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Old January 15, 2013, 08:20 PM   #1
tahunua001
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Why the sudden interest in Mosin Nagants?

hello all,
I have noticed a huge increase in the number of inquiries about these rifles lately and am kind of puzzled as to why? yes they are cheap and they shoot cheap ammo but that has been the case for years, it's not like it's ever been a well guarded secret. as far as milsurps go they are far from the nicest. the finish is rough, the actions are stiff, they are a pain to load(at least both of mine are) and the short, little, straight bolt handles do not lend themselves to aiding in the necessary leverage to easily cycle the bolt. every single vintage military bolt action rifle that I have picked up has been superior to any mosin nagant in at least half of the areas that I have listed. please to not mistake this thread for a guy ranting and bashing your precious gun and hoping to get a rise out of you, I really am curious, just what makes the mosin nagant so interesting?
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Old January 15, 2013, 09:43 PM   #2
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They're still cheap is the main attraction. That and "Enemy at the Gates".
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Old January 15, 2013, 09:48 PM   #3
johnwilliamson062
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Due to the newly passed Militia Act of 2013 every self respecting 'Merican must own a Mosin Nagant with spam can of ammo and a Hi-point 9mm with two magazines and 2 boxes of WWB.

Nevermind, my Wife just told me we haven't actually voted on that and won't until the next family meeting. She also told me she is voting against so it isn't going to pass. I hope a son comes along before too long...
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:03 PM   #4
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well the reason ive ordered a 91/30 and a type 53 is because they are cheap and the ammo is readily available. you can buy ammo and shoot it without breaking the bank were as other calibers you cant even find.
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:14 PM   #5
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I just bought one, but my reason is just - i wanted one. That's it. They're so cheap all around, it's still good fun to be had. Had nothing to do with current events, it's not a "shtf" purchase, and it's not even under scrutiny with the proposed legislation.

EDIT: I don't know why I didn't put this in the post, but the history is very interesting to me as well.

Last edited by TheDoubleDeuce; January 15, 2013 at 11:54 PM.
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:18 PM   #6
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I like to restore old trucks. For as much as I love the finished, shiny product, I love the raw, clunky, smoke-spitting, oil-burning, hard-to-shift, beat-up, runty, unrefined truck even more.
That might not be the best analogy to describe my love for the MN. But it's a start.

Plus, like you said, they're cheap. And historical. Gotta love that.
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:26 PM   #7
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That's funny you said that. Somebody started a thread on the CMP forum and the subject was a mosin.
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:31 PM   #8
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Well I personally think a Laminated stocked 91/30 is a BEAUTIFUL RIFLE!!! And if you know what you are doing you can slick up the action with about 1 hour worth of work. Then a little zero work you have a rifle that shoots VERY well for under 150 bucks! NO other gun on the market can say that. Just my .02
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Old January 15, 2013, 10:56 PM   #9
tahunua001
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alright so far all I'm hearing is...they're cheap...
turkish and Czech mausers are cheap as well but I don't see people scrounging for them left and right.
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Old January 15, 2013, 11:21 PM   #10
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It may be no more complicated than they are all people can find and also get ammo for. Plus some may be laying in a gun for the long haul. A gun that can be buried or hid in a wall that fires a very stout battle round is a good thing. I read Backwoodsman Magazine and it seems like lots of folks like tough as boots, simple rifles that can be counted on.

I have looked at them and I like the short carbine models but for a little more money I can find a beater like the remington 30-06 I got for $200 bucks a few years back.

Its an older model 700 that has the safety that locks the bolt. The polyurathane finish was about all flaked off. It had some deep dents in the wood, the bolt had been cycled enough the machine design (those circles) were wore about half off. But it has a perfect barrel and about a 95% bolt lug contact. Plus the wood is fantastic on it with lots of figure.

I refinished it and bedded the action. It seems to shoot most all loads at below 2" and most of the time around the 1" mark. Plus it has a gunsmith mounted recoil pad. I don't think I can get a surplus that I would like better.

But if the right Mosin showed up for a decent price I would give it a try. I would always get my money back if I didn't like it.
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Old January 16, 2013, 08:30 AM   #11
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For me a lot of the interest is tinkering with it. I was able to smooth out and make the trigger a lot lighter with what I had on hand. I am going to be doing a bubba job on mine and with how many of them were made it doesn't really bother me. A lot of guys get all bent about that, but shoot there were millions of 91/30s made (unsure of real #s). I would like to get a second one to leave stock, but that's not in the budget right now. I've had mine for like 2-3 years now anyway...
The satisfaction comes from working on it myself.
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Old January 16, 2013, 08:33 AM   #12
Willie Sutton
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They are:


Cheap
Cheap
Cheap


And then you can convince yourself if you look at it long enough that it's not:

Ugly
Ugly
Ugly


While the older guys who scratched their surplus itch buying Mausers out of barrels on the floor of the gun store

Laugh
Laugh
Laugh


I guess people need to buy something......


Willie


.
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Old January 16, 2013, 08:54 AM   #13
kraigwy
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They are plentiful, which is important now since in the last two months the demand for firearms has ski rocketed, (enough guns have been bought in the last two months to equip the Chinese AND Indian army)

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013...d-indian-army/

But setting that aside, the Mosin is the cheapest set up one can choose to get involved in rifle competition, and BE COMPETITIVE.

That being the CMP GSM Vintage Military Matches. Give you an example, summer before last I put on a CMP GSM match that was won by a guy who picked one up the night before, with some surplus ammo. First time he fired the rifle was during this match.

With a good barrel and good ammo the are accurate. They are easy to load with stripper clips if on takes the time to learn to load it. A bit of practice the bolt can be operated pretty fast.

Granted most shoot high when you first get them, but its a simple fix, that cost nothing without changing the gun where it fails the CMP AS ISSUED Rules.

They are old and ugly but then again so am I, but I still work, so does the Mosin.
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Old January 16, 2013, 09:21 AM   #14
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like i said! there going up like the SkS did remember they was $80 a pop now around $300? the mosin will eventually get there too.
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Old January 16, 2013, 11:52 AM   #15
L_Killkenny
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Quote:
Why the sudden interest in Mosin Nagants?
Cause there's a sucker born every minute. Lot's of minutes go by every day, year, decade and it's getting so ya can't walk around without bumpin into one.
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Old January 16, 2013, 11:57 AM   #16
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I like them, own quite a few, and just started a stock manufacturing business that specializes in them...

That said...

When the surplus ammo begins to dry up and become more expensive, the price of the rifle becomes less attractive.

Yes- they can be accurate. I have one I "modded" and it shoots moa, and I shoot it regularly at 600 yards with handloads. But, surplus ammo, isn't that accurate..

When ammo prices go up, and you can buy a gun like a Ruger American that'll outshoot it all day long for 300 bucks, it'll put a big-time lid on the "value" of this rifle. It'll never see $300...
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Old January 16, 2013, 12:27 PM   #17
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It's a great noise maker...especially the M-44's, that have a ball of flame coming out of the muzzle. The Mosin's have their own distinctive sound signature.

Besides a 22...it's also a cheap way to learn how to shoot a high power rifle.
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Old January 16, 2013, 01:41 PM   #18
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Cause there's a sucker born every minute. Lot's of minutes go by every day, year, decade and it's getting so ya can't walk around without bumpin into one.
Tell that to someone like Vasily Zaytsev, just before he took your head off with one of those, "sucker rifles" with some of that horribly inaccurate surplus corrosive ammo.
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Old January 16, 2013, 02:16 PM   #19
tahunua001
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^^^ vasille zaitzev is dead...doubt he'd have much of a retort . for the most part, most mosins are not that accurate without a lot of work none of the ones I've fired have been better than 3 MOA.
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Old January 16, 2013, 02:23 PM   #20
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All I'm saying is its a decent rifle for a hundred bucks. Whether you love them or hate them they are what they are. Zaytsev, is the father of the modern sniper, he done things with the "pos" rifle (as some claim) that MOST everyone on THIS forum can only dream of. Not only that, Russia had a ton of snipers and racked up more kills on Axis soldiers than the allies, not only that a good majority of their sniper force were women. All done with that pos, ugly, inaccurate, hundred dollar rifle. I'm not advocating its the best thing since sliced bread, but for its time it DID the job. You can't really argue with that. By todays standards sure its way out dated. We ARE talking a 122 year old technology that still does QUITE well to this day!
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Old January 16, 2013, 02:51 PM   #21
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I also want to add, that there is a reason the MN shoots high. You have to remember these weapons were issued to farmers, peasants, you know common folk. The red army taught BELT BUCKLE MOA. Meaning no matter what range aim for the belt buckle. The Mosin sights were set up to shoot high right out of the factory. There are other WWII era rifles that are way better in terms of quality, etc. But the old battleaxe was built fast and cheap, and it did the job. At first (due to lack of rifles) some red army soldiers were only issued a uniform, and ammo, the intent was to pick up a rifle from a fallen comrade and carry forward. Sorry to go off on a Mosin history rant, but that is the whole reason I love C&R's is the history behind all of them.
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Old January 16, 2013, 03:42 PM   #22
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A lot of gun owners have well-established batteries. Smart folks have been on their "binge" long before the recent panic. Consequently, they are increasingly looking for back-ups, truck guns, and beaters.

The Mosin-Nagant answers the mail.
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Old January 16, 2013, 03:53 PM   #23
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well the russians had a whole lot of targets in a small enclave,that helped them rack up high scores, the finns had the same deal and they did the same thing. the russians had to keep moving as the army had special squads that were to shoot any one diddling around or retreating. stalin didn,t give a sh#t about the russian soldiers. eastbank.
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Old January 16, 2013, 04:15 PM   #24
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My "Izzy" 1943 M91-30 "true" sniper rifle... shoots 1 3/4" moa at 100 yards, using corrosive Russian N-1 sniper ammo. I would say, it would sell in the $800-$1,000 range.

German soldiers...during WW2, had a great fear of the M91-30, equipped with a PU 3.5X22mm scope.
My Mosin's {3}...need to be held with a firm grip.


The rifle has a long battleground history. You can check out my thread, on excerpts from Vasily Zaitsev's book --- Deadly Game at Stalingrad --- made into a major motion picture: Enemy at the Gates

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/...773192/pg1-77k

Last edited by Erno86; January 16, 2013 at 04:43 PM. Reason: added a few words
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Old January 16, 2013, 05:15 PM   #25
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Are we really comparing a uncommon shooter shooting an uncommon Mosin to common shooters firing away with left over, used up, non cared for rifles designed and built fast without the least attention to detail? Wow. Buy a Mosin and you too could be the worlds next greatest sniper.
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