? for the Mosin gents here .......

[Digger]

Hope some one here has an idea ..... the difference between a 44 and a 59 ?
Both look a like from my ignorant point of view .. as I have a model 59 in my cabinet , have taken it to the range now and then a few years back ... looks good next to the sks .... ;)

digger

[Mooseman]

The 91/59 Mosin was a cut down rifle from an M91 or M91/30 with No Bayonet.
The M44 has a mounted bayonet.
The M38 was made as a carbine and has no bayonet attached.
Rich

[Digger]

Thanks for the info Rich .... took a closer look just a minute ago , almost forgot what it looked like in detail ,.. been quite a while .
Just now noticed the numbers on the bolt match the receiver , never checked before and I do remember it kicked like a ###### ! mule .... fun !
Hope to get set up for reloading cast for it also here down the road when I can ..... almost forgot ... what kind of twist do these have in the barrel as they seem to be pretty tight ........?
digger

[loosenuts57]

I think they are around 1/10 if my memory serves me correctly. The Russians had basically two weights; Light ball around 147grn and Heavy ball around 182grn. as far as surplus goes. I have been playing with the 205grn SP available for hunting and have found them to be quite accurate in many of my Mosins.
I hope to cast also for it and the 8mm, but know the Russian rifle vary in bore diameter quite a bit from rifle to rifle (so far my Finns are around .3095 and the Ruskys I CK'd up towards .314)
Hope this helps.

[Mooseman]

Rifling is 4 groove, right hand, 1 in 9 1/2" (24.1 cm.) twist for all models except the M28/30 which is a 1 in 10"

Rich

[loosenuts57]

Thanks for the clarification, Rich, and also I believe the 28/30 has a .308 bore, correct??

[Mooseman]

The 28/30 bore is .3082
Most Finns mic at .3095 except the M39's are usually at .310
Most Russian Mosins are at .311 or worn to as much as .314

[Multigunner]

The 28/30 bore is .3082
Most Finns mic at .3095 except the M39's are usually at .310
Most Russian Mosins are at .311 or worn to as much as .314

According to a Finnish site I found awhile back Russian osins often had bores of .316. Some American manufacture Mosins had bores as small as .308.

I expect later manufacture Russian Mosins and those rebarreled in later years probably had much tighter bores than the early production rifles.

An article on the Finn rebarreled Mosins told of three different bore sizes standardized at different times, I forget how these were marked to identify bore sizes.

Lapua made a heavy boat tail matchgrade bullet for use in rifles of .309 or larger but also useable in .308 Winchester and .30-06 rifles. IIRC the bullet was around 190 grains and had a reputation for excellent accuracy regardless of a nominal 7.62 rifles bore actual bore size.

I've never owned a Mosin Nagant but I have worked on a few and worked up an excellent medium power load for a friends old Tula built rifle that had been restocked by Finnland. It had the original barrel that made a sewer pipe look good by comparasion, but with the load we cooked up using a mild load of Winchester 760 powder and the Hornady .312 bullet it was a tack driver.

My friend found a lost box of Winchester .30-30 ammo out at the lake and we pulled the bullets and tried those in the Mosin. Amazingly those undersized bullets bumped up enough to take the shallow remaining rifling and were very accurate. Those bullets have a fairly soft core and long bearing surface, which helps a lot if the bore is loose and worn.

[leadman]

I'm thinking of getting a Mosin but don't know which model would be the best of the russians for cast. Or would it be more dependant on the bore size and condition?

[Spector]

Don't forget the Chinese Model 53.........Mike

[Dutch4122]

I'm thinking of getting a Mosin but don't know which model would be the best of the russians for cast. Or would it be more dependant on the bore size and condition?

It's been my experience that the pre-WWII guns are your best bet with cast boolits. Bore size is never a given although I think your chances of getting one that doesn't have a .316"+ bore are best with the pre-WWII guns. Fit & finish are usually much nicer.

Look for rifling that is strong & sharp; and take a boolit like a 314299 (or clone) with you to check fit in the muzzle nose down. If it drops in to the 1st drive band you don't want the gun. If it stops half way down the nose you have a potential shooter with cast. Be prepared to do a lot of bore cleaning as most of these have a lot of cosmo in the bore.

Hope this helps,

[Finnmike]

The 28/30 made for the Civil Guard had the most stringent quality control and had to shoot 1 MOA before being released for service. The Belgian "B" barreled M39s have bores that will make one weep with joy, just gorgeous. The post-war 1967-70 trainers (the so called Sneak) are just as gorgeous bore-wise. In reality, any of the Finns with sharp lands and visible leades will out-shoot the average shooter.

[Mooseman]

Dutch , you are partly correct except for one thing...Many many Mosins have been counterbored at the muzzle , some as deep as 1.5 inches when they were re-arsenaled. So you cannot do a bullet test on those with a live round or boolit stuck in the muzzle, you would need a gauge to reach the rifling down inside.
The Finns had the best and tightest barrels and improved triggers and it is why I collect them primarily.The Tikka Barreled guns seems to be the most accurate of all. My Sakos and B barrels arent slouches by any means but just not as tight a group all in all.
91/30 Mosins are the best deal going for a shootable milsurp battle rifle and can be had from 89.95 to 149.95 in most places. Look for one that has rifling all the way to the end of the barrel and it hasnt been counterbored to remove bad rifling from shooting and cleaning.I take a 30 cal boresnake with me and pull it thru if a barrel has cosmoline in it so I can see the rifling and how strong it looks. I prefer the Hex receivers on the older models but a round is supposed to be just as strong.
If you find a Mosin with a Boxed SA stamp on the barrel shank it was used by the Finnish Army. Not all were rebarreled by the Finns , some were new when captured from the Russians and may have not been re barreled with a Sako, Tikka, Valmet, or Belgium "B" Barrel.
Rich