Posted on 04/10/2015 6:35:03 AM PDT by C19fan
If there’s any weapon that deserves the most credit for beating back Nazi Germany, it might be the legendary bolt-action Mosin-Nagant rifle.
The Soviet Union made them in absolutely huge numbers — and they’re still available and rather cheap compared to their contemporaries. What’s more extraordinary is that the basic design is more than a century old.
Even now, rebels carry Mosin-Nagants alongside more modern weapons as in conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East.
(Excerpt) Read more at medium.com ...
All the numbers on this rifle match and I’d guess it had to be a parade rifle since it’s in near perfect condition (except the Argentine crest has been buzzed off.)
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Agree with the kick. Like a pissed off mule. I have an M44, the carbine with a folding bayonet. I have found that Tula ammunition is the worst for that. I found some Winchester (I think) that was a little softer. Whenever I shoot that sucker, I think of old pictures of Russian women carrying one. Always carrying, never seemed to be shooting though. Maybe, just maybe I know why.
I would note both Westinghouse and Remington produced the M-N. Approx. 2 million.
And be careful when using yellow tip "heavy ball" ammo. It's meant for machine guns and the only way to eject it from a Mosin is with a 2x4.
Thanks for that information....I’ve been thinking of adding one to my collection so I’ll remember that.
While one should not discount the efforts of U.S. and allied troops in the ETO, there is absolutely no comparison as to who actually paid the cost to beat the Nazis. It’s not even vaguely comparable.
On the Western Front after the invasion of France, the allies had 783,860 casualties, including 164,590 killed. They inflicted 836,606 casualties on the Axis including 263,000(est) killed.
On the Eastern Front:
Russia lost (as in dead) 10,651,000. I don’t see a general casualty figure, but things were very brutal over there and the Soviets were not the best at taking care of their soldiers.
The Axis lost 5,178,000 dead.
I can’t actually find general casualty counts for either side in the East.
So just to give rough numbers, the Russians lost 80 times as many people (dead) and killed off 20 times as many Germans.
Do still want to make some kind of case that the U.S. won the war? Now, we certainly beat Japan almost single handedly, but against the Nazis, the Russians carried the load.
It should, however, be understood that the Russians managed this based on U.S. logistics. The majority of their transport and explosives were produced in the U.S. and shipped over. They would not have been able to make nearly as many tanks as they did without us filling in the gaps in what they needed.
Nonetheless, they paid the butcher’s bill like nobody else.
When I was a kid in the mid 60’s, I sent away for a surplus catalog, and among others, they offered Mosin and Tokarev rifles for the princely sum of $12.98 each, and they’d send them parcel post to your door. Last Tokarev I saw at a gun show was over $400...
Do still want to make some kind of case that the U.S. won the war?
The U.S. lost less and provided more materials. It looks like the russians lost more than anyone else. The courage of the US soldiers was right up there with the best.
With any high power rifle, recoil has to be managed. I find the kick of an M44 to be slightly less than an '03 Springfield. With both rifles the Marine method works best for me. Wrap the sling around your left arm and use your elbow to tuck the rifle tightly into the shoulder pocket. Lean into the rifle, acquire the sight picture and squeeze the trigger.
My step-father taught me to fire a Springfield, my first deer rifle, when I was 13 years old and weighed about 90 pounds. He was a WWII CB who was taught by a Marine DI.
Also, proper Mosin ammo comes in 440 round spam cans and is made in places like Bulgaria (arsenal 10) or Frunze, Kirghizia (arsenal 60). Accept no substitutes! :-)
Years ago, I saw a list of the BEST BOLT ACTION rifles in WWII. The M-N was not included.
Best Battle Rifle-British .303 SMLE.
Best Target rifle-US 1903 Springfild.
Best hunting rifle-M98 Mauser.
Toughest action-Arisaka.
Wonder if the M-N would be classified as the meanist kicker.
***I have one that I bought for 80 bucks.***
Back in the 1960s, most hardware stores had barrels full of SMLEs, 1888 German “Commission” and Turkish Mausers for $5.00 each.
Cash and carry. M-98 and Springfields were higher.
But, that was before that travesty, the 1968 gun Control Law.
the most credit for beating back Nazi Germany in Russia was old man winter.....Stalin could only keep pulling back until the Nazis could not go any farther... :^)
The Soviet WWII-time Mosin-Nagants are generally of poor "war-time" quality, when numbers were valued much more than quality. So a WWII rifle has solely memorial value - to Russians. Other people won't find this in them, of course.
But the Soviet-made 193x generation is much better, as well as the Finnish-made.
And the sheer numbers of soldiers, it's like a German General said during the early days of Barbarossa, it was a fight between an elephant and ants, the elephant may kill millions of ants, but in the end the ants will overcome the elephant and eat him down to the bone.
Most of the commie guns are very reliable and some like the venerable Mosin are reasonably accurate
Not like an M98 or Springy but decent
The further west in Former Commie Nation States for country of origin the better
However the Mosin was also made by American companies too early on
Bet those are valuable
We have several
My kids love them
Don't be ridiculous.
The damage the Red Army did to the Wehrmacht, to Germany and to the Germans exceeds the damage done by the US and the UK by an enormous amount.
According to battle death statistics, US-UK forces killed 363,000 German soldiers, sailors, and airmen. According to German statistics, the total military war dead were 4.4 million (the Russians claim 5.6 million). Using the lower figure, the Red Army killed 91% of the German soldiers killed in battle, using the Russian figures, it's 94%.
The only thing the US-UK forces did was to stop the Red Army at the Elbe instead of the Atlantic Ocean - a good thing, to be sure, and it certainly saved the lives of lots of Germans.
But it did not affect the outcome of the war in any meaningful way.
Soviets also started the war when they were Nazi allies and agreed to carve up Poland.
Of all the bolt action rifles in WWII the Mauser was the best. When Weatherby started to make his top end rifles he started with the Mauser bolt action because it was the strongest.
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