Buying a Mosin 91/30 -- What should I know?

[L2bravo]

In looking at one of these as well, I am really curious. Are they hard to totally disassemble? Is it hard to get the action out of the stock? I would think it a pretty cool project, to refinish the stock, and polish up the action/trigger, and make a neat blaster out of it.

Any other experiences in this direction?

[T2C]

The Mosin Nagant is a stone axe simple rifle. Removing the action from the stock is pretty straight forward. If you have any mechanical knowledge, disassembly of the trigger group or bolt group is not too difficult.

[Straight Shooter]

The MN is one of my favorite surplus rifles. I just bought my 3rd one yesterday. Bore condition is everything, but I do place value on non-forced matched matching numbers and cosmetic appeal. I took some rubber gloves to my lgs and inspected 5 new arrivals that just came in . Of the 5, one was an almost perfect Tula, literally the nicest MN Ive ever seen. Bought it, took it home, and cleaned the
assload of cosmoline from the gun. we had to put it in a plastic bag at the gunshop, it had so much on it, and thats a good thing, btw.
BOILING HOT water is youre friend in this instance. Man, the crap just flowed out/off the gun. After cleanup, and a little trigger work,
this is one nice rifle, Im very anxious to get her to the range. Her name is NATASHA, and the bore looks to be almost unfired. This one, Im keeping.
Oh yeah- go to youtube for TONS of info on cleaning, breakdown, and other info. Learn to use the odd shaped tool that comes with most rifles, the firing pin gauge. Handy for bolt disassembly/assembly too.

[El Pistolero]

An AR-15 chamber brush in a drill will also help with the sticky bolt syndrome. One of the causes is old cosmoline hardening like varnish inside the area just behind the chamber where the bolt lugs turn and lock.

The Mosin-Nagant is one of my favorite rifle, despite being clumsy they are rugged. Fred Flintstone probably carried one. I currently own 4, but have owned over a dozen and have slimmed down my collection quite a bit. I currently have two M91/59s (M91/30 that were chopped down to arm Soviet satellite states in the event of a Cold War ground war), an M91/30 that was captured by the Finnish and stamped/reworked by them (has the nicest bore I've ever seen on any M-N), and Finnish M39. The latter is the finest mil-surp I have ever fired, the Cadillac of Mosin-Nagants and even mil-surps in general. The Finn M39s are up there with Swiss K-31s and Swede M96 Mausers.

Look on the Box O' Truth for getting more accuracy out of your Mosin: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu63.htm

Also, a trigger job can be performed at home with a Dremel and a polishing attachment (NOT grinding), and some washers of the right size to go under the trigger leaf spring. Just be sure that when you lighten/smooth up the trigger, you close the bolt on the unloaded weapon and slam the butt on the ground HARD to ensure the weapon won't fire if dropped, it is essential for safety. I made some triggers a little too light and they didn't pass this test so I had to remove some spacers under the trigger spring. There are several sites where you will find these DIY trigger jobs. Remember safety is more important than having a match trigger.

Also, for a little humor: http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinHumor.htm

One last warning, Mosins tend to multiply.

[El Pistolero]

Oh yeah, don't forget about corrosive ammo. Everyone has their own pet method of cleaning, some even bordering on witchcraft, but in the end, just hot water down the bore and clean as normal.

[El Pistolero]

Nevermind.

[El Pistolero]

I have four Mosin-Nagants, two M91/59s, a Finnish-capture/reworked M91/30 (with the most perfect bore I've ever seen on any M-N), and a Finnish M39 that is a joy to shoot. I've owned over a dozen but have narrowed it down to these and am always looking for more Finn M39s. If you end up liking the Mosin-Nagant design, I highly recommend a Finnish M39 if you can find one, they are the Cadillac of Mosin, and even milsurps in general, right up there with Swiss K-31s and Swede M96s.

I recommend a simple DIY trigger job, this can be done with a Dremel with polishing (NOT grinding!) attachments, and some spacers/washers to go under the sear spring. Be sure to test the trigger by slamming the butt on the ground HARD to ensure the rifle will not go off if dropped. Safety is more important than a match trigger.

For a little humor: http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinHumor.htm

[talaananthes]

M39s are absolutely the way to go. Mine has been known to shoot sub-MOA at 300 yards with surplus ammo. '42 Sk.Y barrel. Beautiful, beautiful weapon. No one else ever made them like the Finns.

[talaananthes]

As far as buying a 91/30 goes, barrel is everything. Slug it, know what size bore you're dealing with. If it's counterbored, that's fine, but get a gunsmith to look at it and if necessary plop the money down to get it recrowned, some of those are field jobs that weren't done well at all. A lot of the barrels are completely shot out, or near to it, or weren't bored to spec to begin with, so know what diameter you've got and handload for it if you can.

[talaananthes]

For accurizining a Russian, do what the Finns did to captured Russians. Shim it with little pieces of brass, that's how they bedded theirs. Under the tang, around the front action screw, maybe a few other places depending on your rifle. There's a few posts floating around the interwebz how to do it.