I ordered my first two MN’s and am expecting delivery in the next week or so. Now I know this isn’t the best place to get opinions and information (that was sarcasm) on rifles but I’m hoping I can get a bit of advice on the best methods to clean these bad boys up.
Thanks in advance to all.
L
You will find general info in the sidebar and mucho advice in the forum section. Not just Mosins but most every other type of milsurp. Some ahole called dynachrome hangs out there once in awhile, too. :) (Forum is free to join)
http://www.surplusrifle.com/index.asp
Ps. For checking out what type of Mosin you may have, these guys know everything:
1. Take them entirely apart, even the bolt (762x54R.net has exploded views). Get rid of any commie cosmoline left in the receiver. Clean and re-lubricate with a good gun oil.
2. If you like the wood, refinish it with Tung Oil. Clean all of the old nasty varnish off, and put about 5 - 7 coats of Tung Oil, allowing a few hours between coats to dry. I did this with one of my M39's, and it looks great.
3. If you want to run it open sights (fine for an M44, and I've shot 300yd open sights with an M39), get the Mojo "peep" sights. No gunsmithing required. They mount and work perfectly. I think I paid $45 for mine, but that was about 2 years ago.
4. If you want a scope mount, STAY AWAY from the "bolt on" "no gunsmithing" type. Get a local gunsmith to drill and tap your receiver (painful I know on a classic like a Nagant), and you will have a MUCH more stable scope platform. In my humble opinion, unless you are left-eye dominant and right handed, STAY AWAY from the left-side Russian-style mounts.
5. Get yourself a good sling. Your Nagant may have come with one, but you'll be glad you got a good one.
6. If you are planning to reload 7.62x54R, go ahead and order the material (for example, from Midway USA) to "slug" your barrel. Nagant barrels do vary, and you want to measure the rifling land diameter. Mine slugged out at about .311, so I use 303 caliber bullets from Sierra and others.
Congrats on a great historical rifle.
I find that an old t-shirt and low odor mineral spirits (paint thinner)do a good job. Just take it all the way apart, and get busy. I pick up old t-shirts at garage sales for just this kind of thing.