The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

bigfathairybiker wrote:Hi All,

Thanks for all the info.
I am most likely to go for a carbine.
And I suppose a bit of a "used" look is good. But then again I'll not be wanting to travel too far.

The one in the auction looks "mint", this is what I was thinking about when I mentioned cheap copies.
As I would have thought that being over 50-60 years old it wouldnt look mint.
But also you do mention them being covered in a protective coating, so I suppose they would be mint once it is cleaned off.

I've read a fair amount of the 7.62 site which really is comprehensive.

Mark

My 1944 M44 is mint as it was unissued.There are thousands of Mosins sat in Russian warehouses covered in Cosmoline looking as good as when they were made.A lot also come in from the Ukraine but with recent events they may no longer be in storage!.

Is it just me or does there never seem to be any Mosin for sale on gun trader? I find that quite odd if it is the case.

Yes good point maybe too down market to sell quality MOSINS

Well I have a K98 but I think a mosin sniper would be a nice addition too, seems pretty difficult to find them in dealers on the net bar C&G unless im looking in the wrong places?

Getting a 'genuine' sniper is difficult, ie one with matching numbers (The scope serial number should be on the receiver). They are available but they cost a lot of money - 2K? . A lot of the ones available are Bitsa's, some with real scopes, some with repo ones. (You can tell be the screws and machining marks on the mount apparently - others can advise better than I can on this)

With this in mind I sourced a genuine scope from Moldova and got the rifle separately from Ryton. I then made my own bitsa for less than the cost of buying one. I'm really happy with it and I know exactly what it is, plus if the rifle didn't shoot straight I would have just got another one before spending money on the conversion. This is exactly what the USSR did, they picked the good shooters and put them aside for conversion. Mine had got filled in scope mount holes and had reverted to an infantry rifle but I found that it grouped well when I fired it.

the other thing to look for is there are three different types of scope available, PE, PEM and PU. PE and PEM are I think based on a German design and the PU is the classic enemy at the gates small scope.

If your looking for a Mosin sniper The Gun Shop East Barnet has a Sniper listed for sale, for £425 do not think it will be an original for that price, looks ok from the 1 picture.

If your interested in a M44 then Fultons Bisley have listed a 1953 dated Polish (11 in a circle) M44 for £175 now that's a steal looks to be mint.

Just looked at the Bisley M44. If the bore is as mint as it should be you cannot go wrong for that price. If everything matches then you'd be daft not to. If originality matters then remember that something like 95% of all Soviet rifles have been refurbished during their lives at least once. Parts will have been mixed from other rifles and force matched (they do a good job so it's difficult to tell). My one looks like the Bisley rifle and the quality is way better than the refurbs.

snayperskaya wrote:The M38 and M44 carbines are fire breathing monsters that give a very impressive muzzle flash.

Just to be clear, this is what snayperskaya is talking about :shakeshout:

Now I know that's not 9grains of clays universal over a 150 grainer :) awesome.

It would be a pu I'm after, I'm not keen on the folding bayonet so shame on the nice 44 :(

My k98 is not matching numbers and the bore aint special, so I would prefer a nice bore, bu could settle on not so perfect.

With regard to the scopes.....if the scope and mounts look too good to be then there is a good chance they are modern reproductions (look on ebay for Mosin Nagant scope!) as they would get scratched and knocked in the field.If it is nitrogen (or other gas) filled it is reproduction as no wartime Soviet optics were gas filled.If it say "Made in The USSR" its a reproduction.And price wise a genuine wartime scope will generally cost a fair bit more than a repro, often around £350- 400.With Russian optics the windage and elevation turrets move the reticule not the image, this can leave the reticule offset from the centre of the field of vision once zeroed.To counter this and centre the reticule the scope mount was often filed to allow for more adjustment front or rear thus moving the scope body left or right to allow it to zero correctly but centralise the reticule.On a genuine wartime era scope the file marks will be often be evident.A similar thing was done with the later PSO-1 scope as fitted to Dragunovs but the mount would often be shimmed with pieces of solder rather than filed.