Picking out a Mosin Nagant

[TeaRex]

Hey,

My local gun shop has a big pile of Mosin Nagants in stock, and I've been eyeing them...

I never owned one before... what should I look for to pick a "good one"

I'm not that interested in how pretty it is, more interested in safety, functionality, and accuracy.

Thanks.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Inspect the bolt for an electro pen numbered marking, it should correspond to the receiver serial number. Cycle the bolt (obviously ensuring it's not loaded first). Try the trigger, being sure there is some additional trigger travel after the sear releases. The bolt should cycle without any binding.

Because there's bound (good word, 'bound') to be a Cosmoline buildup, not much else can usually be derived, and bright bores seldom exist on Mosin-Nagants due to their corrosive nature of their ammo. Many are also counterbored at the muzzle end to make up for cleaning rod wear. Neither of these conditions are especially bad but one should not have high expectations about arsenal refurbished rifles that then ended up cradled lovingly by Russian armorers in storage for well over a half century.

Once the Cosmoline is fully cleaned out (if you think it was easy, you didn't get it all), surplus spamcan ammo shooting to 2MOA or better indicates you have a (relatively) 'good' one.

Before you despair, remember that illiterate Russian farm boy conscripts used them to kick the Germans off their real estate and chase them all the way back to Berlin. 'Quantity" is also a valuable quality.

If you want to learn more about what's in certain cleaners, lubes, etc., and maybe take crack at making up some such, see Fr. Frog's site. I like a combo made of K1 Kerosene, Acetone, Mineral spirits, Marvel Mystery Oil, Murphy's Oil Soap, and some 10% Janitorial Strength Ammonia. Combine the Ammonia and Murphy's, then add the others; shake well. Keep well away from children and stupid people. Proportions? Still working that out. I follow up with Windex, dry patching, and then some bore oil, and this is also what I use for corrosive ammo/black powder bore cleaning. For the Russian Spamcan ammo, I start out with Windex and keep spraying/patching out until the patches start turning from black to grey, them use more conventional cleaners, saves a lot of time at the beginning. FYI, I don't use bore brushes.

I think 91/30's are like popcorn; I have three, and I wouldn't mind having another...

Greg

 

[Pinecone]

If you have a Cabela's near you, for a bit more you can get one that already has the cosmoline cleaned off.

My nearest Cabela's had them for $169.95, cleaned. Not sure what they come with, but my repro sniper came with the bayonet, firing pin tool, two pocket ammo pouch, cleaning parts (tips for the rod, muzzle device, and two compartment metal bottle for cleaner and oil).

 

[Joop]

For a shooter, buy the bore! For a collector, well, you would need to do a lot of research to see which one(s) from the pile may be "best". As the others have suggested, they may be covered inside and out with cosmoline and this can make things difficult to judge, especially with the bore condition. Assuming they're not counterbored, I would take a good look at the crown. If the crown is in really good shape (you can see the lands to the end and they are sharp), this is usually an indication that the rest of the bore is in decent condition. Not always, but more often than not. A counterbore isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it harder to see the condition of the crown. If at all possible, run a patch through the bore to remove some of the cosmoline before determining bore condition. Some shops will let you do this. Many won't. Also, for a "shooter" I prefer the postwar refurb stocks (will have full stamped metal escutcheons around the sling slots with no screws, a toe splice at the butt and usually marked with the square/diagonal line through it on the butt). They're usually in the best condition and have a better inlet than those produced before/during WW2. Most accuracy headaches that people run into with these rifles will be directly related to how the stock fits. A postwar stock will usually minimize this variable.

And, yes, they're addictive. But, don't worry. Once you get more than 20 or 30 of them, the wife will lose count and you're in the clear!

John

 

[lash]

...
And, yes, they're addictive. But, don't worry. Once you get more than 20 or 30 of them, the wife will lose count and you're in the clear!

John

Lol!

BTW, I know a guy who just picked up a super clean hex model off the rack at Gander, again for that $169 price mentioned above. I swear that his looks almost un-fired, it's a beauty.

 

[roggom]

Of course safety is number one, but I have never seen one of these war horses that was unsafe to shoot. Some google work and you will find some guys on youtube trying to blow one up.

Here is a quick down and dirty on how I would check out a rack-o-Mosins.

Check for hex receivers
Check for laminate stocks

Round receiver- open and look for weld marks (ex sniper)
Hex receiver ( look for CN stamp and weld marks on hex part of receiver

Why, because ex snipers were singled out as shooters at one time or the other.


Next, Stock- look for splices or cracks, the Russians were darn good at repairing stocks and some have nice joint work.

Bolt, bolt head, extractor make sure the thing isnt falling off.

Counterbore, land sharpness-- if you can see past the cosmo check if the barrel is trashed. For me I will take a counter bore, better than a trashed crown.

Floorplate, make sure it opens easily, some release tabs can be ill fit and it will be a pain to drop ammo.

Trigger, cock the gun and see how sloppy the trigger is. There are several types of triggers in different sizes. They all are interchangeable, but when they are matched to the correct rifle, there will be little play. As you may know, the footprint of the MN are all the same, bolts cane be interchanged, as well as stocks, triggers, interrupter, mags etc. Sometimes the arsenal gets a good mix, sometimes not.

Good luck only buying one.

 

[Joop]

Don't let the trigger be a deal breaker if everything else checks out. In my experience, 95% of them suck. However, they can be fixed with just some very minor work that won't cost you a dime.

 

[Pat M]

Check for hex receivers
Check for laminate stocks

 

[lash]

John, While on the subject of triggers and not to divert or hijack the thread, do you have a link you would recommend for a trigger work tutorial? I admit that I haven't searched yet myself and am sure there are plenty of them, but thought I'd ask since you mention it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Unknown]

Take a look at the Finnish models. The Finn's had some very stringent accuracy requirements. There is some really great info on line in some of the Mosin-Nagant or old rifle forums about the various models made by the Finns. Sako, and a number of other really good companies made some of the Finnish rifles. One of the few rifles I regret selling was a Finnish Mosin Nagant with an Octogon receiver. With the Silver tipped 7.62x54R ammo that comes in a turquoise box with the diagonal silver stripe across it, that rifle shot as well as my National Match Garand in 30-06! I was shocked at that, but the rifle did that regularly.

Funny thing is that the rifle was as ugly of a rifle as I had ever seen, but holy cow, that bugger would shoot!

Anyhow, do some research on the Finnish Mosin Nagants, and like Joop said (above), buy the bore. If you find a nice Finnish rifle, you will NOT be disappointed.

 

[Joop]

If you find a nice Finnish rifle, you will NOT be disappointed.

+1 to that! I've shot high scores at CMP matches with my '43 Sako M39 for the last two years that I've used it.

lash,

I wrote up a trigger tutorial on Gunboards a couple/few years ago. I'll see if I can dig it up for you. There are a lot of ways to skin this cat and I have my preferences/opinions, but it will at least give you an idea of how it works and what to watch out for.

John

 

[Twitch2120]

7.62x54r.net

look for anything that has a unique receiver. can be worth a bit more money. other than that see above. make sure the trigger works and do your best to get a decent bore. mineral spirits will get the cosmo out of the bore and metal parts. if you want to refinish the stock i have used dawn power dissolver (walmart for $4) scrub it on, let it sit, rinse and repeat till the stain is out. wear gloves

 

[Mike Radford]

For a shooter, buy the bore! For a collector, well, you would need to do a lot of research to see which one(s) from the pile may be "best". As the others have suggested, they may be covered inside and out with cosmoline and this can make things difficult to judge, especially with the bore condition. Assuming they're not counterbored, I would take a good look at the crown. If the crown is in really good shape (you can see the lands to the end and they are sharp), this is usually an indication that the rest of the bore is in decent condition. Not always, but more often than not. A counterbore isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it harder to see the condition of the crown. If at all possible, run a patch through the bore to remove some of the cosmoline before determining bore condition. Some shops will let you do this. Many won't. Also, for a "shooter" I prefer the postwar refurb stocks (will have full stamped metal escutcheons around the sling slots with no screws, a toe splice at the butt and usually marked with the square/diagonal line through it on the butt). They're usually in the best condition and have a better inlet than those produced before/during WW2. Most accuracy headaches that people run into with these rifles will be directly related to how the stock fits. A postwar stock will usually minimize this variable.

And, yes, they're addictive. But, don't worry. Once you get more than 20 or 30 of them, the wife will lose count and you're in the clear!

John

I agree with John. Good advice.

You can find one with a near mint bore and that will be the biggie on accuracy. My advice is to buy a real PU while they are fairly plentiful and fairly cheap. They are three or more times the price of a 91/30 but they are scoped and ready to go. Most will have a very good or better bore.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

To recondition my M-N stocks I use this; there are smaller quantities available, too.

It works very much like the furniture refinisher's "French Polishing" process, combining a solvent cleaner/stripper with a varnish stain/finish product. I just put it on, let it soak a few minutes, and then rub it down with a soft cloth dampened in the same product. The more you rub, the better it works. I suppose you could employ steel wool, too, but I haven't needed it.

It removes the old varnish drips/buildup, fills/evens out scratches, etc., and leaves a cleanly restored finish behind. Great stuff for a varnished finish, which is what the M-N's are built/refurbished with. An oil finish is not the functionally/historically right finish for these particular antiques.

Technically, I'd call it more of a repair than a refinish. When you're sliding the stock bands for disassembly, they can often leave a stock scratched up and looking pretty gnarly. This helps repair that damage.

Greg

 

[Pinecone]

This is the video I used to do my trigger: How To Episode 4: Mosin Trigger Job - YouTube

It is a real trigger job, not a shim job. And he shows you how to recover if you go too far.

I went too far and fixed it as per the video.

A spare sear is only about $6. I ordered a trigger, sear and cocking piece, just in case.

There are also Finnish sears available. They have a different profile to the engagement area. But on my rifle, it did not do that much for the trigger. So I just worked the sear and cocking piece as per the video.