Insurgent Snipers

[toobigtofail]

I'm pretty sure that a decent marksman could put bullets in the bull's eye at 100 yd with this gun. As to the counterbored rifles... mostly the counterbores are done because the gun has a damaged crown. Usually this is because they were cleaned improperly. It is certainly better to find guns which aren't counterbored but plenty of counterbored rifles shoot well.

I plan on finding a Mosin that is interesting -- this one fellow on youtube (marshalzhukov) found an ex-sniper 91/30 at Big 5, with filled holes in the side of the receiver and other evidence of being scoped. This particular gun has quite a bit of collector's value. That would be an interesting thing to find. A gun with a laminated stock (all of these are post war) would be interesting. And, lastly, a gun in mostly new condition would be interesting to find.

Thank you for your replies and advice on picking Mosins.

 

[toobigtofail]

I found an1935 Izhevszk hex receiver MN at Big 5 today. Yes, it was counterbored, as were all the rifles (about 9) I looked at today. It is in excellent shape, matching numbers, good bolt, good bore. This particular rifle scores a "5" on the http://7.62x54r.net/ "Rarity of Mosin Nagant Rifle Variations" page. That is 5, with 10 being highest and 1 being lowest. It is gratifying that I pulled up something that probably has some collector's value, as well as being a beautiful and completely original shooter.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I found an1935 Izhevszk hex receiver MN at Big 5 today. Yes, it was counterbored, as were all the rifles (about 9) I looked at today. It is in excellent shape, matching numbers, good bolt, good bore. This particular rifle scores a "5" on the http://7.62x54r.net/ "Rarity of Mosin Nagant Rifle Variations" page. That is 5, with 10 being highest and 1 being lowest. It is gratifying that I pulled up something that probably has some collector's value, as well as being a beautiful and completely original shooter.

I've bought numerous Nagants with perfect bores. Probably the most desirable was a 1925 Tula hex receiver with good wood, arsenal refinished. It's so nice I'll likely never shoot it, barring an emergency. I bet some commisar owned it and it never saw battle. Paid $84 at Big 5 for it

 

[toobigtofail]

Good luck finding a Mosin of that quality or rarity nowadays. I hope to see you out* there somewhere shooting one of these beautiful old firearms.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Good luck finding a Mosin of that quality or rarity nowadays. I hope to see you out* there somewhere shooting one of these beautiful old firearms.

I have 3 Big 5 stores near me and although I haven't visited in search of a Nagant in a while I bet there are still some goodies out there to be found. The key is being able to walk out sans gun if they have a bad batch. There were 17 million Nagants manufactured, and I do not believe they have dried up quite yet. The best condition Nagants are usually the M44 post war production.. I have several which are literally new except for stock dings from rough handling in storage/shipping

I do shoot some of my Nagants, BTW.. the less collectible ones..

 

[toobigtofail]

I think you've been out of the market too long. I went to three Big 5s and that was the amount of time I was willing to spend on this. I'm happy with my rifle and consider it a "goodie".

And with that, I say to you, "Good Day, Sir!"

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I think you've been out of the market too long. I went to three Big 5s and that was the amount of time I was willing to spend on this. I'm happy with my rifle and consider it a "goodie".

And with that, I say to you, "Good Day, Sir!"

Maybe I'll drop by a few of them and see what they currently have.. they come in, in waves so maybe this one is the dregs

You would love my collection. I plan to display them when we build our new home, as I will then have a large dojo/arms room. I will display all of them with their full kit, ready for issue, in a large wood rack. I even have a Finnish Nagant heavy barrel

 

[toobigtofail]

I'm pretty sure that they are back to their normal price now. Take a look at the weekly ad: <broken link removed> You'll have to wait until the sale price circles around again. Unless you want to pay something like $179 or whatever they normally cost.

Good luck.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I'm pretty sure that they are back to their normal price now. Take a look at the weekly ad: <broken link removed> You'll have to wait until the sale price circles around again. Unless you want to pay something like $179 or whatever they normally cost.

Good luck.

I simply ask my local guy at Big 5 to hold my selections in the back until the sales time comes around. He puts my name on them and they sit there until the next sale comes along. I know when that comes up because I get their mass-mailing fliers

We became buddies after I taught him how to hand select them for himself

 

[trainsktg]

A bit of a nit-picky point...With collectors, 'Nagant' is generally used to refer to a pistol, specifically the M95 7-shot Nagant revolver. 'Mosin' or 'Mosin-Nagant' refers to the variety of Russian 3-line rifles we are discussing here.

Regarding collectability, the ex-snipers don't command too much of a premium (as of yet) over a regular infantry rifle. Big 5 still prices them the same. A hex reciever is again usually just a bit of a premium over the round receivers, if at all. Tulas over Izhevsk etc. Surprisingly, even SA marked 91/30s aren't selling all that well right now either. Still, its worth the effort to look for them, as any of these groups will probably be a better investment in the long run over the regular wartime low-walled plain-jane Mosins.

Keith

 

[Blitzkrieg]

A bit of a nit-picky point...

With collectors, 'Nagant' is generally used to refer to a pistol, specifically the M95 7-shot Nagant revolver. 'Mosin' refers to the variety of Russian 3-line rifles we are discussing here.

Keith

Big 5 does not sell handguns so I'm sure we are not confusing anyone

 

[trainsktg]

Big 5 does not sell handguns so I'm sure we are not confusing anyone

Agreed. I was just being my typical (and generally insufferably so) perfectionist self .

Keith

 

[toobigtofail]

The http://7.62x54r.net/ page asserts that the ex-snipers do not have any value over plain 91/30's. I think that if you find an ex-sniper with a wood insert in the stock where the scope bracket should go, that would have some value over a normal 91/30, as it would seem to indicate that that was the original stock. Part of the cool thing about Big 5 is the fact that some of the guns that might have a greater collector's value over others are being sold at the same price.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

The http://7.62x54r.net/ page asserts that the ex-snipers do not have any value over plain 91/30's. I think that if you find an ex-sniper with a wood insert in the stock where the scope bracket should go, that would have some value over a normal 91/30, as it would seem to indicate that that was the original stock. Part of the cool thing about Big 5 is the fact that some of the guns that might have a greater collector's value over others are being sold at the same price.

SSSSHHHHH !!

 

[trainsktg]

Big 5 can be fun to wade through. Bundled with the regular rifles, you can find an ex-sniper, a hex receiver, or occasionaly some with nice laminated stocks. Be careful, though...so far no one has bought the 1928 hex-receivered PU laugh sniper at the local Moses Lake Big 5.

Keith