First Mosins

[Junk Yard Dog]

For some of you the first Mosin you collected was yesterday, or last month, for me it was 27 years ago. I was buying a new Mossberg 500 shotgun with accuchoke barrel from a dealer I did a lot of business with back then, he had a shop cluttered with all sorts of odd items, but most of them were sporting rifles. As I am finishing the paperwork he walks over to a corner of the store, pulls something out from behind a stack of boxes, walks back to me and sets it on the counter. I look up and see this odd looking short rifle in extra sad condition. Stock beat, oily, grease crusted on the metal, lots of visible wear on the bluing. I ask him what he wants me to do with that, and he tells me to take it home, hands me another 4477, tells me he can't get anyone to pay him money for it, but he knows I am into that old army shit, and I am a good customer. I thank him, ask for some plastic to wrap the mess up with as I could only imagine the mess that would make of my cars cloth seat covers. I had no idea what the hell it was, oriental style characters on it were a clue were to look, but without the internet to ask it was months before I had it nailed down. It was a North Vietnamese army rifle just like the one a neighbor of mine brought home back in '70. Some months later I spotted an add in shotgun news for Chinese carbines, $25 each, that gave me the information I needed, and also explained why there was an import mark under the muzzle. I soon acquired more, number two was another type 53, that very same bringhome rifle my neighbor had, he remembered me asking to see it so I could compare it to my rifle, and that got him thinking about getting rid of it since the kids were getting older and the Ol' lady wanted it gone.

There have been a lot of Mosins since, in my collection they easily outnumber the other types of rifles I have, US, British, German and so on. You never forget the first one however, and I still have it, it was five years before I found ammo to shoot in it ( no internet in the 80', no easy ammo finding) It shot passably well, and during the 90's I did a lot of shooting with it. Despite it's looks, it's bore was clean, it's crown not shot out.

Lets hear about everybody's first Mosin, this isn't the best pic of mine, but it's the one I have available at the moment.

[djbuck1]

So I'm swanning around Cabela's, and I see a big rack of old rifles. I wander over, and they're Mosin Nagants, M91/30s for around $100. I'd read about Mosins, but I'd never seen one other than in pictures. I stand there staring for a moment thinking, "Wait a minute. You can buy a formidable, high-power rifle for $100 that's also an historic artifact!"

I knew enough to look for a hex receiver. So, I take every rifle off the rack and look them over individually. They were all round receivers. An "outfitter" who had been watching my "remove and review" comes over. We start talking, and I go on and on about how unbelievable this is and mention that there are no hex receivers. I go back to looking the goods over and he disappears. A minute or so later, he returns and says "Here's what you want," and then hands me a 1927 Izhevsk, ex-dragoon (though I did not know that at the time). I just stood there holding it, mouth agape. I'm not sure what else he said, but then I heard, " . . . that is, if you want it."

"You're damn right I want it!"

I also had no idea that it was in a pre-war stock or DDR marked.

I now have . . . um . . . a lot of M91/30s. And a storage problem. But it's a welcome problem, indeed.

[racerguy00]

A US acceptance-marked Westinghouse that cost about $80 but keyholed the target, when it hit the target, so I took it back. Doh!!!!!

I know better now.

[Junk Yard Dog]

A US acceptance-marked Westinghouse that cost about $80 but keyholed the target, when it hit the target, so I took it back. Doh!!!!!

I know better now.

[gbeecher65]

My one and only Mosin is a '33 Tula I bought for $89.95 online from J&G Sales in April 2010. My only other firearm at the moment is a Hi-Point C9 9mm pistol I bought (J&G Sales) in November 2012. I will be looking at a shotgun my mother-in-law has stored away in her closet, that belonged to my wife's grandpa - have no idea what kind of shotgun, haven't seen it yet. I love my '33 Tula, have over 300+ rounds thru it without any problem, except 2 or 3 instances of hard rim-lock, where I had to empty the mag. I use both stripper clips and hand loading, but prefer using the clips. I just recently replaced the sear spring with one from Liberty Tree Collectors and am very happy with the new surplus part and the fact that the 'ole Mosin works again! If not for the Mosin rifle, I would have ended up with either a Nagant revolver or a 100 year old S&W 'lemon squeezer' top-break revolver. The Mosin surplus rifle is still the best value in a .30 caliber, bolt-action center-fire rifle!

[Sgt lamb]

my 1st was a very battered chinese type 53 bought at a gunshow in Columbus Ga back in either 84 or 85 it was Bring back from vietnam pretty sure they wern't being imported then

[martin08]

Are the guns part of our lives? Or are we, as temporary stewards, just chapters within the story of the gun?

[neal45]

I have been interested in Russia since my time in USAF back in the 60s. All I studied was Russian military and commercial equipment and facilities. Over the years I had found a few Russian books (Including Origin or the Species by Darwin) plus a Russian camera. Back in early 2008 I found that Russian guns were available, and cheap! My son and I went to a gun show and found lots of M44s. He bought the last one a dealer had for $89 and I went to the next higher dealer and bought my 44 Izhevsk M44 for $99. It is a run of the mill refurb but it started the craziness. Now I have lots of Mosins, especially M91s and a library of Russian history and military history that is over 50 volumes. And those are the books I kept to re-read. The ones I only wanted to read once have been sold.

It has been great fun, even though my collection is about complete for me. I still look around for the odd one and never have gone into collecting anything but Mosins.

[Ctrelok-2ID]

Over a year ago, I saw the Mosins start showing up at Fleet Farm for around $100. I was out of work and couldn't even afford that, but I kept watching them. In the past couple of years the prices have gone up to around $140 (though you get the "accessories" too). A month or so ago, I'd saved up some money and was all set to go get one of the beat-up 40's era Ishevsk 91/30's at Fleet Farm, when I ran across an internet listing from a new gun shop just up the road from me - they had a 1929 Tula, and a 1931 Tula for sale - both already cleaned (too bad I only had enough for one of them!). I purchased the 1929 for about $20 more than the Izhevsk's at Fleet Farm. I didn't get the bayonet, ammo pouch and oil can with it, but did get a case, the cleaning kit and an extra rubber recoil pad. The guy at the shop brought in a brand new looking bayonet for me ($10). But the rifle is a beauty.

http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/Ctrel ... 7.jpg.html

http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/Ctrel ... d.jpg.html

[Joeinthehills]

Are the guns part of our lives? Or are we, as temporary stewards, just chapters within the story of the gun?

Amen

[djbuck1]

Are the guns part of our lives? Or are we, as temporary stewards, just chapters within the story of the gun?

Both, but with respect to the latter we are really just a footnote, I suspect.

[Gsragtop]

I had never owned a fire arm before January of last year.. I wanted a pistol for next to my bed, and was traveling for business and was in a more rural area (lots of pawn/gun stores).. I was not paying the rifles much attention, but one day I was waiting to talk to the owner of a gun shop and started looking at the rifles on the rack. Looking just at the price I found a mosin for $150.. That night I went back to the hotel and immersed myself in learning about Mosins, I learned about hex barels and tula, and ex dragoons... I realized the rifle I had seen was none of these..lol

I did go back and try to buy the rifle anyway, but the owner would not go down as far as I thought he should.

Fate as it turns out was on my side, for the next day I walked into a pawn shop I had never been in and found, my first mosin. A 1927 Tula five line ex dragoon... I then went back to the hotel and did align more research and posted my first post to this forum..

http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... =5&t=11143

If I knew just how much that Tula would cost me in the long run, I may have left it behind. Lol.

Thank you to all the SR members of this group who have lead me away from bubba, answered my questions, and always fueled this addiction..

[mebailj]

I was a first year teacher, Junior High, Birmingham, Alabama in 1975. It was a 91/30, and I paid thirty bucks for it. That was a lot when your base pay was just $9,600 for the whole year. Had a bore as dark as midnight. Sadly, I don't have it anymore. Stock was worn thin, but I wanted that Mosin so much. Wish I still had it. But I now have many of its Russian and Finnish cousins. Was a History major. Studied the "Great Patriotic War" a lot. I'd still like to go to the Stalingrad battlefield and see that big tall memorial.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I was a first year teacher, Junior High, Birmingham, Alabama in 1975. It was a 91/30, and I paid thirty bucks for it. That was a lot when your base pay was just $9,600 for the whole year. Had a bore as dark as midnight. Sadly, I don't have it anymore. Stock was worn thin, but I wanted that Mosin so much. Wish I still had it. But I now have many of its Russian and Finnish cousins. Was a History major. Studied the "Great Patriotic War" a lot. I'd still like to go to the Stalingrad battlefield and see that big tall memorial.

Sounds like a SCW Mosin, they were by far the most commonly encountered Mosin in the 70's.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Are the guns part of our lives? Or are we, as temporary stewards, just chapters within the story of the gun?

That does not just apply to guns, it applies to any part of our history be it as small as a ring, or as huge as a building, or other historic site like a battlefield.

[professor9]

My first is about two years ago at the Washington County (PA) gun show. I had started out with a Yugo Mauser M48A which was drop dead beautiful, but the MN stole my heart. That day at the show my son and I ran into a 1930 Tula Hex 91/30 in a beautiful blond laminated stock. Paid $150 and will always be my first Mosin. I have a few M91's now and a few others but the laminated will be the Queen.

[JER]

A 1938 Tula M91/30, for me. I was looking to build a collection with an example rifle from each of the combatants in WW2. This was back around 1985, when Mosin Nagants were, frankly, not considered particularly collectable. I had a decent start with the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, fairly represented. Guns from Italy, France, even Japan, were looked upon as, not junk, but also not too collectable. I was picking up examples as time, and money allowed. A Mosin Nagant was not on my list, as I had no knowledge of them. BUT I realized, Russia was a major, if not THE major combatant in WW2. I also had a out of print book, "Guns of the World" (still do), Petersen Publishing, 1972, that had a great article titled "The Mosin Nagant in Finnish Service". The author Harris Bierman, ran down Finland's war with Russia, and also all the Finn variations known at the time. To cut to the chase: at the Pomona, California "Great Western" Gun Show, (anybody remember that one? I used to LIVE for that show...) I found a complete, matching 1938 dated TULA M91/30 Mosin Nagant, for $30.00. It was also SA marked, which I had just read about. So I grabbed it. Still have it too....

[BostonMike]

My first Mosin and firearm ever. No big story really. After months of research, I came across the Mosin and fell in love with the ugly thing.

Local gun store had $99 sale. So I went and grabbed a box. I got this and guess it's a good one ;)




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[jones0430]

My first Mosin as an after-thought, impulse buy when I went into Cabela's to pick up my M1 Garand. This was last year. There was a rack, which I examined in detail.

I now have that first Mosin, another, which is a sniper reproduction, a Russian M44, and another '43 Ishvek, (apparently real, and soon to be on it's way to me) sniper.

[Historyfan]

Just started January this year. I was raised with hunting and guns, but not into collecting until now. November of 2012 I wrecked my beautiful '70 Olds 442 drag car at 132 mph. Scared my Mrs. so plans to put it back together kept getting pushed back. Some of my co-teachers asked me to come shoot with them over last Christmas break, and I was hooked again!! What has worked out so well is my family has enjoyed the shooting and the firearms as much as me, but we never really shared much of the Drag racing. So Feb. 1 I order a Classic Firearms 5-pack and three of my sons each take one and I keep a 1943 Izhevske that turns out to be an ex-sniper!! I have since added a few more including m38 and m44. Shooting has become a family event for us and we have added a Mauser and Garand ( sold the wrecked race car and treated myself to the Garand).

Left to Right, my Nephew with my M48A, my FFL guy with random semi-auto pistol, my Stepson with his black rifle, my Son with his M44 and me who started all this shouldering my M38. A true Texas welcoming committee