Posted on 03/19/2013 4:24:12 PM PDT by TexasBarak
Just went and checked ProMag's site, and they have their new synthetic Mosin-Nagant stocks available for pre-order. Adjustable everything, and (drum roll please)- 10 round removable magazines! Been waiting for this one for awhile!
Looks pretty sweet. I may have to sporterize one of ours.
Serious question from someone totally ignorant of these MNs. Are they actually worth $150? I have read some horror stories. Then again, some seem to like them.
Just askin...
That stock would scare DiFi, TexasBarak.
SHAME.
I do not know if you know this, but she has stuck her finger in bullet holes.
Saw these in a Shot Show 2013 vid. Great looking stocks for Mosins.
It just depends on much you like your hearing. : )
As for the value, listen to Crazy Einar:
For $150 you kinda can't go wrong. If it sucks, sell it and buy another one.
Depends. I bought mine a year ago at a gun show for 70 bucks. The owner let me field strip it, and look the entire thing over. I bought it, and it has been an amazing weapon.
Another guy in my unit bought one, and the barrel was warped so badly that it was almost cartoonish in how it shot. They are literally hit or miss, but you can alleviate that by really looking the weapon down before purchase.
First of all, the going price as of a year ago was 70 to 80 bucks. I don’t know if the current climate warrants a doublging of price to 150, though.
As for the rifle, it really depends on what you want. The Mosin in scopable, but it’s a pain. You’ll have to buy a GOOD mount, and either drill and tap it or have a gunsmith do it for you. I used a Rock Solid Industries Mount (which is what is in the advertisement’s picture, I belive), and did it myself. Most people have the gunsmith do it. So you’re looking at between 100 and 250 bucks to even put a scope on a the weapon. You’ll also need a downturned bolt handle. The weld on ones are garbage, pay the $75 bucks for one. Otherwise, your handle won’t be able to go all the way up due to the optics. If you use iron sights instead of a scope, you’re going to want to get rid of the crappy notch and blade deal, and invest in a peep sight (like Mojo, for example). So that’s some extra cash, if you chose not to add a scope. Then, you’ll probably want to change the stock. This stock looks nice, and has detachable mags. I use a cheap (~$75) Monte Carlo style synthetic stock, which came with a front swivel for bipods (this one doesn’t appear to have that option), but you are stuck with the 5 round box magazine (which I am fine with). So you’ll probably drop several hundred dollars getting your weapon to its max potential, and that’s not even factoring in the money you drop on optics. But if you start with a $75 dollar rifle like I did, and do most of it yourself, you’ll be surprised just how much of a shooter you can make with very little work.
Furthermore, you can buy dirt cheap, corrosive ammo for Mosins, which is nice. Not too hard to spray some Windex with ammonia down the barrel after shooting to neutralize the acids. I was buying 7.62x54R at gun shows for about 70 bucks for a tin of 440 rounds 2 years ago. I’m sure it’s gone up, but that’s still a lot of ammo for very little expenditure.
A couple of asides. A lot of Mosins you buy will be covered in Cosmoline. Cosmoline is you friend, because it preserves rifles. But you will curse it’s name, when you literally spend DAYS getting it off your rifle. Be prepared. I used mineral spirits and a heat gun for over a week. You WILL need the little toolkit that comes with it. Although you can disassemble the bolt without it, the measuring tool is SUCH a time saver when adjusting the firing pin.
All in all, I absolutely LOVE shooting my Mosin. I’m an Eastern Bloc collector with multiple Commie guns, and the Mosin is one of my favorites. As stated, I dropped it into a Monte Carlo stock, and attached a pivoting bipod. I used a RSI scope mount, and mounted a Nikon Prostaff 3-9X40mm scope with Angle-loc scoperings. I then bedded the stock. I may thread the barrel and add a muzzle brake, but that will only be after I return from my deployment and have the time. I can consistently reach out to a man-sized target at 400 yards and routinely shoot nice groups. Honestly, I could probably take it out to 800 and still hit the target. There are youtube videos of a dude shooting the Mosin at a steel target at 1,000, but this is a stretch for the weapon. You will be hit or miss, so I would buy at a gun show or store so that I could completely disassemble the weapon and check EVERYTHING. If you get a good weapon, and it’s a shooter, you can really turn it into something really nice for less than a grand (counting the rifle, all accessories, and the optics).
It all depends on which end of the barrel you are at. I don't own such a rifle, but those $150 buy you a lot of muzzle energy. A 7.62×54 cartridge is quite powerful - too powerful for most soldiers in the 20th century, actually. But snipers used it very effectively.
(Mosin–Nagant M91/30 PU Sniper model shown.)
Under $100 is a better price.
SWEET. Ping HG
I’m ordering asap.
Just make sure you head space gauge them and check the barrel good.
Thanks for the replies everyone. Guess that answers my question ;)
They have had longer service lives than any other firearm than I'm aware of. From 1890 until the present. (yep, they are still used in Afghanistan and parts of Africa as well as ceremonial rifles in a few countries). I think some of the horror stories are from just the fact so many were made and stored for decades or not properly cared for. Much of the ammo is very highly corrosive and requires good cleaning. I have four and love them. They are fun to shoot. It is like driving an old classic car with no power steering or brakes. Just all skill.
Yes. Yes they are! The Mosin-Nagant is inexpensive, yet rugged, reliable, and capable of surprising accuracy. It can also be fed pretty economically with surplus ammo (which is still very available, I believe).
Several companies and individuals make scope mounts for them- I recently found www.mojosights.com, which makes peep sights for a variety of surplus rifles. I intend to mount a set of these on my Mosin, which should give me a rifle capable of hitting a man-sized target out to 400 yards (at least).
Heh! The gal on the right looks a bit like Maggie from The Walking Dead.
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