How to pick a good mosin nagant 91/30?
- Thread starter joshb
- Start date
I bought one from Westrifle recently and it wasn't all that great. I look at it as a luck of the draw when buying online from a dealer. If I had to do it again Id wait for one to show up here on CGN in the EE. Ask the seller what condition the bore is in, if it's typical frosted or "fair" condition Id say pass and wait until you find one in "very good" or "excellent". If you can drop into Westrifle or any local gun store that has Mosins and hand select one from their stock yourself you'll be even better.
Things to look for in order of importance from a first rifle shooters perspective:
1. Good bore with shiny surface and solid rifling. Sometimes the cosmoline that surplus rifles are packed in will hide a nice bore so when hand selecting it's a comparative thing. Pick the brightest. The muzzle should be shiney and not nicked. Look up counterbored muzzles and be aware if it has been counterbored or not.
2. Matching bolt ser# and chamber. This is important for safety reasons. Look up Mosin headspace check. The idea is that when a bolt and chamber have been miss matched the tolerance for the round has been compromised and a potential safety concern could be there. That said, I've heard very few have had issues with headspace with these Russian Mosins in Canada.
3. Smooth bolt action. Every time you pull that trigger you'll be operating the bolt. Try to pick one that feels smooth and is easy to open and close. You'll appreciate it when you get down to shooting a bunch in a sitting.
4. Trigger feel. This can easily be modified if it's rough if your handy, there's great YouTube vids on it. If your not handy it shouldn't cost too much for a gun smith to do it because it's quick.
5. Stock condition. A nice clean unmarked stock will make you fee proud to take it out and shoot it. It could very well draw attention and be a conversation piece.
6. What accessories does it come with? You may not like the Mosin or decide to one day move on and sell it. In this case, it's nice to have the bayonette, sling, cleaning kit, oil bottle ect. It will make resale much easier.
7. Matched #'s for the stock, bayonette, trigger plate to the bolt, chamber/barrel. Again, this is just for resale down the road.
This is all my opinion so take it for what it's worth.
My list would be different if it were a collector looking for advise.
I purchased a 91/30 from Westrifle last year.
I e-mailed them asking what the bore condition was on a specific rifle. They replied with one word, "nice". When I received the rifle I thoroughly cleaned the bore, after 30 patches all the crud was gone. The bore was heavily pitted, I had never actually even seen that much pitting in a bore before that day. I seriously doubt they even bothered to check.
That was my first and last milsurp purchase from them.
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Thanks for posting this! I was about to order one from them at the end of this week, now I think ill try and look at some locally first.
thanks
This is actual going to be my first piece of firearm. I was wondering is there a tool/method that I can use to examine the condition of the bore?thanks
You can use calipers to measure the bore diameter land to land or groove to groove at the muzzle, where most wear occurs. All you really need though is a small flashlight to shine through the chamber. Just look down through the muzzle.
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Arsenal refurbished means that the state arsenals refurbished the rifles. That is to say, they fixed any cracks, refinished the stocks, replaced worn parts, etc. 95%+ of the Mosin-Nagant rifles in Canada were refurbished.
Do some reading here: http://7.62x54r.net/
An easy way to check wear of a barrel is buy a 7.62x54r snap cap and drop it in the muzzle and observe how much of the bullet enters the muzzle. This is also a good way to check if it's counterbored. I'll second the comment about some counterbored dark frosted barres still being able to shoot accurately. But if you plan to shoot it a bunch your still going to want as little wear and tear as you can find.
gewehr76
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
gewehr76
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I guess you have to deside for yourself
But I thought everyone says they are GREAT!!!(?)
I was going to say just order from Corwin-Arms and don't worry about it. He gets some of the best red rifles I've ever seen.
Problem is, people have figured that out, and he sells out faster than most other dealers - he's currently out of Mosins. If you look in the dealer sub-forums for Corwin-Arms, you'll see a lot of people really happy with what they get there, and how good the customer service is. You might also drop a note in there asking when he expects his next shipment in (there's a few shipping containers working their way from Eastern Europe to Kamloops at any given point in time).
This. I actually use a real bullet. You want to see a couple millimeters of the bullet showing from the end of the barrel. An unfired bullet is actually slightly wider that the bore of the gun, and swages down as it is fired. If the bore is worn, the bullet can pass through too cleanly and the rifling (if there is any left) won't engage properly.
Here's a pic I did of an Enfield using this test method. With this amount of the bullet protruding, it has very strong rifling:
Problem is, people have figured that out, and he sells out faster than most other dealers - he's currently out of Mosins. If you look in the dealer sub-forums for Corwin-Arms, you'll see a lot of people really happy with what they get there, and how good the customer service is. You might also drop a note in there asking when he expects his next shipment in (there's a few shipping containers working their way from Eastern Europe to Kamloops at any given point in time).
This. I actually use a real bullet. You want to see a couple millimeters of the bullet showing from the end of the barrel. An unfired bullet is actually slightly wider that the bore of the gun, and swages down as it is fired. If the bore is worn, the bullet can pass through too cleanly and the rifling (if there is any left) won't engage properly.
Here's a pic I did of an Enfield using this test method. With this amount of the bullet protruding, it has very strong rifling:
I bought my first Mosin Nagant sight unseen from Wolverine Supplies in Virden, Manitoba. Although she wasn’t the prettiest... she works great. Came with a bayonet and a cleaning kit.
It is a ’34 Tula with a hex receiver. The bold cycles smoothly, the trigger is firm, the bore is very nice and she’s accurate. The deer meat in my freezer can attest to that.
My second Mosin comes from Canadian Tire in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The clerk was pleasant and accommodating and let me into the “cage” so I could pick out my rifle.
I looked at a few and picked a ’40 Izhevsk with a round receiver. I checked the following: the bore (very good), the bolt (cycles smoothly but somehow tight when removing and replacing), the stock (very nice), the trigger (tight). Came with a bayonet and a cleaning kit.
All the numbers match on both rifles but I know this is because they went through the arsenal refurbishing process where parts were scrubbed and “force matched”. I really don’t care as I have no intentions of selling either rifle.
Well, time for you to go an look for your "first" !!!
It is a ’34 Tula with a hex receiver. The bold cycles smoothly, the trigger is firm, the bore is very nice and she’s accurate. The deer meat in my freezer can attest to that.
My second Mosin comes from Canadian Tire in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The clerk was pleasant and accommodating and let me into the “cage” so I could pick out my rifle.
I looked at a few and picked a ’40 Izhevsk with a round receiver. I checked the following: the bore (very good), the bolt (cycles smoothly but somehow tight when removing and replacing), the stock (very nice), the trigger (tight). Came with a bayonet and a cleaning kit.
All the numbers match on both rifles but I know this is because they went through the arsenal refurbishing process where parts were scrubbed and “force matched”. I really don’t care as I have no intentions of selling either rifle.
Well, time for you to go an look for your "first" !!!
