Newbie "dumb" questions

[Hector]

Hello,

I have been bitten by the Mosin Nagant bug and will be buying my first one very soon. A recent visit to Cabelas in the Seattle area showed a pretty decent selection but I have a couple questions.

1. I get the impression there is not much I can do in the store as far as checking out the rifle so what do I do if I buy one and the barrel is pitted? Is this is a safety hazard? From what I have read, it seems there is no good way to remove pitting. Is this true? What do we do about that?

2. I have also read a lot about corrosive ammo. Is there any ammo available that is not corrosive? If so, what are my options? Is corrosive ammo an issue if I clean the rifle after each use?

3. How important is the hex vs round receiver issue?

Am I over thinking this?

Thanks for your patience and your responses.

Hector

[Junk Yard Dog]

Welcome to the board Hector, Hex, Round, both receivers are perfectly good, they changed to the round style because it was faster to produce, the hex was just a style, not something that makes it stronger. The style was just a carryover from previous Russian rifle designs. Most barrels will have some pitting, these are war rifles, sometimes there is no time while in contact with the enemy to clean a rifle bore. The pits unless very bad, I mean craters of the moon bad, will not cause a safety issue. What they will do is catch some fouling and make it a little harder to clean. There is nothing wrong with shooting corrosive primed ammo, we are not talking about acid here, just some salts that get deposited in the bore when you shoot. All you need do is dump a cup of hot water down the chamber to flush out the bore before you do your normal cleaning with powder solvents like Hoppes 9. The water does nothing but dissolve and wash out the salts. There are some commercial non corrosive ammo available from outfits like Privi Partisan, but it's easily double the cost of surplus ammo. Not over thinking it, normal questions that someone who has not been shooting these things for 30 years would want answers for.

[81turbota]

Hi Hector,
Take a bore snake and a flashlight with you. Run your bore snake (or cleaning rod with patch) down the barrel. Remove the bolt, stick your flashlight in the receiver and have a look. Most mosins have excellent rifling, but poor muzzles. Look at the muzzle, and inspect for a good crown. Look up reference pics for do's and dont's.

Corrosive ammo is the primary reason these bores are pitted. There is nothing wrong with shooting corrosive ammo, but you must clean your rifle immediately or shortly after firing. I enjoy cleaning my milsurps rifles, and surplus ammo is cheap. There is lots of commercial non corrosive ammo available, but it is expensive $15-20 per box of 20, rather than $200 for 880 rounds of surplus.

Hex vs round receiver has been an age old discussion, but it really boils down to aesthetics. Many, including myself, prefer the nicer machining and older stampings of the hex receiver rifles. Don't pass up a round receiver with a good bore though, they can all be excellent shooters.

Welcome!

[sgtheindl]

1. I can tell you as a Cabela's employee that they will cut the ziptie to let you look down the barrel, you might agitate the Outfitter if you do like 20 though haha. Just find the one that speaks to you. A pitted barrel shouldn't be a safety hazard unless there is some blockage of some sort. It might effect accuracy some but my most accurate rifle is a type 53 with a HORRIBLE barrel so you never know until you shoot it.

2. There is commercial ammo available through some names such as brown bear and PPU among some. Corrosive ammo is perfectly fine to shoot as long as its cleaned in a timely manner.

3. Hex receivers are usually older unless recycled on a newer barrel so usually they are more sought after and bring a very small premium over rounds. If there is one at that store I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up as long as everything else checks out. Again, it all comes back to just finding the one that speaks to you!

Hope I was some help. Post pictures when you get one!

[Lotema]

Welcome to the forums Hector. No offense to Cabelas but you may want to consider getting one at Big 5 instead up here in the Seattle area. Cabelas prices are barely less than Big 5's. On top of that, the quality that you will get from Big 5 is much nicer than what I've seen in either Tulalip or Lacey in at least a year.

Plenty of options for ammo if you don't want to go the surplus route, you'll pay a bit more for it but it's readily available. Herters from Cabelas is actually decent ammo (I'm using some of that brass for reloading right now). As the guys above have mentioned, nothing wrong with surplus. Just a few minor changes in how you clean but it's really not a big deal.

Make sure to come back and post some pictures when you get your first Mosin! We love to see pictures up here. The more the better!

[Hector]

Thanks for the speedy replies. All very helpful information.

[81turbota]

Hector,
Keep in mind these barrels are covered in cosmoline. This will hide pits etc, make sure you run a patch through it before you decide.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinBarrel.htm

There are good pictures of muzzle wear. Look for one with sharp lands all the way out to the muzzle.

[B24]

Go ahead and get both a hex and round receiver. There is no such thing as owning just one. Welcome to the forum, I lurked around here a long time before taking the plunge. Listen to these guys, they know their stuff and won't steer you wrong.

[Blakefromminnesota]

welcome if you shoot corrosive just put a few squirts of windex or water down the barrel also the hex vs. Round thing it doesn't really mater the hex was prewar to the beginning of the war hex was just a nice design. Get some pics up soon!

[bunkysdad]

My first rifle was a 43 Izhevsk and I liked the round receiver because it was a wartime rifle, but I could not wait long for a he receiver rifle, and bought a 34 Izhevsh, and sure enough, they handle about the same. Then I needed a M44 of course. Oh and a SKS, then a few Finns, and don't let me forget the awesome M39. Just get you a nice one and the Mosinitis will take over soon enough.

[WeldonHunter]

As they've stated Hector corrosively primed ammo isn't a big deal as long as you clean soon after shooting. Here's a good guide to cleaning. viewtopic.php?f=66&t=6932

Here's a decent selection of Mosin Nagants to look at and see what some are going for online. http://gun-deals.com/index.php?dealtype ... 4&subcat=5

Here's some ammo both corrosively primed surplus and newly made commercial just so you know what it's going for these days. http://gun-deals.com/list/ammo/7.62x54R

[SA1911a1]

Welcome

If you are buying a "fresh from the crate" rifle from the major retailers, you are buying a rifle that the Soviets refurbished, making sure it was ready to go to war straight from the box. They culled or repaired rifles that weren't safe or effective. I have quite a few of these rifles and the only ones that have bore issues are rifles that were pre-owned in the USA, and were shot and not cleaned properly (or at all).

An abundance of safety would be to have a gunsmith check the head-space for safety. If you intend to buy more than one, order a high quality head-space gauge from our advertiser and board member. (see advertisement in the forum banner) Do remove all of the storage grease before shooting the rifle, inside and out. It is not hard to disassemble these rifles and there are plenty of U tube videos that can help with that. You will also want to have a commercial cleaning rod that is long enough to clean the rifle from the chamber end.

Order surplus ammo on-line by the can or case, you get a lot more bang for the buck. Pick up a couple of boxes of commercial ammo when you buy the rifle to last until you can get a delivery to your door.

Do not be tempted to "improve" the looks of the rifle by sanding or applying a new finish. I assure you, you will regret it later.

When you buy your first one, start a gun savings account, you are going to need it. These rifles are just too good to own just one.