Mousin-Nagant vs 1886 Lebel

There's no reason to even consider the Lebel unless you are a military history enthusiast.

A Lebel costs what, $400-$500? That's about two Mosins, or one Finnish Mosin.

7.62x54R is still widely available.

8mm Lebel is what, $2-3 a round if you are ever able to find it?

And even then, the Mosin is crude and unappealing, and is less appealing every day as prices creep up and up.

You've probably missed the boat, honestly. Unless you have a particular historical interest, a modern rifle in a modern caliber would be better in just about every way.
 
Actually, after seeing that I could get a Savage Model 11 Scout with 10 rd detachable magazine, iron sights, and picatinny rail and in .308 Win for $580, I have decided that this is going to be a far superior bolt gun.
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So you weren't interested in either as a milsurp, or the history of the firearm. Just a lower cost rifle.
The savage would be a good choice, but there are others as well.
To answer your original question.
Because I have an "accumulation" of Mosins I would pick the Lebel for it's history, and somewhat unique design.
 
^ I mean, I have an interest in the Lebel's uniqueness too. I like tube magazines over box magazines, I like groundbreaking historic firearms, but I like low price, yes.

As the post above yours said, the ship has sailed on the bargain Mosin prices. I don't see the point in buying a Mosin for almost $250 then busting your rump to modernize it into something better than a crudely made, but very functional rifle.

To me, $600 for a .308 bolt rifle, a common and accurate cartridge, is better than 7.62x54R.
 
You'll have a much easier time finding a mosin nagant 91. I haven't been able to find a French lebel in decent shape.
 
Not quite fair to judge 19th century rifles based on 21st century ammunition availability. The major practical difference of the M-N over the Lebel is that the former is clip loaded, a huge advantage in the late 19th century.

Jim
 
Some points of information on the Lebel 1886's magazine, ammunition, etc.

When it was adopted, magazine tube detonation was a concern with the 1886 Lebel, so the French did several things to help prevent it.

The first was the shape of the cartridge. It was designed with the extreme body taper to help keep the point of a bullet from resting on the primer of the round in front of it.

Second was the primer. Lebel ammunition had a separate cover that was inserted into the primer pocket after the primer was inserted and which served as a buffer zone for the primer.

Third was bullet design. The initial load for the 1886 used a flat-point bullet, the Balle M. The flat point, in conjunction with the primer cover, proved to be extremely effective in preventing detonations.

In the late 1890s the French adopted the famous lathe-turned spitzer boattail Balle D.

Worried about the pointed bullet and thinking that the primer cover might not be protection enough, the French redesigned the case with a large "safety ring" in the case head that helped trapped the Balle D's point during loading into the magazine.

All in all, these steps were extremely effective in preventing magazine detonations.


That said, during World War I most French soldiers were issued various iterations of the Betherier clip fed rifle, while French Colonials came to the fight often armed with surplussed 1886 Lebels.

French soldiers often took great pains to obtain 1886 Lebels because, even with their known drawbacks, they considered them to be better rifles and were found to be significantly more accurate at longer ranges and they held a great number of rounds.
 
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