New Mosin Owner

[bmac13]

At work so no pictures are available yet -will try to update later. Picked it up at Cabela's for $180. It was worth the little extra I paid for it as I was able to hand pick the rifle I wanted and in the last two months (since I started looking) Cabela's apparently cleaned off most of the Cosmoline from it and did not charge any extra to do so. I have not fired it yet but looking forward to doing so.

It's a 1938 Tula, with a refurbished Ukrainian mark (box with vertical line through the middle between No.: and serial #). Barrel is not counter bored and diameter is near perfect, stock is in very good shape. Butt plate, receiver, bolt, and magazine bottom plate all have matching serial numbers (the bayonet does not). The receiver and butt are original and have not been sanded. The bolt serial number looks original, if it is not it would have needed to have a big sanding and re-stamped to match the receiver. Magazine bottom plate could be "new" and stamped to match, but is not sanded.

But there are some odd things about this weapon. The stock is post WWII (no screws for the shoulder strap holders, but otherwise full brass inserts), the barrel bands, magazine box, and rear sight are marked Izhevsk. This I have read is pretty common on refurbs, but then I have some bolt issues. The bolt's front face (firing pin area) is marked with the Tula star while the bolt handle section and safety section are marked with the Izhevsk arrow within a triangle. Anyone ever seen a bolt being put together this way?

Thanks!

[Junk Yard Dog]

Welcome to the board, sounds like a normal post WW2 Soviet refurb 91/30. The refurbs had a mixture of parts that could be from any era or arsenal of Mosin. Many were fitted with new stocks, the slots do not have brass in them, that's just the shellac on the steel making them look that way. During the refurb the Soviets stripped the rifles down, refurbished the parts in batches and didn't care what marking was on what part when they put them back together and force matched the serial numbers.

[81turbota]

All three of my Soviet refurbs have mixed parts, and are all forced matching. Take a look at the stamping font on the bolt vs the barrel, it's very easy to tell the difference. Also look at the contour of the metal where the bolt serial is, you will see its lower than the area nearest the bolt handle. That's indicative of a belt sander. Totally normal on refurbs. Since they were slapped together with any parts that looked good, get your headspace checked to ensure safe firing. Also don't be discouraged if it fires within a foot of point of aim the first time you take it out - as you noted the sights were replaced and it's common for refurbs to hit high in particular. There are many approaches to remedy this without destroying your rifle's heritage. There is a wealth of information on this forum as to any functional, historical or oddball issue you may have.


Most of all - welcome to the forums and enjoy!

[WeldonHunter]

Welcome to the forum. Read through this http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/ref ... index.html It will shed some light on the refurb process and why the rifle you have looks the way it does.

[keiichi]

Welcome. Sounds like you already know what to look for! It's going to be fun when you take it out.

[Lotema]

Congratulations on your first Mosin and welcome to RMNF as well! For me it's a shame when I don't get to take off the old Russian grease. That gives me a good excuse to break the rifle down and really inspect the parts and learn a bit about it. I guess I'm just peculiar in that way though, I enjoy doing the first deep cleaning on these rifles. One of the guys I go shooting with (not you Titanium Hammer!) always gives me his Russian and Chinese to de-grease for him. Doesn't ever seem to pay me for it though

[Hector]

Hello,

I too am about to buy my first Mosin and I too was at a Cabelas store a couple days ago. It is in the Seattle, WA area. There were quite a few on display and I was able to examine them even though I am so new to this I am not sure what to look for.

1. The Mosins on display did not have any slings or cleaning kits or ammo pouches. Did your rifle come with those pieces? I am hoping Cabelas simply stores those things where they are not easily stolen.

2. I have been reading about checking headspace and learning what that is and how to do it. My question is can I walk into Cabelas and start checking the headspace on their rifles or is that improper gun store etiquette? So far I have not read anything about what to do if the gun "fails" the headspace check and it sounds like this is a safety issue. Do you have any information on correcting this problem?

Thanks
Hector

[WeldonHunter]

Hello,

I too am about to buy my first Mosin and I too was at a Cabelas store a couple days ago. It is in the Seattle, WA area. There were quite a few on display and I was able to examine them even though I am so new to this I am not sure what to look for.

1. The Mosins on display did not have any slings or cleaning kits or ammo pouches. Did your rifle come with those pieces? I am hoping Cabelas simply stores those things where they are not easily stolen.

2. I have been reading about checking headspace and learning what that is and how to do it. My question is can I walk into Cabelas and start checking the headspace on their rifles or is that improper gun store etiquette? So far I have not read anything about what to do if the gun "fails" the headspace check and it sounds like this is a safety issue. Do you have any information on correcting this problem?

Thanks
Hector

Welcome Hector. All of these rifles used to come with some sort of accessories of one type or another. Some places gave them all to you including pulling the matching numbered bayonet from the crate. Some places couldn't be bothered and kept a lot of the accessories to sell separately. That's when these rifles were coming in to the country in the original storage crates that they were placed in after the Russians refurbished them many decades ago. Now most of them are coming in separately packed from importers in Russia and don't have a lot of the accessories we're used to seeing. It's hit or miss, you just need to ask whoever is selling the rifles what they have. Same goes for the headspace checking. I've heard that places like Cabela's and other Sporting goods stores have polices about how people handle the firearms before purchase. Some have the bolts removed or zip tied in place. You just have to take it on a case by case basis. If they tell you you can't check headspace I'd ask to see a manager. I don't take no for an answer. If they offer to check it for you I'd just make sure they're actually doing it and have a real gunsmith on sight. I like doing this type of thing myself anyway, being a mechanic for over three decades.

Todd at Okie Headspace Gauges is having a sale on the gauges right now and it's buy two and get the whole set. Here's the post about. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22842

Correcting a headspace problem is usually as easy as swapping the bolt head with a different one. The problem is it may take a few before you get one that fixes it.

[Longcolt44]

Always ask for permission before doing anything including just taking it off the shelf to look at it. In these days there is zero tolerance in checking out firearms. There have been to many idiots doing bad things with firearms in a store. Do not become a statistic

[jones0430]

Just as important is to get a Mosin bolt tool. You will need it to set firing pin protrusion after disassembly and cleaning.

Also, it functions as a screwdriver for disassembly. These are normally part of a cleaning kit, though they can be purchased separately. Do not expect Cabelas' or other big box store to have these.

[djbuck1]

As recently as a year ago, the Cabela's in Hamburg, PA gave you the following with your refurbed M91/30: sling, cleaning kit (with the combined tool/firing pin gauge), oiler, ammo pouch (sometimes two), and bayonet.

Not any more. You're lucky if you get the bayonet!

As stated above, the big crates these rifles came in with all of these goodies are not coming in to the big chains. I am sure that most of us have seen the individual boxes used now. I also agree with the thought that the retailers are taking the accessory packs from these and are keeping them.

The selection has plunged, too. You used to stand a fair chance of picking up a hex receiver off the rack-- even a 1920s dated rifle (ex dragoon). I haven't seen one for many months.

You did well to get a 1930s dated rifle. All I see these days are badly beat-up 1942 and 1943 Izhevsks.

And the price? $200. The Hamburg Cabela's had dropped the price to $179 for a few weeks, but they did a $20 off general purchase coupon mailing, so now the price is right back up again. If I recall correctly, last year's Columbus Day sale they were $109.

If you want to collect these rifles, you may want to consider getting a Class 3 federal firearms license (Curios and Relics). You can then shop on-line at various auction sites without the transfer fee a dealer will charge you, and you will have a much wider selection.

Opinions vary as to how long these rifles will be available and at what prices. Because some 17 million were produced, one school of thought is that they will be around indefinitely at "low" prices. The other end of the spectrum says that supplies are diminishing and that prices will continue to climb. Based on what I am seeing, I incline towards the latter.