# Mosin Nagant



## catfish40 (Apr 17, 2010)

Thinking of buying a Mosin Nagant & need a little advice. I will probably do a little plinking with it but nothing serious. Just one of those things that I want for no real reason. My local gun shop has about a dozen that I can hand pick from. They have some for $150 that have all matching serial #'s even on the bayonets. There are a couple of hex receivers & a couple of laminate stock (not hex) one's too. He has some other ones for $100 that don't have the matching #'s. All of these rifles look to be in very good shape although they will need a lot of cleaning due to the cosmoline on them. I know that I can buy them for a little less money, but I would rather buy from my local gun shop. Any advice on picking one of these would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## Rob The Rude (Nov 12, 2005)

If you're just looking for a shooter, pick one you like. Now if you want a collectible, that is a whole different story. I picked up 2 for myself last year, and lucked out. I ended up with a 44 Izhevsk demilled ex-sniper, and a 37 Izhevsk double date MO. 

Here are a couple of web sites to help you to identify the arsenal stamps -
http://russian-mosin-nagant-forum.com/viewforum.php?f=5&sid=85a528a6eb6f712e3bc18fd3b7d17994
http://7.62x54r.net/
Do your homework before handling several rifles, that way you will have an idea of what to look for. Just prepare yourself for a bad case of Mosinitis. They are great guns, and ammo is plentiful and cheap.

If you have any questions, shoot me a PM


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I like the hex recievers for looks only.Get the one that looks good to you and bang away.Cheaper Than Dirt has nylon stocks cheap that look good on a pickup kick around gun.They kick hard,but shoot hard too.Great old rifles.Wish mine had the hex reciever.If it doesn't group to please you,a gunsmith,"I done mine myself",can cut a couple inches off the barrel and re-crown,and it'll shoot like new.They are great hog guns! Matching numbers means nothing to me if it's a using gun.Bolt and reciever numbers would be good to match though.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

GREAT guns. I love mine. It shoots great 1.5" at 100. The sights shoot high as hell, and the only way to correct it is to raise the front sight. PM me and I will tell you a really good way to do that.


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## SharkBait >*)\\\><( (May 16, 2012)

get a tula
hex receivers are always good
i personally like laminate stocks
my next mosin will be a laminate stock m38..


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## catfish40 (Apr 17, 2010)

Thanks for all of the replies. Lots of good info. I plan to buy one this week. After looking at the links & info that was sent, I think that I will just pick the one that looks & feels best to me. Seems that you can't go to far wrong with any of them. I'll probably take ya'll up on the sight & barrel mods later.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Most of the wear on these rifles comes from cadets cleaning them and damaging the muzzle area. Get a round of ammo, pull the bullet, and take it with you to the store. Insert the bullet point first into the muzzle. The farther it goes in, the more worn the bore at the muzzle. Buy the one where the bullet goes in the least furthest.


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## Rob The Rude (Nov 12, 2005)

Pocketfisherman said:


> Most of the wear on these rifles comes from cadets cleaning them and damaging the muzzle area. Get a round of ammo, pull the bullet, and take it with you to the store. Insert the bullet point first into the muzzle. The farther it goes in, the more worn the bore at the muzzle. Buy the one where the bullet goes in the least furthest.


Only problem with doing this, is most have been counter bored when they were refurbished at the Russian arsenal before storage. This is not a bad thing, as it repaired the damage that was caused from a hard life on the battle field, and also brought the accuracy back to where it should be.

OP, What ever you get, show pics, love Mosin's.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Go Vasili !!!


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## Longshot270 (Aug 5, 2011)

A buddy of mine put one on the arch angel stock with a scope. Very cool looking rifle.


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## catfish40 (Apr 17, 2010)

Thanks for all of the replies. Picked one up today! I settled on a 1933 Hex with non matching numbers. Bore looked good & didn't seem to have been counterbored. The stock is a little rough but still in decent shape. It came with a couple of plastic bags full of tools, pouches, sling, bayonet & oil can. Under $130 out the door. I looked at about 15 of them that were in the store. For some reason I kept coming back to this one. I have a lot of cleaning to do. I'll post pics when I have time to clean it up. Might be awhile before I have time to do it. I added greenies to everyone that replied.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

longshot270 said:


> a buddy of mine put one on the arch angel stock with a scope. Very cool looking rifle.


heresy !!!


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## sweenyite (Feb 22, 2009)

Paid $80 for mine and it is fun and relatively inexpensive to shoot. They are cheap because so many of them are available. A guy in Palacios was buying them by the crate and my dad got in on it. I ended up buying it from him.


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## ydnark (May 26, 2004)

*Mosin Advice*

If at all possible, buy from a range or individual that will let you shoot it before the purchase. I had been wanting one for some time, and my Kiddo bought me one for Christmas. Barrel looked fine, overall gun appeared to be in good shape. It shoots about a 10" group at 50 yards. I suspect it is because of wear and headspace issues with the chamber and action. I say this, because when you close the breech on a round, there is play that should not be apparent. Not a great loss mind you, and I still am glad to have one, but it will be strictly for keeping the Barbarians at bay...

With bayonet, the darned thing is about 8 foot long!


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## Castaway2 (Aug 8, 2013)

I love mine...it is a hog slayer, and extremely fun to shoot. 
DEFINETLY WEAR EAR PROTECTION!!! the gun is loud. and at night you can see a 2 foot muzzle flame 

my old man says it sounds like a cannon


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## SharkBait >*)\\\><( (May 16, 2012)

i almost broke my collar bone with one of mine, i shot 30 rounds after that, but for about 5 minutes i thought i broke something..i wont shoot em off the bench anymore without a recoil pad, be sure before you pull the trigger that you dont have the butt of the gun against your collar bone. some rounds are allot hotter than others in my exsperience when it comes to 7.62X54R


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## FritoBandito (Feb 21, 2014)

Biggest draw for me is the low cost of ammo for the MN. $8 for a box of 20 (.30 cal) ammo is hard to find anywhere else!


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## bighrt4 (Oct 26, 2012)

I have an MN91 with a synthetic stock and a 44 that I love. Ammo is so cheap it's hard not to have a couple of these.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

ydnark said:


> If at all possible, buy from a range or individual that will let you shoot it before the purchase. I had been wanting one for some time, and my Kiddo bought me one for Christmas. Barrel looked fine, overall gun appeared to be in good shape. *It shoots about a 10" group at 50 yards.* I suspect it is because of wear and headspace issues with the chamber and action. I say this, because when you close the breech on a round, there is play that should not be apparent. Not a great loss mind you, and I still am glad to have one, but it will be strictly for keeping the Barbarians at bay...
> 
> With bayonet, the darned thing is about 8 foot long!


Have you fired with the bayonet attached to it? you may get surprised with the improved grouping.


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## SharkBait >*)\\\><( (May 16, 2012)

ydnark said:


> If at all possible, buy from a range or individual that will let you shoot it before the purchase. I had been wanting one for some time, and my Kiddo bought me one for Christmas. Barrel looked fine, overall gun appeared to be in good shape. It shoots about a 10" group at 50 yards. I suspect it is because of wear and headspace issues with the chamber and action. I say this, because when you close the breech on a round, there is play that should not be apparent. Not a great loss mind you, and I still am glad to have one, but it will be strictly for keeping the Barbarians at bay...
> 
> With bayonet, the darned thing is about 8 foot long!


the bore is likely counter bored or messed up the first 6 inches down the barrel from cleaning with the steel rod, a mosin should be able to hit a 8 inch plate at 100 yards with iron sights every time if you do your part..


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

My Mosin shoots inside 2" at 100 yards- 5 shots. Stock sights. Some of them will really shoot.


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## ut755ln (Mar 19, 2013)

My experience with then is that they are **** rifles with poor accuracy and alot of stamped metal parts. If you want one as part of a collection, great. If you have expectations of it being accurate, don't get your hopes up.


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## SharkBait >*)\\\><( (May 16, 2012)

for accuracy within a 100 yards with iron sights the mosin shoots just fine, like i said i can smash my 100 yard gong everytime i shoot at it...

a few months ago i had 5 mosins and all of them shot just fine...yes they shoot about 10 inches high at 100 yards because they are sighted in at 300 yards just like all russian military rifles..
it is the oldest military cartridge on the planet still in use..made when men were men and women were too....


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## sweenyite (Feb 22, 2009)

ut755ln said:


> My experience with then is that they are **** rifles with poor accuracy and alot of stamped metal parts. If you want one as part of a collection, great. If you have expectations of it being accurate, don't get your hopes up.


 Duly noted. Mine shoots fine and is a lot of fun. My son enjoys it too.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Here's how I took care of that "sighted in at 300 yard problem. I used the size of shrink wrap which would just barely fit over the front sight, and slide on a piece that will stick way above the sight- up just under the hood. Heat it with a hair dryer and shrink it on.

then use the following formula to determine how far above the top of the metal sight you need to clip the rubber:

Error in inches X your sight radius. Then divide that by the distance to the target in inches.
That will give you the amount you need to raise your front sight.

Say you are 10" high at 100 yards, and your sight radius is 24.5" (which is what mine is)

10x 24.5=245/3600 (number of inches in 100 yards) = .068"

You need to cut the rubber .068" above where the metal sight ends. Now I would shade a bit longer to start with, because you can always cut off more. You can't add to it. Plus you just might want it 1" high at 100 or so. I forgot to do this, but was living under a lucky star. First cut put my POI dead center. Better to be lucky than good.

Good luck. Great guns, and the best bargain out there.


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## barbless (Jul 27, 2004)

I got a Mosin from Cabelas for $100 a few years ago. Great gun. Mine shot very high too. There's a guy on the net that sells longer front sights which just screw into the old hole when you remove the original site. Then just work it up or down to sight in. Worked great.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

barbless said:


> I got a Mosin from Cabelas for $100 a few years ago. Great gun. Mine shot very high too. There's a guy on the net that sells longer front sights which just screw into the old hole when you remove the original site. Then just work it up or down to sight in. Worked great.


Sometimes those work, and often times they do not. Depending upon your model. I had a friend who spent all kinds of money and time buying front sights, and could never get it to work.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

Has anyone tried a DIY trigger job on the M91 ?


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## Bharvey (Mar 24, 2013)

Y'all should look up "Simo Hayha" and see what he did with a Finnish variation of the Mosin Nagant. (Most confirmed sniper kills in WORLD history)


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

The Finn M39 Mosin is well known for accuracy. It was made by same factory which builds the Sako today.


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## wiltray4000 (Sep 16, 2010)

I posted pictures of the hand made stock I made fro my MN a few weeks ago. If you missed it, here it is.


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

Fine furniture Billwill.


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## wiltray4000 (Sep 16, 2010)

monkeyman1 said:


> Fine furniture Billwill.


Thank you.


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