Free Republic

. Then, I came across the Russian Mosin Nagant 91/30– a bolt action surplus rifle. I was intrigued as it was only $125, had lots of history, the ammo was cheap, and I thought I could sneak this by the wife. I bought a 1938 Mosin Nagant 91/30 manufactured at the Tula Armory from my local gun shop. That was the start of my love with Russian designed firearms. When you purchase a Mosin Nagant, it comes coated in a bunch of cosmoline and needs lots of cleaning before you should try firing it or for that matter even touching...

Years later, at age 24, I had forgotten all this. I stood in a field on a farm in the middle of nowhere and held a gun for the first time. It was a weathered Soviet rifle, manufactured in 1942, and it was heavy. I couldn’t believe I was about to press this rusty, old thing against my shoulder, let alone pull the trigger. The sound was unlike anything I’d ever heard. The concussive blast shook every molecule of my body, and more importantly, changed my whole perspective.

19th of November, 1942. 7:30 a.m. The air over Stalingrad started shaking. Volleys of thousands of artillery shells marked the beginning of the “Uranus” operation – a counter-offensive one, which became a radical turn in the Second World War. Seventy years have passed and last Sunday there was held a reconstruction in Volgograd devoted to that battle.

Nice weapons this guy has