later for
rust. If needed, reclean.

4. Prvi Partizan and Wolf Gold are the same ammo. It is reasonably priced for new ammo.
aimsuplus.com is a good place to buy it.

5. Some Mosin Nagant like light ball (147 grain bullets) Some like the heavier bullets (up to 203 grain
soft points for hunting) The 203 grain loads KICK. A slip on rubber butt pad is your friend. Measure the
end of the stock and check at Wally World or Kmart for the slip on pad.

I am assuming that you have a russian m44. However there are several other makers of
the model you have. Mine is a Romanian M44.

As I said, Mosin Nagants are addictive. I have 1 M44, 1 91/30 and at least a couple Finn M39s.
Ok, I got more Finns than that, but what the wife doesnt know, wont hurt her.

[kels]

Humorous Comparison of an AK47, an AR15 and a Mosin

[sgtbear111]

My tractor scabbard has a Polish Radom M-44 type (marked "11"). I use Czech 147gr "light ball" for varmints. I get 1.5 inch groups at 100 yds. Have used commercial ammo and Winchester white box is my pick but it is spendy.

Have a Romanian M-44 that is very good shooter. Have a M-39 Finn that outshoots all.

If you are shopping, be selective for a good barrel. Check the muzzle crown, if it has been counter-bored i.e. drilled out oversze & set back from the muzzle, do not buy. Ditto for a dark bore and the seller doesnt "have" a cleaning rod. All foreign military ammo must be considered corrosive, including Wolf. (I ruined the barrel in a Beretta 92 with Wolf 9mm "non-corrosive") Canadian 9mm of WW-2 vintage is esp corrosive. Finn 7.62 x 54 of WW-2 age marked VPT or VKT is real corrosive. All will rot out your barrel in a week.

AMMO: Berdan primed brass or steel cases are scrap. Boxer primied cases should be saved to reload. Boxer primers are in recent made Sako, Vamet and S&B, PPY Wolf Gold and Igman are good. Norma is too expensive. Winchester is great if you can find it.

You must use a water soluable bore cleaner to remove the corrosive salt residues. Oil base bore cleaners such as Hoppes and Break Free will just cover the corrosion as it eats the bore. I clean my guns as I would a black-powder gun, Windex in the field and later scrub with boiling water and detergent, then rinse with clear boiling water. Wear gloves and the metal will dry itself. Use good oil after dry and check bore in a day and before long term storage. Be carelul with the bolt if removed from the rifle, they like to dis-assemble themselves
.
No need to alter, drill holes, or "sporterize". That only ruins the value of an original . If you want a sporter get a "Sporters" done by "Bubba" after 2 six-packs and a hacksaw. They look like hell, and can be found in a pawn shop for about 50 bucks. Bubba likes to put $35 Tasco scopes on with solder and bondo rather than drill and tap a scope mount. B-Square makes a good no driill mount if you must. Original sights work just fine. Use boiled linseed oil on the wood.

There is a collector nche for the Mosin 7.62x54R. Russia made them at Tula and Ishevsk, USA made by Remington and Westinghouse for Czarist Russia. Other makers are North Korea, China, Yuogoslav, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Finland. Rebuilds were done by SiG, Finland Sako and Tikka, CZ, and probably more I forgot. Some "Bubba" sporters were rechambered in 30-06 or 303 Brit. are not safe. Look for matching numbers, many USSR guns are renumbered to match. Values only apply to unaltered guns, they vary from $75 to over $1000. "Snipers" are mostly wanna-be fakes. The Mosin was used by US forces after WW-1 at Muurmansk. Native Siberian hunters usually have a Mosin carbine or rifle at home or in their boats.

Bores are usually .310 to .314. That's .303 or .31 caliber. A good barrel will be mirror bright, some are hard chromed to limit corrosion. The 7.62x54R by Sako is sold as 7.62x53R = same. The 762x54R is very acccurate with a good load. Sgt. Vasily Zaitsev proved that at Stalingrad, as have the Soviet Olympic shooters. If you handload, you may exceed the accuracy offered in store-bought ammo. Bullet weights vary from 150 to 180 to 200 gr. The 123 gr .311 bullet from the 7.62x39 works well too. Balliistic prerformance of 7.62x54 is like the 303Br or 30-06.

For a good shooter pick a Finn M39 rifle, or M-44 carbine by Poland's "11", a Hungarian "03" or Romanian. The Soviets are cheapest and good for the money. Again, select first for bore condiition. Enjoy.