Author Topic: Just bought a Mosin-Nagant (Read 1046 times)

Mainer · « **on:** July 31, 2005, 12:08:01 PM »

I'm new to mil-surps, but not to guns in general.

I just purchased a Mosin-Nagant from a gunshop for $75.00. It looks to be in good shape. However, I notice that the serial number on the frame does not match the one on the bolt.

It's dated "1937r." It appears to be from the Izhevsk arsenal. When I got it home and compared it to pictures of other Mosin-Nagants I noticed that the stock had been cut down so it ends just ahead of the rear sight. At the shop I hadn't realized that detail wasn't original. I thought the gun felt light. Also, the front sight is just a pinned in blade without a protective loop. Is that original or a modification?

The shop didn't have ammo, so now I need to search the web to see what's available.

Any hints on what ammo to look for and what to avoid would be appreciated. So would any tips on operation/maintenance of this gun. Also, what is the procedure for cleaning after using corrosive ammo?

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #1 on:** July 31, 2005, 01:41:25 PM »

May I direct you to www.7.62x54r.net . It is one of the most authoritative sites on Mosin Nagants in general. As far as ammo most (read all Millsurp ammo) is corrosive but the procedure is as follows after shooting run a patch or two (best when the barrel's warm) of water (plain H2O) down the barrel followed by 3 or 4 dry patches then bore cleaner & oil. Wipe down bolt with wet cloth (clean and oil). Some use ammonia and others use Windex to neutralize the corrosive salts. This also works but is a little more expensive. How your rifle shoots (sorry it was bubbaed) depends on what ammo it likes (EVERY gun is a law unto it self) your accuracy will vary with the type of ammo shot. Be sure the chamber is free of cosmolene and burrs and since the bolt has been replaced, check the head space (see gunsmith). The Mosin Nagant in all of is variations are less prone to head space problems than the average bolt action rifle (the round headspaces on the rim).

kjeff50cal

Mainer · « **Reply #2 on:** July 31, 2005, 03:05:18 PM »

kjeff50cal:

Thanks for the info and the refence to www.7.62x54r.net! :D That site is extremely informative.

Browsing the net, I see that 7.62x54 ammo is available in a wide range of bullet weights. 147 through 203 gr from what I've seen. Before I buy a caseful, is there a particular bullet weight that generally tends to work best?

Dirigo · « **Reply #3 on:** July 31, 2005, 04:29:22 PM »

what shop?

Mainer · « **Reply #4 on:** July 31, 2005, 04:57:25 PM »

Kittery Trading Post. It was the only Mosin-Nagant they had. They must have taken it in trade.

jh45gun · « **Reply #5 on:** July 31, 2005, 06:00:49 PM »

Congrats on your Mosin find. They are fun to shoot and a robust hardy gun you will enjoy it. Jim

myarmor · « **Reply #6 on:** August 02, 2005, 02:06:59 PM »

I believe you will be satisfied with the Nagant. I love them my self. Plenty of power, nice on the wallet, and TONS of cheap ammo. Gotta love them.
Here are 2 links for some ammo-7.62x54R:
www.aimsurplus.com-easy to deal with and fair too.
www.ammunitionstore.com-I like these guys also. They sell in smaller quantities so you can try out different types.

Just a word of caution=be very careful with some of these types of ammo. Most of the cheap surplus is either steel core or steel jacketed bullets. It will amaze you what they can penetrate through.

spraynpray · « **Reply #7 on:** August 02, 2005, 02:25:10 PM »

Sounds like a good deal, what model is it?

I have a 1891/30 Mosin Nagant and love, except for the recoil.

Mainer · « **Reply #8 on:** August 02, 2005, 04:11:39 PM »

It appears to be a 91/30. It has a round, low wall receiver, flat rear sight, Izhevsk arsenal stamping. As stated above, it's dated "1937r."

The stock has been cut back, so that the barrel protrudes 14 5/8" beyond the end of the stock. The front of the stock is carefully rounded. The cleaning rod has been omitted.

Also, the rifle has a non-drift adjustable blade front sight w/o a protective hoop. The front sight doesn't look like any I have seen pictures of, but I can't tell whether it is original or not.

Mainer · « **Reply #9 on:** August 02, 2005, 04:18:33 PM »

Oh, yeah, I ordered 240 rnds of Wolf 148 gr and 150 rnds of 182 gr surplus ammo from Sportsmans Guide. I could have ordered larger quantities but (a) I want to see what weight and variety of ammo this gun likes before I really stock up and (b) I'm having it shipped to my workplace :wink: so I don't want to draw too much attention to myself.

1911crazy · « **Reply #10 on:** August 02, 2005, 04:37:03 PM »

Mosin 91/30 great find!!! You might want to try some Russian made Barnaul 204gr soft point hunting ammo too!!!! Its around $6 a box!!!
Hmmm... Kittery Trading Post thats my number one stop as soon as i hit Maine!!!!!! Great Fishing, Hunting and outdoor gear too!!!!! They have some of the best sales too I think it starts in September or October?? And the guns are awesome too they have a great assortment of them they had a Finnish M39 a while back. My next stop after Kittery is the Captian Nevell light house there's a great resturant on the left just before the light house it looks like a hot stand out front til you go inside they have the best calamade I have ever had its soft and tender not over cooked and chewy like the most places cook it. The people in Maine sure do seafood right I never had a bad meal yet up there. If you go along the coast off the beaten path and try to stay along the shoreline you sure can take in the sights that most people miss out on. Don't miss those little shops in the Kennebunkport area too you can park your car and walk around to see all the little shops and after you can see GWB's house too the black suburbans are a dead giveaway as to who lives there. The Wells,Maine area is a great place to stay too.

BTW; I try to get up there at least three times a year or more.

RedRyder21 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 02, 2005, 05:28:14 PM »

Maybe its because the first two C&R rifles I bought were a Mosin 91/30 and a 38, or maybe because they are ultra reliable and go boom evey time... The Mosin is by far my favorite rifle PERIOD!

:grin:

1911crazy · « **Reply #12 on:** August 02, 2005, 10:47:18 PM »

We had a gun shop here that had wall to wall C&R's like racks and racks of all of them you say it they had it even FR8's and every mauser known to man besides mosins too I can even remember a few racks of garands & springfield '03's too. After walking around the place for hours playing with everything confused while trying to pick a surplup to buy for my very first one I picked up a Yugo Preduzecci 44 mauser($89) and i have to say she is a looker too its mint. This place was so bad with the smell of cosmoline you would get excieted just walking thru the door. Now within a few weeks of cleaning and playing with the mauser it needed a buddy in the safe so I went back to my favorite place on earth again to search for another toy. I found some sort of a new caliber a 7,62x54 called a Mosin(M39/$79) and i had no clue as to what i had too. Again it had the perfect conditioned stock too what tiger stripe'ing.(not stripping) After shooting them once and after over 20+ years of them growing roots in the safe I decieded top find out exactly what i had. That was about 4 or 5 years ago. I believe when the gun laws started to change in this state and get screwy the guy closed up shop. I sure miss that place it was like walking into C&R heaven if you could visualize many C&R's from every country? Its like the Kittery Trading post is with modern guns only this was with C&R's. And you could look and paw for hours and the guy didn't hassle you. I can even remember the cases of ammo too like 8mm lebel like he had all the ammo too that you just don't see anymore. I did spend many lunch hours there skipping lunch just looking over everything, well 1 1/2hr lunches.(hours) What history there that was in those racks. The Argentines, the Persians, the Germans and the French ect. oh the pain. You never know what you have till its gone!!!! My point is if your ever near Kittery stop in and plan on spending the day just browsing the place they have everything you can think of for us outdoormans!!!! BigBill

BTW; The high priced stuff years ago was around $300 too. Kittery has great prices on modern guns too I seen a brand new marlin 45/70 CB there for around $450 a few years back.

Mainer · « **Reply #13 on:** August 06, 2005, 02:37:16 PM »

Took the Mosin-Nagant to the range today for the first time.

Shot at paper targets at 50 yds w/182 gr surplus. I was very impressed.

Recoil wasn't even an issue, even with the metal buttplate.

The only issue I have with the gun is the bolt takes some effort to work after the action has been fired. Is this common to the model or is it due to the fact the serial number on the bolt doesn't match that on the receiver??

MGMorden · « **Reply #14 on:** August 06, 2005, 06:34:01 PM »

Quote from: Mainer

The only issue I have with the gun is the bolt takes some effort to work after the action has been fired. Is this common to the model or is it due to the fact the serial number on the bolt doesn't match that on the receiver??

You have to cock the bolt as you're opening it if it's been fired. This forces you to work against the firing pin spring to cam back the striker, and results in the extra required effort. All cock-on-opening bolt actions (the vast majority of new rifles) do this, but the amount of force can vary due to the the strength of the firing pin spring and a few other factors. If the rifle was not fired then when you open the bolt it's already cocked so it's a lot easier.

With cock-on-closing actions (the Krag-Jorgensen, Small-ring Mausers, SMLE, P14 & P17 Enfields, etc) you'll have to exert the extra force as you're closing the bolt, and it has to be done every time the bolt is cycled, regardless of whether or not it's been fired.

Mainer · « **Reply #15 on:** August 07, 2005, 02:55:36 AM »

The big problem is that the cocking force occurs when lifting the bolt, not when pulled it straight back. Because this takes a considerable amount of effort, it results either in tilting the rifle to the side or repositioning my support hand. That would greatly slow things down in the field if I used this for a deer rifle.

After the range session, I disassembled and hosed out with solvent a large part of the bolt assembly (but not the area where the spring is located as I don't have a manual). I will lightly lubricate with teflon lubricant and reassembly. Hopefully, this will lighten things a smidge.

Since the safety also takes a lot of effort to engage/disengage, and that effort appears also to be caused by the firing pin spring, I think the rifle has a stronger spring than need. The firing pin strikes on the primers look at least as deep as they should be and maybe slightly more so.

Is there a way to adjust the spring? Is there an aftermarket reduced power spring? Has anyone clipped the spring?

1911crazy · « **Reply #16 on:** August 08, 2005, 05:28:35 AM »

On your bolt i put a moly anti seize on the cam so it isn't hard to reset when you open the bolt, it will get easier as the moly works in too. I believe that Wolf springs makes firing pin springs for Mosins too. But becareful not to go too light of a spring if your shooting military surplus ammo because you may run into miss fires because of the harder primers that they use in the military ammo. I disassemble every bolt to clean them and and lube the cam. I do put a little moly on the firing pin spring but not much just work some into it and wipe the excess off. I moly the springs in all my guns. I have seen so many semi auto guns with worn springs because they were left dry too. There's just no reason for it.

Mainer · « **Reply #17 on:** August 08, 2005, 04:38:44 PM »

Big Bill: Thanks for the moly anti-seize tip.