im thinking of getting a mosin-nagant 91/30. any advice?

[cajun47]

the 91/30 is the long sniper model right? is this the only sniper model?

what else should i know? the 91/30 is the one used in enemy at the gates?

how much should i expect to pay for one? im not looking for the pretty ones, just accurate ones.

is wolf/russian ammo good enough or should i look into loading my own?

i may join a shooting range with a 600 yard range. im looking into shooting iron targets if allowed. im not into groupings or competitions, all i want is the "ping".

how would i tell if the rifle had corrosive ammo shot through it and wasn't cleaned properly?

will 91/30 be stamped on the gun?

and how does the 7.62x54r stack up against the .308, 30-06, or .270? i may do limited deer hunting.

scope recommendations? sites that sell the mounts/scopes that best fit the 91/30?

[chris in va]

I'll try to answer a couple.

The 91/30 isn't a 'sniper' rifle, just a battle version. The snipers are pretty expensive and they had hand-selected barrels if I remember correctly.

Standard versions are typically around $120 or less at gun shows. Rough, but serviceable.

The 54R round is pretty darn hard hitting, comparable to a 30-06 if not slightly more. Recoil is pretty harsh. You'll want the soft nosed rounds instead of FMJ for hunting.

I have an M38 carbine, my friend has the 91/30. They're both brutal, crude, rough and not very accurate. But ammo is pretty cheap right now and a lot get sold.

Honestly I'd look elsewhere if you want something for 600 yard steels and hunting. These are pretty much just for fun and nifty factor.

EDIT: Let's put it this way. The crude sights on my friend's rifle were canted off to the right a few degrees. At the range he took a rock and pounded it back over. He's from Russia BTW.

[wnycollector]

I own two M/N's and love them both. I have a 1942 m38 and a 1932 hex reciever 91/30. yes they recoil...but they a large bore centerfire rifles. the 91/30 is the more accurate of the 2. As for 600 yard shots look elsewhere (swiss k31!!!) these do not shoot MOA @ 100yards...more like minute of nazi!!! if you check classicarms.us I think they were selling ex-sniper 91/30's minus the scope! you can get a scout type mount and a long eye relief 3x9 scope pretty cheap. also buy as much hungarian surplus 7.62x54 as you can get your hands on...its the cleanest most accurate surplus ammo on the market in my opinion! OHHH dont worry about corrosive ammo, just run a few patches with windex down your bore (and clean the bolt with it to) and the amonia will dissolve the corrosive salts. you might want to check out surplusrifle.com for more info on the m/n's.

[Davis]

I have three genuine 91/30 PU Snipers (not the current fakes on the market). They are generally accurate sniper's rifles. A large number of them were converted back to standard infantry rifles, meaning those left were the best in inventory.

Genuine PU Snipers aren't too expensive, generally running $700 to $1000 for more common ones. Of course, the Hungarian PU's go higher and the Czech VZ 54 sniper's even higher. Finnish sniper variations are generally among the most expensive.

I could part with one of my three and would be willing to certify its authenticity if you want to PM/Email me.

Davis

[Huntzalittle]

I've got a 91/30 and an M-44. Lots of people report increased accuracy by reloading with a .311 bullet. But the barrel needs to be "slugged" to determine the acutual bore. It is something I have done to increase the accuaracy.

[Old Time Hunter]

Having both a 91/30 and a M44, with two M38's due here next Tuesday it appears that I have caught a little bit of a bug for these rude, crude, shooting tools.

First off, at least with mine, the Wolf brass/boxer primed ammo is minute of barn door. But at $8 a box, shoot 'em up and use the brass for making your own that will most likely get you much better results. For me, it is a challenge not to acquire a MOA firearm out of the box, but to work with it to get the best it can be. Since I paid the lofty sum of a case of beer for both the 91/30 AND the M44, it behooves me to make these two serviceable, semi accurate firearms. The two M38's I have $150 in to them so far, of course that includes shipping, so they are on the very high extreme of initial cost in relationship to any of my used (course the new owns are a bit more)102 rifles I have acquired over the years.

That being said, my 91/30 likes .311 bullets and my M44 likes .312 bullets (but will shoot the .311s with fair accuracy). Below is last weeks loading trials at the 200 yard range...still working on it though. If I had tried to accomplish this with the Wolf ammo, you would probably only see maybe two holes on the paper.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/OTH_2006/MosinNagants072807.jpg

Here is what they looked like after refurbishing the 91/30 and before touching the M44:

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/OTH_2006/Mosin-Nagants.jpg

Good Luck!

[CGSteve8718]

TFL has a lot of info on a lot of things and this place has helped me out a lot but specifically for the addiction of Mosins you'll need to go to these sites. They will provide you with just about everything you'll need/want to know about them.

www.7.62x54r.net

http://mosinnagant.net/default.asp

Also, as mentioned above, www.classicarms.us usually has nice milsurps for fair prices.

[frankxd]

Don't forget:
surplusrifle.com
surplusrifleforums.com

If you want a super accurate Mosin for 600 yd matches, look for a Finnish M39. The Finns built them from captured or purchaced M91's. They added a new barrel and stock to make exceptionally accurate rifles. Mine will shoot cloverleafed 5-shot groups at 100 yds off a bench with iron sights! Not bad for a 65 year old rifle, built on a 101 year old receiver, shooting 50 year old surplus ammunition...

[essexcounty]

I'm a strong believer in barrel, trigger and beding. I own a half-dozen M-N's at the present time. I'd love to have a good Smith screw a premium Douglas barrel on one of my 91-30's, add some nice irons and Huber trigger. I'd glass bed it into a perfectly Bubba'd stock I have floating around. This has been discussed before and it just doesnt make sense from a cost/benefit ratio. I just can't see as a very scopeable action. It would be a lot of fun and we haven't gotten to the loading bench yet! Essex

[bennnn]

Here,, check out this old thread... Ton's of great advice from some great people.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234979

Only the import marked one ,, (that were marked correctly) will have 91/30 stamped on them BTW.... It'll be VERY small too.....

[ELMOUSMC]

I have 2 M-Ns a 91 and a m44 the 91 is a little more accurate than the 91 30 that I recently gave to my grandson.I put a B Square mount that replaces the rear sight on the M44 and am able to shoot 2moa at 100 yds with cheap Russian ball.The tip on windex is a good one,works wonders for me

[Tom2]

One question he asked-how to tell if it was not cleaned properly? Well the inside of the bore would appear like something between dull and not shiny all the way to sewerpipe with crust in it. I have gotten some with sewerpipe bores before really cheap. Worthless. Look for a Russian arsenal refurb with a shiny bore. There are plenty out there. And also take out the bolt and examine the throat and rear of the bore for pitting and erosion. Sometimes they look shiny in the muzzle but the other end looks kinda rough. And one with rifling all the way to the muzzle with a clean sharp muzzle is more desireable than a counter bored one. Like where they drilled back into the bore from the muzzle an inch or two to enlarge it and remove wear and damage. Just consider if the bore is ate up it don't matter how nice the rest of the rifle is, at least for me. And if you buy it you should get several samples of different surp ammo to see which it groups with. Some like the "heavy ball" and others the "light ball" ammo. And there are different countries that make them so you have a variety to test fire. If your shoulder can stand it. Maybe make a nice recoil pad to slip on it.

[crowbeaner]

I recommend the Lyman 314299 cast bullet; you can size it to .311,.312,.313. I just cast some 311291s for a friend and they run a little small for the .303 that was the intended recipient. Lyman still makes the mould and Midsouth lists it for sale. Hope this helps. Enjoy. CB

[MisterPX]

A regular 91 will run you about $70, teh sniper one with a repro scope and turned down bolt handle will run about $340.