M91/30 Sniper real or repo to buy

BeaverMeat

BeaverMeat

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Been wanting one for some time now. I have seen refurbished, reproduction, and restored rifles of which I can not decide which to get. So I thought I would ask you guys your options through your experience. Or help identifying one.

I am leaning toward the reproductions as I do not care too much about originality... yet. I intend to hunt with it so accuracy is a must. I know that I should not demand too much from it, but I would like the best I could get.

As for accuracy, would the refurbished rifles be more accurate the repos? I know they are picked for their accuracy initially.

Any help would be great
 
Everything depends on condition. If your wanting one for a shooter it's best to select a rifle in person. I've had a number of Mosin snipers and They all shot reasonably enough for hunting. Best one is the PEM versions, or for practical hunting buy a bubba or commercial rifle.

My choice in order:

1. Original in good shape,
2. Repro with Steel mount..in good shape
3. Repro with a cast side mount (last choice, I'd avoid these entirely)
 
I ordered one from wolverine Friday and got it today and its amazing! 600$ for an all matching ( execept the scope) real 1944 Tula sniper with a PERFECT bore. The only downside to this is that there looks to be 2 layers of super flaky shellac on the handguard and front part of the stock that looks to have been slapped on with a few quick strokes of a big paint brush, but other then that its in really good condition and defiantly worth the 50-100$ more then a repro.

Not much is know of how the refurbishment worked but its a good bet that they tested their accuracy before putting the effort in fixing/preserving them. So they are probably for the most part more accurate. If I remember correctly snipers hade to shoot 3.5cm(1.38") 10 shoot groups to pass whereas the 91/30s had to get like 15cm( just under 6") groups at 100m





http://www.wolverinesupplies.com/details/11278/Moisin-Nagant-M9130-Sniper-762x54R-with-Scope.aspx
 
Of your going to drag it through the bush hunting get a repro as we would lynch you if you hurt one of our future obsessions.
 
BeaverMeat said:
commercial rifle? I find they lack character... with a few exceptions.

But I do know that older PU scopes are hard to use. I intend to use a Photopribor repo optic
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Yes thats why I said practical!! Great character in the Mosin Nagant rifles, I love mine.

But ask yourself this...

If a WW2 sniper/ practiced shooter was given the choice between a 11 pound Mosin Nagant with 3.5 power scope and file/shim side mount..... VS a Modern rifle with modern optics what would they choose?

A local German man I know had a father who was a sniper in WW2, his rifle is a bubba'ed (custom) Mauser 98 in 7x64 brenekke with a Zeiss 6x Scope, 2x set triggers. A beautiful set up. Not a standard issue rifle, but a practical, accurate rifle with character.
 
Im in the same boat as you, debating what to get mosin wise. Pre war or war issue.. im all about ww2 so hard not to buy war time mosin. Originality and matching is big to me, but only one i found was 1200..

Where do i find the closest to original best condition mosin sniper out there.??

Thanks for any helps guys.
 
I have a repro. I tuned up the trigger and bedded the action. It shoots well. Well enough to tell the difference between milsurp ammo and good handloads.

MOSINNAGANTSNIPERMILSURP.jpg


MOSINNAGANTSNIPERHANDLOAD2.jpg


MOSINNAGANTSNIPERHANDLOAD1.jpg
 
Ace604 said:
Im in the same boat as you, debating what to get mosin wise. Pre war or war issue.. im all about ww2 so hard not to buy war time mosin. Originality and matching is big to me, but only one i found was 1200..

Where do i find the closest to original best condition mosin sniper out there.??

Thanks for any helps guys.
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Why does matching numbers matter with a refurb mosin???
Most are "force matched" anyway.
My matching numbers tula has a postwar stock and izvesh triangular on the bolt.
Refurbished Mosin's dont carry the value of say a Matching Number K98 mausers, so I've never understood the matching numbers thing with them.

A lot of CGN sponsors have them for sale:

Trade-ex
Elwood Epps
Wolverine supplies
Weimajack
 
Ace604 said:
Im in the same boat as you, debating what to get mosin wise. Pre war or war issue.. im all about ww2 so hard not to buy war time mosin. Originality and matching is big to me, but only one i found was 1200..

Where do i find the closest to original best condition mosin sniper out there.??

Thanks for any helps guys.
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Pre war sniper? Good luck!
 
bryan.14 said:
Why does matching numbers matter with a refurb mosin???
Most are "force matched" anyway.
My matching numbers tula has a postwar stock and izvesh triangular on the bolt.
Refurbished Mosin's dont carry the value of say a Matching Number K98 mausers, so I've never understood the matching numbers thing with them.

A lot of CGN sponsors have them for sale:

Trade-ex
Elwood Epps
Wolverine supplies
Weimajack
Click to expand...


What if its not force matched?
 
desporterizer said:
What if its not force matched?
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How can you tell if it is or isn't?

I guess that would be good if you care about the selling price and value. But the OP is asking about use of the rifle for hunting.

Also, did a non-matching rifle not fight the same fight as a matching one?
Is it less of a rifle?
Did snipers care about matching rifles?

Shooters vs Collectors

I'm both and have a few military rifles because I like the history, but I have never cared for "matching numbers"
 
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As for practicality I have a Rem 760. Light, fairly accurate... rattles. But I prefer milsups. I like the impractical... plus this a 91/30 sniper will give me an excuse to wrap cloth or canvas around it. (no, I am not an Enemy at the Gates fanatic)

Thanks for the tips

as for matching numbers, I believe it is just for bragging rites. As on some rifles a matched barrel and bolt is important. Two of the same rifle, switch bolts is a possible KB waiting to happen... yadda yadda
 
bryan.14 said:
Why does matching numbers matter with a refurb mosin???
Most are "force matched" anyway.
My matching numbers tula has a postwar stock and izvesh triangular on the bolt.
Refurbished Mosin's dont carry the value of say a Matching Number K98 mausers, so I've never understood the matching numbers thing with them.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what people were saying about Enfields, K98k's, 03A3's, etc 20 years ago. Look how much they cost now...

Mosin's won't be easily available forever.
 
Don Kael said:
That's exactly what people were saying about Enfields, K98k's, 03A3's, etc 20 years ago. Look how much they cost now...

Mosin's won't be easily available forever.
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Ahhh! WHY!!!!!

You didn't get my point........Someone has to love the Non-matching rifles. They still have history!

Once again did a non-matching rifle not fight the same fight?

The numbers...
 
The non-matching rifles were refurbished either during, or after (most likely) the Great Patriotic War (WWII).

I have an all matching numbers 39 Tula that I got from Westrifle. I know damned well that a rifle built in '39 saw service on the Eastern Front in WWII.

The Mosin-Nagant 91-30 rifles were never intended to be MOA accurate rifles. IIRC the expected accuracy at 100m was around 5" groups.

That's not to say that the MN couldn't shoot a hell of a lot better than that, it just means that this was the minimum standard the rifle had to pass before it would be accepted for issue to the individual soldier. The rifle was tested, by the best shooters in the unit, in the presence of the soldier it would be issued to - usually not shot by him though (unless he was one of the best in the battalion) - and if it didn't pass the minimum accuracy tests, the sights were changed until the rifle DID meet the minimum accuracy standard.

The MN rifles that were used as sniper rifles were a hell of a lot more accurate than those issued to the average Soviet infantryman. They were tested, and if they showed above average accuracy, were fitted with the scopes and issued as sniper rifles.

IDK about the Mosin-Nagants being available forever, the Soviets did make over 11.5 million of them (the number is correct, I didn't believe it either)in WWII at Iszmash alone, so they'll be around for quite a while (that doesn't count what Tula built - there's a hell of a lot more than that out there).
 
russia is reportedly destroying mass amounts of their old militiary rifles so if this is the case they may not be around as long as you think
 
Its moreso the originality of the rifle if its matching that intrigues me. Honestly its not a huge deal to me obviously, i just want the most original, best example of a ww2 sniper mosin. And where do i find that.. Im likely settling for a repro. As for the prewar sniper, its mostly matching to, buddy was offering it to me over cgn here. Beautiful rifle, but for 1200 i cant justify it as i can buy a k98 sniper for not much more.
 
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