What would you do to a Mosin?

Clark, cool pictures! Looks like what I do at work every day. I shape carbon and steel for EDM molds which press holsters -- we make Safariland stuff actually. I've only been there about a month though, I'm not ready yet to be doing that kind of work to mine but that's the goal.
 
Buy some S&B ammo and shoot it.

I have a M44 it works just fine as it it. I cast a 155 grain bullet that I use for it and a 7.62 x 39. The only problem right now is finding boxer primed ammunition for it so I can shoot it more. No way would I waste money with custom barrels and stocks. If I was lucky enough to find a former sniper rifle I might drill out the plugs and remount the stock sniper scope.

The action simply is what it is a battle rifle.
 
Again- bending the short issue bolt handle won't do much for you.
Put an extended one on, makes a world of difference.

Re the plastic ATI stocks, consider yourself warned that quality on those has been very spotty, with numerous complaints.

When I tried one, my gunsmith tried for 6 hours to get it re-shaped enough to be functional & it never did fit. Tossed in the garbage not long after.

Many work, many don't.
I have two Boyds stocks on Mosins, they require some fitting, but nothing like that ATI.
Denis
 
Interesting. I just want something lightweight and straightforward. I really want to mod it for my own concept which is the real bread and butter, and figured it would be easier with the rubber buttpad for what I have in mind.

I might not even mess with the bolt with the scout site. I just thought maybe that was another thing I could learn from it.
 
Entirely up to you if you want to try the ATI, my experience was about 18 months ago & they may have improved by now.
I've seen multiple complaints about them.

Don't plan on it being a drop-in deal, some do, many require sanding & fitting, and getting the fit right around the interruptor so you don't bind up feeding is critical.

The Boyds stocks will need fitting, too, but the last one only took about an hour by a gunsmith who knows the rifles.

There's a lot of variation in tolerances from rifle to rifle, which can markedly affect how much stock fitting's necessary.

Even after that 6-hour attempt on the ATI I had (and I know it took 6 hours because I was right there with him the whole time), turned out the fore-end was warped & it had other problems.

Hopefully you'll get a good one if you try it.
I wanted a lightweight stock too, but...

On the bolt handle, I'd still recommend an extended bent one.
On my fully sporterized Mosin the Rock Solid handle makes it into a different gun right there, and the already-extended bent handle on the Mosin sniper is a huge benefit.

They provide stronger leverage even if you don't have a scope to clear.
The issue shorty is not a strong point for the Mosins.
Denis
 
Personally, I clean it up, research the markings and codes stamped on it, buy ammo and shoot it.
As far as chopping one up, go ahead since it's one more rifle that isn't competition to my unmolested rifle years down the line should I choose to sell it. I got my M44 in mint condition years ago for $50, an 1891/30 for $40, an original PU sniper for $600 and a mint VKT M39 for I think $150 and just a couple years ago, an M38 for $125 because the dealer didn't keep up with the current prices. I look at prices now for unmolested rifles and I'm perfectly happy to keep mine as they came but highly encourage others to chop away! :D
 
Hey everybody, I solved my mosin problem (if I had one) by giving the rifle, tags still attached, and bayonet to my UPS driver's 17 year old son. Hopefully he will see the nostalgia of a WWII rifle and make his own future decisions on chopping or preserving it in the future. Had to laugh a bit, the rifle with bayonet attached is taller than the boy's dad.
 
I gave one away for parts. Too much pitting, a replacement for a supposedly "select grade" that wasn't when it arrived with a cracked stock. The pitted replacement was in worse shape.

Had several here over the years, while I do respect them for their historicity I don't revere them as supreme examples of the gunmaker's art to be preserved for millions of future gun-owners who simply won't care that much about 'em, for the most part.

It ain't the collector market that's driving sales on these rifles, it's the cheap prices of guns & ammo.

In beat-to-hell condition with cracked & warped & flaking wood, handguards that won't stay put, pitted & rusty steel, and/or mismatched numbers, I see nothing wrong in going to town on one.

Last one I had modified was dropped into Boyds wood & had the front sight replaced with an adjustable post. Nothing else done.
Beater rifle, with one oogly crater in the outside of the barrel exposed when the warped military wood was jettisoned, and an indifferent bore.
I feel no guilt whatever.

Surprisingly, it has outshot the fully-sporterized scoped version at 100 yards with surplus ammunition in both.

There are Mosins & there are Mosins.
Get a nice one, keep it nice if you want.
Get a clunker, do whatever.
Get one with good steel & lousy wood, ditto.

There'll be enough unaltered specimens floating around the pawnshops once the surplus ammo's gone to satisfy the collector market.
Denis
 
Interesting idea:

Extend a Mosin nagant bolt rather than just bend it?

Might even be fun to try some blacksmithing on it... drawing out and bending should be easy enough as long as you can selectively heat the right parts.

Or I might just buy one. But the extended handle definitely sounds like a good idea
 
Actually, tobnpr, it's funny that you bring up the '43 Ivehsk because I'm pretty sure that's what mine is. It's got the hammer and sickle and below it is stamped 1942. Near the back of the receiver is the Ivehsk triangle and arrow. Pretty good bore too. Very distinct rifling, shiny, seems to be no pitting. I find myself wondering if it's even been fired and how much if so.
 
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