New Mosin-Nagant Owner - Any Tips?

[Griffworks]

As the thread title suggests, I recently purchased a Mosin-Nagant for a pretty decent price. It came w/two dual ammo pouches, sling, tool pouch w/tools, gun oil and bayonet. And, of course, the required dripping of cosmoline packing grease from just about every inch. Mine is stamped 1942, apparently produced in Georgia (the country, not the state) from what I can tell.

For those who don't know, this is a Russian/Soviet Union produced weapon, originally designed in the very late 18th Century, production began in1891 and the design was produced in it's mostly basic form up until the 1960's. More information available from this link at Wikipedia.com.

I bought mine because I didn't currently have any sort of rifle. While it's obviously not a modern-day masterpiece of Grade-A Bang-Bang, I've heard great things about them for quite a few years now. Plus, it was a great price and appears to be either brand-new or at least kept in excellent shape. All the serial numbers that are visible are the same, so it also appears to be an all original piece.

Anyone have any tips, hints and/or tricks they might care to share about theirs? Thoughts on a scope? I was thinking of trying to find an original WWII Era Soviet Sniper Scope, but am more than willing to entertain any suggestions on that and other aspects of the rifle.

 

[LGH]

Carry a bottle of windex when you shoot. If you are using the cheap soviet ammo it will eat up your chamber spray the windex in and wipe it out. This will stop it from happening.

 

[NDS]

I guess Windex doesn't hurt but I don't know how it became the ubiquitous accessory for corrosive ammo. I've been using surplus corrosive ammo in guns for almost 50 years and I've never used Windex; I've never lost a rifle bore to corrosion. Clean after shooting, if you live in a dry climate like I do you can even wait a day or two.

As for necessary accessories with a M-N ... a good stout 2X4 to 'encourage' the bolt open ... after it sticks ...

Enjoy the cheap shooting that goes with your inexpensive rifle.:biggrin:

 

[theicemanmpls]

I think I own the M-44. It is the short one with the bayonet.
It sure packs plenty of painful recoil.
Not a new hunters deer rifle IMO.
I am still trying to figure out what it is good for.

 

[Griffworks]

Thanks for the suggestions and general commentary.

I put my rifle back in the cardboard box in which it came, sealing it as best I can until such time as I get a stripper clip and ammo for it. There's a gun show next weekend here in the greater Little Rock area and I hope to do what one of my airmen did two months back, which is to pick up some stripper clips and can of ammo (or at least a couple boxes) on the cheap. I'm not in a major rush to shoot him (his name is Vanya, BTW, a diminutive form of Ivan - Russian for "John" - in keeping w/my theme of naming my firearms after characters from the show "Supernatural" - so figured it best to keep him out of sight and sealed up until I have what I want in-hand to go shoot.

My thinking is to definitely look at putting a scope on the rifle, but am still leaning towards a WWII Era produced piece - or something that at least doesn't look modern day. I don't want a laser sight, but some sort of scope would be preferrable to open-sights.

I like the idea of a peep sight versus the current rear sight, tho. I've never fired a rifle w/this exact type of sight and it appears that it will make accurate shooting much more challenging than I'd prefer - yeah, I'm sorta lazy. :embarassed:

Any thoughts on the sling? That thing is tight and I can't get it to stretch out enough to fully put it in place. A friend suggested rubbing some olive oil in to it to loosen it a bit, as he says it's likely dried out over the decades it's been in storage. Again, I'd like to keep the original sling, but refuse to go w/o a sling if I can't get the issue sling to work correctly. I've got a three-point sling for an M-16A2 that I've had for my trips to The Desert, but doubt I can modify it so that it looks anything other than kinda stoo-pid for what I need.

'Course, I guess I could just use it as a standard sling, which is what I've done most of the time in The Desert.

Again, appreciate the comments. Thanks muchly! :bier:

 

[NDS]

Stripper Clips: M-N folks I know have had problems with some of them on the market. They appear to have the most luck with the originals. I think there was surplus ammo available a while back that was packed on clips and the M-N guys I know seem to consider them the best.

 

[Durendal]

My thinking is to definitely look at putting a scope on the rifle, but am still leaning towards a WWII Era produced piece - or something that at least doesn't look modern day. I don't want a laser sight, but some sort of scope would be preferrable to open-sights.

I like the idea of a peep sight versus the current rear sight, tho. I've never fired a rifle w/this exact type of sight and it appears that it will make accurate shooting much more challenging than I'd prefer - yeah, I'm sorta lazy. :embarassed:

Please don't take offense, partly because it is YOUR rifle, and partly because what I'm about to say is my opinion. Please don't hack up your rifle. Yes, it's only a $100 gun. Yes, they made millions. If everyone thought that way, some day there won't be millions.

Now, with that out of the way :biggrin:, here's some research I did for you :thank_you2:

Link Removed Mojo sights makes replacement rear aperture sights. They simply replace the rear leaf, and don't require you to modify your rifle in any way. This gets you what you want, keeps your rifle historically intact, and keeps me happy :sarcastic: The disclaimer is, I don't own any, so I can't speak to quality or function.

Here's where the things you want sort of diverge down a few paths. My reading indicates that adding a PU scope mount to the receiver can be a pain in the butt, not cheap, and you will need a new bent bolt handle. Replica period scopes can run up to $400, and originals even more. You can get a sniper clone from several online dealers for around that much anyway. However, if the apes at Century can put out a Mosin sniper clone, I'm sure a dedicated average Joe can do better with a little care. Here's a guy who added a modern Soviet-style scope mount and modern scope. I expect the process will be about the same for original style mounts and scopes. Link Removed

The next option I'm going to present will preclude the use of iron sights, so unlike the original Soviet scope mount, it's going to be one or the other. This is a really neat option, but IMO better suited for the shorter Mosins (M38, M44, M91/59). Ever heard of the Scout Rifle concept? If not, read up on that. Pretty cool stuff. What this option will do is replace your rear sight leaf, again without any modifications or damage done to your rifle, and add a scope mount forward of the receiver. You then add a long eye relief scope, and presto! Scout rifle. You can aim with both eyes open for a much larger field of view. I've read about more than one scout rifle owner saying how much it seems like a video game, with the crosshair floating in the center of your vision. I have a Springfield M1A Scout/Squad on layaway that will get the scout scope treatment, but that's another thread.

Here's a thread where exactly that was done with an M44 Mosin. Link Removed

Here's a picture of someone else's Mosin, dressed up for the party. It may be more modern than you'd like, but it's certainly a great way to give an old warhorse new life, and have her become a very capable and handy bush rifle.
Link Removed

Again, I don't own any of the sights, scopes, or mounts mentioned here. These are simply friendly options to get you started. It's up to you to decide the path you want to take, and perform your own research into quality and performance. Above all, have fun and shoot the heck out of her :yes4:

 

[KimberPB]

As stated before just make sure you clean it right away when shooting corrosive ammo. I bring a cleaning rod, patches, and a spray bottle of ammonia with me when I shoot mine. After I am done shooting I spray the ammonia down the chamber till it runs out of the muzzle. I then sock a patch and run several through the barrel. Then I do my normal cleaning when I get home. Also make sure to spray the bolt face.

As far as modifing I just refinished the stock and did a trigger job. It's not a tack driver but it looks good and is a blast to shot. Here is a picture of mine:

 

[clay5769]

Mosin Nagant

Hi all I just got mine and can not wait to go shoot it... hopefully next week or so I will.
I got a few up-grades for it but nothing that cannot be taken off, I got a scout scope so I do not have to change the bolt and a mount that goes in place of the rear site (no drilling or machine work) I got a new after market stock to set it in and a bi-pod that clamps on the barrel (again no machining) I want to shoot it with the new parts on it and have some fun.
But I want to re-do the old stock and do a general clean up. while I use it with the new stock . Oh and it came with a cleaning kit and some tools and ammo pouchs and things.
It is a complete matching number gun other then the bayonet..
The butt plate ,bolt, and chamber on the barrel are all the same serial number. Every place I could see on the gun has the same serial number other then the bayonet..

Link Removed

 

[oldvet53]

I think I own the M-44. It is the short one with the bayonet.
It sure packs plenty of painful recoil.
Not a new hunters deer rifle IMO.
I am still trying to figure out what it is good for.

what you have is either a calvery or artilliry carbine, i gave mine to my son-in-law a couple of years ago as i could not take the recoil any more because of a back injury and he didn't have a deer rifle. the 7.62x54 long russian is somewhere between a 308 and a 30-06.leasantry:

 

[billt]

I just picked up these 2 Tula, Hex Receiver Mosin's from Classic Arms a few weeks back with all of the accessories. All the numbers match, including the numbers on the bayonets. As soon as it cools down I give them a good cleaning and take them to the range and light them up! Bill T.

 

[rev]

The best tip I can give you....
....take your cleaning kit to the range...
....shoot the rifle till it's hot, scrub the bore...
....repeat this several times.

 

[Rocketgeezer]

I have a 91/30 got it basicly because I could not resist the price, I got the rifle and 100 rds for $150, had all the stuff with it sling, cleaning kit, ammo bags, and of course the pig sticker as I call it, we had a AR and when my wife and I went to the range we each had to wait for other to get done, then had to wait for the gun to cool off, now with the Mosin, we can both shoot and have fun also I have a rear sight mounted scope, and it seems to work great, the Mosin is almost as good as the long barreled AR at 100 yds, if I do shoot the surplus ammo with corrosive primers, I do clean it as soon as I can, do not really take any extra pains just a good cleaning, we have a fun time shooting it, I did put a rubber slip on pad, it can be punnishing, if you shoot much, but with the pad there is no problem with recoil, the ammo is the only pain, not all gun shops have it, and your deffinatly not going to find it at Gander mt, or Bass pro, online ammo shops are your best bet, going to a gun show this weekend to see if I can pick up one of those 500 rd cans,

 

[zeddicus]

I bought my mosin nagant at gander mt. about a month ago. 135.00 plus back ground check. they had 6 or 8 boxes of ammo, silver bear and brown bear, about 12.00 a box, but ifound a small gun store that had ammo 4 5.00 for a box of 20.:biggrin:

 

[billt]

I bought my mosin nagant at gander mt. about a month ago. 135.00 plus back ground check. they had 6 or 8 boxes of ammo, silver bear and brown bear, about 12.00 a box, but ifound a small gun store that had ammo 4 5.00 for a box of 20.:biggrin:

Gander Mountain charges you for a background check? Bill T.

 

[zeddicus]

yea, they charged me 10:00 back ground check fee, even tho i have an hgp.:laugh:

 

[billt]

yea, they charged me 10:00 back ground check fee, even tho i have an hgp.:laugh:

It's a lot of nerve to charge a customer for something that doesn't cost them a dime, and is a legal requirement for THEM to do, not you. Especially when few others do it. What's next, a fee for filling out their end of the 4473 form? Bill T.

 

[Rocketgeezer]

yea, they charged me 10:00 back ground check fee, even tho i have an hgp.:laugh:

They blasted me twice, till I realized that they over charge on the guns by a bunch, then tell you about the great deal you just got...................:fie:

 

[handgonnetoter]

It's a lot of nerve to charge a customer for something that doesn't cost them a dime, and is a legal requirement for THEM to do, not you. Especially when few others do it. What's next, a fee for filling out their end of the 4473 form? Bill T.

Yea, that don't sound right. I shop at Gander all the time and have yet to be charged that fee.:fie: