my new mighty mosin

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customaquatics

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i have 1 mosin thats dated "1942" an i see that that date is real common but my other nagant is dated "1939". is there something special bout the 30's rifles?
 
i have 1 mosin thats dated "1942" an i see that that date is real common...
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1942 is a very common date because that's when the Soviets really got Mosin-Nagant production into full swing. When the Nazis invaded in June of 1941, the Red Army had been in the midst of an ill-fated switchover to the semi-auto rifles, which had caused curtailed Mosin-Nagant production and a general battle rifle shortage. They had first tried to convert to the SVT-38, but that rifle had serious design flaws that were discovered during trials, and it was subsequently redesigned to create the SVT-40. This caused serious delays because the production lines had to be shut down for retooling.

When the Nazis crossed the border, most front-line Red Army troops had SVT-40s, but most rear-guard troops were equipped with a hodgepodge of Mosin-Nagants, including many seriously beat-up Tsarist-era rifles, and many soldiers had no rifles at all. Unfortunately, the Nazis rolled over the Soviet front lines so quickly that most of the SVT-40s were destroyed or captured, and the Nazis approached Tula so quickly that the arsenal had to be shut down and the machinery moved to Izhevsk, causing many months' delay in rifle production. :(

By 1942, the situation was becoming desperate, and Red Army leaders decided to focus on the Mosin-Nagant because producing one consumed less raw materials and required fewer machining operations than an SVT-40. It was also easier to train a conscript to use one.
is there something special bout the 30's rifles?
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I'll assume you have a M91/30.

The "hex" (actually octagonal) receiver was phased out in 1935-1936 and replaced with a round receiver. Collectors hold the "hex"-receiver rifles in higher regard because they're more rare. Most of these guns are actually earlier versions of the rifle that were upgraded to M91/30 standards. Some people regard the hex rifles as higher-quality, but IMHO this is probably wishful thinking since most of these guns were arsenal-refurbished after WWII anyway.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinM9130S.htm
The only thing ive heard is that the Post War Mosins were a little better quality.
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That's because many of them hit the surplus market without having to be arsenal-refurbished first.
 
whats wrong with arsenal refurbished? My son has an MO marked Hex Mosin with three dates on the reciever im sure it was arsenal refurbished and its very nice.
 
whats wrong with arsenal refurbished?
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Nothing. The point is that the rifles have been fixed up with non-original parts. They're not the way they came from the factory originally. I didn't mean to imply that they're bad rifles. :)

FWIW most of the nice-looking, import-marked Soviet rifles on the market are arsenal-refurbished, not just the "MO" marked ones.
 
MO stamped doesn't mean refinished but used by the interior of defense does it? Or was it refinished before reissuing? I have a single MO and would like a double.
 
im lucky to have both my mosin's to have all 3 matching numbers but they do have the stamped import serial number not sure bout if the 1939 does.
 
A 1942 Izhevsk is the most common 91/30, with production amounting to over 2.8 million rifles.

Prewar and postwar Mosins tend to have better fit and finish on the metal parts, as the wartime rifles were produced under very great pressure and there wasn't time to make them look good. Rough machining is very much in evidence on many, if not most, wartime rifles. They work just as well as the peacetime examples, they're just not as pretty.

There is a lot of speculation about the meaning of the MO mark but nobody has yet found any evidence as to exactly what it means.
 
OK, now that we all have Mosins lets see what they can do. The CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) has Vintage, as issued Military Rifle Matches designed for these old surplus military rifles.

These old war horses deserve to be given a chance to show us the still have it in them.

The target used in these CMP games has a 3.5 MOA X-10 ring. It doesn't take much of a rifle to clean those targets, its up to use.

These matches consist of shooting 35 rounds (Course A) or 45 rounds (Course B).

Thats 5 sighter shots from any position, 10 rounds slow fire prone, 10 rounds rapid fire prone (10 shots in 80 seconds) and 10 rounds standing slow fire.

The difference between the Course A and Course B is Course B has an additional 10 shots setting rapid fire string.

The range is 200 yards using the NRA SR target or 100 yards using the SR1 target (the 200 yard target reduced to 100 yards).

Most have heard of the Garand Matches, this is the same thing, only a separate classification, Vintage Military Match.

The best thing about these GSM matches is the comradeship you have among other fans of military surplus rifles.

Check the CMP website for matches in your area.

http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchUpcomingSearch.cgi?designation=GARAND
 
This site is a must for all the folks that are going to collect, are collecting Mosin Nagant rifles. It's an absolute wealth of knowledge.
www.7.62x54r.net
On the site it explains the various markings on the rifles. See for yourself and enjoy
 
well i just found out something awsome by researching my serial number an knowing that the numbers restart back to 1 every year i am proud to say that in 1939 mine is the 763rd production nagant from Russia at the beginning of the WWll.
 
I have 3
1. 1929 Izhevsk 91/30 Hex all matching #'s
2. 1953 Hungarian M-44 matching #'s
3. 91/59 with a 1942 Izhevsk rifle matching #'s except the buttplate

They are all very good specimens and so far they all shoot very well. I havent had any problems with any of them. All 3 are cool rifles. The Hungarian is the best looking and least used and the 1929 is the best shooter.
 
Tula (Soviet Union) Izhevsk (Soviet Union). i guess the Tula is my 1939 an the 1942 i have is the Izhevsk. im stoked i got both variants.
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Go to this site and look at marking on the barrels.
www.7.62x54r.net
The Tula rifles will
have a Star on the receiver and the Izhevsk has the sickle and wreath
 
Serious collectors usually turn their noses up at the arsenal refurbished Mosins. The arsenals did not make any effort to keep any original parts with a rifle, so an arsenal refurb will likely have none of the parts it came with. That's why a lot of them have "force matched" numbered parts with partial numbers, or electric penciled numbers, or struck through numbers. That is also why a Tula rifle might have a lot of Izhevsk marked small parts on it. It does wash a lot of their history away.

Still, the rifle went through a quality control system, so there is some assurance that an arsenal refurbished rifle is a serviceable rifle. They are plentiful, inexpensive, and they make good shooters.

I have three, and I love them.
 
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