TexasCHLforum.com

I just embarked on my new hobby. I ordered a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 and 40 rounds of ammo to test it out. Total with hand-pick fee and shipping: $120. Why everyone doesn't get one I will never know.

I really enjoy shooting my Mosin M44. Quite the beast.....I made a homemade shoulder pad for it, but haven't had the opportunity to take it back to the range. Didn't get mine with C&R, though, just purchased from local gun store for $99. Surplus ammo (440 rds) was another $95. Great shooter! You'll enjoy the loud "Boom!" and the looks you get from the .223 shooters around you.....at least I do. Kind of puts them off their tempo a little....

In re "boom"... Three .308 caliber bolt rifles with 22", 24", and 26" barrels respectively, and two 22" barreled M1As in the safe. I know what "boom" is.

OTH, the money spent on those five rifles would have bought enough Mosins to arm a rifle platoon.

maverick2076 wrote:I just embarked on my new hobby. I ordered a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 and 40 rounds of ammo to test it out. Total with hand-pick fee and shipping: $120. Why everyone doesn't get one I will never know.

Agreed, for $100 it is hard not to get. I also want to add a K31 to the mix, but the high ammo prices sort of keep me at bay (and my wish list getting seriously long...).

maverick2076 wrote:I just embarked on my new hobby. I ordered a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 and 40 rounds of ammo to test it out. Total with hand-pick fee and shipping: $120. Why everyone doesn't get one I will never know.

After three years, I had spent so much money I couldn't afford to renew mine.

Mike1951 wrote: After three years, I had spent so much money I couldn't afford to renew mine.

The more you spend the more you save!

I just renewed my C&R, I wish I had kept track on how many dollars it saved me the first 3 years. Not that much on firearms, but a lot in other related gear from Brownells, Midway, Caspian Arms and others.

Maverick - have fun with the Mosin.

I'm really excited about the 91/30. I also have a line on a nice Yugo 59/66 that a co-worker has. I can already see this becoming a big habit very quickly.

maverick2076 wrote:Why everyone doesn't get one I will never know.

Different people like different guns.

Went to UPS this morning and picked up my own little piece of WWII history: a Soviet Mosin-Nagant 91/30, manufactured at the Izhevsk Arsenal in 1943. Based on the manufacture date, this rifle almost certainly saw combat against Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front. After the war, it was returned to Izhevsk, where it was refurbished by the arsenal, packed in Cosmoline, and stored away in case the Motherland ever desperately needed weapons to repel an invasion. (Russians never threw away anything) At some point in time since the Cold War ended, this rifle was imported to the US, where it sat packed in a crate before being ordered by me.

It is amazing how well-preserved an almost 70 year old firearm can be. There is practically no rust at all. The barrel has strong rifling throughout with only a slightly "dark" bore. (The bores in Eastern Bloc rifles are often damaged from shooting corrosive ammo.) The receiver shows many manufacturing marks, and the finish is fairly poor, but this is fairly typical of wartime manufacturing necessities. The stock shows quite a few handling marks and finish wear, but the wood is in good shape overall. I can't wait to get it out to the range and shoot it!

bnc wrote:I also want to add a K31 to the mix, but the high ammo prices sort of keep me at bay.

Costs no more than 308 to handload. Takes the same 30 caliber bullet too.

The surplus ammo is generally steel cased and Berdan primed. Just thought you should know.

GP11 is Berdan primed, which makes it an issue to reload, but it is brass cased.

I know there are some people out there set up to reload GP11 brass, but most people who reload 7.5x55 either get boxer-primed brass (I know Norma makes it, and Prvi Partisan makes boxer-primed loaded ammo), or you can also resize .284 WInchester.

ETA: Sorry, I was still talking about the K31. If we're back on Mosins now, 7.62x54R surplus is of course not reloadable as it is steel cased.

maverick2076 wrote:I'm really excited about the 91/30. I also have a line on a nice Yugo 59/66 that a co-worker has. I can already see this becoming a big habit very quickly.

yep, my siblings and i all pitched in and bought my dad an M1 Garand for Christmas this year and it's got him on a WWII memorabilia buying craze as of late. now he's looking for an M1 Garand Tanker and an M1 Carbine to add to the collection. i told him next he needs a Lee Enfield, Mosin Nagant, and a Mauser M98. that M1 Garand sure is fun to shoot, the serial number puts it around early 1944. it's difficult to tell if it saw action, but considering they had to refurbish the gun and replace the stock i'd say it was probably used in some capacity, whether in training or combat... i guess we'll never really know, but i'd like to think that about 65 years ago it was in the hands of a U.S. soldier shooting at Nazis or Japs.

hirundo82 wrote:GP11 is Berdan primed, which makes it an issue to reload, but it is brass cased.

I bought a berdan primer puller. It sorta works, but that crimp on GP11 is mighty tough.

ETA: Sorry, I was still talking about the K31. If we're back on Mosins now, 7.62x54R surplus is of course not reloadable as it is steel cased.

Works with carbine dies. Keep plenty of lacquer thinner on hand, though.

Just bought 2 from Cabellas. The price was 89.95 and it included a sling,bayonet,pouch and cleaning kit. There are websites you can go to that will tell you everything about your rifle from the serial numbers.

I was amazed how much info I found. The ones we had bought looked brand new full of kozmoline. They were all wrapped up. There def old and can tell they have been sitting in a box but great shape for a 70 year old rifle.