Mosin Nagant 1891/30 question plus price check

Nestor

Nestor

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too close to Calgary
Looking for feedback from the owners. Is there anything...non obvious (for the lack of better words) that the buyer should be paying attention to? I don't know...some dirty secret about this, particular rifle that is known only to a small circle of enthusiasts? I'm planning to check barrel for rifling and any rust plus cycle the action couple of times. Make sure that the sights are in line...and that's it. Anything else I should be looking for?
Also...it seems that the going price for a round receiver is about $199 those days. Is it the right assumption?
Thanks!
 
So some basic details. 1940 and earlier manufactured 91/30s tend to have nicer machining, these are called pre-war usually. War time production tends to be rougher machining though it doesn't really have any effect on function. Post-war is somewhere in the middle/about pre-war standards. For stocks, pre-war will have screwed in sling swivels, war time will just have a hole cut in the wood, and post-war will have the metal pressed into the sling swivel.

Look for a nice bore, a 'smooth action' (each Mosins action will feel different), and if your wanting more collector item try to look for matching numbers. I personally wouldn't worry about the whole hex-receiver things either, as there really isn't a functional difference between the hex and round receivers. Some people make a big deal about it, but usually those people don't really collect them in the first place.
 
Check the crown of the barrel. Sharper and more defined it is between lands and grooves the better it will shoot. These rifles are military issue and were cleaned with minimal effort and attention to detail. Cleaning rod of the rifle is made of steel and soldiers were instructed to clean these rifles from muzzle end as the rod is just long enough to reach the chamber. So When they are out in -30C its hard to judge whether cleaning rod contacted the crown 2 times or 200 times. By the time May 1945 rolled on no one cared how accurate it will shoot in the next war.
Fast forward to 2016 Canada. Now if you buy nice 91/30 with shiny bore, but worn crown now you know why. Only way to fix this is to counterbore the barrel.
 
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Thank You. Useful tips indeed. I actually checked one today and to my surprise the action was butter smooth. Expected it to be super difficult to work, but honestly it was on level with the Swedish Mauser that I used to own. At that point I was pretty much decided to buy one, but had no time to stay, so will go there tomorrow again. Seller told me that he can bring a couple from the back of the store, so I can pick a nice one.
 
I found the only true way to determine the level of smoothness of a Mosins action is by firing it.
I've had ones that were smooth when dry cycling, then got stiff during extraction.
And vice versa, clunky and stiff during dry cycling, then smooth when firing.
 
If you find one with a nice bore in a store, buy it and forget about the ee. Too many folks don't know how to grade a bore to make it worth the whopping $50 you are going to save.
 
$199 is pretty standard pricing on these. Some charge $180, some charge $220 or more. Remember to take the bayonet!
I forgot to take mine. :( The butt has these sharp iron edges on it that call out for some sort of padding.
 
As soon as my wallet will recover, I may do just that. Now I know what to look for. First one isn't great, but not bad either.









Light frosting in the grooves, but otherwise clean and shiny bore.
 
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Mosin is Trudeau safe it's a bolt action. But he may make us pin them to 1 round.

I will say this I did not vote for him.
 
nice rifle ,they do tend to multiply.Was at the local ct store and saw what looked like a new of the assembly line 91/30 .Asked if i could get it out of the cabinet for a look .Was surprised to see that it was an ex sniper rifle ,scope # still on the side of the receiver and from the inside the action you could see where the scope mounting screws were .It had all match # and an excellent bore.The stock must have been a new replacement as it had the post war ecustions in the sling slots, there was not a dent or a ding anywhere in it .It was listed at 199.99 plus 13%sales tax.Not to bad
 
I'm done with the bore cleaning. Patches are coming out clean. Wood is going to be ready in 2 days and I'll try again to take some pictures during the daylight, because these here are not doing justice to this stock :) I'll be busy polishing bolt and cleaning the chamber from now on.















 
Yes these tiger stripes are present. I stripped the old finish, sanded the stock, heated it up with the hair dryer, degreased and stained it and now I'm on the 5th layer of Tru Oil.
 
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