A Remington 700 short action .308 will outshoot a Nagant 10 times out 10
right out of the box with consumer grade ammunition. And they can be had for about $800. Of course a high quality scope, which is essential, is extra. You do not have to come anywhere near $2000 to outshoot a Nagant. I have a long action 700 in .30-06, which I spent about $100 on a B&C composite stock and another $40 on a Harris bipod. I spent maybe another $100 having the bed glassed and the barrel floated in the composite stock. It still has the
stock barrel. With my handloads I
consistently shoot sub 0.3 - 0.4 MOA groups at 100 yds. That equates to 3-4" at 1000 yds, assuming no wind of course. If you want to spend $200 on a piece of junk iron, have at it. You can get a used Rem 700 for maybe half that that will show up what a POS the Nagant really is.
I have a better rifle than a Nagant also. I don't have a Nagant, it doesn't hold much interest for me.
The people who buy a Nagant I think are less interested in long-range accuracy than in a cheap, just-in-case firearm that they can buy and stash in the closet until the Zombie Apocalypse.
Another attractiveness of certain Nagant models is some receivers were made before 1899, and as such are classified as "antique". As such, they do not fall under BATFE reporting requirements. Some people like the idea of having a rifle they bought for cash and which has no Form 4473 pointing at them.
