I am Looking to purches eather a Mosin-Nagant or Turkish 8mm Mauser. I cant decide which one to get. I am looking for a older rifle that is cheap and reasonably cheap to shoot but is fairly accurate. I am looking to find out which one is a better rifle and which round would be easer to find. Thanks.
Mosin-Nagant vs. Turkish 8mm Mauser?
- Thread starter jcjr3020
- Start date
You will be well served by either.
The Mosin is probably cheaper to buy - street price is around $100 in my area, and the ammo is definitely cheaper, for now. To me, the Mausers are better looking and feel better in the pocket of my shoulder. You can still find Yugos in the $150 range, but it has been a while since I have seen cheap 8mm. Either way you go, you will not be disappointed.
The Mosin is probably cheaper to buy - street price is around $100 in my area, and the ammo is definitely cheaper, for now. To me, the Mausers are better looking and feel better in the pocket of my shoulder. You can still find Yugos in the $150 range, but it has been a while since I have seen cheap 8mm. Either way you go, you will not be disappointed.
The M-N's I have seen have generally had pretty decent bores. A lot of the Turkish Mauser barrels are worn and corroded so badly that accuracy is dubious. Still, I prefer the Mauser to the M-N. The stiff action and short bolt handle make the latter awkward and harder to operate than a Mauser.
Jim
Jim
OldShooter
New member
MN/8mm
Buying old surplus rifles can be hit or miss. If the rifling is good all the way to the muzzle you may be okay. On an MN, check to see if it has been counter bored. I have several of each make, accuracy can be all over the place, especially with the MNs. My mausers, a Turk, a 24/47 and a Preduceze all shoot good groups, especially the Preduceze. I shoot surplus ammo. I only know about my guns, not how yours will shoot.
Buying old surplus rifles can be hit or miss. If the rifling is good all the way to the muzzle you may be okay. On an MN, check to see if it has been counter bored. I have several of each make, accuracy can be all over the place, especially with the MNs. My mausers, a Turk, a 24/47 and a Preduceze all shoot good groups, especially the Preduceze. I shoot surplus ammo. I only know about my guns, not how yours will shoot.
If possible buy them both.The Turk will most likely become the more collectible out of the two since they are drying up and mosins will likely be around for years to come.I own 5 different models of Turkish arms and they are all great guns and fun to shoot.My Turks in 8x57 are capable of amazing accuracy even with surplus ammo and with handloads they shoot even better.
At one point I owned 4 different types of Mosin Nagants but now Im down to just 2 (m44 and 91/30) and both are great shooters and Ive taken deer with both rifles. 7.62x54r seems to be more plentiful in some areas than 8x57 so thats one thing to take into consideration but if you handload its not really a problem.
At one point I owned 4 different types of Mosin Nagants but now Im down to just 2 (m44 and 91/30) and both are great shooters and Ive taken deer with both rifles. 7.62x54r seems to be more plentiful in some areas than 8x57 so thats one thing to take into consideration but if you handload its not really a problem.
ksstargazer
New member
I have about 9 Turkish Mausers (M38's, M1903's, M1888, and M98/22's) and about 30 Mosins (Soviet and Finnish). Some are outstanding accurate shooters - all my M98/22's and all my Finnish rifles. Some are horrible shooters - My M1888 Commission rifle and my Soviet 1916 Sestroyesk M91 rifle. None of my Turks would I call valuable - At best I might get $200 for them. However, some of my Finnish mosin rifles are worth easily $400 or more. Ammo for the Mosins is definitely more available and cheaper although Romanian 8mm is still pretty available.
Personally, the Finnish mosins are far more collectible than any Turk. Between the Soviets and the Turks, it is a toss up and I probably would lean toward the Turks even with the history behind the Soviet rifles. But collectibility is whatever you define it to be. Do you want accuracy? Then check out my recommendations above. Do you want history? Forget the Turks and get Finnish or Soviet mosins. You want to plink? The mosins are the way to go for cheap shooting.
If you go for either, I am sure you will eventually get the other. That is what happened to me and to be honest, I like 'em all regardless of their collectibility.
Personally, the Finnish mosins are far more collectible than any Turk. Between the Soviets and the Turks, it is a toss up and I probably would lean toward the Turks even with the history behind the Soviet rifles. But collectibility is whatever you define it to be. Do you want accuracy? Then check out my recommendations above. Do you want history? Forget the Turks and get Finnish or Soviet mosins. You want to plink? The mosins are the way to go for cheap shooting.
If you go for either, I am sure you will eventually get the other. That is what happened to me and to be honest, I like 'em all regardless of their collectibility.
MUZZLESMOKE
New member
I have both styles of the MN. The long one is not as accurate as the short one. Mine is a M1938 made 41. I bought it from the news paper. I paid $70 for it and 300 rd. He also had one that is made in Finland. They are suppose to be the best made ones. I would of bought it but he had stripped the iron sights off. And mickey moused a scope on it. If you have a Big Five Sporting store in your town. They put the MN on sale for $89 the long one. Comes with bayonet, sling, oil can and two bullet pouches.
I also have a Nagant revolver 1895 model. It shoots 7.62x38r and will also shoot 38. There are two types single action and double. I have the double, it takes a strong finger to pull the trigger. Oh yea it a 7rd revolver.
I have never owned or shoot a mauser. And they aree right cheap to shoot. A battle can of 440 rds ,7.62x54r, I picked mine up for $139. It was awhile back.. It is fun to shoot cheap and accurate. In my opion.
I also have a Nagant revolver 1895 model. It shoots 7.62x38r and will also shoot 38. There are two types single action and double. I have the double, it takes a strong finger to pull the trigger. Oh yea it a 7rd revolver.
I have never owned or shoot a mauser. And they aree right cheap to shoot. A battle can of 440 rds ,7.62x54r, I picked mine up for $139. It was awhile back.. It is fun to shoot cheap and accurate. In my opion.
You can still find the yugo mausers for a little bit more $$$ than a mosin. Plus, a yugo mauser stands a good chance (most were virtually unissued) at outshooting the turk mauser or the mosin. I love my 24/47. 2moa with iron sights and surplus ammo (I'm not kidding). Very easy rifle to shoot, too. The 2moa is from a supported prone position with a sling to steady, and the rifle honestly feels like it wouldn't move if someone came up and kicked the muzzle sideways. I don't even really have to apply much pressure, or use a tourniquet tight sling. It just naturally stays there, with the fundamentals seeming to take care of themselves with no conscious effort from me (yaknow, breath control, trigger manipulation). All I have to do is point it in the right direction 
Ignition Override
New member
Having spent many hours reading about so many personal reports of the growing scarcity of most calibers of surplus ammo, it is my impression that low-cost (corrosive) x54R ammo will remain widely available for a while: Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Hung., Russian.
Some private sellers offer 8 mm from .25-.30/round, and some firms such as AIM or JG sell it. A good search is "Ammo-deals.com".
The reports are that surplus 8 mm will become as scarce as surplus .303 in a few years, if not sooner.
It's kind of funny...I walk into small town gun shops and often when asking whether they know who might have Low-Cost Surplus .303, they steer me towards over-priced new Remington.
Apparently some people don't understand what surplus is, or hope that we are too desperate or a Dummkopf who doesn't know the difference.
Some private sellers offer 8 mm from .25-.30/round, and some firms such as AIM or JG sell it. A good search is "Ammo-deals.com".
The reports are that surplus 8 mm will become as scarce as surplus .303 in a few years, if not sooner.
It's kind of funny...I walk into small town gun shops and often when asking whether they know who might have Low-Cost Surplus .303, they steer me towards over-priced new Remington.
Apparently some people don't understand what surplus is, or hope that we are too desperate or a Dummkopf who doesn't know the difference.
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Ignition Override said:
Wow, I haven't seen surplus .303 in years. The last I recollect in any quantity was that godawful corrosive Indian stuff, and that's got to have been more than five years ago.
I've been shooting S&B in my Enfields & Ross (or rolling my own) ever since.
smleno1mkIII
New member
personally If I could only afford one I would get the turk there getting hard to find but you can always find another mosin there a dime a dozen if its a 91\30 I dont see them drying up soon
