The $50 mosin.

[Tackleberry41]

I had picked up this mosin a while back, guy I knew worked at a gunshop and took it in on trade. Gave him $250 trade value. He knows I like mosins. But was a bit shocked when I went to look at it. Have no idea what he or the guy who built it was thinking.

I did not know there was another place selling mosin stocks other than boyds. Its not a boyds, sold as a rough stock that you finish. Fortunately for me he was a lefty. It was the execution severely flawed. Sandpaper must be for chumps, he never used anything smoother than a rasp. Im pretty sure the barrel is supposed to be free floating.

Like the attention to detail, or that the well fitted butt pad only really needed one screw.

The cut out for the bolt was classy.

When I went and looked at it, the scope mount was loose, but if you tightened the screws they locked the bolt. Guess he didnt own a file. Had a huge 10-40x50 adjustable objective scope on it. Except its NCStar. The rings might have cost more than the scope and were ultra high for whatever reason, had visible strips of aluminum foil attempting to shim the rear to compensate for being so high. Came with a timney trigger, except could not use the safety as he never inletted the stock enough. Nor could you load more than one round, the stock again. It is a fin made rifle. I said I would try it and if it shot decent so what I might pay. Only you had to beat the bolt open. Not due to gunk in the chamber, no probably helps if you can actually close the bolt. I said no, he kept asking me if I would pay anything. Okay parts, he eventually sold it to me for $50. I had to sand a good 1/4 of wood out so the bolt would close.

Shoots fine now. So guess I will put the effort into fixing the stock, and find a decent scope for it. See how it does with some cast. Never could get that clunker Russian one to shoot decent with the throat burned out. And wanted to keep my really nice prewar hex receiver as it was. Well except drop in the extra timney I had.

I can only guess what the bubba who assembled this rifle was thinking. All the money spent, then dumped it on some gun shop, nor what the guy I know was thinking in giving him much for it the way it was.

[shredder]

Wow, just wow. That paint job on top of everything else is too much for me! Amazing what folks will do to get a "custom rifle"!

[bouncer50]

What was the stock made from a 2x4. Was the guy idea a poor man custom sniper rifle. The Mosin would my last choice to build a sniper gun out of. But 50.00 with the scope and rings not a bad deal.

[Tackleberry41]

No idea on the scope yet, its NCStar, sure looks like the cross hairs are crooked. The mount is 'rock solid' they are close to $90, then the bent bolt body to fit it is extra. A new Tinmey is $120. I didnt keep the rings, let the guy I got it off of keep them. Tall as they were no idea what I would put them on. With the mount and those rings it had a good 1 1/2 of clearance between the scope and the barrel. Being that high he had the cheek pad cranked up, you had to loosen the screws and remove it to take out the bolt.

The stock as I understand came 'rough' so you could customize it. I can fix it, be hard if I was a righty.

He painted EVERYTHING. Inside the magazine, the follower, even inside the scope rings. Fortunately his prep work sucked so will come off easy.

Came with a clamp on muzzle brake, no idea what I will do with it, wont fit anything else I have. They sell for $90 new. it works good, be nice to use it on my 45-70, but no way its gonna fit. Tried to get rid of it on ebay, but no bites.

There are just some people who should not be allowed to buy tools or own them. Cant say the guy I got it thru is much better.

[Hamish]

I don't know what you're grousing about. For $50 bucks you've got what will be a very nice rifle when you're done,

duck and cover, duck and cover,,

[Hardcast416taylor]

Bought a `BUBBAed` 98 Mauser a few years back from a pawn shop. I would stop in every so often and look at it. It had been `camo` painted with an enamel paint, most of the metal and all the Mil. butchered stock. Over the course of a year of looking at it and always noticing the paint was still tacky I started dickering for it. It had Williams open sights and the bolt was turned down. After all the screaming and shouting and hand slapping the counter I left with it for $100 and $6 tax. Later at home I tried to take it down for cleaning. Bubba had painted the barrel challel and action contact area! I had to use a 3# dead blow mallet to break it loose. Paint was on the bolt, in the raceway, in the magazine and on the Mil. trigger (that explained the weird trigger pull and feel). Did a D&T and mounted a decent scope, put a Timney trigger in and a walnut Boyds stock. After I free floated the barrel and glassed I have a nail driving machine! It is a BYF 43 made model with stepped barrel under all that paint. Its been about 4 - 5 years since I bought it and that darn paint is still tacky on the stock I`ve set aside/ I never could understand all that after market add ons and work on a Mosin for something like what you got? Good luck straightening it out.Robert

[Tackleberry41]

I messed with that 2x4 stock today, cutting slabs off with the band saw to thin it down. After a while with the rasp, said screw it for now. And got the boyds I had bought for the other rifle, and did what needed to get the new one to fit. They do vary, it fits my other 2 as is, but needed work to fit the fin rifle. I need to load up some ammo to mess with it, maybe tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

The paint was everywhere, even inside the bolt. Some places it was on pretty good, other places not so much.

I was asked why not just sell it since its a Fin rifle and worth more. Yea it WAS, until bubba messed with it. Theres no provision for iron sights. He had the barrel lathed at some point, not the chamber section, it still has the markings. But the rest still has machine marks. No way to mount irons to it anymore. Odd as nobody crowned the barrel, guess wouldn't notice under the muzzle brake.

Some stuff just doesnt make sense, you could not just take the bolt apart, not paint, but ancient gunk making it hard to turn and get apart. Guess he did not know about firing pin specs, like how far its supposed to stick out.

And one would think a gun shop would know at least a little more about guns, but they have got in a rut with ARs and glocks. Cost em $200 on this rifle. Tried to get me to pay more. Funny how it works, if I had tried to trade it 'well that 2x4 looking left hand stock aint worth much'. But figured since Im a lefty I would pay for it. Nope, I let em sit on it a while, till they took a desperation price of $50.

Guess mosins are drying up, have not seen many at gunshows. Ones I have seen are over $200 min.

[Texas by God]

Those Finns will usually shoot well. I hope it does but if not you have a good action to rebarrel. (for $50) Best, Thomas.

[mcdaniel.mac]

Yeah, NCStar scope, Mosin, and poor quality of work certainly go together. Still, for $50 I'd buy it, even if it wasn't a Finn.

[Tackleberry41]

Im gonna give the NCstar a chance. I already have a gun in need of a scope, this would make 2, money does not grow on trees. So long as it will hold zero, be ok. Its not a serious use rifle, and mostly low recoil subsonic. Has the fancy 'sniper' range finding illuminated reticle. Cranked up to 40x its like looking thru a straw. This has always been the chinese problem, they try to put to much in a cheap scope.

Its just funny how bubba spent all that cash, then dumped the rifle. Im not sure if he fired it as you were not going to aim it the way it was with the scope mount loose, as in grab it and it banged around, vs a wandering zero from something slightly loose. Maybe he did and figured something was wrong due to having to beat the bolt open. When I first fired it, I wasnt gonna mess with it as the gun shop still wanted full price for it. Not many of us would pay $250 for a rifle that needs a stock, and might be seriously messed up.

Its not the first mosin they got stiffed on. I went in a while back on a visit over that way, they had a mosin in the rack. Me being me said 'Oh a fin rifle'. His boss quickly changed the price adding another $200. But it sat a long time, yea it was a fin, but the bore was wasted. Patches shredded being pulled thru. A mauser with a wasted barrel, no big deal. A mosin with a bad barrel is a heavy clumsy boat paddle.

[Tackleberry41]

So far so good, that NCStar is keeping its zero. Messed w some 230gr cast today.

Thats 15rds.

[koger]

I have a syn stock for a Moison, $50 tyd, nice slim, w recoil pad?

[Tackleberry41]

I had bought a boyds a while back for my other mosin as it came with an ATI waste of plastic.