Mosin questions. (1891/30)

Robert.B

Robert.B

Joined
Apr 17, 2003
Messages
5,283
Most of my surplus rifle experience is with British SMLE, I am looking to get a Mosin nagant from aimsurplus and they have a hex reciever and round...just wanting some opinions on which is the better option of those two? its a 10 buck difference between the hex and round (hex being the more expensive)...was looking at the M44 but its a lot more than the 91/30 and I just want something inexpensive to hit the range and maybe try it out hunting the local fauna when the season opens up.

It's my first rifle in the US as a permanent resident and want to hit the range as soon as legally possible. :thumbup:

Cheers guys.
 
Hi,

Other than looks, there is no real mechanical difference between hex or round. Though round receivers, particularly late war models can be a bit more accurate than a much earlier hex. Simply because they were used less and the soldiers tended to do a better job of taking care of those rifles. A hex rifle from the teens, twenties and thirties, could have been in combat from the mid thirties right to Berlin. A '43 Izhevsk didn't get near the beating or use that a '34 Tula did.

That said, buy which ever you like. Just ask for them to pick the best bore out of 5. That's far more important.

dalee
 
Ok thanks for that, I just wanted to know if there were any significant advantages or disadvantages of either receiver type...and its 10 bucks additional with those guys for the best pick of 5 which I can deal with, its a fill in till I can get funds together for a good modern rig (probably a rem 700).

Pretty excited to get one and try it out, the reviews of them on youtube put them as solid inexpensive rifles.

One other thing, how caustic are the surplus ammo from the 70's and 80's? I was going to order one with 880 rounds (2 x 440rd surplus tins).
 
so long as you run a patch down the bore at the range and clean the rifle when you get home, the corrosive primers from 80's mil surp shouldn't be a problem.
also - dawn dish soap is great for neutralizing the corrosive stuff. so is "Sweet's 7.62" - which was originally created for cleaning up after shooting 7.62x39 mil surp ammo.

by the way - welcome to the neighborhood -- drop me a line some time if you want to meet for a beer in Manhattan - it's about halfway between us. (decent brewery on one end of town and a tolerable pizza joint on the other)
and in case you're despairing of the beer being too sweet here in the states, you CAN get Coopers, it's just not real easy to find.
 
1066vik said:
so long as you run a patch down the bore at the range and clean the rifle when you get home, the corrosive primers from 80's mil surp shouldn't be a problem.
also - dawn dish soap is great for neutralizing the corrosive stuff. so is "Sweet's 7.62" - which was originally created for cleaning up after shooting 7.62x39 mil surp ammo.

by the way - welcome to the neighborhood -- drop me a line some time if you want to meet for a beer in Manhattan - it's about halfway between us. (decent brewery on one end of town and a tolerable pizza joint on the other)
and in case you're despairing of the beer being too sweet here in the states, you CAN get Coopers, it's just not real easy to find.
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Pretty much similar to firing surplus British ammo then, thats pretty easy to handle :)

Sounds good to me, I'm more a liquor kinda guy usually but dont mine the beers stateside...I'm in Aus for another 6 - 8 weeks then heading home (tying up all loose ends and selling or shipping belongings), took me over a year to get my visa so i am well and truly ready to get back to my wife! Not sure how long I'll be in Concordia as we're planning to move up north to Idaho, but while I'm in the area it'll be good to meet a fellow BFC member.
 
I hope you already have work lined up if you plan to go to Idaho. My girlfriend's son lived up there for 8 years, finally got tired of being unemployed half the time and moved back here to Kansas. It took him almost two hours to find a job here once he decided to start looking (he was visiting last Christmas while between jobs).
 
yablanowitz said:
I hope you already have work lined up if you plan to go to Idaho. My girlfriend's son lived up there for 8 years, finally got tired of being unemployed half the time and moved back here to Kansas. It took him almost two hours to find a job here once he decided to start looking (he was visiting last Christmas while between jobs).
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We aint moving up till I have a job lined up, I have a few options in the CDA/Spokane region so just going to save in KS...me an my wife are very much mountain and tree folk, its a little flat and baron in KS when we both have an image of buying a home up north. We're in no rush though, better to play it smart with the economic state of things.

ID has a lot more rights for non-citizens though which is appealing until I have citizenship.
 
Idaho has some gorgeous country!
6-8 weeks should put you here in time for Thanksgiving with any luck.
Concordia is definitely in the flat part of the state -- the "hilly" parts are a bit further East towards me.
 
Nope, the flat part is out here where I am. You can see about 11 miles if you're 6 feet tall. 15 if you step up on a prairie dog mound.
 
1066vik said:
Idaho has some gorgeous country!
6-8 weeks should put you here in time for Thanksgiving with any luck.
Concordia is definitely in the flat part of the state -- the "hilly" parts are a bit further East towards me.
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I hope so! Thanksgiving morning hunt with my wifes uncle and family...then come home and eat piles of turkey! :D
 
I recommend the m44 carbine over the rifle, the 1891 pattern was built for 1891, its the size of a musket.
 
Call_to_Arms said:
I recommend the m44 carbine over the rifle, the 1891 pattern was built for 1891, its the size of a musket.
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I'm not really after a carbine at this time, nor spending the extra to get an m44...seem a little over priced for what they are.
 
Robert.B said:
I'm not really after a carbine at this time, nor spending the extra to get an m44...seem a little over priced for what they are.
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I have an unhealthy love for my M44 (manged to get one with a smooth bolt and great trigger off the shelf), but will probably pick up a 91/30 at some point. Can't really go wrong with either and no reason to pick the M44 unless you want a smaller package or a built in flamethrower.
 
Kiah said:
I have an unhealthy love for my M44 (manged to get one with a smooth bolt and great trigger off the shelf), but will probably pick up a 91/30 at some point. Can't really go wrong with either and no reason to pick the M44 unless you want a smaller package or a built in flamethrower.
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Considering they're only $80 its less than some knives I currently have on order and should last a good while...when I get it through I will fully strip it down, dont trust buying something sight unseen and then taking her out without giving it a good inspection.

M44 does look like a great rifle, but the length of it isn't a big deal to me (especially when the Kentucky percussion cap is one of my fav black powder rifles of all time, now they are BIG).
 
Robert.B said:
Considering they're only $80 its less than some knives I currently have on order and should last a good while...when I get it through I will fully strip it down, dont trust buying something sight unseen and then taking her out without giving it a good inspection.
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If it's fresh off the boat, you pretty much have to. The cosmoline has to be scrubbed from every nook and cranny.

M44 does look like a great rifle, but the length of it isn't a big deal to me (especially when the Kentucky percussion cap is one of my fav black powder rifles of all time, now they are BIG).
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Honestly, the size difference doesn't matter at all in hand. The M44 needs to be fired with the bayonet extended (unless it's been removed and sighted without it), so the M44 is actually longer than the 91/30 in use if it's unaltered.
 
I've had 3 91s. The hex barrel was the best of the bunch. It was made in Finland after they lost the war with Russia. The other two weren't to bad. The difference between a 3 - 4" group and a 2 - 3" group. It isn't the safest rifle for hunting as it doesn't have a safety.
 
Bo T said:
I've had 3 91s. The hex barrel was the best of the bunch. It was made in Finland after they lost the war with Russia. The other two weren't to bad. The difference between a 3 - 4" group and a 2 - 3" group. It isn't the safest rifle for hunting as it doesn't have a safety.
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Are you sure about the safety? I've never seen one without one. The striker should pull back and rotate to the left when cocked. Not the greatest safety ever invented, but it should function.
 
The safety's are a pain in the butt to use, I find it is easier to just leave the chamber empty and action the bolt before use.
When I clean mine I spray windex down the barrel and in the action. You can also use water to wash away the corrosive salts from the surplus primers but I find the windex is convenient because it comes in a spray bottle.
 
When I hunted with my SMLE I often left the chamber empty with focus on where my muzzle was pointed even though it had a pretty simple saftety...I was always taught to carry my rifles muzzle to the sky or dirt and never have a round in the chamber, and the videos on youtube of using the mosin safety dont look like rocket science (pull back, rotate to the left, easy as Kiah said).
 
Yeah, they are simple. But slower than actually loading a round into the chamber, in my expierence
 
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