It was the girth of it I suspect. I'm a slim old guy...Medium size hands at best. I just found it awkward.
Again, just me.
Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant
- Thread starter RoninSpirit
- Start date
It was the girth of it I suspect. I'm a slim old guy...Medium size hands at best. I just found it awkward.
Again, just me.
Now you're scratching a personal itch, which is fine by me.
We all have preferences of which rifles we like, for whatever reason.
I sold off all of my M38, M44 Mosins ten years ago. All were pristine and matching/force matched, some with laminated, stocks, some with solid wood stocks.
I had the opportunity to pick through thousands of them, before most of them got shipped to the US, to the Century International warehouse in Virginia, for distribution to US retailers.
I quickly grew to dislike shooting them, because I'm recoil-sensitive and depending on the ammo, the muzzle blast could be felt on my face.
I agree, lovely little rifles.
Yup, ergonimics go a long way to appeal when it comes to rifles.
Strangely, I don't mind the 44's...but, again...likely just me.
That's because the exra weight out fron on the 91 or 91/30 Makes the wrist feel larger, when you're trying to balance it.
Some folks complain about this with shotgun butt wrists as well, it's also why some people love the feel of a No5 and truly dislike No1 and No4s
RoninSpirit
New member
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
A $2k mosin? I don't care where it's from.. yikes.
But you do you
Yea the prices have wildly gone up, but the last one I saw on ####### was a mint Sako M39 at $2000. There are some being sold from $1000-1500 range.
For me it's more difficult to stumble on one being sold that's my gripe
Confirmed, beautiful book! The signed copy I acquired through pre-order was well worth it.
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
I tried an M39 on for size once, it’s definitely an improvement in a lot of ways, but I just found the price/benefits ratio didn’t do enough for me. I really liked the rear sight, just the adjustments made sense to me. Ergonomically it’s an improvement I found the stock to be less dainty. All that said.
My best shooting Mosin was a 1920s hex 91/30 that was so clean you could cook out of it. With hand loads I worked myself down to an semi consistent MOA gun, and I had so many other Mosins that gave me various perks. Ultimately I sold the M39 because it was just too much to have wrapped up in what was ultimately just another Mosin.
To me anyways, maybe others, it’s a utilitarian action by design, and so the idea of working it into this fancy rifle the Finns made, is great, but it’s like having the sharpest butter knife in the drawer. Other than the looks and feel of it, there’s a lot of other variants, even Finnish that you can attain cheaper, that have cooler history and are tooled just as nicely.
Just my two cents.
My best shooting Mosin was a 1920s hex 91/30 that was so clean you could cook out of it. With hand loads I worked myself down to an semi consistent MOA gun, and I had so many other Mosins that gave me various perks. Ultimately I sold the M39 because it was just too much to have wrapped up in what was ultimately just another Mosin.
To me anyways, maybe others, it’s a utilitarian action by design, and so the idea of working it into this fancy rifle the Finns made, is great, but it’s like having the sharpest butter knife in the drawer. Other than the looks and feel of it, there’s a lot of other variants, even Finnish that you can attain cheaper, that have cooler history and are tooled just as nicely.
Just my two cents.
I realize it's your personal opinion that Mosins are "utilitarian" but I disagree with that opinion.
At the time of their introduction, they were cutting-edge tech and influenced a lot of firearms designs around the world.
The bolt is complex when compared to most others but absolutely functional and reliable when it's properly maintained. The actions are strong, well-designed and smooth as glass.
They were designed to last for decades of hard use, then able to be torn down, have worn/broken components replaced/swapped/salvaged, and put back into reliable service for more decades.
Utilitarian instruments aren't designed for such use for the most part.
I have a Mosin M91 with an 1898 date on the chamber. It's been through a couple of refurbs but still maintains its original design features.
It still shoots very well with just about any milsurp or commercial ammo. It still does everything it was designed to do and does it with reliable consistency every time I shoot it.
The Mosins we normally see are in military garb. They appear to be "utilitarian" but are IMHO anything but
I've seen several Mosin sporting rifles that were purpose-built as such, and they wouldn't look the least bit out of place with any other fine sporter of the period.
I can tell you appreciate and like Mosins, but I get the idea you see them as "cheap" shooting alternatives, rather than the fine pieces of workmanship they are.
Mosin actions are usually smooth as oiled glass, which can't be said about other bolt action rifles of the period.
Well... beside a K-31...
The K31 was designed 40 years later.
I'm talking about rifles designed in the 1890
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
I think you’re mixing up utilitarian with words like antiquated, obsolescent or redundant. I never said the action was a bad design, that it was dated or ineffective. Utilitarian is simply implying that it was more function than form, and granted it was advanced for its time but it was designed to be a mass produced service rifle, to be put in the most amount of hands as possible, and as effective to those numbers as possible.
Of course what it was and what it is are different things, I would consider a Colt Patterson revolver utilitarian by todays standards, it’s not pretty but it works efficiently, of course when it was produced it was an advanced concept that revolutionized the world of pistols. Likewise the Mosin action is a utilitarian concept especially by todays standards, it’s cost effective and efficient at what it was designed to do, that’s about all as far as bells and whistles go in todays world.
quote "It’s cost effective and efficient at what it was designed to do"
By the time the 93 Mauser showed up, it was no longer "cost-effective" and it certainly wasn't easy to build. The bolt assembly was difficult to mass produce and needed a lot of hands-on attention to make it work properly and later to maintain.
I'm not confusing your intent, more you comparing it to later designs, some of which were inferior IMHO. The Mauser actions, from the M91 (smooth as glass) went downhill in some ways, again IMHO.
The 93-98 actions were IMHO UTILITARIAN. Every bit as good and better in some ways than the Mosin but not nearly as smooth, no matter how much they are stoned.
I love 98 actions and have several that I play with regularly and hunt with, chambered for 7x57, 6.5x57, 303 Brit, 30-06, 280rem, and 8x57.
It's just a fun comparison and I don't intend to try and change your mind, but I took it as if you were comparing apples to oranges.
By the time the 93 Mauser showed up, it was no longer "cost-effective" and it certainly wasn't easy to build. The bolt assembly was difficult to mass produce and needed a lot of hands-on attention to make it work properly and later to maintain.
I'm not confusing your intent, more you comparing it to later designs, some of which were inferior IMHO. The Mauser actions, from the M91 (smooth as glass) went downhill in some ways, again IMHO.
The 93-98 actions were IMHO UTILITARIAN. Every bit as good and better in some ways than the Mosin but not nearly as smooth, no matter how much they are stoned.
I love 98 actions and have several that I play with regularly and hunt with, chambered for 7x57, 6.5x57, 303 Brit, 30-06, 280rem, and 8x57.
It's just a fun comparison and I don't intend to try and change your mind, but I took it as if you were comparing apples to oranges.
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
No for sure and I’m not trying to redefine a classic here either, I’m simply stating “by todays standards” because I have no argument for the historical significance or the relatives of its time. For argument sake though by todays standards as far as modern bolt guns go the mosin is:
Inexpensive to purchase
Cheap readily available 30 cal ammunition
Reliable and stout
Basic simple features (again modern day spec, 5 round fixed magazine, irons, long gun, etc)
Relatively accurate in decent condition in average experienced hands.
To me that’s the definition of Utilitarian, when you can find them all over at about $500 and feed your family with it, never have to worry about it failing you or needing a bunch of costly accessories.
Also you sort reinforce maybe the point I was trying to get at with less success, being to the OP, I think if you’re the type of person who really finds themselves immersed into the history and lore of the firearm, the M39 makes sense as an investment, but if you’re just looking for the shooters experience, you can find a lot more enjoyment from say an earlier model mosin.
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