Mosin Nagant Advice / Questions.

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mark_

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I'm interested in buying a Moisin Nagant...mostly to hang on the wall but it would be fun to take it to the range occasionally.
Am I right in the fact that most of the rifles for sale on line have been crated and were never in the war?
I see on some websites that there are Finnish captured Moisins....this interests me more from a history point of view that the rifle was actually used in the war. I only see a few of these...are there other sites where I would be able to find others that haven't been crated since new?
I don't even care if there are marks on the stock...in fact I would actually prefer that as it adds authenticity in my opinion.

Any input appreciated.
Thanks guys.
Mark.
 
I got a 1935 Mosin that I bought at Canadian tire. It's in great shape for it's age and shoots great. It's matching numbers. Can't go wrong with a sub $150 rifle. Only thing I don't have for it is the sling.

Edit. After a better review. It's not 100% numbers matching lol
 
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I think that it would be almost impossible to find one that was only "crated" since new. They were built as fast as they could get them out the door and into the infantry's hands immediately! A lot of them have been overhauled and look newish, but have definately been there done that and then some!

Pick one up! They are really great rifles and the surplus ammo is very cheap compared to any other full power cartidges out there. They are also quite accurate and can take any game in North America. If I remember correctly, they are inbetween .308 and .30-06 for power.

When you break one down as far as it will go, you will be amazed at how few parts there are to it! And a lot of these parts are from the bolt alone. It was such a simple and effective design, it is the reason why they stopped making the SVT40 and went back to these as their main rifles. Very easy to clean after shooting corrosive ammo too!

Ian
 
Some may have been, but the majority we no doubt used in the war. Then afterwards as troops demobilized and the SKS, then AK came into service they were sent back to the arsenals. The rifles were given a once over, broken parts replaced, slathered with cosmoline and placed in crates or racks until they were need again.
 
The crated mosins we have access to today are all refurbs. Meaning at some point they were used so often that part(s) wore out or broke and needed replacing/repairing.
 
If you want a mosin that was crated when new and not issued then you need to be looking for a Polish M44.
Otherwise I think the understanding is they were all issued, refurbed and packed.
Look around, EE, gun shows, dealers and look for one with the right amount of personality and mainly all matching serial #"s.
Whether its a shooter or a wall hanger a matching firearm is always a little nicer.
 
It all depends. You can get round receiver, hex recievers, 91/30, type 38, type 44, and type 53 that have seen action, as well as some that have been stored. Just depends. The dates during war time will useally have been used. Not nessisarily in the war, but training ect. I have one of most of the flavors and some look brand new and others that have been beat to heck. If you get one from a dealer or importer you are going to get a cosmolined mess. Which is not a bad thing. My best advive is to go somewhere you can inspect them. Check the action, barrel, etc. also try to get all matching numbers. With that said, the type 53 is almost impossible to find with a matching bolt. Besides, i think the type 53 is pretty tough to find in Canada. As for being a wall hanger, thats all good and stuff, but these rifles are good shooters. I have taken many deer and hogs with the carbines and the 91/30s.
 
I would suggest finding something nice and working with it. I love my Mosin, it's an absolutely fantastic rifle and very accurate. I did purchase a second stock set for it to make sure it always looked good and fine. Can't beat the $25 stock bin at Canadian Tire :)
 
Non-refurbed, in great shape Mosins exist, but are by far in the minority. The Soviet army was massive during WWII, and just because a soldier got issued a rifle, didn't mean he saw any action.

I have a 1938 all matching everything (thanks to Martin at Corwin-Arms for that! ) that I swear spent the war propped up against a filing cabinet next to Comrade InRearWithGearsky. It's truly borderline mint, with only slight scuffs where the stock retaining rings were slid off a couple times to clean it for inspection and whatnot.

Any way you look at it, a 91/30, M38, or M44 that was built before or during the war, comes pre-loaded with history and a story you wish it could tell you.
 
Also remember that refurbs can appear unrefurbed too because parts could have been replaced outright and stamped fresh with the rifle's matching number. Giving the appearance of seldom use and original matching parts. Not all refurbs were consistently stampted as such either.
 
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