Mosin-Nagant?

[Yung.gunr]

Are they any good? I see them for sale at Big 5 a lot for cheap. I read that they are still being used in combat in some places. I am a semi auto guy, but I want to get a rifle. Would it be sufficient for hunting something like a deer? I figured that if it's good enough to take a man down it should be enough to take down a deer.

What is the price range on the ammo for it?

Please give me your thoughts, opinions, input on if this would be a good first rifle purchase for someone on a tight budget.

 

[smoakingun]

good rifles, heavy hitter, kicks like a mule. Ammo is inexpensive and easy to find. If you like it, pick one up. As to prices, 75 to 150 bucks is reasonable depending on model, condition, and accessories.

 

[cashmore1985]

check out the forums over a 7.62x54r.net for a crap load of info but as for your basic questions,

Are they good?
Can be, some are not. If you don't know what you are looking at you could end up with a crappy one. Make sure the barrel has decent rifling and check to see if the crown is counter bored. If it is, try finding a different one.

Deer?
Hell yeah. If you get good with it you can take a deer from a county or 2 away

Ammo?
Brand new 7.62x54r is not cheap by any means but you can find surplus stuff for around 20 cents a round. Be prepared though, the surplus stuff uses corrosive primers and you will have to clean the dog#$%@ out of the rifle to keep it in good shape.

Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[mrgoodwrench76]

Clean up after using corrosive ammo only adds one or 2 steps to the process and is no more than a minor annoyance. There are lots of threads on here about this subject in particular. The Jist, use hot soapy water on the initial clean to remove the corrosive salts from the primers, then clean with your normal routine.

Mosin's are a lot of fun to shoot, especially when they can be had so cheap. You do know how to put your shoulder back in place dont you?

 

[kraigwy]

They are good rifles, if you can pick through them and find a good barrel, they are extremely accurate. Take a bore light with you when you go to check them out.

Yes they still are being used to supplement the Communist Bloc Countries AKs for distance and sniper work. They are being used in Afgan for the same reason.

Hornady is starting to make Match Ammo for them but if you reload you can beat that.

Some say they kick a lot but I haven't found that to be the case with mine and I'm a wimp when it comes to recoil.

I'd say go for it, Get involved in CMP GSM games and learn to shoot it.

I don't shoot surplus ammo in mind, I reload with 150 grn bullets and its quite accurate, I can keep them in the X-10 ring on NRA 200 yards targets if I have a decent position. I do find the long barrel helps in off hand, it seems to give it a dampening effect.

 

[ks_wayward_son]

The Mosin Nagants utilize the 7.62 X 54R cartridge...very much suited to hunting and has the potential for long range lethality. Mosins are very inexpensive in todays market, and there are several varieties. I'm going to make the assumption you are referring to the 91/30? This is a full-size rifle as you probably noticed. There is also the M44 and M38...these are carbine-sized Mosin Nagants that utilize the same powerful cartridge. Russia was the first to produce these rifles, but other countries saw the usefulness and simplicity of the system and began producing their own variants. One of the most noted are the M39 Mosin Nagants which were originally Russian captures from Finland...the Fins replaced the original Russian barrels which resulted in greater accuracy.

As to the cost of Mosins, I have seen them currently as low as 60.00-70.00 for the round receivers and a little higher for hexagonal receivers and others...most likely probably because of the rarity and popularity to collectors. It might be worth mentioning that Mosin sniper rifles (with a bent bolt and PU scope) can also be purchased. Depending on the ranges you anticipate in your hunting, it might be worth a look.

A word of caution, however, if you do choose the Mosin Nagant. Some have said that, "out of the box", they have the tendency to shoot 8" or so above point of aim at 100 yards. There are ways to compensate for this discrepancy, however. Give www.surplusrifle.com a look. Also, search the Curios and Relics forum here on TFL or do more research on how to manipulate the sights on the rifle.

I have a class 03 FFL, which entitles me to purchase rifles and pistols wholesale, just as long as they are under the "Curios and Relics" classification. Southern Ohio Gun (www.southernohiogun.com), Classic Arms (www.classicarms.net), J and G sales (www.jgsales.com), and Aim Surplus, (www.aimsurplus.com) all have Mosins in stock, and you can check their price points in comparison to the Big 5 you visited.

There are lots of fellows on TFL who know a lot more about these rifles than I do...but I hope this gives you a little introduction. Also, to have a really extensive overview of the Mosins and their history, check out 7.62x54r.net.

 

[Yung.gunr]

Wow! Thanks for all the info. Keep it coming please.

I learned as a 12 year old with my Dad's 12 ga to keep the butt up against my shoulder.

After first glance on the forum I didn't see anything about about a crown being counter bored. What is this and how do I check?

How do I check the rifling? This will be my first used gun purchase and my first rifle purchase so I don't know how to check these things

I took a quick glance at the 7.62 forum and I looks very helpful. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[SIGSHR]

Are they any good? Ask Simho Hayha or any other Finnish veteran of the Winter War. They are usually not as smooth as a Mauser or Lee-Enfield or M1903, sights on the older Tzarist models are graduated in arshins-about 30 inches, difficult to adjust for windage. On the other hand I buy them for the history.

 

[Bamashooter]

i have 3
1. 1929 hex ishvesk 91/30
2. 1953 hungarian M-44
3. 1942 91/59 Carbine
killed a doe about 3yrs. ago with the hungarian using S&B 174gr. match ammo. the actual bullet was a sierra. shot at over 200yrds. open sights. the most damage ive ever seen a bullet do to a deer. they are all great rifles.
side note on the S&B ammo. i have tried to find some that was loaded with 174gr. sierra bullets and i havent ever seen any other than the box i bought a few years ago. i still have about 8 rounds of it left. i save it for when i hunt with my mosin which isnt very ofton anymore.

 

[New_Pollution1086]

Its a 110 year old gun. I don't think you could go wrong. There Russian so they are built tough as nails and have probably been present in most conflicts over there 110 year existence.

I think its a fine choice as a first rifle. A .22 might be a be a good choice as well.

T

 

[MJN77]

Like was said above, they are built like a tank. Very accurate and powerful. Some Russian hunters still use them to bear hunt. I own five of the things(two Finnish, three Russian)and plan to get one more. They will drop a deer like a lightning bolt if you do your part. For the price you cannot go wrong. As for surplus ammo, it isn't any harder to clean up after than regular ammo. It takes the same amount of time. Just use a good solvent. Also, the recoil is on a par with any high power deer rifle.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Fun and economical to shoot with a lot of surplus ammo available. Interesting and historical firearm. Lots of variations, but now mostly 91/30 models.
For a range gun they are great. the safety leaves a lot to be desired for hunting.
The Model 39 from Finland are among the best, and also more costly.

My collection includes:
91/30 Hex receiver Tula
91/30 Round receiver Ishevsk (Ishy)
91/59 ( 91/30 modified in 1959 by shortening the barrel)
Hungarian M-44
All shoot well, and are loads of fun.

There is a M-N forum: http://www.mosinnagant.net/default.asp
Or go to this forum for a lot of info on Mosins and a lot of other milsurp firearms:http://milsurpshooter.net/

 

[Ignition Override]

Don't worry about the recoil, even with the MN 44. My skinny old shoulders never bruise from them, and decided after twenty rounds that the recoil pad is not needed.
I've had two and twice recently used a friend's virgin Hungarian MN 44. The recoil is a good bit milder than with my Yugo 48 Mauser and Enfield "Jungle Carbine".

Some first-timers, used to much smaller rounds, are so impressed with the 44's loud noise and (on dark days) yellow flame that they are overwhelmed, confusing this with more recoil.

 

[OsOk-308]

I have an M38 that I put a synthetic stock and turndown bolt on for hunting. I essentially bastardized a piece of history for hunting, but I took it elk hunting last October. If you look online, people talk about hunting black bear with it and other animals. I love mine, and often think of buying more. (probably will when I get an extra 75 bucks).

You can buy surplus ammo for cheaper than you can buy just about any other ammo except for .22 lr. The more expensive stuff is what you'll want to get if you plan on hunting. I use the Chech S&B. Winchester makes some good stuff too, but it is more expensive, and from what I hear, a lot of the Win ammo has the S&B stamp on it anyways.

As far as the recoil, I would say my 38 kicks a bit harder than an '06, but it's nothing any shooter shouldn't be able to handle. The problem I have with shooting is the creep in the trigger, but from what I've seen, Midway USA sells nagant drop in triggers that are much cleaner and crisper. If you do what I did to mine, I'd recommend the trigger job, or just learn to shoot with it as is, I did.

If I had to describe the Mosin Nagant, I'd have to say "It is strong, like bull"

 

[Ignition Override]

People have reported on several websites that Finnish hunters still use MNs for moose.

 

[ksstargazer]

You can't beat the Finnish mosins for accuracy.

 

[Al57]

My MN herd to date :

1944 Izhevsk M44 Harvested a buck last year with it

1943 Tula 91/30 Harvested a buck with it this year

1943 Izhevsk M38 Haven't shot it yet

Don't let the counterbores scare you, esp. if you are more of a shooter than collector. My M44 is counterbored and is very accurate.

 

[stellite]

I had one that would shoot 2 moa all day long and it was built in 1937. Excellent guns when you find a good one.

 

[essohbe]

Don't let the counterbores scare you, esp. if you are more of a shooter than collector. My M44 is counterbored and is very accurate.

Same here, and probably my favorite rifle too. I'm hoping I might get a Finn at some gunshows coming up but I doubt it. The best thing would be to find some guy who doesn't know what he has and give him $100 for one. Lol.

 

[Ryanfromcanada]

When i shot A M44 i didn't kick all that hard at all. Maybe like a 270. Its a heavy rifle shooting a normal sized round. Its gonna be less than an '06 in lighter rifle.