Is the Mosin (91/30) a good survival rifle???

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Do you think a bent-bolt handle would make cycling the bolt easier (and maybe bump up the fire rate a little)?
NO!!!

Don't do it, nougat!! Seriously, not needed and not desired!! PRACTICE and you will find your rate of fire to be just fine once your learn to work your Mosin from the shoulder, it's very fast and smooth!
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Thanks for the heads up on that

Also, stay away from anything by "BadAce". He's a Chinese feller living in Canada. He copies products invented by those of us in the industry, has them duplicated, cheaply, in China, and then tries to sell them.

One of his failures is a "bent" bolt. Don't fall for it. Anyone with any experience can easily see why it's a piece of crap.
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Wow. I was literally just about to buy his bent bolt on amazon! Glad I read this.

Thanks

(also, I wonder how this specific thread got so popular in such a short time. Odd. . .)
 
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Wow, ... so after 5 pages, we're considering installing Chinese junk parts on a Mosin? :eek:

That sounds dubiously like a "junk-on-junk" fast break. :D Obviously, you Mosin dudenals need an oh-so-brief time out. ;)

So, let's review a couple of practical field positions for shooting the M1 Garand, which happens to be a real battle rifle that won two wars and, thus, actually matters. :rolleyes:

This first one is the classic Squatting position, sometimes referred to as "Rice Paddy Prone," after our experience in the 'Nam. Unfortunately, if your daily diet consists mainly of stuffing donuts and Wendy's Triples, the squat is going to be a little stressful to get in and out of, at least without suffering back or knee damage.



Now for the Sitting position ... Here my niece demonstrates the classic form, which is a staple in Match competition. This position isn't too hard to get into from Standing (a/k/a "off-hand") if you're in decent shape, ... but again, if you're an overweight donut-stuffer, then all bets are off, except for those involving cardiac issues.

 
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Wow, ... so after 5 pages, we're considering installing Chinese junk parts on a Mosin?
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No, we're talking about why we aren't going to because it's junk.

So, let's review a couple of practical field positions for shooting the M1 Garand
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And we're back to the Garand:confused:, which this thread has nothing to do with. I don't own a Garand, nor do I intend to buy one any time soon. I'm sure they're great guns, but that's not what I'm looking into.
 
On the bent bolt handle thing-
I would not bother to bend an existing Mosin bolt handle, it's too short to gain any advantage.

I have two EXTENDED & bent bolt handles, one on the sniper & one on a custom Mosin.
Both, to me, make a great deal of difference in two key areas: More leverage on extraction, and much easier for me to cycle from the shoulder.

I emphasize this is for me, I much prefer the bolt cycling on those two over the standard military bolt handles, and I'm not trying to push the modification on anybody.

They simply change the character of the rifles, something similar to the difference between a straight Mauser bolt & bent Mauser bolt, just in a slightly different way.

Both of my extended-handle Mosins are scoped, and on the custom rifle the bolt handle modification cost me $50 from Rock Solid. Excellent work, straight up guy.
I sent him the bolt group & he returned it with a new handle very professionally welded on.

The other two Mosins here are a full military trim 1925 hex & a wartime production rifle that's now sitting in a Boyds stock with Josh's front sight.
I've been considering getting the bolt on that one done. The worst bore & the most accurate of the four, as I said, and an ungainly-looking bugger, but it's a knock-around that I would not mind dinging up & now lighter than when in original military form.

I'll probably do that handle eventually, I very much like 'em.

Agt,
You're just totally incapable of resisting that overpowering compulsion to insert your Garand in a Mosin thread where nobody asked for it, aren't you?
Trolling to annoy people?


How bout we don't review ANY positions, or anything else concerning shooting your Garand, in a thread where it's completely out of place.
No es possible for you?
Denis
 
As far as Mosin's being shooters my 1929 Izhevsk 91/30 shoots 5" groups at 100yrds in the general vicinity of POA and the ammo was Tula. I would imagine some PPU or S&B would do better.

My Hungarian M44 killed a deer at just inside 300yrds with 174gr S&B ammo that was loaded with Sierra Matchkings. That ammo dispelled the myth that matchkings werent to be used for hunting. The damage to the doe was massive, especially the exit wound side. Also, that particular mosin was my first one and I was completely ignorant to the "mosin's are inaccurate junk" crap thats been going around for years online. Its a fine looking rifle and a very accurate rifle. BTW I still have 6rds of that S&B 174gr ammo!

I have many many guns and if I had to bail or found myself off somewhere cold and alone I would not feel undergunned or worried because a Mosin was all I had.
 
I had a Russian bolt gun before most of you were born. It was an old hex receiver (With Czar crest). It really shot well with Norma ammo and no modifications, but was really not ideal to hunt with. The rifles that were dumped here after the import restrictions were lifted are for the most part junk. Most of you will never make it in the great outdoors anyway, so why worry about it? What you should be looking into is how to build traps and bows from natural materials and studying plants you can eat.
 
* * * Most of you will never make it in the great outdoors anyway, so why worry about it? What you should be looking into is how to build traps and bows from natural materials and studying plants you can eat.
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Finally, ... a gentleman of experience speaks basic common sense. Thank you. :cool:

He quickly popped all the fan-boy fantasy-balloons of surviving WW3 and/or wave after wave of mutant zombie hoards, while holed up in a North Woods cabin with a Mosin, a case of ammo, and a stash of surplus MREs from the last Gulf War. :rolleyes:

And, thanks to Gunplummer, additional M1 Garand pics are unnecessary. :D
 
O/p, ask yourself not only what's the best "shtf" rifle but take the scenario one step further and ask yourself what rifle will provide the longest SHTF sustainibility. A crappy but reliable rifle with 10,000 rounds of surplus stash is better than a nice accurate rifle with only 1000 rounds of ammo. Me personally have 6 different rifles, 6 different calibers, 45,000 rounds worth of ammo, and I can cast my own bullets. I'm reasonably prepared for SHTF.
 
At the end of the day, IMO, no, the 91/30 long rifle's just
too long. Length makes it too unwieldy to be practical, for
most survival situations. The bright side is the carbines are viable,
not only in SHTF, but also a truck guns, trainers, and hog hunters.
 
AGT,
I don't see anybody but you referring to the Mosin as a gun to survive WWIII with, or as a Zombie gun, or envisioning themselves holed up in a cabin with a stash of MREs.

You're apparently unable to view the Mosin from any viewpoint other than a strict military engagement angle, while (as several of us have pointed out) it can be a perfectly viable general purpose survival rifle in other contexts (subsistence, critter defense, etc.).

You can't stop knocking it, as a MILITARY rifle, and you can't stop yourself from getting your Garand in.
Repeatedly.
Ad nauseum.
Nor are you capable of contributing anything useful in this thread at all, or of allowing somebody else to simply have any "survival" rifle opinion that doesn't include your Garand.

What difference does it make if the vast majority of "you" will never make it in the woods?
One man asks for info applicable to his life, and the Garand obsession that rules yours in no way applies to him.

In what conceivable universe does your posting of an Army photo, and a photo of your niece, with Garands answer the original Mosin question?
Where, in any part of this Mosin thread, did anybody ask you for "a brief time-out"?

Why do you continue to attack the Mosin so relentlessly?
Why can you not allow Mosin discussion by those who don't sleep with a Garand as you do?

Nobody here has attacked your beloved rifle.
It just has no place in this discussion.
Nobody asked "Which is the best rifle, Mosin or Garand?"
Nobody asked for your incessant sarcasm & ridicule as a response to a request for information.

I have a fair amount of respect for Kraig's experiences with Garands, and he'll occasionally join in with commentary on them.
But- he does so in an appropriate time & context, doesn't obsess over the rifle, never loses control as you've done, never goes mad-dog foamy at the mouth in elevating it above other rifles in threads that have nothing to do with Garands, displays class in his posts, never belittles those who make other choices, and doesn't behave like a juvenile in his discussions, as you do.

Many of us have attempted to provide useful info in answering the original Mosin question here.
You have provided no useful information about Mosins whatever.

Some have expressed (briefly & without insult) their experiences & opinions that the Mosin is not a good survival gun.
Some have expressed experiences & opinions saying it can be a passable survival gun, in certain contexts.

All you can do is belittle & insult people, and promote a rifle nobody else wants to see in this discussion.

Seek help.
Seriously.
You're making a fool of yourself.
Denis
 
I'd say all in all it would work. I've gone back and forth on it; but yes if it's a rifle someone chooses it could work.
I wouldn't choose it for myself for numerous reasons. Top reason being that it's unwieldy.
In the end there's too many unknowns about a future event. I don't want to go down the road of scenarios.
I've been prepping for a while, not crazy obsessed, but over the years it adds up. Some long term storable food has expired and been replaced, that's an idea about how long.
I also have half of my house fortified with reinforced concrete walls that can be sealed off from the rest of the house. My yard grows edible natural plants and herbs. I lost track of the ammunition. Have water but not enough.
I briefly considered using my 91/30 as a survival rifle and decided against it. The size of the thing is the main reason.

I'd rather grab a bag that has two rifles in it with ammunition and other supplies in it than a bag, big rifle and big ammunition.

The short comings are with mobility and weight, which are the most valuable assets if you must abandon your home.
 
When they were $100 and spam cans of ammo were cheap they would've made a so-so budget survivalists' gun but much like for military service that time has past.

For me even on a tight budget a Ruger American or Savage budget bolt package in 308 is so far superior in most every way and I just saw one or the other for $260ish with a 3-9X scope.
 
"Realistic situations". From the original post. We just had a trial for a self proclaimed "Survivalist" in Pennsylvania by the name of Eric Frein. He ambushed two cops and headed into the woods. It is rough country around where he went in and he lasted 48 days. He did have supplies stashed around, but either ran out of them or was cut off from them. In the end, he was caught in an old building trying to get under some shelter. He looked pretty gaunt and run down when they hauled him out. Frein was armed, but apparently knew less about the woods than he thought. He was also a reenacter, another group I have no use for. My sister lives in Gettysburg. What a circus when the reenactors are in town. Maybe if they rounded them all up and forced them to reenact Andersenville for two years, some of the allure of the good old days would wear off. This survival crap has no place on this forum, and I fail to see why it is allowed. If you feel the need to dig a fall out shelter out back, by all means go ahead. Keep it to yourself. This forum does not need to attract the bad element.
 
Mav,
The thing I'd argue in the Ruger & Savage comps is that neither is as field-maintainable through harsh & unsupported conditions as the Mosin.

Have not tried with Savage, but I've discussed parts & bolt disassembly with Ruger.
Some key parts are restricted & not available, Ruger doesn't want you breaking down their American bolt at all, and the plastic stocks are nowhere near as durable as the old Mosin's wood.

It's things like this that have to be balanced out in making a "survival" choice, in your own projected survival needs.

Without either factory or gunsmith support, if you're left on your own in a continuing survival scenario, having a spare Mosin firing pin (extremely easy to replace without tools & check for correct protrusion with the "multi-tool" gauge typically supplied) or even a complete spare bolt assembly along, can keep you running for quite some time in the most adverse conditions far from home.

In saying this, again- I'm not promoting the Mosin as a first-choice survival rifle.
Or even a second, third, or fourth. :)
But- I'd take it as a hard-use survival rifle before I'd go with either of the plastic-stocked Ruger or Savage budget guns.

I've worked with both, and I still maintain that (even though the American in .308 I tested was one of the most accurate rifles I've ever shot), if you gave me a choice of ONLY those three, Ruger, Savage, and Mosin, for a rifle to bet my life on, it'd be the Mosin.

The other two are actually great hunters & excellent bargains, but they're simply not built to be the beat-it-to-hell, hard-charging, gotta-run, take-it-all & shrug-it-off proposition that the crude & oogly old Mosin is.

Not trying to sell you on a Mosin over either of the other two as your choice for a survival tool, just pointing out a couple factors in the selection process.

I fairly often see the Savage & the Ruger American recommended for hard use instead of the Mosin, they're really not in the same class.
And, an optic sight may or may not be desirable.

The budget-level plastic-stocked rifles shoot well, but shooting well in a survival situation is not the only factor to consider. :)

GP,
Survival means many different things to many different people.
And it does not automatically mean a WWIII situation, or involve a fallout shelter.

It can encompass those, but it can also include the aftermath of a natural disaster (flood, earthquake, widespread forest fires, etc.) that puts one in the position of "surviving" without outside help for the period of aftermath chaos that will follow.

It can cover a back country excursion where one is either lost on foot or suffers a mechanical breakdown, and the rifle may be needed for subsistence hunting or critter protection while waiting for help or re-locating civilization.
I carry a "survival" rifle along on every desert or mountain outing.
It's chosen for the terrain or projected need indicated.

It can involve off-grid living, to various degrees, where either food or predator defense are priorities.

A survival rifle can be anything from a .22 single-shot rifle as a squirrel & rabbit harvester, to a .375 H&H Magnum in grizzly territory, and those who discuss various options are far from either attracting, or being, a "bad element".

If you & AGT find Mosin discussion utterly intolerable in a survival context, you're entirely welcome to discontinue participation.

You're also entirely welcome to start up your own threads about your personal choices for survival rifles, and I'll promise not to take up several inches of thread space with sarcasm, belittlement, and personal insults in spitting all over your pet.

And last year, we in Utah had our own feral off-grid crackpot finally arrested after a run of two or three years living off stealing from other people's cabins in remote areas.

Made a lotta owners nervous about their cabins, property in them, and even using them, never knowing if the guy was in the area or not.
Denis
 
adding details

Most of you will never make it in the great outdoors anyway, so why worry about it? What you should be looking into is how to build traps and bows from natural materials and studying plants you can eat.
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Also,

Survival means many different things to many different people.
And it does not automatically mean a WWIII situation, or involve a fallout shelter.

It can encompass those, but it can also include the aftermath of a natural disaster (flood, earthquake, widespread forest fires, etc.) that puts one in the position of "surviving" without outside help for the period of aftermath chaos that will follow.

It can cover a back country excursion where one is either lost on foot or suffers a mechanical breakdown, and the rifle may be needed for subsistence hunting or critter protection while waiting for help or re-locating civilization.
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Very true. Some envision themselves gunning down hordes of some creature with their overly-accessorized AR from a high-tech fallout shelter. This isn't what I'm talking about. Just like this guy said, I was asking for a rifle to use for mostly hunting animals and for defending myself from creatures form this planet, be it two legged or four.


Thanks,
MosinNOUGAT
 
If you & AGT find Mosin discussion utterly intolerable in a survival context, you're entirely welcome to discontinue participation.
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This is also true. No need to attack a rifle that now seems to perform well in rugged environments which the thread was mainly about. This has been said numerous times before, but there is no need to insert your Garand in this thread so many times.

It's not asking which gun is superior in this situation. Once or twice is fine, but let's count the number of times a Garand has been inserted (specifically by agtman):

Best "survival" rifle where hostile animals or predatory humans might be a concern, but one that is also handy and portable, as well as chambered in a commonly-available caliber, ... would be something like a 16" Mini-G or 18" Tanker Garand. These shorty M1s can be had in .30-06 or 7.62/.308.
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In fact, I'd say the M1 was superior to the MN in all the important ways
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Skip the Mosin junk. Get an M1.

You can thank me after you've survived the annual mid-August zombie outbreak. :D

John C. runs through home-defense drills with his personal M1.
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Seriously, you Mosin dudenals. Get rid of that junk. Sell the ammo. Invest in something realistic for a realistic scenario ...

You can thank Clint later. [PICTURE OF CLINT WITH AN M1]
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the MN as a fighting weapon is junk compared to the M1 Garand - in any configuration: Mini-G, Tanker, or full-size.

This one shoots as good as it looks. [PICTURE OF M1]
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The Garand is as "simple" as a 30-cal autoloader can get and still be reliable in the field. As far as the alleged bullet/ammo "sensitivity" complaint goes, that bugaboo was eliminated when Schuster Mfg invented their adjustable M1 gas plug, which allows you to regulate the M1's gas system to any 30-06 ammo. The Mini-Gs thrive on it with any power level of '06 ammo.

Focus on the facts, my dudenal. It ain't rocket science.
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This one BELOW. . .This one is the TOPPER!:D:rolleyes:

Wow, ... so after 5 pages, we're considering installing Chinese junk parts on a Mosin?

That sounds dubiously like a "junk-on-junk" fast break. Obviously, you Mosin dudenals need an oh-so-brief time out.

So, let's review a couple of practical field positions for shooting the M1 Garand, which happens to be a real battle rifle that won two wars and, thus, actually matters.
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And, thanks to Gunplummer, additional M1 Garand pics are unnecessary.
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Hopefully you don't need to post anymore pics of your Garand, or people holding Garands.

So, what was it in total?

Let's see:

8? After being told this was unnecessary? Odd. . .:confused:
 
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I'll also add that when you pose an open ended question, you should understand that you may get answers that you don't like.

Humans don't share the same world views, so the answers can't be all the same.

The responses here are typical for any similar question about a particular firearm. Mostly, you're going to get people telling you what they have instead. Some will share the same opinion as you, some won't.

If you want a thread talking about the greatness of a 91/30 then word the question differently.
I have some of the worst behavior on here sometimes, I'm an old troll now, lol.
 
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