Mosin Nagant

[ninosdemente]

I saw this rifle at a gun show for $325.

Other than to just have... I would like to shoot it as well. I honestly don't know anything about this. But did catch my eye to be honest.

What do they usually go for, roughly? For me, it looked like it was in fairly good condition. It did have a Russian stamp/mark and the year 1943 like this picture https://www.google.com/search?q=mosi...xnHQA8cnFbaEM:.

Not sure what else to look for other than serial number(s). Any help would be appreciated and I guess may determine if I go back tomorrow to see if still available.

[Model12Win]

Insanely overpriced. I got one a few years ago for $75 on sale at a local farm store.

The market has risen sharply on these and surplus ammunition is gone, making it more expensive to shoot than .308 Winchester and believe me, there are better guns available. Nowadays about $250 for a good Mosin. I wouldn't pay any more than that unless you are a collector.

[Tommyb78]

Get it. Shoot it. Ammo is cheap. It’s a blast(literally). It probably won’t be a tac driver but with a little practice it should shoot pretty well. Try to get it for about $75 less and you’ll have a fun rifle to play around with.

[ninosdemente]

Thanks for the help Model12Win. I don't consider myself a collector at all... just that it did catch my eye and something different for me.

So then basically it would be a display gun? Where would one obtain ammo for this type of firearm then? Would it take modern ammo?

[PushPuller]

Was it a carbine? Or the longer 91/30? $325 is a little steep if it is a 91/30 with a wartime manufacture date. About 5 years ago I purchased a "brand new" Mosin made in 1936 that came with an ammo pouch and bayonet all packed in cosmoline for about $140. There are several different factors that can make them more valuable. A Finnish Mosin or one made by Westinghouse are said to be better quality as well as more rare. The M38 and M44s always bring more money and are generally harder to find.


I definitely recommend adding one to the collection! they are fun to shoot and ammo is cheap for a caliber of that size. If you have the ability to inspect several of them, I would find the best wood, bore and crown combination and make the investment. But be careful, so many Mosins have been to heck and back you run a high risk of getting a lemon

[RC20]

If youi were looking at a Pre War MN that might be worht the price. Those were better quality.

The War built ones fell off quite a bit, not that they won't shoot but build in a hurry.

No its not just a wall hanger. The 7.62 by (55?) Russian is readily available.

Plenty of load info in the manuals.

I am not into them but due to the ubiquitous nature of mil surplus and the dearth of purpose build, I would guess the loads are all safe for the MN.

Most of the ones that are coming out are out of storage and were not combat used.

[ninosdemente]

It was a long rifle if that is what you mean. He was letting it go for $300 cash. I offered $275 cash but wouldn't take it.

That is something I had of concern if it is a lemon or not.

[agtman]

Your hard-earned discretionary $$$$ are better spent on some form of M1 Garand - 30.06 or .308/7.62 ... take your pick.

Always good policy to avoid Commie junk when possible.

You can thank me later.

[Ruga Booga]

325 is too much. 225-250 sounds better. I picked a 91/30 made in 1939, imported by Century a few weeks ago at a pawnshop for $75. Tag said not shootable. They thought the bore was too pitted. I took it home and spent a couple hours over a couple different days scrubbing the barrel and had that bore looking brand new. There was actually no pitting whatsoever

[M88]

I agree with most here, unless 91/30 is in exceptional shape, up here in PA at shops and shows one that shoots goes for between $200 and $275-$300 tops.

[kymasabe]

Ammo is 7.62x54R and is readily available. The cheap surplus ammo is gone but Wolf makes some decent cheap x54R. Fireball out of the carbine us impressive.

[jersurf101]

The Mosin is an interesting rifle IMHO. They are built like a tank, easy to use fast with the straight bolt and reasonably accurate. Like 3 to 5 MOA in my experience. Some bores are sewer pipes or smooth bores. Some are better than others. All seem rather crudely machined but are so very Russian.

Definitely not a wall hanger. Shoot it and as long as the chamber is/ was not rusted out she will take modern ammo just fine. I still have most of a Bulgarian spam can so I cannot speak for ammo availability now.

I bought my last Mosin, a 1939 Tula for $90 6 years ago. 250 seems about right for a decent looking shooter.

[Model12Win]

OP, avoid it.

They are NOT WORTH that price. Ammunition used to be 19 cents a round. Now it is up to almost 40 cents per round:

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/7.62x54r

.308 is 29 cents per round:

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/308-winche...srt%20training

Mosins used to be fun when they were cheap and the ammo was cheap. That is not the case today. They are relics, obsolete, and one of the worst rifles issued en masse during WW2. They are balky, often with worn bores, have sticky bolt issues on many examples, the list goes on. Someone else said invest in an M1 Garand. They are more expensive, but they are worth a whole truck load of Mosin Nagants.

Your money, I don't care what you do with it. But mine are for sale, they do nothing for me, are no longer cheap to feed, and the interest wore off a long time ago. I think you should pass on it OP I really do.

[AK Man]

The bore is the most important part of these rifles. Most of the surplus ammo for these rifles was corrosive & if they were not cleaned properly you would be lucky to hit a 3 foot target at 100 yds with a sewer pipe bore. But if they where taken care of properly you will have a great shooting piece of history.
Some of these rifles have worn bores that have been back bored to remove some of the worn rifling at the muzzle. If you buy one that has a worn bore you can make it shoot better if you reload for it by slugging the barrel to find out the true dia. of the barrel & select the proper sized projectiles to reload. Or take it to a good gunsmith to have the barrel back bored.

[ninosdemente]

Really appreciate it guys, really do. Nice to have people knock some sense into you... lol. Too bad there aren't any around my area that are priced under $100. Darn.

Actually I do want a M1 Garand. At the Cabelas near me there are 4... 3 they mentioned were post war productions at between 1,300 - 1,600 if I remember correctly and 1 that was used during the war at $2,400. Supposedly all 4 came from the same guy. Too bad I wasn't there when he walked in with those, lol.

Would definitely like to get one of those, but as mentioned they are pricey.

[ninosdemente]

Any tips on where to look at in the Indiana area? Any listings online where one can go to different places for window shopping if at all possible?

[ninosdemente]

Thanks for the pictures Ruga Booga and the links Model12Win.

[PushPuller]

The whole reason why I actually got the Mosin was because I wanted a WW2 rifle, but as a 19 year old I didn't have $1000+ for a Garand, M1 Carbine, or K98 laying around.

Plenty of M1 carbines have been floating around lately... oughta snag one while I can!

[kraigwy]

I wont comment on the price since they vary from area to area.

But you said it would be a shooter, so I'd check out the barrel. Cant be much of a shooter with a bad barrel. All my guns are shooters.

Yeah there is lots of cheap surplus ammo. Thats what it is, cheap surplus ammo. Not what I would want in a "shooter"

When I got my Mosin there were a lot available. I picked mine with a bore light. They also tried to pawn some surplus ammo on me. No Thanks, I wanted to shoot mine in CMP GSM matches. If you want a shooter you want good ammo.

Reloading is cheap. So I bought dies and bullets. No brass could be found except for Norma, which is good but way over priced. I have had good luck with Winchester Brass in my High Power days. They had loaded Winchester Ammo for less then the Norma brass so I started out getting 200 rounds of loaded stuff. (Later I got another 200 loaded Winchester ammo).

The loads dont have to be hot to poke holes in the 200 yard paper targets used in the CMP match so brass last a long time.

Dont let anyone tell you Mosins arnt accurate. You get a good barrel, load quality ammo and LEARN TO SHOOT THE GUN, they can be quite accurate.

If you decide to hunt with the Mosin ( and thousands of people do feed their families with them in Siberia and in the Arctic), Winchester makes an excellant 174 gr hunting bullet. Loaded to 2500-2600 FPS they will be more then addaquate for any animal in North America.

A lot of people will tell you that you can get an excellant Modern Rifle, Such as the Ruger American for what Mosin's sell for these days, Thats true, I have several my self, but I still like my surplus military rifles.

If you get a Mosin with a good barrel, load some good ammo, and LEARN TO SHOOT it, you'll get years of pleasure.

[ninosdemente]

PushPuller... I also would like to get one because of the history but if from the mentioned above price is too much... then I will wait and see if I can find one at a much lower price. The reason why I want a M1 Garand as well.

[ninosdemente]

kraigwy or anyone... what is an acceptable bore condition?

I did a quick youtubu/google search for how to's for bore rifling/condition.

This is one I found of many out there (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ16YVhuHfY)

This is what I found on images for bad rifling:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=16...cMmSyezFkh3cM:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=16...HR0Q7ilgntT6M:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=16...dcMQm75aqhgxM:

Just trying to get an idea to get a better idea and to guide me to what to try and stay away from. Maybe I should start a new thread on this topic. Lol.

[JJ45]

You can find them with very goodt bores actually if you look hard enough and for much less $...

There used to be pristine specimens available usually covered in that Russian reddish lacquer(?) and/or cosmoline. Although this was some time ago I believe good ones can still be found if you look for one.

I even had a Fin capture from Samco that had a very good bore even though the rest of the weapon looked as if it had been carried during the Winter War and it probably was.

The best, IMO, are the Finnish M39s made on hex Mosin receivers that were re-barreled by the Fins during WWII, usually by outfits like Sako, Tikka, etc. They were also re-stocked in Arctic birch and are usually incredibly accurate.

I had a Sako M39. The bore was rough and frosted for about the first 4 inches, Nevertheless the rifle amazed me with it's accuracy and reliability despite the bore condition. The hex receiver was made in 1895 when the last Czar was still in power!

[RC20]

The only way you can tell on bore is shooting it.

They can look great and shoot bad. They can look bad and shoot great.

Many are just dirty, many are not even fired. Back in the day they could well be totally shot out, ala 50s, early 60s.

For 30-06 mil surplus they make a throat erosion and Muzzle wear gauge you can tell how much its been shot (if any).

With an MN you guys your tickets and you takes your chances.

[ninosdemente]

Thanks for the reply RC20.

[Fishbed77]

Always good policy to avoid Commie junk when possible.

More proof that anyone can say anything on the internet.