Why don't I want a Mosin Nagant?
- Thread starter baddarryl
- Start date
I always feel like I should want one especially with my interest in pre war and wartime firearms... yet I don't. Maybe a Finn model if I found one... but for the most part I see it for what it is... typical Russian. Not a bad thing if you like that but I guess like my guns to be a lil more refined.
I assume my "tacticool" thread is what the turning a sow's ear into a silk purse metaphor is about. I wouldn't say you have better taste, what you have your OWN taste. As I always say, to each his own. I only originally wanted a mosin nagant because my brother had one that I enjoyed shooting, so I wanted one for myself. If it weren't for him having one then I'd probably be in the same boat as you, wondering why everyone needs one.
RodTheWrench
New member
Yeah, I've tried to convince myself to get one too. They cost WAY less than anything I've bought recently, but I can't get over the "Meh" factor.
big al hunter
New member
The same reasons I don't want a 1975 Dodge Dart. It's worn out, beat up and ugly. History is interesting and important, but I don't have to own it to appreciate it.
Bite your tongue....or hit your fingers with a hammer. There is no such thing as enough guns.
if I could find any other gun that shot the super-affordable, super-powerful 54r, I wouldn't want my mosins either
I wasn't really into guns much when the PSL's were being imported and I missed the boat on the VEPRs, now everything that shoots a 54r are over 1200$ and I don't like the dirty surplus THAT much
I wasn't really into guns much when the PSL's were being imported and I missed the boat on the VEPRs, now everything that shoots a 54r are over 1200$ and I don't like the dirty surplus THAT much
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FrankenMauser
New member
I'm not really a fan, either.
Crappy ammo.
Beat-to-crap rifles that were obsolete 80 years ago.
Rough, stiff actions.
Ridiculous safety.
And on, and on....
But, there was one selling point for me: Brush gun.
7.62x54R is a good cartridge. Commonly available ammo sucks, but the cartridge itself is respectable.
With proper handloads (all that mine sees), the M44 and M38 make great brush guns for hunters.
I went for the M38, years ago, since the M44 bayonet is annoying and adds unnecessary weight (and, what good is it?... am I going to bayonet-charge a wounded Elk?
).
Can't hurt it. Can't make it uglier. Can't complain about the cartridge. Don't care if it gets rained on and a little rusty.
Short package that doesn't weigh too much...
Good brush gun.
I have since, however, made the M38 superfluous by adding better options for 'brush gun' duty. So, it sits in the back of the safe, lonely and disused, only seeing the light of day when I occasionally take it out to lob 174 gr Round Nose or 215 gr Round Nose bullets at the 400 yard target in my grandfather's field.
Even so... It still only gets handloads. I respect the cartridge enough not to punish the rifle by feeding it corrosive import crap.
Crappy ammo.
Beat-to-crap rifles that were obsolete 80 years ago.
Rough, stiff actions.
Ridiculous safety.
And on, and on....
But, there was one selling point for me: Brush gun.
7.62x54R is a good cartridge. Commonly available ammo sucks, but the cartridge itself is respectable.
With proper handloads (all that mine sees), the M44 and M38 make great brush guns for hunters.
I went for the M38, years ago, since the M44 bayonet is annoying and adds unnecessary weight (and, what good is it?... am I going to bayonet-charge a wounded Elk?
).Can't hurt it. Can't make it uglier. Can't complain about the cartridge. Don't care if it gets rained on and a little rusty.
Short package that doesn't weigh too much...
Good brush gun.
I have since, however, made the M38 superfluous by adding better options for 'brush gun' duty. So, it sits in the back of the safe, lonely and disused, only seeing the light of day when I occasionally take it out to lob 174 gr Round Nose or 215 gr Round Nose bullets at the 400 yard target in my grandfather's field.
Even so... It still only gets handloads. I respect the cartridge enough not to punish the rifle by feeding it corrosive import crap.
dakota.potts
New member
Because you don't love the hard hitting, ugly, heavy, inaccurate, poorly mass-produced Russian war relic like us owners do
They're a lot of fun. If they're not your thing, they're not your thing. I don't think they give you anything over any other centerfire rifle on the market - other than the ability to shoot for 25 cents a round, produce a massive fireball, shoot through an armored truck, and stop everybody at your range from having conversations
They're a lot of fun. If they're not your thing, they're not your thing. I don't think they give you anything over any other centerfire rifle on the market - other than the ability to shoot for 25 cents a round, produce a massive fireball, shoot through an armored truck, and stop everybody at your range from having conversations
kawasakifreak77
New member
^ Good lord! ^
I held off for quite awhile before I finally broke & bought one. The irresistability of 440 rounds comparable to GI 30-06 power for a hundred clams was too much.
Yes. It kicks like a clydsdale. It's the crudest bolt action I've ever held. The trigger is appaling. The list goes on. Maybe I got fortunate but mine actually shoots, okay. Yes, you need to attach the ridiculous bayonet. Now you have a five & a half foot long pike to throw at the zombies once the magazine is exhausted.
I started thinking about modifying it but I stopped myself. Personally I think that'd be silly. It's the crappiest damn milsurp I've ever shot but it's funner than a barrel of monkeys to blow holes in stuff with or see which one of your buddies is the toughest.
I held off for quite awhile before I finally broke & bought one. The irresistability of 440 rounds comparable to GI 30-06 power for a hundred clams was too much.
Yes. It kicks like a clydsdale. It's the crudest bolt action I've ever held. The trigger is appaling. The list goes on. Maybe I got fortunate but mine actually shoots, okay. Yes, you need to attach the ridiculous bayonet. Now you have a five & a half foot long pike to throw at the zombies once the magazine is exhausted.
I started thinking about modifying it but I stopped myself. Personally I think that'd be silly. It's the crappiest damn milsurp I've ever shot but it's funner than a barrel of monkeys to blow holes in stuff with or see which one of your buddies is the toughest.
kilimanjaro
New member
If I didn't collect milsurps, I wouldn't own one, except an M44 carbine for a short brush gun, but a sportered Lee-Enfield does that job for me.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
baddarryl said:
You're not alone. I have zero interest in mil-surp type guns of any stripe. I'd sooner use one for a canoe paddle or anchor than shoot with it.
I've never understood the fascination. Nobody seems to care about a pair of boots or gloves or a truck that was (possibly) at this battle or that one but somehow a rifle has "history" because it MIGHT have been here or there. People even talk about what the rifle "must have seen". It didn't see anything, being that it has no life, say nothing of eyes. Even if it did, it has no memory nor any way to pass on those experiences, so it's all moot.
They don't do anything particularly well and don't do much of anything even acceptably most of the time. They're almost always pitifully inaccurate, have terrible triggers, poor ballistics, etc, etc.
Yeah, I guess I'm not a fan.
To each his own I guess. I'm not interested in tacti-cool or bubba'd military surplus rifles.
But there is something to be said to take an old war horse, club, or what ever you want to call them, learning the gun an how to make it shoot, loading good ammo and taking it to a CMP GSM Match and shooting a respectable score.
I'm of the opinion that the problem with the Mosin's is not the gun, but the shooter. People just wont put in the time and effort to learn to shoot them.
Its not my favorite vintage military rifle by a long shot (that would be the M1903's tied with the Garand).
But the one thing I like about them is they are cheap, meaning just about anyone can afford one and with a bit of effort can compete in competition. Keeping rifle marksmanship from becoming a "rich man's sport".
It's also a cheap alternative for those who don't have the means, to supplement their food supplies by hunting.
In my younger days while in the Alaska National Guard I spent a great deal of time as a company commander of an Alaskan Native Company. Most of the people I lived with had no income except for the meager guard checks. Their lively hood was of a substance nature.
We talk about the high price of firearms and shooting as a sport. Imagine if it was you means of existence. Little money to buy guns and ammo to feed your family.
Those in the guard had it better then most. They had access to military ammo (assuming their company commander was lax on accountability). But the others???
The Mosin gives them a cheap source of rifles and ammo to feed their families.
Yeah, I know, not suppose to hunt with fmj ammo,.............that depends on what you're hunting. With seals and other such marine animals that's what you want.
No the Mosin isn't for everyone, but it has its place, and it works well in some cases.
Besides what other rifle comes with a bayonet that can be uses as a shiskabob after your hunt to cook chunks of meat over the camp fire.
But there is something to be said to take an old war horse, club, or what ever you want to call them, learning the gun an how to make it shoot, loading good ammo and taking it to a CMP GSM Match and shooting a respectable score.
I'm of the opinion that the problem with the Mosin's is not the gun, but the shooter. People just wont put in the time and effort to learn to shoot them.
Its not my favorite vintage military rifle by a long shot (that would be the M1903's tied with the Garand).
But the one thing I like about them is they are cheap, meaning just about anyone can afford one and with a bit of effort can compete in competition. Keeping rifle marksmanship from becoming a "rich man's sport".
It's also a cheap alternative for those who don't have the means, to supplement their food supplies by hunting.
In my younger days while in the Alaska National Guard I spent a great deal of time as a company commander of an Alaskan Native Company. Most of the people I lived with had no income except for the meager guard checks. Their lively hood was of a substance nature.
We talk about the high price of firearms and shooting as a sport. Imagine if it was you means of existence. Little money to buy guns and ammo to feed your family.
Those in the guard had it better then most. They had access to military ammo (assuming their company commander was lax on accountability). But the others???
The Mosin gives them a cheap source of rifles and ammo to feed their families.
Yeah, I know, not suppose to hunt with fmj ammo,.............that depends on what you're hunting. With seals and other such marine animals that's what you want.
No the Mosin isn't for everyone, but it has its place, and it works well in some cases.
Besides what other rifle comes with a bayonet that can be uses as a shiskabob after your hunt to cook chunks of meat over the camp fire.