Mosin-Nagant 91/30 (7.62x54R)

The Mosin Nagant 91/30 is probably one of the best rifles for the money. Used by many countries for over a hundred years it has proven itself in combat and is still seen in conflicts today such as Iraq. The simplicity of the rifle along with its high caliber makes it perfect for hunting or a beginner rifle for everyone of any age. I personally like the high caliber just for the boom and fun factor. The 7.62 Russian is a great caliber and very cheap if you can find a place to buy it from. Best place to look is gun shops and the internet to buy ammo usually places like academy do not carry this ammo especially in bulk. i would suggest getting military surplus for the gun rather than a name brand, but of course wolf is great and cheap ammunition i have never personally found any or shot any. The only problem with most military surplus ammo is that it has a corrosive primer that will over time without cleaning eat the barrel. There are many ways to clean the barrel after firing the easiest way for me personally is take the rifle off the stock and remove the bolt and pour boiling water down the bore and barrel. Do this several times till the barrel is quite warm and let it sit to dry and then run a cloth or a bore snake down to fully clean it. Another way is to mix ammonia and windex and put it on a swab and run it down the barrel several times.

REVIEW:

Any military surplus rifle is usually considered a good rifle for the most part. The 91/30 is a good rifle it is very tough and simple. Being a cheap rifle it attracts many buyers to it. The 91/30 comes usually with an assortment of things usually an oil container some cleaning tools the bayonet and ammunition pouches. The rifle is heavy when you compare it to the guns of today. The gun also is very long with the bayonet attached to it is over 5 feet long.

Firing the gun is very simple and fun. If you are able to fire it on open land please do firing it on a stand does not do it justice. The gun has a good kick to it and is very loud if you fire it at the range you will get a lot of looks and lots of people talking to you about the gun every time i go people always do. accuracy with this gun is excellent. it will hit the target if you can see it. i have not gotten to shoot the rifle over 50 yards, but from 50 or closer it will hit anything. The rifle has a 5 round non-detachable magazine that can take stripper clips but i do not use stripper clips due to the poor quality of the ones i have bought.
If you are buying a rifle that will be easy right away this is not the rifle for you. it takes time to work this rifle into being a great shooting gun. sometimes you get good ones other times you do not. with mine i had to clean it for several days i found using a 12 or 20 gauge brass brush is the best for cleaning to bore and helps a lot, but once you get the gun in good shape it is a perfect weapon. cleaning it as previously stated is easy after firing it simply take the gun apart pour boiling water down the bore and run a 30. caliber bore snake down the barrel a couple times. be sure to lube the bolt after use to ensure a smoother action. that is pretty much all you have to do to clean the gun.

SHOOTING THE GUN
very simple to shoot just load it up and point the trigger pull on these guns is actually pretty good and smooth. the bolt might take some getting used to with mine it sometimes takes a good smack to open the bolt and eject the shell. the first couple times you take the gun out you might get a bruised palm from doing this. if you cannot get the bolt open with your hand i stand the gun up and gently kick the bolt open. this gun is tough and can take that kind of punishment. if that happens though you might be using lacquered ammunition which after the bore heats up turns into a glue and sticks the bolt. or you have not cleaned the bore good enough. Try to keep the gun steady when firing of course my rifle usually shoots a little low and to the right these guns were made to shoot with the bayonet on but i never put it on when i shoot because you will have to clean that too after use to prevent the salts from corroding it. i can though get great groupings with this rifle on the bench.

PICKING A MOSIN NAGANT

Picking a Mosin-Nagant can be difficult. There are several variants the most common of course is the 91/30 which was the standard issue rifle for the Soviet army. For this article i will only talk about the 91/30.

Looking for a 91/30 one must take into consideration several things. Age of the rifle, Condition of the barrel, and the bolt system. Usually the older the rifle the better quality of the rifle. i have a 1932 Tula which was re-furbished in Ukraine. With the 91/30 there are several countries such as Russia, US, China, and the most coveted in quality the Finnish rifles. Any rifle overall will do with the Russian rifles try to look for an older Tula rifle. The Tula’s have a reputation to be overall better quality. Once you go to a store look at every 91/30 each one has its own characteristics from the condition of the stock to all the numbers of the rifle matching. once you have narrowed down the rifles take an LED light down the bore and and the barrel and see first of all if you can see to the other side and how black the rifling and the condition of the bore. Some rifles at the end of the barrel have been counter-bored, but that is due to the fact the front of the barrel was in such poor condition. Be sure to take out the bolt and look at the bore with a dirty and ruined bore you can either 1. not get a cartridge in or 2. over time in a shooting session the bullet can get stuck and you will have to take the cleaning rod out to get the shell casing out. If you ever have doubt in the casing being extracted when shooting check the bore. There has been an occasion when a person got a live round in the bore with a spent shell casing and it blew the gun up and injured the shooter with burns and several bits of metal. After checking the barrel and the bore look over the condition of the stock. stocks can be either perfect with a good coat of shellac or beaten up with no shellac. depending on who you are a beaten up stock could have some historical character to it. some may not like it and sand the stock down and put some new shellac on it. with mine it was beaten up i kept the bumps and dents on the stock. i just simply stripped the old shellac and went to Lowes and got some new shellac. Whatever you do do not change the stock to a synthetic stock this ruins the whole feel of the gun and is commonly called “bubba” the gun up. If the rifle is covered in cosmoline there is no need to look away from it. Cosmoline protects the rifle when it is stored for long periods of time. to take off cosmoline simply boil all the metal parts of put them in the dishwaher with the wood stock rub it down with mineral water. the most important place to get the cosmoline out is the bore.

When picking a mosin nagant pick the one that fits you best and as most owners say the one that speaks to you. i promise you you will not regret buying one and after having one it is most likely you will buy another. try to get a Russian version first because they are usually cheaper try not to spend more than 125 for one. but once you do some more research you will find that some collectors ones will be worth and will cost a lot more.

THE BEST SITE FOR RESEARCH ON ANYTHING MOSIN NAGANT IS

www.7.62x54r.net