What to look for when buying a Mosin?

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K.s.47

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Hi guys I'm fairly new with surplus rifles. I bought an sks for like $225 a few years ago and even though its my cheapest rifle, its easily my favourite. I was thinking about buying a mosin for around $400 and was wondering what I should look for.

I've heard they vary from decently smooth actions to absolutely atrocious ones. Is there any way to improve my chances of getting one with a half decent action? I've heard the hex ones are known to have a little bit better quality control and I'm willing to pay the little bit more if you guys think this is really worth it.

I've seen some "new" from dealers for $400 to $425 and similar ones on here for $350+. Is it worth saving the $50 or am I better off getting one from a store?

I know theres a lot of questions here and many of them come down to what I'm willing to pay but any advice on helping improve my chances of getting a decent one without paying too much is appreciated. Just looking for the best bang for my buck here. Looking for something fun to shoot so any "historical" or "collector" value doesn't matter much to me. Thanks guys.
 
Look for one with the double circle or donut shape stamped on the receiver.
I've read that it indicates an accurate rifle.

My one mosin has that symbol and is plenty accurate to shoot.

I'd also stay away from counter bored rifles.
 
K.s.47 said:
Hi guys I'm fairly new with surplus rifles. I bought an sks for like $225 a few years ago and even though its my cheapest rifle, its easily my favourite. I was thinking about buying a mosin for around $400 and was wondering what I should look for.

I've heard they vary from decently smooth actions to absolutely atrocious ones. Is there any way to improve my chances of getting one with a half decent action? I've heard the hex ones are known to have a little bit better quality control and I'm willing to pay the little bit more if you guys think this is really worth it.

I've seen some "new" from dealers for $400 to $425 and similar ones on here for $350+. Is it worth saving the $50 or am I better off getting one from a store?

I know theres a lot of questions here and many of them come down to what I'm willing to pay but any advice on helping improve my chances of getting a decent one without paying too much is appreciated. Just looking for the best bang for my buck here. Looking for something fun to shoot so any "historical" or "collector" value doesn't matter much to me. Thanks guys.
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Go to Corwin Arms website and choose one with the smallest grouping at 100m in the attached proof of accuracy. That would save you a lot of hassles.
 
There is much you can do to improve the actions. Even just a complete cleaning of the bolt can be all it takes. I would focus on bore and wood condition. The bores usually need to be cleaned before you can see the condition though.
 
ReverendX said:
Look for one with the double circle or donut shape stamped on the receiver.
I've read that it indicates an accurate rifle.

My one mosin has that symbol and is plenty accurate to shoot.

I'd also stay away from counter bored rifles.
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I can’t say I agree with the statement. At this stage in the game getting an accurate Mosin has more to do with what kind of wear and tear the boar has seen over the years. Corrosive ammo has made many of them worn out to the point they don’t shoot milsurp ammo that great anymore. You can often hand load and make them accurate again but that’s more trouble than most people are willing to go through. Almost all of them have undergone some type of refurb process and depending on how well that was done it can also have a great effect on accuracy.

If you’re handy much of this work can be tuned up by yourself such as trigger jobs and stock shimming, action bedding etc.

What I’m trying to say is condition is paramount. Not necessarily what stamped on it. It’s for this reason I prefer to buy on the EE here on CGN as most of the sellers are very honest and give accurate descriptions of condition. Buying from a store is a little bit of a lottery.
 
K.s.47: Since you're looking primarily for a shooter, I would suggest that you try and find one of the many 91/30 refurbs around that look like they are unused since refurb and went into refurb still having a near perfect bore. Not at all unusual. It is definitely possible to find a hex receiver refurb with excellent bore but I suspect there's more later round receiver examples in really great condition. What you need to look for is one that has had all the important parts replaced with new appearing pieces and is, essentially, a brand new, fully up to spec 91/30. You could consider a WTB where you stipulate condition and ask for the best bore photo the seller can manage. But you need to be picky and don't focus totally on price. I've sold a few refurb Mosins and SVT's at shows in the last couple of years and I found it was nearly impossible to get prospective buyers to examine a rifle and look through the bore- it was always all about price!

milsurpo
 
milsurpo said:
K.s.47: Since you're looking primarily for a shooter, I would suggest that you try and find one of the many 91/30 refurbs around that look like they are unused since refurb and went into refurb still having a near perfect bore. Not at all unusual. It is definitely possible to find a hex receiver refurb with excellent bore but I suspect there's more later round receiver examples in really great condition. What you need to look for is one that has had all the important parts replaced with new appearing pieces and is, essentially, a brand new, fully up to spec 91/30. You could consider a WTB where you stipulate condition and ask for the best bore photo the seller can manage. But you need to be picky and don't focus totally on price. I've sold a few refurb Mosins and SVT's at shows in the last couple of years and I found it was nearly impossible to get prospective buyers to examine a rifle and look through the bore- it was always all about price!

milsurpo
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Ok thanks. What do you think about going into corwin arms and picking one with the best bore rating and a prof of accuracy? It seemed like a pretty easy solution and they're in my price range. You think those mosins look decent?
 
K.s.47 said:
Ok thanks. What do you think about going into corwin arms and picking one with the best bore rating and a prof of accuracy? It seemed like a pretty easy solution and they're in my price range. You think those mosins look decent?
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I've never bought from them but their descriptions seem more thorough than that provided by some commercial sellers. Probably as good a way as any to get a good rifle on your first attempt. I haven't bought a refurb in years so I can't comment on the prices other than to say a good rifle for $400 is better than a clunker for $250. If you buy one let us know how it turns out.

milsurpo
 
Shimming action screws and cork bedding action and cloth wrapping barrel worked for me
turned my mosin sniper 1943 inito 1 / 2 MOA rifle at 100 yds with chinese ammo
I got the kit for 20 bucks from a mosin guy in USA cant remember his website?
you can probably get the material yourself not expensive
method is probably on you tube?
and timney sells a trigger for the mosin
 
K.s.47 said:
Ok thanks. What do you think about going into corwin arms and picking one with the best bore rating and a prof of accuracy? It seemed like a pretty easy solution and they're in my price range. You think those mosins look decent?
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I've bought 4 of them, they are quite nice. not sure how they shoot other than the certificate showing their test fires. They are counterbored by the arsenal.
 
bogozzo said:
I've bought 4 of them, they are quite nice. not sure how they shoot other than the certificate showing their test fires. They are counterbored by the arsenal.
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Congrats on buying 4 of them (wow!). There is nothing wrong with counterboring. The counterbored surplus rifles are usually more accurate than those not-counterbored. Any potential scars on the crown and a bit deeper in the bore are completely removed by counterboring. The Corwin Arms M91/30's seem to be very accurate since the accuracy certificates for most of them show 7-10cm (2.8-3.9") groups at 100m (meters not yards!). They were refurbished for Ukrainian shooters. I can see that all of them were refurbished after the second world war since they have postwar stocks. IMHO they are a good bargain. If you wanted to install some scope (a bit of work required) and get a good ammo (or reload) they could give you 1.5-2" groupings at 100y without any problem. I reload only for 7.62x54R and routinely get around 1.5" at 100y from my laminate M91/30 with an extra long eye relief scope. I'm still working on a powder charge that could give me 1MOA.
 
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paratrooper777 said:
Shimming action screws and cork bedding action and cloth wrapping barrel worked for me
turned my mosin sniper 1943 inito 1 / 2 MOA rifle at 100 yds with chinese ammo
I got the kit for 20 bucks from a mosin guy in USA cant remember his website?
you can probably get the material yourself not expensive
method is probably on you tube?
and timney sells a trigger for the mosin
Click to expand...

I would absolutely love (and I am not alone) to see that!!!

On a second thought, I would even pay for it.
 
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paratrooper777 said:
Shimming action screws and cork bedding action and cloth wrapping barrel worked for me
turned my mosin sniper 1943 inito 1 / 2 MOA rifle at 100 yds with chinese ammo
I got the kit for 20 bucks from a mosin guy in USA cant remember his website?
you can probably get the material yourself not expensive
method is probably on you tube?
and timney sells a trigger for the mosin
Click to expand...

Just picked up and installed a kit from him. Haven't managed to get to the range to test it yet...hoping to get even close to the results you've got. His website is www.milsurpaccuracyinc.com. You can also find him on Ebay. His seller name is Raupelminze454
 
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