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Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Mosin Nagant


There's been so much written on it that I'll only give 
some basic information along with my experiences.
The rifle itself was designed by the Russian captain Mosin, and the magazine was designed by the Belgian engineer Nagant. It's bolt action and has a 5-round internal magazine. Production of the Mosin Nagant started in 1891 and continued well into the sixties. According to Wikipedia, the USSR/Russia produced 37 million of them. They fire a 7.62x54r round, which is rimmed and a bit longer than 7.62 NATO, and is dirt cheap at around 20 cents per round if you buy the 440 round surplus tins.




 I got mine from a gun show in Dallas for $100. Mine's a M91/30 manufactured in 1942 by the Izhevsk plant. I later bought a 17" long spike bayonet for $15 from Ebay. I'm a pretty tall guy at around 6'3", and with the bayonet attached and the butt of the rifle on the ground it stands nose height. Carbine versions are a bit shorter and some models come with side-folding bayonets. When purchasing a Mosin Nagant, make sure at least the receiver and bolt serial numbers match. The receiver serial is behind the rear sight and in front of the bolt. This serial and these manufacturing stampings identify what kind of Mosin you have and when and where it was made. These stampings are referred to as "headstamps". The bolt serial is behind the cocking knob. The other serials are located on the buttplate and the magazine. Also, make sure you don't pay extra for the Mosin's accessories, it comes with a cleaning kit, two two-pocket bandoliers, and a sling.

 Accuracy: 4/5
 Range: 5/5
 Ergonomics: 2/5
 Value: 5/5
 SHTF/Zombie Coefficient: 3/5

 I gave accuracy a 4/5 because the way it came was somewhat less accurate than my .22lr. But with a few modifications (as demonstrated here http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu63.htm and http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu75.htm) and with the addition of a new stock (if you really wish to do so), Mosins in good condition can be made to sub-minute of angle rifles. Of course, you could just buy a Finnish Mosin or sniper designated Mosin (the ones with bent bolt handles), but those are a bit more expensive and harder to find.

 Range was given a 5/5 because it uses a high-power cartridge which is probably effective as far as you can hit your target. That being said, the standard iron sights go out to 2000 meters, which is about 1.24 miles! Simo Hayha, the sniper with the largest number of confirmed kills in any major war, used a Finnish modified Mosin Nagant and only iron sights.





 Ergonomics are usually quite bad for Russian weapons, Russian military doctrine calls for cost-effective, reliable, and versatile weapons. I find the grip angle to be uncomfortable and the stock to be short, but that can be easily remedied with a cheap butt pad. Recoil is also severe, but also easily fixed with the addition of a butt pad. Hearing protection is a must; I once experimentally fired a round without any and I couldn't hear for a few seconds and my ears rang for an hour.

 Value is max because for only around $100 you get an accurate hi-powered rifle, two 30-round bandoliers, a complete cleaning kit, sling, and sometimes a bayonet. Sentimental value is also high; when you hold a Mosin, you feel a piece of history in your hands. Modifications and after-market parts are cheap and common. You could easily and cheaply arm a militia with various Mosins.




SHTF/Zombie coefficient is a factor I added just for grins and giggles. It gets a 3/5 because although ammo is cheap and not too uncommon, the rifle is unwieldy and cumbersome. Although it could be used for a great number of things (javelin, spear, tent pole, boat oar, cooking spit, club, etc.), I'd hate to carry around such a large bolt-action. If I had say, a five man squad, then I'd want one of us to have a Mosin, but other than that the rate of fire just seems too slow to fend off zombie hordes solo. Don't get me wrong though, I can fire off five aimed rounds with it faster than my dad can with his lever action .30-30, and one round would penetrate several zombies, but the idea of reloading frequently under stressful circumstances doesn't appeal to me.


 Well, that's about all I've got for now. You can read up more on Mosin Nagants at:
 http://7.62x54r.net/
 http://modernfirearms.net/rifle/rfl03-e.htm
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/cr.htm
The next post will feature the SKS.

26 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Pretty sweet read. Only a hundred dollars? God bless texas.

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  3. I've always seen threads like these on /k/, though I wasn't sure if troll (not completely, mind you) because basically the whole board was mosin nagant everything. But now I know exactly why its better to be pro nagant than no nagant.

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  4. @dotVillain
    yup, but good luck seeing a target that far away.

    @DJ Mustache
    They're sold everywhere and used to be cheaper.

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  5. @ A guy w/ gun
    haha, yeah, /k/ is where I heard of them and learned a lot about them

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  6. This thing definitely sounds impressive, unfortunately I'm not able to procure a firearm at the moment. Sigh

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  7. My friend has a nagant, its a badass rifle, he loves soviet era weapons.

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  8. so badass, i remember the mosin nagint from Metal Gear Solid Three. now following!

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  9. 20,000M is that supposed to be joke or were they serious

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  10. i used to use this gun all the time in red orchestra. ah, strelok

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  11. Why haven't I heard about this gun before?

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  12. I love your detailed review of the gun, you should try and get on the military channel, or help the guns in the next COD game be more realistic

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  13. My brother has one, they're so cheap to shoot.

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  14. Main reason I want to move to America is for the guns :D

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  15. I love the moist nuggets, I wish they were cheaper in Canada. We usually see them for 150+$! Good post.

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  16. Oh, btw it is 2000 meters and not 20 000. The motivational poster is correct, why did you think it was 20000? A 7.62x54R pushes a .311 caliber bullet pretty fast, but there's no way that even at a 30-45degree angle, it'll even make it close to 10000meters. Most fast 30 cals can get between 5 and 7 km...

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  17. Very through blog on the mosin, great read!

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  18. I own a couple and though none of them were out of the box shooters, it only took a peasant's hand to get them shooting in tip top shape. Highly recommended as a plinking alternative to .22--I mean sometimes you want to shoot dirt cheap, but you also want a sore shoulder.

    I have a couple tips on how to get some of the dirtier Mosins up in tip top shape. Maybe I'll share some of them someday.

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  20. I would like to know who owns the 3 modified Mosin in the above Single picture. I love the stock of the center rifle and I have a soft spot in my heart for the Bullpup. Is the Bull pup really a Mosin???

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