mosin-nagant 91/30

[pawn]

I have been engaged in an auction for this rifle for nearly 2 weeks. I do not have my C&R FFL yet but I am pleased to report that I have won the bidding on this 1942 Mosin that was manufactured in Tula

Ordered ~ 400 rounds of Bulgarian 7.62 x 54r today and can' t wait to dial her in.

-pawn

[djohns6]

Congrats . Hope you enjoy it . It's gonna kick like a bitch !

[pawn]

Originally Posted by djohns6

Congrats . Hope you enjoy it . It's gonna kick like a bitch !

lol, cant wait

[Pistolenschutze]

The accuracy of that rifle will likely amaze you, Pawn. They may be ugly ol' brutes, but function as designed. And just think, with the bayonet in place, you have the perfect frog sticker too.

[pawn]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

The accuracy of that rifle will likely amaze you, Pawn. They may be ugly ol' brutes, but function as designed. And just think, with the bayonet in place, you have the perfect frog sticker too.

cheers sir.

[pawn]

Put ~ 75 rounds of heavy ball, bulgarian surplus through her today...

Eventhough the trigger has a good bit of creep, I found this rifle to be highly accurate and a pleasure to shoot -- I shot without the bayo. Recoil was pronounced but manageable. Overall, I am very pleased with my 91/30, money well spent

[pawn]

ok, I admit my shoulder is sore today

[Rommelvon]

Great fun rifle, check out my videos on youtube under rangereview they hurt like hell after a few rounds...but it's worth it

[polishshooter]

91/30s don't bother me much, but M38s and M44s do, especially if you mount them in a Synthetic stock. In regular stocks all of them are heavy enough to absorb the recoil, but I think the shockwave and blast from the shorter barrel adds to the "felt recoil" of the carbines....

How much did you give for the Tula if you don't mind me asking?

And is it a high wall or low wall?

Tula actually only made 91/30s until early 1942, and actually from the time they started making Tokarevs in 1938 they made a lot less than Izhevsk.

But when the Germans on the way to Stalingrad in 1942 threatened Tula, the Russians packed up all the equipment and shiiped it east to the Izhevsk plant east of the Urals, as part of the propaganda "myth" that they moved whole industries out of the path of the Germans and got them up and running quickly to beat them. (They actually had already built before the war many "secret" modern factories, {like "Tankograd"}and had upgraded and enlarged older ones already there, so while they did ship a lot of MACHINERY east, as well as workers, they did "NOT build new factories from scratch" as the myth goes....)

The Russians installed the Tula equipment at Izhevsk and started producing rifles there along with their regular Izzy line, but interestingly, they put the Tula markings on the ones made with Tula equipment. They either did this because the equipment automatically stamped them that way, or else just to screw with the Germans and make them THINK they had moved and rebuilt the whole factory.

The Germans actually only briefly occupied Tula, and the factory was largely intact, so it was quickly rebuilt after the Germans were driven back by the counteroffensive, and resumed production in 1943, but it is believed they made no more Mosin Nagants there after that, just Tokarevs, Pistols, and MGs....

So PROBABLY, if yours is a low wall (pre war) 1942, it was probably made at Tula, but if it is a high wall (wartime) it was probably made at the Izhevsk Arsenal on Tula equipment.

But no matter, either way you have one a little more rare than the "normal" Izzy, even though the quality is the same, and they both shoot equally well.

[pawn]

Bidding started at $135 and ended at $160. Aside from just wanting a Mosin Nagant, I was interested in this rifle as the overall condition is pretty good and the bore is excellent.

I do not know if it's pre or post war. It is stamped 1942 but the Tula star is missing the top point and there isn't an arrow inside the star .... any ideas???

[pawn]

Originally Posted by Rommelvon

Great fun rifle, check out my videos on youtube under rangereview they hurt like hell after a few rounds...but it's worth it

Thanks for that Rom- very much enjoy your range review clips!!!

[polishshooter]

You can tell first by the side of the receiver opposite the bolt handle...if it takes a noticeable "dip" down towards the bottom of the reciver (called the "scallop) then it is a "low wall," which makes it a "pre-war." If it's just about straight across front to back, it's called a "high-wall." Sometime after the Germans invaded in late 1941 the word went out to speed up production, and they quit machining that scallop out, a few months into 1942. They stopped doing a lot of other useless machining and polishing too, so if you still see machine marks on the receiver its "Wartime," if it's pretty smooth and polished it's still "pre-war."

There are a TON of "little" differences between the two, from the same manufacturers, that isn't easy to see until you get two from the same manufacturer, maybe one year apart, but one wartime and opne pre, and compare them. I still have fun doing that with my '42 and 43 Izzy's. For example, he stocks are different, they only drilled a hole in the wood, in the rear of the stock for the sling, and only reinforced the bottom of the front hole too, rather than full metal escutcheons screwed on each on the pre-war. I like to make sure I have wartime stocks on my wartime guns. POST war stocks have sheet metal pressed in escutcheons on both holes, which yours may have if it's a rearsenal. And some of the little slopes and reliefs milled around the receiver of pre-wars disappeared on the wartime ones too....

Hey, figure out which one you have, and now you have an excuse to buy ANOTHER, to COMPARE!


By the way, my "rough" wartime 1943 is the best shooting 91/30 I have owned, so they DIDN'T scrimp where it counted, the barrel or the action!

[pawn]

Thanks Polishshooter, it is a low wall. Great idea, buying another to compare.....

Do you sell on *******???

[polishshooter]

Yes I do, same name, but I haven't sold much in a while. and probably am in the "buying" side of the market now, not selling....

That price is pretty close to full retail, but Tulas are appreciating quickly lately, some jobbers are even asking as much as a $25 fee to the dealers or CRFFLS to get them "handpicked" now over an Izzy.

IF you have a chance to get to a gun show, you can still find rearsenaled Tulas in Great Shape with all the accessories, sling, ammo pouch, bayonet, and cleaning kit for around $100-120. A lot of guys have them, and picking through them to find a good one is half the fun. Most of them are Izzys (which are just as good, just more common,) but I have seen plenty of late model Tulas or pre-1936 Hex receiver model Izzy's that are just as collectible as the late model Tulas at last months show if you looked...and I ALWAYS look at the Mosins

In fact I ALMOST bought a late model Tula for $99, but fell more in love with the old Colt .38 he had on the same table instead....

I have all Izzy's, now, EXCEPT for a decent well used but SMOOTH 1931 hex Tula...

[gandog56]

Fine acquisition. Now get off your duff and get that C&R. At the minimum, you will need an M38 and an M44 too keep it company. Then there's the Finns......

[pawn]

Originally Posted by gandog56

Fine acquisition. Now get off your duff and get that C&R. At the minimum, you will need an M38 and an M44 too keep it company. Then there's the Finns......

Good advise. I got my C&R a few weeks ago, received my 1st purchase as a cruffler today.... an Enfield 2A Ishapore dated 1965. I am about 1/2 way through de-cosmolining her

As for Mosins, I think an M44 will be next!!!

[AngelDeville]

I like mine...

[pawn]

As well you should AngelDeville , a collection to be proud of for sure!!!

Which of the 3 is your favorite and why?

[AngelDeville]

Originally Posted by pawn

As well you should AngelDeville , a collection to be proud of for sure!!!

Which of the 3 is your favorite and why?

That's a tough one.....

Top is a 91/59

Middle is a 1930 Tula octagon

Bottom is my Elk rifle (converted M44)

all shoot great and have near perfect bores...

I can't choose!

[Mosin_Nagant_Fan]

Originally Posted by AngelDeville

I like mine...

Lets see, M91/59, M91/30 and M44 sporter.

I didn't even notice AngelDeville's post, sorry

[polishshooter]

Angel, that blonde 91/30 sure is sharp looking.

I had a blonde Tula ex-snayperskaya that was in pretty rough shape that I let get away for a song when I first started collecting them that I wish I would have kept and refinished...but at the time I didn't even know how to spot an ex-sniper so I guess it was one of those "live and learn moments..."

But I have always had a penchant for blondes, and not only my wife

A long time ago I used to try and acquire old beat up low end .22s, mostly Winchester 190s and Marlins with the maple stocks "painted" walnut, and sand off all the stain and refinish them as blondes, and you'd be surprised how good they looked, some had REAL nice grains, and they sold for more than I had in them so I made out OK, not enough to retire, but there's enough of us out there liking blonde stocks I guess.

If I find a nice 91/30 in blonde I just might have to buy it....

[gandog56]

Originally Posted by pawn

ok, I admit my shoulder is sore today

You should have mine today. Yesterday I shot 100 rounds of 8X56R and 72 rounds of 7.62X54R. Now where did I put that aspircream?

[pawn]

Originally Posted by gandog56

You should have mine today. Yesterday I shot 100 rounds of 8X56R and 72 rounds of 7.62X54R. Now where did I put that aspircream?

ouchie...

[polishshooter]

The only milsurp rifle I have ever shot that recoiled more than my current M95 or 95/34 Steyrs, was the FIRST Milsurp I ever owned, when I was 17, a "sporterized" M95 Steyr that was even LIGHTER, with a cut down REALLY wispy stock, and all the extraneous metal stuff gone, and didn't even have a buttplate!

The 8x56RH in a Steyr Carbine is the milsurp recoil KING, by far....

I'm impressed by the 100 rds...I'm down to about 150 rounds of the cheap Nazi ammo, and am a little afraid to shoot it much any more until I start reloading for it. The ammo seems to be drying up, I see it at shows for $8-$10/10 now, not the $2.25/10 like it was for years.



Good thing the brass is so easy to make, you use 7.62x54R brass and a $12 Lee case forming die....I just need to buy a .329 cast bullet mold and I'm there!

[tdyoung58]

Good deal, I have a M90/31 and a M38 and a M44

Love them all. Just don't like the Milsurp corosive ammo . . . LOL

Mine don't kick like bitches though, more like a pissed off mule