Buying a Mosin Nagant

[Guest Joshua__423]

I am new to the surplus rifle scene. The local gun shop has these rifles in stock constantly and I have decided I want 1. My question is is there anything I need to look for on in or around the rifle? They still have the cosmoline in them all. Any special markings I should avoid? They seem to been in pretty good shape and are reasonably priced. Thanks in advance for the information!

[smithra89]

I checked the following when I bought mine: 

 

1. Picked a gun with a bolt that didn't stick

2. Looked down the barrel to check and make sure the rifling was still in good shape

3. Checked to make sure the crown looked alright (not cut down or redone)

4. Got the headspace checked before firing it

 

Here is a good website to get some details (too many details for me, but a good reference)

 

http://62x54r.net/

 

Good luck with the purchase and getting the cosmoline off! :up:

[monkeylizard]

+1 to what smithra89 said.

 

The way I understand it, look for the same things you'd look for in any old rifle. Cracks in the wood, heavy corrosion in the throat, rifling, things like that.

 

Generally speaking, hex receivers are better than round receivers*, all others things being constant. I think that's because hex's are older and were made when the factories could take their time and do it right. As the war went on they had to increase production with the corner-cutting measures that came along with that. I have a 1930's hex (don't recall the year) and a fellow TGOer got a 1940's round one at the same time. When we were cleaning them up, we noticed heavy tool/lathe marks on the outside of his barrel while mine was smooth. It doesn't affect the shooting, but it's a symptom of the overall degradation in quality when they had to start cranking them out like crazy. In other words, if you're picking between 2 or more that all look/feel about the same to you, take the older one. If you like it, then you can start worrying about things like the factory markings and specific years. You'll feel the urge to have at least one from each factory....it's a disease.

 

 

 

*If you're not sure of the difference, Google it and you'll see examples of hex and round receivers.

Edited April 28, 2013 by monkeylizard

[ironsniper1]

for cosmoline removal read here http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/50749-official-cosmoline-removal-thread/ and youtube

[peejman]

Look for rifling, the bore may be dark but as long as its not heavily pitted its ok. Numbers may match or be force matched. The bolt may be stiff, but as long as its smooth its fine. Cracks in the wood, or clearly mismatched pieces. Good crown, may be counter bored. Accessories (bayonet, sling, cleaning kit, ...)

[No_0ne]

What are your goals for the rifle?  A collector would be concerned with arsenals, rarity, age, etc., for a shooter none of those matter.  Like others have posted, condition of the wood, metal finish, rifling and crown are far more important than markings.  I'll have to respectfully disagree with a couple of statements though, first don't concern yourself with "hex" vs. "round" receivers if you are looking for a good shooter.  The cosmetic differences have no correlation to performance, any "corner-cutting" that might have occurred during wartime production has long ago been remedied as these rifles have been through numerous refurbishment processes, the bad ones were cannibalized for parts many years ago.  Second, don't automatically reject a counterbored rifle, most were done to eliminate crown erosion due to nicks from improper cleaning techniques.  The armorers who took the time to counterbore the rifles usually chose ones that had good bores but bad crowns, they are quite often better shooters than non-bored examples.  Checking headspace and firing pin protrusion is always a good idea on any surplus rifle prior to firing it, a thorough cleaning is also a necessity.  "Sticky bolt syndrome" is almost always the result of cosmoline in the chamber, investigate how to properly clean the bore and chamber and you should be good to go.

 

If you are looking to start a collection, a different set of criteria apply.  Check out the info available at 7.62x54r.net (especially the forums section), mosinnagant.net, and the Russian section at surplusrifles.com for a start.  Terence Lapin's book "The Mosin Nagant Rifle" is another good source.  Eventually you will find that serious collectors aren't very interested in common 91/30 refurbs, therefore most of the rifles commonly available in gunstores now aren't very collectible (there's always that apocryphal story of the 1907 carbine found on the shelf at the LGS for $100, so we do continue checking the racks in hope!).

[pegasusrider]

I've found PW Arms marked rifles to be of better quality and CAI to be the worst.