5/6/2010, 12:57 am
After speaking to several worthy Comrades and a Commissar on the subject of the old Russian warhorse Mosin Nagant rifle, I have decided to prepare a quick primer (ha, get it; primer lol... oh never mind) on this rifle.
Currently one may find WWII surplus Mosins for $100-120 in many places. They are a stout and durable firearm, and one that can provide many hours of fun. I strongly encourage Comrades to check out Mosin Nagant.net and7.62x54r.net those two websites have nearly all the mosin and ammo info you'll ever need.
I will briefly touch on the major models and several things to look at for the mosin curious comrade.
The Mosin Nagant was one of the earliest rifles made for smokeless powder, and first appeared as the Model 1891 rifle. This is the one that all other future Mosins were based on. The basic design of receiver, magazine, and stock shape NEVER CHANGED from 1891 until the mid 1950's when the last mosins were made. Any variants are based off of this first design. Furthermore, the 7.62x54mm, rimmed cartridge has largely gone unchanged since 1891.
The size and types of bullets have varied over the last 100 some odd years, but the round is pretty much the same, and is still used by Russia and other nations in machine guns and sniper rifles. The Model 1891 is usually encountered either as a Finnish capture or rebuild, or as US made Remington or New England Westinghouse rifles. The US rifles were made under contract to the Czar, and many never left the country when The Revolution took place. In fact, the US Army purchased and issued many of these rifles to troops; designating the rifle Model of 1916. It was a rear guard rifle, early Expeditionary Force troops to France had some, and Allied troops sent to try and prop up the White Russians starting in 1919 carried them. Needless to say most if not all were left in Europe. They were not very popular with US soldiers. After the war, many were sold on the US surplus market. Due to major Soviet rebuild programs, it is highly unusual to find an intact and original Russian Model 91.
While several minor changes were made to the Model 1891 rifle over the years, including somewhat shorter "dragoon" lengths, as well as early carbine length rifles, the next major change came in 1930 with the Model 91/30 rifle. Shorter than a standard M91, and sporting different sights and a simplified trigger mechanism the 91/30 is perhaps the most commonly encountered Mosin today, and can be readily picked up for $100-$120 in many cases.Starting in the late 1930's the receiver design was changed from an octagon (improperly called a "hex" receiver, but the name has stuck so it's current truth) to a an easier to produce round one. Also this is when the Soviets began a massive program to create and equip their troops with sniper rifles. 91/30 sniper rifles come in three different scope configurations, with the last one; the PU variant being most common either as originals or as reproductions. At this time, an original PU sniper may be had for $800-$1000, while a quality replica built on a WWII surplus rifle in top quality condition and fitted with a reproduction scope and mount can be had for $400 or so. I have one and enjoy it.
My replica 91/30 PU sniper built on a 1943 Izhvesk Arsenal rifle with replica scope, surplus unissued mount, surplus sniper stock, and recently bent down bolt.
In 1938, a shorter length carbine version of the 91/30 was introduced. This was issued to artillerymen, drivers, or other soldiers who may not need a rifle on a regular basis, and certainly not the standard infantry configuration. This practice is common among army's , even to this day. In 1943 the design was modified with a side folding bayonet. 50,000 were produced in 1943 as prototypes, with full production and model designation beginning in 1944. These rifles were meant to replace the 91/30 as the standard infantry bolt action. However the SKS was first tested in 1945, and finally put into production in 1949, thus obsoleting the bolt action rifle. Ironically the SKS itself was obsolete when it hit production, although it would take 8 more years for the AK-47 to fully supplant it. The last 91/30 was made in 1945 (a rare year) with the last year of production being 1948. Poland, Hungary and Romania also made M44's in the early to mid 1950's.
One may also find standard 91/30 rifles cut down to carbine length. These are referred to as the Model 91/59 as that is when the conversion took place. It is not known why the soviets did this, or why some are scrubbed of all markings, or only marked 1891/59 which is a rather unusual marking for the Soviets on a rifle.
Briefly too, the Finns have made several very interesting variants of the Mosin. In all cases, they used captured Russian actions, and sometimes simply reissued a complete captured Russian rifle with a Finnish property stamp on it. In many other cases, they put new barrels, new stocks, different sights and better triggers on them. Many variants of Finnish Mosins exist, and I would encourage Comrades to examine the Finnish sections on the pages I linked to earlier. I own a Model 1891 Finnish rifle with a heavy two piece birch stock and a 1940 Tikka made barrel on it. The action itself was made in 1901 at the Tula arsenal in Russia. You will commonly find Model 91 Finns and their final (and often considered best) design the M39. Less commonly found and still highly desirable is the Model 27. You will also find many Remington or Westinghouse mosins among Finnish rifles.
In all cases, the Mosin Nagant rifle is a 5 shot, magazine fed bolt action rifle. The 7.62x54r round is roughly equal to a .30.06 in power, and is commonly found with 150 grain or 180 grain bullets. Surplus ammunition is cheap and plentiful.
Tomorrow; using, shooting and caring for your Mosin.
Please keep in mind there is a HUGE history of the Mosin Nagant and I am barely touching on this incredible and easily obtainable rifle. There are many obscure and collectible variants out there. I encourage interested readers to start with the two pages I linked to earlier in this post. I will be happy to answer any questions either in this thread or via private message you may have.
--7.62
