Mosin Nagant Model 91/30

Mosin Nagant Model M91/30

Pronounced: "Mo zeen - Na gone"

Following the Russo-Turkish war in 1878, Russia began looking for a new battle rifle to replace the single shot Berdan rifles currently in use by her military forces. The 3 line caliber rifle, model 1891, was accepted as a joint design between Russian Colonel Sergei Ivanovich Mosin who designed the bolt and receiver, and the Belgian Emile Nagant (designer of the M1895 Nagant Revolver), who designed the magazine system.

Infantry and Dragoon versions were the two designs primarily produced (although a Cossack version exists also). This was to simplify production. The Dragoon model is slightly shorter and lighter and was intended for use by mounted infantry. The lighter, shorter weapon was very popular with the regular infantry and during the 1930 modernization of the weapon, nearly all models were further reduced in length and weight to become the new Model 91/30. Other changes were made to the front and rear sights to convert them to meters from the older unit of measure, the Arshin.

About 37 million were produced or converted from older model M1891 rifles. in 1936 the rifles were further modified to have a round receiver rather than the Hex shaped (actually octagonal) receiver.This simplified production but did not impair the rifles function. Many were converted to sniper use and an ex-sniper M91/30 demands higher prices on the collector market.

The Mosin Nagant M91/30 fires the powerful 7.62*54R cartridge. Known also as the Russian 30.06, this round is a high powered cartridge capable of reaching ranges of over 1 mile with killing force. The rifle has an internal, 5 round magazine that is loaded from a charger, or stripper clip holding the 5 rounds and allowing them to be pushed into the magazine quickly with your thumb. Rounds can also be loaded one at a time into the magazine well.

The example shown in the photograph above is a 1927, Ex-Dragoon, Hex receiver model. These rifles are very inexpensive and are a great choice for a beginning collector. Surplus ammunition is available and new production is also cheap. The recoil is very strong and the bolt can be difficult to open due to the short handle. Also, due to soviet ammunition being steel case, it was coated in lacquer to prevent rust. This coating slowly built up over time and coated the interior of the chamber. Failure to remove this build up can cause the bullet cases to stick in the chamber making the weapon very hard to cycle, even impossible in some cases. Allowing the weapon to cool allows the cases to become unstuck and eventually removed. Using a 20 guage shotgun brush and a gun solvent is a good method to remove most of this build up lacquer and improve loading and cycling ease.