Hey man, is that a Mosin?

D

dwwhite

New member
So I got a great deal on a mostly original Remington 1903a3 a couple of weeks ago, and have been super excited to get it to the range.

Well, I finally made it yesterday, and I was so stoked to show off my "new" rifle. I just knew that folks wold be lined up to admire my piece of WWII history. I even brought plenty of extra ammo so anybody that wanted could fire a few rounds.

On arrival, the only guy that paid me any mind was a young man a few benches down blasting with a rental SKS. He looked over and says "Man, that rifle is awesome looking, is it a Mosin?"

No slight on the Mosin shooters in our midst, but I was crushed.

Ego and expectations fully deflated, I did explain to him that I had, and even let him shoot a couple clips worth. He seemed to enjoy it, bit did note that it "wasn't as fast as his SKS."

I weep for our youth :D
 
At least he didn't have an AK for a mag dump...

So, since only accurate rifles are interesting (and YES, that includes the Mosin-Nagants I build ;))- did yours shoot worthy of it's reputation?
 
About twice a year I load up 3 - 5 WW2 battle rifles and take them to the range.
The ones that draw the most attention or the M1 30 carbine, Lee Enfield 303 and M44 Mosin.
I can have any number of other rifles there and those are the 3 rifle people gravitate towards.
I have a number of WW2 milsurp rifles and these are the 3 that everyone wants to shoot.
I can’t explain it.
 
Tobnpr,

With Greek HXP it seems to be a 2-3 minute gun in my hands. I'm hoping to improve that once I get used to that SKINNY front sight, we'll see. But on the whole, I'm pretty pleased. At 72, it's still within Army acceptance standards. We should all age as well.


Addendum...

All joking aside, I will say that the young man was extremely polite and safety conscious, something I've generally don't expect to see at a public range.

I had considered myself relatively young, but he was very liberal with Mister and Sir during our conversation. When I went home and looked in the mirror with a critical eye, I saw why... I am as old as my Dad was when I considered him solidly middle aged, and considerably greyer to boot.
 
I had considered myself relatively young, but he was very liberal with Mister and Sir during our conversation. When I went home and looked in the mirror with a critical eye, I saw why... I am as old as my Dad was when I considered him solidly middle aged, and considerably greyer to boot.
Click to expand...

I used to say that youth and exuberance would overcome old age and treachery every time... until I started to turn gray and not look so young any more. Now I'm much more in tune with my old and treacherous side. I plan to make my saying obsolete :D
 
At my range I seem to get the most interest in my G43, PU, and AKs.
Not a bad historical or shooting mix.
 
This, in part, is why I stopped showing up at public ranges over forty years ago.

Too many people who are not certain which end of the gun points downrange. - Actually, too many people in general.
 
Congrats on your pickup, and your maiden voyage with the venerable old gal. And yes, where are the pictures?

LOL at least he recognized that it was old, and it was a milsurp. For many these days, the plethora of cheap mosins make them the only one they think of when they see an obvious vintage military rifle.

Of all the rifles in my rather vintage collection, my 03A3 is my favorite, even though my older and heavily corrected eyes can't see clearly at 100 yards using open sights any more.

Oh, I have ARs, M1 in both Garand and Carbine flavors, couple Swiss flavors, 30/40 Krag, VZ24, K98, Enfield in regular and jungle carbine (that sucker HURTS) and others, and yes, several Communist Bloc characters including Mosins in 91/30 and M44.

03A3 is the fave of the lot. By far. No question.

I always take plenty of ammo with me, and offer to let others shoot it. Spreading the fascination among others helps to keep these wonderful pieces of history alive. I am often surprised at the those that turn it down after finding out it shoots 30-06, acting like it's something to be afraid of. Of course, these folks are usually the ones shooting their newly purchased (not home built) ARs. Others who "understand" are really happy to have the opportunity to shoot their AR's great-father.

As a woman, I do get odd looks when I pull it from the case, though, and I do have to honestly admit I take some small pleasure in that. Odd looks from the men, that is. The women just secretly smile...
 
The problem here, as I see it, is rather simple. You need to find a range where the shooters have class. Problem solved. :)

Ron
 
Aw but dude! The Moist Nagat was what all the top snipers used in WW2! One dude killed over 5000 krauts with one! The 03 isn't nearly as good!!

:rolleyes:
 
I should've known better than to not post a picture. We'll give this a try...

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4.18 million Remington 1903a3, likely January 1944 production, 2 groove 9/43 RA barrel, one of the last ones off the line.

Ron,

I could never go to a range where folks had class, they'd never let me in. :D What's that old line? I'd never frequent a club where they would have me as a member...

Though I will admit, the public range here is a last resort for me. This time I felt plenty safe, but in another month (the weekend before rifle season), you couldn't get me there on a bet.

Again, I hope nobody is construing this as an attack on the young man at the range, or on old Sergei Mosin. It was just one of those comical interactions we sometimes have with strangers, though I was ready to cry at the time.
 

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I've been asked that several times, almost never when I'm using a mosin nagant. I've been asked that while shooting arisakas, carcanos, enfields, you name it. I don't get mad. I use it as an oportunity to educate younguns into getting into shooting sports. I took my entire college class out a couple times last fall, on of those times they got to take turns shooting a swedish mauser, a straight pull mannlicher, an enfield number 4, and a mosin nagant, the mosin saw very little use. next time I might have them come out to the cmp shoot and I'll let them pick what they want to shoot with.
 
Nice rifle and may it bring you many years of enjoyment on the range. Oh yeah, public ranges the week before hunting season. :)

Ron
 
Nice looking Mosin there dwwhite!:D

I think like a lot of things today people, especially less experienced people, easily group similar things together as the most popular at the time. With the great popularity of military surplus Mosins, and your rifle being obviously miitary, he just assumed it was a Mosin.
I had a similar funny comment a few years back. When the 50BMG was starting to get popular, and heard about by people who had never seen one. I was shooting my Hakim, and a young guy watching asked "Is that a 50?"LOL. Well, in his defence, Hakim actions are very long, and with the muzzle break surplus 8MM ammo is pretty loud.:D
 
What kind of rifle is that?

I'm not surprised. I took a Garand to a 3-gun match once......and a young fella in his mid twenties or so says........."what kind of rifle is that".
I thought they were iconic to our culture, guess I'm mistaken.

Down the same path, I had occasion this summer to visit the Alvin York State Park in N. central TN. In discussing my trip with two educated adults, ( both physicians, one in her 30's, another gentleman in his 50's), neither knew of Sgt Alvin York or his story. York, of course, used a bolt rifle, in France in WWI, to accomplish his feat of soldiering with those of his squad that survived.

Such knowledge I suppose is not common place on one's Nintendo game or most recent technology gadget.
 
He is right.
It isn't as fast as an SKS.
Click to expand...

Nor an M1 Garand. :rolleyes:

C'mon, let's get serious. Skip the Mosin junk.

Go to CMP and get a service grade M1. Trust me, you'll never look back.



And you can thank me later. :cool:

 
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