I Need An Answer To Why Is The Mosin Nagant Is So Popular ?

I think the Mosin Nagant is ugly as sin but for 100 dollars you get a rifle that fires a hard hitting round capable of reaching out to very long distances. I own a 91/30 and if I ever run out of ammo it'll make a superior club and spear with the bayonet attached!
 
I grew up in the golden age of milsurp rifles, when wonderful old Mausers and '03s and SMLE's were abundant. So this recent obsession with one of that family's ugly sisters is perplexing to me as well.

You have to understand that today's shooter is far more media-driven... one good movie like Enemy at the Gates is all it takes for a gun to take on cult status. Beyond that, the Mosin is cheap, accurate enough and durable as hell. Add plentiful, cheap milsurp ammo and you have the star of the moment.

I remember when SKS rifles were everywhere for under $100 and Chicom ammo was cheap as sunshine. Everybody had one and everybody who didn't, wanted one.That all changed and the Mosin has replaced it.

Never be surprised when history repeats itself/
 
^^^ I'm with ya Sarge, I remember my Dad bought me my first hunting rifle when i was 14 ( an enfield no.4 mkI) He told me he paid 79.00 for it. Try touching one for that now. And when I turned 18 I bought a Norinco SKS for 80 buck at a gun show, they are what now 250? So yeah I am buying the heck out of Mosins right now,call me crazy but they won't be 100 bucks forever.
 
Just because they don't cost alot doesn't mean they are "cheap". Chew on this. THE top sniper in the Russian army in WWII was a WOMAN with well over 300 confirmed kills.
 
I bought Finnish Nagants when they were $69.00 . I bought a M38 and M44 Russian.

These are all fun rifles. They go bang, I killed a spike buck with a M27 Finnish, what the heck.

Sometimes fun is good enough.
 
The Mosin Nagant is tied for the Mauser and the Lee Enfield as the military rifle that was used by the most countries in the most conflicts over the longest time. It had a front line service life of probably 70 + years-adopted by Imperial Russia in
1891, my Chinese Type 54 -Vietnam bringback- has a manufacturing date of 1960. There are plenty of variations-Tzarist ones graduated in arshins, Soviet ones grduated in meters, transitional ones, round receivers, hexagonal ones, Finnish ones, Finnish Army captures, Soviet ones without the "SA" cartouche showing Finnish capture, carbines, Dragoon rifles, etc.
 
I just recently sold a long one with a hex receiver at Auction. Some fool paid a couple hundred for it, probably because it had no import markings. I bought it through the mail when I was a kid. I really don't remember how much it was exactly, but think it was $15.00. Sarge is right, if not for the cheap ammo and BS movie, they would still be sitting on the shelves. They were always cheap but nobody wanted them. When I lived in California the hock shops were full of them. Same with the Russian pistols, although they could use fire formed Mauser brass. Bad design from a machining view and a rimmed case to boot. I actually did shoot a deer with that old rifle, but the only thing I ever carried into the deer woods that was worse was a 30-40 Krag and I have had quite the selection of surplus rifles for deer hunting. Buy anything you like but don't try to run the value of them up with BS.
 
Just some food for thought. I can remember the days(pre-64'ish) when the same was said about about British .303 SMLE's and 8mm '98 Mausers that were sold for $15-40 in just about every department store of the time. God only knows how many were just chopped up and "sporterized". The older 11mm or .43cal Mauser Rolling blocks and 45-70 trap-door springfields?... you had a hard time giving away.

I don't think the average Mosin-Nagant's will ever increase in value to the same level since there were just millions of them made, but they are a solid, strong and reasonably accurate battle rifle that is alot of fun to shoot. Of course, I also might be wrong(I was in '64).
 
Even a .303 is a more hunter friendly rifle. Went through a couple of them. Did not really care for them but they were a little more user friendly than some other rifles.
 
I own a few M/Ns and that's not due to any movie. Some of us just enjoy history and the thrill of collecting antique rifles. Alot of stuff that people buy is stupid to me but I don't go out of my way to knock it.
 
It might be the lack of aperture sights.
Among my rifles, all of which are milsurps - except for the .22 - they have aperture sights: SKS (Tech Sight), FR8s, five Enfields, Garand.

Only the Yugo Mauser is for sale, because I'm a lousy shot with it and do not like that type of open sight. It will only be sold FTF (near Memphis).
If Polish MN 44s had aperture sights, I would have at least two of them.

One hang-up is the need to find the right ammo for a given rifle.
The groups from just 50 yards on a bench with my Russian MN 44s, using Bulgarian ammo, were terrible (5" groups). But the rifling and bores were decent.
I concluded that both my shooting and the rifles were the problem, and sold them.
 
i want to thank everyone for your honest replies..., it is CHEAP !!
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That's an overly simplistic understanding. It's not merely that it's "cheap."

Being inexpensive doesn't automatically equate to popularity. The Chiappa 1911-22 is cheaper than any other .22lr 1911 lookalike out there, yet it is not popular. The Mosin Nagant is popular not just because it's inexpensive, but also because it's extremely durable, it's fun to shoot, can be quite accurate, is a piece of history, and fires a powerful round. You simply can't get all of those things from any other rifle for that kind of price.

Chew on this. THE top sniper in the Russian army in WWII was a WOMAN with well over 300 confirmed kills.
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Not quite. The top female sniper in all of military history was indeed a woman serving in the Russian army, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, with 309 confirmed kills. Amongst all Russian snipers from WWII however, she wouldn't even be in the top 10, there were several Russian snipers with confirmed scores exceeding 400, and even 500.
 
Not quite. The top female sniper in all of military history was indeed a woman serving in the Russian army, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, with 309 confirmed kills. Amongst all Russian snipers from WWII however, she wouldn't even be in the top 10, there were several Russian snipers with confirmed scores exceeding 400, and even 500.
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Good stuff, I was going off of memory of the program I watched, I though she was #1. I did think her story of when she squared off against the German sniper in the tree was really great. At any rate I'm sure all of them used a Nagant.

And for the Record I had some nagants before that Movie came out. But every now and then I might get out my favorite one and sit it on the couch so it can enjoy the film too. :D<<< J/K
 
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The Soviets were also the only Army on earth at the time that had their snipers also conduct bayonet charges:confused::eek:

The MN's will eventually go the route of the Mauser,Springfield, SMLE and variations and cost a fortune, though some models variations are already in the 1000 dollar plus range.

I like the modern stuff, but there is just something about blued steel and wood and a crate full of ammunition and a thousand yard range that just get's your heart pumping.
 
Cheap. All other pros aside, it comes down to money, just like everything else in life.

They are CHEAP.

That's why.


CHEAP.


(Cheap doesn't always equal bad)
 
If Zaitsev took your head off with one, "cheap" wouldn't even factor into the discussion. They were a mass produced bolt action rifle that the Soviets manufactured when they had their backs to the wall - the history and legacy of the rifles effectiveness is legendary. You either appreciate that fact or you don't.

The Russians also developed the T34 Tank, which was technologically inferior to the Panzers - the Soviet T34 drivers had to change gears with a steel mallet! - but with its wider tracks and excellent armor, it proved better than the Panzer on many fields of battle. But forget all of the T34's achievements in battle ... bottom line, it was cheap! :rolleyes:
Tiki.
 
rifle is cheap, ammo cheap, did i mention cheap, i keep 1 in my jeep and 1 in my pickup 24/7 if someone broke in to my vehicle i would rather have that stolen than my m&p15

many a coyote strolling thru the pastures has fallen to my 91/30's on my way home
 
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