The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Curios and Relics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 27, 2012, 04:26 AM   #1
warningshot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 7, 2009
Posts: 995
How many Mosin Nagants do you own?

What is your MN story? How did you get hooked? Was it the inexpensive purchase price, cheap ammo? Why didn't you listen to your elders and not talk to the man selling a MN?
warningshot is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 08:40 AM   #2
jonnyc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 20, 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 1,731
Went through an M38, couple of M44s, and 2 M91/30s. All I have now is a re-snipered PU, and I think that's where I'll stick.
jonnyc is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 08:59 AM   #3
jimbob86
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Location: All the way to NEBRASKA
Posts: 8,722
Not enough ....

I want a dedicated "cat sneeze" 91/30 gallery rifle.
jimbob86 is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 09:43 AM   #4
noelf2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 14, 2008
Location: Stuart, VA
Posts: 2,473
I have 3. An M44 first (bought at Gander Mt for $99). Was my wife's fault. She pointed at the cheap Russian rifles and said "What is that?". I checked it out, and had to have one. Next came an M38 ($89) from AimSurplus and an M91/30 ($69) also from AimSurplus.
__________________
Liberty and freedom often offends those who understand neither.
noelf2 is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 10:35 AM   #5
CLC
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2011
Posts: 603
I have 2 M44's, 1 M38, 1 M91(NEW) and I think 4 M91/30's. I'm sure ill buy more. For me its the smell of cosmoline and the history.
__________________
In god we trust, all others must pay cash.
CLC is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 12:59 PM   #6
Cheapshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 2, 2007
Location: Missouri
Posts: 8,306
Only 4, but ya never know what else might follow me home!

Hungarian M-44
Tula Hex receiver 91/30
Ishy round receiver 91/30
Ishy 91/59
__________________
Cheapshooter's rules of gun ownership #1: NEVER SELL OR TRADE ANYTHING!
Cheapshooter is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 01:33 PM   #7
leadchucker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 5, 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 252
I wound up with five before I could get myself stopped.
leadchucker is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 01:38 PM   #8
tahunua001
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 21, 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 7,839
I wouldn't say I am hooked on the Mosin nagant. the enfield family of rifles is my main love story within C&R however I do own 2 Izzy 91/30s, one a 1944 the other a 1942.

the first was an online purchase and is the most beautiful 91/30 I've seen out of the box. there are no dents, no scrapes, beautiful dark amber red color. the tool marks are a little gnarly but from what I've seen are par for the course with mosins. it shoots about 4 MOA about 1.5 feet high at 100 yards. has the same crude bolt that you have to open with a 2x4 that makes a MAS36 seem like a beautifully crafted work of art.

the second was bought as an experiment. I bought it sight unseen from a local sporting goods chain store based on the condition of the display model and is pretty nasty. the stock though not overly gauged is had still seen better days and was an unattractive light wood tone. the tool marks looked look like it was forged with an actual hammer and sickle. everything it came with looked heavily used and everything had nearly 1/4 inch of cosmoline on, in, and around it.

accuracy was even poorer than the first mosin so I decided to use this one as my test subject. many people say I should have used the nicer one however I did not want to use one that I was emotionally invested in. I wanted to see if it was possible to make a decent and effective hunting rifle hunting rifle using a mosin nagant but cheaply enough that it was not wiser to just go to walmart and buy a $350 rifle that was designed for such so I gave myself a $300 budget. also I wanted to use only tools that are commonly found in all garages so expensive things like drill presses were stricken.

1. the mosin nagant cost me 125+10 sales tax overall price was $135.
2. a boyds thumbhole sporter stock cost proximately $110, required a great deal of fitting for someone that knows very little about wood working and gunsmithing in general. overall price was now $245.
3. a combination scope rail and bent bolt from ATI cost $45 after shipping and handling. I take full blame for not researching these first however I wanted to keep it cheap and a scout scope rail, scout scope and $80 bent bolt would have exceeded my budget by over 100% so I went the cheap route. the ATI scope rail mounted alright despite having to do everything by hand but the bent bolt which actually requires you to cut the existing bolt off and the drill and tap the bolt body for a single screw to hold it in place. needless to say this is a horrible setup. the bolt style also required further inletting of the boyds stock and the bolt handle rattled loose after a single magazine of ammo went through it. I went with a $10 tube of JB weld to permanently attach the handle to the bolt body has held up through about 50 rounds of 7.62x54R and 200 rounds of 7.62x25(chamber adapter). overall price is now exactly $300 without optics.

I put an existing scope on it t avoid extra investment. the groups have closed to about 3 MOA with a fixed 4x scope however at it's lowest setting still hits over a foot high at 100 yards. final conclusion is that it is possible to sporterize one of these rifles for less than what a modern sporter would cost however there are several problems that you may face along the way and the end result is still a stiff action with less accuracy than just about anything made today.
__________________
ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin
tahunua001 is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 02:54 PM   #9
Capybara
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 8, 2012
Posts: 180
Kosinski

I have a Big 5 91/30. It is counter bored but it is overall in really good condition. Just picked up a blonde Hungarian M44, have not shot it yet. Eyeing a Russian M44 and possibly a T53. Mosins are really fun.
Capybara is offline  
Old November 27, 2012, 03:58 PM   #10
iraiam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
I have 2 91/30 Mosins, A Big 5 Izzy (Very Good), and a Hardwood Tula(Excellent). I may be in the market for 1 or 2 more, if the price is right.

I bought the one from Big 5 for a project rifle, I'm going to build it into a quality sporter.
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason
iraiam is offline  
Old November 28, 2012, 03:28 PM   #11
Duzell
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 30, 2011
Location: Monterey
Posts: 803
im not hooked but i enjoy my mosin
__________________
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. -GW
Duzell is offline  
Old November 28, 2012, 03:44 PM   #12
MagnumWill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2009
Location: Central Colorado
Posts: 1,001
I picked up a Big 5 91/30 that's a '43 Izzy, that I subsequently converted to a PU sniper. It came out really good, and is a fantastic shooter. I have yet to physically sit down with it and do some good hard zeroing in and printing, but I trust it'll be a sub 3-MOA rifle no problem.

I HAD () a 1944 M-44 from Big 5 as well, but I traded it in after a while. I know that's against one of the golden rules of firearms, but I was just never attached to it. It bugged me how far POI changed with the bayonet folded/unfolded. So it's gone, and I don't really miss it.

My latest is a Non-CAI import () '34 Tula hex receiver in a laminate stock. I got if off Gunbroker for $75 The seller thought the toe splice in the stock had been a recent repair, so it was pretty discounted. The bore is beautiful as well, and shoots as well as the sniper (especially since I did the old Russian sniper trigger mods to it as well). Both of my Mosins' triggers break at about 3-4 pounds. I think it would make a beautiful repro PEM sniper as well.


I would love to get another, that I think would probably end up as an Obrez pistol...
__________________
Those who hammer their swords into plow shares will plow for those who didn't...
MagnumWill is offline  
Old November 28, 2012, 03:46 PM   #13
Old Grump
Member in memoriam
 
Join Date: April 9, 2009
Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in
Posts: 3,144
Never thought I would get one then ended up with a 91/30, than a 38, because it was there. I have a feeling I'm not done yet.
__________________
Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.
--Daniel Webster--
Old Grump is offline  
Old November 28, 2012, 09:17 PM   #14
MikeG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 2, 2002
Location: Falcon Colorado
Posts: 256
Quote:
I have a feeling I'm not done yet.
Nope, they're habit forming.

In 1995 it dawned on me that I was missing the boat on the whole milsurp thing, so the wife and I went to a gun show. I was looking at a Swedish M96 Mauser, but the wife steered me to something cheaper - a Mosin Nagant M44.

Over the years, I've played the hunter-gatherer at gun shops, pawn shops and gun shows. I figured as long as they're cheap, I'd pick up more to sell or trade off later, along with some 'keepers'.
MikeG is offline  
Old November 29, 2012, 01:43 AM   #15
viciouskitty
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 6, 2010
Location: South Texas
Posts: 316
I got 3 as of the moment almost had 4 but my friend decided not to sell it to me after all

A 1943 Izzy 91/59

A 1922 Izzy 91/30

and a 1941 finn M39
viciouskitty is offline  
Old November 30, 2012, 01:31 AM   #16
spets
Junior Member
 
Join Date: November 29, 2012
Posts: 3
42 m91/30

46 m44
spets is offline  
Old November 30, 2012, 05:49 AM   #17
Justice06RR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 21, 2010
Location: Central FL
Posts: 1,360
I "only" have 2 Mosins at the moment. A 1946 M44 and a 1942 91/30 that has the ATI synthetic stock.

I'm sure I'll buy one or 2 more Mosins in the future as funds become available. I could've bought 3 more if I didn't buy a Ruger 10/22 and Glock19 over Black friday weekend
Justice06RR is offline  
Old November 30, 2012, 11:49 PM   #18
HawkeyeNRAlifer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2007
Location: Iowa
Posts: 316
The cheap ammo and inexpensive rifles got me started. I have four. A 91/30 built in '36 or '37 that some soviet dropped in Finland during the winter war. A 1938 and a M44. And a 1942 90/31 restocked in an ATI with a scout scope on it. Rough metal finish with the lathe marks still on the barrell but the trigger is the best of all the Mosin's that I've shot.
HawkeyeNRAlifer is offline  
Old November 30, 2012, 11:51 PM   #19
TXAZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 5, 2010
Location: McMurdo Sound Texas
Posts: 4,322
-0-
__________________

Cave illos in guns et backhoes
TXAZ is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 01:02 AM   #20
DennisCA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 3, 2012
Location: Union City CA (a.k.a. Poople's Republik of CA)
Posts: 451
2- 91/30 (1- reg/1-laminate)
1 - M39
1 - (Polish) M44
And counting.....
I bought my 1st one at Big 5 and rest was a blur...
DennisCA is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 01:11 AM   #21
towboat-er
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 2, 2011
Posts: 146
I have 4.
towboat-er is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 08:15 AM   #22
Amsdorf
Junior member
 
Join Date: July 24, 2011
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Posts: 849
I have a 91/30 and two M44s and...

My most interesting "Mosin" is a Chinese version of the M44 that a Vietnam veteran gave me, knowing of my interest in mil surp. The vet was an "advisor" in Vietnam in the early 1960s and during one incident where he was "advising," his team of Vietnamese soldiers presented him with the rifle after a firefight during which a VC soldier was put in a position never to need a rifle again for the rest of eternity.

It's a real treasure to me. I doubt I'll ever try to fire it.

My most recent acquisition is a M44 that has what I can only describe as deep burgundy furniture. She's a real beaut.
Amsdorf is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 09:10 AM   #23
tater134
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2009
Location: NE,PA
Posts: 390
I've got 4 right now.

- 2 1943 Tula Ex-Snipers
- 1944 Izhevsk M44
- 1938 Tula 91/30
tater134 is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 10:38 PM   #24
Hardcase
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 14, 2009
Location: Sunny Southern Idaho
Posts: 1,909
I've got 8

Two hex Tulas
A round Tula
A hex Izzy
A round Izzy
An M38
An M44
A Chinese M44 (type 57? 58? I forget...)

I bought them because they and their ammo were cheap and interesting. They're all surprisingly good shooters as milsurps go.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Hardcase is offline  
Old December 1, 2012, 11:13 PM   #25
couillon
Member
 
Join Date: August 3, 2012
Posts: 58
Mosins being plentiful and cheap during my first years with a C&R. = Too many!
couillon is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:38 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08168 seconds with 11 queries