New 1891/59 (ADDED PHOTO)

[WILD_WEASEL]

I picked up my 1891/59 yesterday at the local gun store here in SoCal for $200.  It was still covered with the original preservative inside and out.  Once home I disassembled the carbine then removed the preservative with a rag soaked in Ballistol along with a bronze brush down the bore.  The bore is mirror bright with sharp rifling, the blueing is 100%, the stock is a nice dark amber color, and the stamping on the barrel shank and receiver is deep and clear.  This carbine appears to have very little wear from its former life as an 1891/30 as is evident from the lack of slop in the bolt and a crisp smooth trigger pull.  A nice bonus came when I picked it up and was signing off the last of the paperwork, the guy at the store gave me two, twenty round boxes of Bulgarian light ball stamped 10 82 then wished me a Merry Christmas.  Surprisingly there is very little known about why and where the 1891/59 variants built.  One thing is clear the workmanship of these carbines is above and beyond the 91/30s and M-44s currently flooding the market.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all,

[1911crazy]

Congrats on your find and purchase.

The mosin 91/59 and the M38's seem to come and go but there also scarce at times too. We have to purchase these when we see them.  The barrel on the 91/59 is a tad beefy because its a cut down 91/30 and thats a good thing. I have two of these ones a sporter that i purchased as an M44 and i later figured out its a 91/59.  The other one i have is an unissued/refurb thats still unshot. I think that SOG is offering the M38's right now too.

Dam you have me thinking more now about making another pass on the mosins while there still affordable.

You might want to checkout the mosins section on www.gunboards.com they have a big section about all the mosins there lots of reading/info/history  for a cold winters night.

[jdinil]

I picked up a 91/59 yesterday also. Mine has a lighter colored finish. But, it sounds like your's otherwise. No free ammo though! The M44's I have been seeing lately are not as bad, condition wise, as the M38's.  The M38's all seem to have rough bores with deep counterbores and pretty poor wood. I was sure glad to get the nice 91/59!

[zacharoo]

Been having one for about8 years I love it. Kills hhogs dead! Remington 180 gr. .303 british bullets with IMR 3031, works fine!

[WILD_WEASEL]

I reload the 7.62x54r too.  With guns having  dark worn bores, like my M44, the Hornady  .312” 150gr bullets group pretty good with IMR4350 and VARGET.  I tried a batch of reloads using  Sierra .311 150gr bullets but they really scattered at 50yd compared to the .312 Hornadys that were shooting into 2-3“ at 50yd.  I suspect that the pristine bore on the 91/59 will handle .311” 150gr / 180gr and perhaps .310” bullets intended for the 7.62x39 well.  Something new to experiment with.

[Stan in SC]

The Mosin 91/59 to my thinking is the best Mosin there is.I have never seen one that was not a good shooter.I have one which I made a project gun of.It sits in a bedded relieved ATI stock.I had the bolt handle turned down and lenghtened like the sniper model.It has a Makarov scout style scope mount with a variable 1.5Xto 4X LER scope.The trigger is the Huber ball bearing trigger and I have a Jim R. ring style safety.I really ended up putting what I consider too much money into it but when I get consistent 2" 100 yard groups with military ammo then I don't feel that way.

Stan

[WILD_WEASEL]

Photo of my new 1891/59 with grey sling. 

[bunkysdad]

Beautiful rifle. bet it is fun to shoot!

[Todd1700]

Very Nice! I have always heard that the 91/59's were excellent shooters. Would love to hear a range report on how she shoots.

[WILD_WEASEL]

Made it out to the range yesterday.  This little carbine can really shoot!  Using reloads (Sierra .311 150gr SP or Hornady .312 150gr SP, 48gr VARGET, Winchester Large Rifle Primer, and Winchester Case) it was shooting into 2” at 50yd with the shots clustering into 1”.  Tried some surplus Czech and Bulgarian light ball too.  However, after three rounds of the Czech ammo with its lacquered steel cases the bolt was almost impossible to open, but after a few good whacks was able to clear the action.  The Bulgarian ammo with copper washed steel cases fired and cycled without a problem.  What was interesting is that with all things being equal the Hornady and Sierra reloads shot to slightly different points of impact.  While the Sierras shot to the same point of aim as the surplus the Hornady loads shot an inch of two to the left at 50yd.  Winchester Metric 180gr SP shot about an inch higher than surplus and Sierra reloads at 50yds too.  This carbine is easily as accurate as my 96/38 Swedish Mauser.  I really think the magic is in the pristine bore of this 91/59.  I have a Mosin Nagant M44 with dark bore and the best it will do is 3” at 50yd with the Hornady .312 bullets only, everything else scatters.

[cbxboy]

Wild Weasel,

A .45 caliber brass brush on a drill will clean up that chamber real nice.  I have found that my "stickers" are just really old cosmoline in the chamber.  I would get a small length of cleaning rod, attach a .45 cal brush and use Eds Red, brake cleaner, denatured alcohol(not recommended as your finish is NICE)  or whatever is a STOUT cleaner and dabble a bunch in the chamber stick in the brush and let er fly on the drill for 20-30 seconds......remove and clean well.

I do not have a single sticky Mosin anymore....well shooters anyway...some I have never fired  

The other option is to shoot the ammo that works without needing a tire iron to open the chamber.

[bunkysdad]

cbxboy, that sounds like something I need to do with my mosin 91/30. I thought I had cleaned it very well but when I tried the Silver Bear steel cased ammo I had the same stuck bolt. first shot a little sticky, second shot getting tight, and the third was stuck like Chuck! had to take the rifle homel and get it open. I thought I was gonna damage something. I cleaned it good(I thought), then back to the range. a little better as I was able to fire three rounds and still open the bolt. I did not try a fourth. I am looking forward to solving this problem with the .45 brush/drill method because I like the Silver Bear soft points because the range I enjoy most does not allow FMJ. Have never seen any HP for the 7.62x54r and I do not yet reload. Thanks again.

[1911crazy]

cbxboy is right after cleaning my chamber on my m39 the rounds never stuck again.

Never under estimate  the accuracy of these mosins. They can shoot good too.  I don't want to start a war here but as i see it the russian mosins can be as good as the finn's are.  I even think the mosins are a tad more accurate than the mausers but there still close.

[WILD_WEASEL]

While I’m not the best shot in the world, I usually take at least two rifles to the range in order to calibrate how I’m shooting on a given day.  On my last trip to the range I was no less than astonished at how well my 1891/59 shot with both Hornady .312 and Sierra .311 150gr bullets over 48gr of VARGET, many 5 shot strings went into an inch at 50yd.  Next week I’ll pick up my M39 from the same shop I found the 1891/59 at.  As a baseline round I’ll be shooting Sierra .311 150gr SP’s over 52gr of IMR 4350 in both the 91/59 then the M39 to be able to judge how it shoots.  I also loaded up x20 rounds of 7.62x53r for the M39 using Sierra .308 150gr SP’s and IMR 4350, specifically to see if it is true that the Finnish rifles have a tighter bore.

[cbxboy]

Yep the sticky chambers are a bugger and I don't know WHY they seem to Mosin specific....and on a 08/34 Mauser I have....but when you think about the pressures involved it makes sense.

A little Cosmoline or grease etc in the chamber.....slide in a cartridge and pull the trigger....you have 45,000 cup pressure compacting that "sludge" against the chamber wall.  If you have no immediate issues you repeat this 200 times and then .... el stucko.

I really like my Ed's Red mixture for chamber brushing.  I do it on "most rifles" now as it seems prudent.