TTAG tipster mister3d writes:

I don’t know if any of you are into Mosin Nagant rifles and, if not, you should be. I have…some…(probably enough) but this just came in an email from the nice folks at Classic Arms. I think I actually drooled on my shirt.

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61 COMMENTS

    • Three years ago I was this [–] close to buying a crate of Mosins to turn into a baller coffee table (pictures of these crates turned into coffee tables are all over). The wife shot it down. Told her it was also a very solid investment. No go. Price? $1,800. Last April right at this exact same time they were asking $2,500 for the crate. Back in 2011 it was $1,650.

      I’m sure next year when I don’t buy one of these once again I’ll be kicking myself once again because they’ll be selling for $4,500…

  2. Selling for $250 each… guess that’s not too bad considering the Russian import scare. Some of those appear to be cosmetically in great condition.

    Really enjoy my wallhanger/shooter. Might need a few more…

    • I would be willing to pay that for a mosin if it was a Finn in. 308 and had a perfect bore. Otherwise $150 is as high as I would go, considering all of the good used bolt guns to be had out there.

      • I’m afraid those days are long over, never to return. These are nice, but very pedestrian Mosins. The price is about right for a small dealer, Cabela’s has 91/30s (likely from the same truckload, sans sales pitch) on sale for $169.

        If you want something interesting like a Finnish capture? North of $450, and a if you’re talking about a Finnish M91, that varies widely, but can be anywhere from $500-900 depending on arsenal, condition, and features.

        • at that price Mosin’s just aren’t worth it to me honestly. I do wish I’d gotten one when they were 100 bucks though.

        • I paid 90 dollars in 2009 for a 1927 91/30 that is in excellent shape and shoots tight dead center groups at 100 yards. I love it and it’s in my “will never sell” section

  3. I can vouch for classic firearms. They are a fantastic company to deal with. They package the guns great and ship quickly too. Hopefully they will get some more arsenal refurbished snipers in. I really like mine. The m44 carbines I bought from them was nice too.
    One thing to warn anyone about is they tend to import from PW arms and in turn from Molot. PW does a large deep import engraving (stamp) on the left side of the recover and Molot billboards the rest of it with their logo and markings with a laser etching. May not matter to some but some collectors like myself prefer non imports or discreetly stamped ones (under the barrel etc)

    • Last summer I bought an M44 from AIM that was completely (and recently) refurbished, new finish on the lumber and the steel was perfect. It also has lots of new markings and proof marks. I was happy with that, as I bought it for shooting and collecting is usually only a distant consideration for me. But I know some purists dislike this, so they should probably check before buying any of the more recent imports. I believe mine was redone by Tula.

    • Nice looking rifles, but very common 91/30s. That billboard of an import stamp? It’s just a shooter with that kind of visual abomination on it. But they are great shooters.

      It was also rather thinly-veiled hard sell vid. There’s nothing special about a Tula hex, other than people often have problems remembering “Izhevsk”. That and it was really hard to listen to him- mispronouncing everything, and then saying “The Ukraine” at least twice before I turned the sound off.

      We’re far past the production of sniper rifles in current circulation. There will be more “found” every time some importer waves around the greenbacks, but I have a very good Ukrainian Mosin connect. I can guarantee those “refurb” snipers were never snipers. At least before the wire transfer cleared..

  4. It doesn’t seem that long ago when I bought a M44 and an M38 for less than $70 each. But then 20 years or so ago we were buying SKSs out of the crate at gunshows for $89.95. I miss those days(sigh).

    • Word. Cheapest I got a MN was 50 bucks, maybe a little less. Got an Ishapore .308 lee enfield for 100. SKS at a CA gunshow when they were still considered C&R for 99 and walked out the door with it.

      I got my first 91/30 at a cow palace gun show for 60. Walked it out to the parking lot and had a moment of panic when I realised how long it was in comparison to the inside of the Metro I drove at the time. I made it fit. Would have been funny running down 101 with it sticking out the trunk with a red rag tied to it.

      Makarovs were 99 at that time too.

      • Yah, when I turned 18 I bought an SKS and I believe it was under $100. Thankfully my time wasn’t worth very much, because the hours and hours removing the 2″ of old Cosmoline would have made it an expensive gun hahaha. …My Mosin ran $75 in like 2001-ish…

        • You haven’t lived until you’ve had to decosmo a Russian weapon. Last one I turned into a family event. Kids, grandkids and at least one in law.

          I turned down a pristine Finn m39 because it was 125 bucks and I was getting mosins for around 75 at that time.

          Coulda, woulda, shoulda….

        • The Chinese are no slouches when it comes to cosmolining weapons, either. I got a couple of the Type 56 C&R eligible Chinese SKSes that were imported a year or so ago, and those things arrived more cosmoline than rifle. The entire action and barrel was plugged solid with it. Thought I’d never get the stocks to stop weeping the stuff.

        • Whats the MP (melting point) on Commie Cosmoline?

          Is steam worth a try on metalwork? (I’m talking industrial, not stove top steam)

        • Geoff, steam absolutely would work. The melting point is pretty low. I’d guess it melts somewhere below 150 degrees.

        • Geoff. I don’t know the degree but I’ve used my wife’s hair dryer to get cosmo to run out of nooks and crannies.

      • “Makarovs were 99 at that time too.”

        The hundred dollar Makarov, ah yes.

        I had a circle of friends who, on a couple of occasions actually paid a hundred dollar debt to someone else in the same circle by handing them a Makarov.

  7. Mosin owner and fan here, but maybe the Ukrainians should have kept those. They may need them. Hand them out to the peasants, to protect from Russian aggression.

    • Mosins and SKSes were seen in the early days of the Ukraine business, before serious interests started flooding both sides with more modern weaponry.

      Also have seen some weirder stuff like PTRS-41 anti-tank/material rifles. Would’ve thought they were all gone by now, but apparently not. I have still seen them in use in the most recent Ukraine videos.

      • Russians suffered heavily in 2 world wars and numerous invasions before that. They tend to be paranoid as a result. At the end of ww2 they rounded up all the millions of weapons no longer needed to arm their soldiers and sent them thru a very thourough refurb and then stored them “just in case”.

        It would not shock me to find warehouses still full of old anti tank rifles, wheeled maxims and 76mm field guns.

        Who can say for sure how many crates of rifles and sidearms are still stored in Russia and all over the former warsaw pact?

        • I’m friends with a Ukrainian ex-pat. I’ve seen pictures of the current bunkers containing your shopping list and much more. There’s even a store like a WalMart where you can buy all sorts of amazing things – “demilled” of course…There is no weapons shortage, especially near Kyiv. The army was systemically cut back and looted, but the ‘private guys’ have huge stores from which to draw should the need arise.

  8. I had to stop watching a 2:54 into the video. It was making me sick with envy. Want! Want! Want!

  10. I moved recently and found a case of mosins I had forgotten about. That’s how many I’ve bought over the years, enough to forget a case of them. I am an abomination to the purists, as I cut them up and re-stock them in every fasion. But I was buying them by the case back when they were $60 a rifle and giving them to my friends and family that needed a good enough hunting rifle or truck gun.
    But you really need to slug each bore and reload accordingly. I’ve measured bores from .308 to.314. Most seem to be at .311. Using the right bullet for your bore will dramatically improve accuracy.

      • Variance has an inherently variable nature, particularly when used in attempting to predict an unknown future (Nietzsche was not a devotee of this idea). The past however, varies with inherent constants of predictive substance, despite solid majority disagreement as to the exact nature of those constants.

  11. I love Classic Firearms! I had already put two on order and am trying to get 10 people to go in on a crate. Great company.

    • Darn right! It is time to bring those Garands and M1 carbines home. My Mosin, VZ82, and Colt 1917 need some more veteran friends

  14. I’d give them a try if they weren’t asking $76.95 for shipping to the largest city in Alaska!!! Most of the bigger retailers in the Lower 48 charge $20-30 to get things up here – and PSA and Buds are way below that, usually $10-15. If they want to price themselves out of the market here I guess that’s cool, but Alaskans eat these things up. Cabelas, Sportsmans, and the local FFL’s can’t keep them in stock.

    • Try and contact Rick (Owner), He’s a stand up guy and will get back to you promptly. Attempt to work something out, it may simply be a mistake or the shipper they use might just charge that much. I’m sure he’d be willing to see what he can do to make the sale.

  15. Got mine for 110$ OTD

    Walked into the shop asked if they had any. They said no but I can get them, let me see what they have. Bought a basic 91/30 and this was right after sandy hook. Only deal I ever got at that store. They went to shit after the SH panic and CS went down the tube and has stayed there.

  16. I am looking for an M39 bayonet for my Nagant. Anyone know where I can find an inexpensive one?

  17. The MN 91/30 is a fun shooter, especially if you don’t mind a little shoulder punishment. The ammo is still relatively cheap, too. Prices of both the rifles and ammo is rising, so those that want ’em would be well advised to get ’em now. And snag an M38 or M44 while you’re at it. The fireball from either one will turn dusk into midday.

    Looking back, I’ve never regretted buying any gun, but I have regretted not buying. Here’s to no regrets.

    • The 91/30 is pretty mild on the shoulder with the carbines (m38 and M44) giving a little more on the shoulder. Compared to a No5 (Jungle Carbine) the m38 an M44 are pleasant to shoot. The real brutalizers are the VZ Alpinejaeger carbines firing full-power 8×57.

  18. Damn nice looking rifles. Classic firearms is a great company. I’d be willing to buy one if I didn’t already have a few guns in the building process.

  19. Me and some guys from the shop git a crate. They were in amazing condition with all matching numbers. Since I drove to get them I kept the crate and use it to store ammo.

  20. Hmmm…I remember 3 and a halfyears ago the local Cabelas had ’em for 69bucks(black friday). Shoulda’got one then but didn’t think I would ever shoot it. Now I might not but could use it for SHTF…

  21. If you don’t plan on shooting the super cheap surplus ammo and just shoot non corrosive wolf ammo is a Mosin Nagant still worth it? Also in my area with $25 background check fee and typical ca taxes the gun would also be around $200-225 out the door. Still worth it?

    • I guess it depends on your idea of worth it. 225 bucks for a dependable, rugged center fire rifle that’s fun to shoot? I’ve spent 300+ for a .22 that I still have trouble getting ammo locally for.

      Wolf isn’t the only ammo. Surplus is still cheap. Silver Bear is also reasonable.

      • When you look at it that way it seems more reasonable. Its just frustrating because I got interested in shooting in 2012. Since then I have been hearing about everyone getting Mosins for under 100 (10 years ago) so 225 seems like a lot.

        As for ammo I would get any non corrosive ammo (Red army standard, Brown Bear, etc.) I am just to lazy to have to clean it after every range trip with cheap corrosive surplus ammo.

        • It is not THAT bad to clean coming from a lazy/hate to clean person myself. It is only a simple bolt gun and the simplest one at that compared to the others on the market. Now if you were talking a semi-auto then I would be a little more sympathetic.

          I use G96 Treatment, spray it down the bore and in the bolt, run the bore snake a few times, and done. Only takes a few minutes and no need to detail strip the thing.

        • S. You’re new to guns. Think in 20-30 years some other new guy will be drooling at your tales of the cheap 225 buck mosins.

          I’m lazy too. I just run windex with ammonia in mine when I’m finished at the range. Take it home and clp and bore snake it and it hasn’t rusted yet. Wipe all the metal parts down and done.

          I understand the Russian soldiers just poured some of their boiling tea water(Russians love tea like the brits) down their barrels and then did the pull thru. Nobody involved in the all in struggle they were in is going to spend large parts of their day cleaning dainty guns.

        • Don’t feel too bad, Crock. Inflation has chewed the dollar up, so a hundred bucks in the year 2000 had the same purchasing power as about $140 does today. Sure, the deals back then were still better, but it’s not quite as bad as the raw numbers make it seem.

        • Its a Mosin for goodness sakes! I pour a bottle of water down the barrel at the range, then spray with with a cleaner and plug the muzzle. When I get home, I bore brush it, then lube it. Bing. Bang. Boom.

  23. These rifles are 100 years old and they still work.

    If I ever have any spare change (HA!) I will have to get one.

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