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Jesse's Hunting > Gun Room Articles > The Gun Room > Collecting Guns on a Budget - The Mosin Nagant 91/30
Collecting Guns on a Budget - The Mosin Nagant 91/30
Andy Moe - JHO ProStaff
- Frozen Montana
December 11, 2007
Mosin Nagant M91/30
The rifle is available in many configurations, and at a range of prices, but it is still one of the most affordable milsurp rifles for the collector. Image from Wikipedia |
I bought a good deal of my military surplus rifles during the thirty-dollar days. I hate mentioning that because it often draws a mixture of envy and resentment from some younger collectors. I know the feeling: I felt the same way towards the guys who bought ten-dollar Single Action Colts and twenty-dollar High Wall Winchesters in the years following WWII. Today I’m still buying ‘milsurps’ and unless it’s the odd, freak bargain, I’m happily paying the same prices everyone else does. I don’t grumble about prices these former social rejects are commanding now because I’m experienced enough to realize that I will still make money if I buy the right gun.
I wasn’t always so smart. I remember once being ten bucks short of the fifty needed to buy an absolutely pristine Model 24 Finnish Nagant so I let it pass. When I finally got a Model 24 to round out my collection it cost me dearly, setting set me back $500 for a rifle that wasn’t near the gun old M-24 was I should have put that gun on layaway, way back then. I’d be $450 richer today. Who knew? Well, actually, I should have. By that time I’d been in the gun business long enough to recognize a trend. Within a year of missing that M-24 all the 1920’s issue Finnish guns were gone. Then the Model 1939’s came along. Now those cool old Model 39 Finns are gone now, too. Not “gone”, gone, of course. Just a heck of a lot more expensive than saving your lunch money for a month will buy. I wish I’d been a little more aggressive in my buying when I could have.
I bring this all up because I frequent the military surplus sites and find a large number of shooters trying to play catch-up. This is fine if you have the cash, but for those who pack their lunch every day, it’s a good idea to begin looking down the road. “Here Today. Gone Tomorrow,” is the axiom that best describes the surplus gun market. If you want to start collecting it is far better to start today than tomorrow.
So, what’s the next rising star in the surplus arena? When you talk of bargain-priced military surplus rifle, the real collector’s catch must be the Soviet Model 91/30 Mosin-Nagant chambered for 7.62x54R cartridge.
Not familiar with the Mosin-Nagant? You should be. For you movie buffs, this is the rifle used by the great Russian sniper, Vassily Zaitsev whose exploits were loosely depicted in the movie “Enemy at the Gate”. For firearm historians, these rifles represent a significant step in firearms development: The Mosin Nagant was one of the first enduring bolt action rifle designs.
Indeed, the basic Mosin Nagant action remained unchanged through its production life. Only the Brits with their Lee Enfield stuck with the original design of their rifle with the same resolve as the Russians. Even Paul Mauser’s rifles had more mechanical changes than the Nagant. The Nagant is a rifle that has seen service from 1891 to the present day seeing active combat as late as the Vietnam conflict were it was even used as a sniper weapon. It’s no surprise that there are reports of Mosin-Nagant sniper rifles being used in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
When compared to its late 19th century contemporaries; the Mauser, the Enfield, and the French Label, the Nagant is considered by many to be the best of the bunch. A mechanical cartridge feed interrupter allowed stripper clips to be loaded in any manner desired –unlike the Enfield which required a precise arrangement of the cartridges in the stripper to prevent hanging up the rims during feeding. The action was simple in use and simply maintained. The 7.62x54 Rimmed cartridge was (and remains) powerful. Today’s sporting and military ammo will propel a 150 grain bullet at 30-06 speeds.
The WWII Model 91/30 on the market today is simply the original model 1891 with different sights and stock hardware. When you shoot a 91/30 you’re firing a rifle that fought its way through decades of conflict without giving cause to replace it. That it has stood the tests of time and trial makes the Nagant worthy of a closer look from collectors and historians but, if that doesn’t get you; how about price?
The 91/30 is certainly the least expensive of all the WWII surplus weapons. These rifles can routinely be found in Soviet-arsenal refurbished condition in the neighborhood of $100 for the round receiver models; slightly more for the earlier hexagonal-receiver models, and slightly more yet for the laminate stocked models. For this price most will come with a bayonet, sling, oil / solvent bottle, a cartridge pouch, and a combination tool.
All these rifles will be dotted with maker’s marks, proof marks, and other significant runes for you to ponder. You just never know what you’re going to find when you pick up one of these rifles. There were a variety of makers in the Soviet Union as well as from the Soviet satellite countries. Model 1891 Nagants were made under contract in the US as well as France so there is the chance that the rifle you buy may have been converted to the 1930 configuration from one of these. All of these refurbished rifles are in darned nice shape; most will have fresh bluing and matching numbers. Generally, all of these refurbished guns will come with a lacquer finish on the wood. It’s glass hard and very durable, with the colors varying from blonde to almost crimson.
The 91/30’s are seldom sold with regard to rare dates or proof marks so if you know what you’re looking for you could easily find a pearl of a gun by spotting a rare mark or a double date indicating reissue of the rifle. If given a selection to choose from, I like to buy these rifles based on these marks alone.
For me, the best collectors’ value lies in those Nagants which have the earlier hexagonal receiver. Over the last few months I bought four of these at a Billings gunshop for the sale price of $89 each. They were dated 1923, 1930, 1931, and 1932. Three were made at the Tula arsenal and the other at the Izshvek arsenal. All came with the accoutrements I mentioned earlier. The bores are bright and the rifling sharp. Buying four of these 91’s might seem extreme but they were a good value (the normal price was $139 each) and as I actively collect Finnish Nagants, having a few Russian Nagants around balances things out.
(For those of you not aware of the fact, perhaps I should explain that Finland and Russia fought for decades in a dispute about the location of the border between their two countries. The ever practical Finns made their service rifles by rebarreling and restocking captured Russian Nagant rifles to their own specifications. This is why occasionally you will find a Russian infantry rifle with the Finnish “SA” property mark on the barrel.)
Why do I favor the “hex” receiver guns? I like them! And they also tend to bear older dates of manufacture and more interesting proof marks. I also believe that inventories of these rifles will sell out long before the later, round receiver guns.
The least expensive of the 91/30’s are usually the round receiver models. This is not to say that there aren’t collector rarities among this variety that command higher prices. There certainly are. The lower price simply reflects the fact that there are more of them around than the earlier hex-receiver models. I have seen the round receiver guns dated through the 1950’s.These rifles are in the same fine condition as their higher priced cousins. The collector looking for historically significant guns at a bargain price will have a hard time topping these. At this writing, a west coast sporting goods chain is selling these rifles for $59 each with accessories. How can you pass up piece of history for fifty-nine dollars? You can have a dozen of these rifles at hand and no two will be identically marked. The variety is endless. To me, this makes them infinitely interesting.
Some of these round receiver guns are found with two or four plugged holes in the left side of the receiver. These are decommissioned sniper rifles and a great find for the enthusiast, though often sold for a higher price if the dealer knows what they are looking at. These “Ex PU Snipers” are easily missed by distributors and a can be found on store racks at regular issue rifle prices, making your purchase even more profitable in the long run. If you want a genuine sniper rifle, albeit without the optics, these rifles are a real catch. As I write this I have an Izshvek “ex sniper” on the way from a collector in Illinois. At $130 it seemed like a deal and, when restored with a genuine PU sniper scope and bolt from my collection, it will be worth more than the sum of its parts. If nothing else, it will be a representative piece.
Speaking of sniper models I should mention that there are some genuine 91/30 Sniper rifles on the market right now for the serious collector. There are many more, however, that are “made up” guns using a modern made Russian scopes that mirror the WWII “PU” sniper scope exactly save the markings. These scopes are identical in every way to the vintage PU scopes, and are said by some to be made on the same machinery. They are usually mounted on select condition refurbished 91/30 rifles and the whole rig wholesales for around $400. Rifles with a genuine PU sniper scopes will run you $700 - $900 if you can find one, and then there is little guarantee that it is genuine. Caveat Emptor, as they say. If a sniper is in your sights, get a copy of Terence Lapin’s book “The Mosin-Nagant Rifle”. If you’re going to collect Mosins, it’s a good book to have anyhow. Consider it a small investment made to keep from losing hard earned dollars on a fake.
The best part of 91/30 collecting is that these rifles are still in the “shooter” class. With care, you can shoot these rifles and not risk your investment. Inexpensive ammunition is available: both military surplus and newly made hunting rounds from Russia. Ammunition won’t be hard to find.
For the reloader; Lapua, Norma and Priviti-Partizan make boxer primed brass for your needs. Bullets of the proper diameter (.310”, nominally) can be had from various sources. Cast bullet shooters will have no problem finding the right mold to use.
There were a vast number 91/30’s produced over the years so the supplies will be around for a little while. But of course, that was said of the .303 British rifles at one time. And also of the Mausers….And the Finnish rifles. The supplies of these guns weren’t as endless as they were thought to be! The same will be said for these Russian Nagants someday, I’m sure. Keep your eyes open and do your homework. With a little time and a small investment, you could buy and trade yourself into a collection that someday will cause some youngster to resent you, too.
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