Lock , Stock & Barrel
The Mosin Nagant rifle and its 7.62 x 54R cartridge
Chaz Forsyth looks at one of the world ’ s great and most abundantly produced rifles of 19th century design
The days of getting a cheap military surplus rifle and successfully converting it into a sporting rifle somewhat like a new one are long gone . These days , most entry-level hunting rifles are capable of shooting within 1.5 minutes of angle and can be bought for less than $ 800 , telescopic sights included . However , if you want to use a cartridge that dates from the 19th century and enjoy the nostalgia it provides , converting a used military rifle is slightly cheaper than building one up from scratch . Here I describe the performance of one of these conversions .
The rifles
Mosin Nagant ( MN ) rifles were adopted in 1891 by the Imperial Russian government . They were initially manufactured in France , Switzerland and Austria before the Russian government arsenals began production , and during World War 1 the Russians contracted the Americans to manufacture another 1.5 million . Oddly enough , many of these rifles were used by American troops in 1918 in the counter-revolutionary campaign in northwestern Russia ( Smith & Smith , 1963 ).
Mosin was a Russian soldier and Nagant was a Belgian who was credited with the magazine-interrupter design . ( This was actually devised by Mosin but he could not be paid for it because he was a serving soldier . Nagant was duly rewarded because he was not involved with other military powers and because of his revolver design , which was later adopted by the Imperial Russian forces .)
This bolt-action rifle has been described by de Haas ( 1995 ) as “ odd and unusual ”, with its three-piece bolt ( unlike the Mauser one-piece design ), its five-round singlerow box magazine and its club-like stock . The bolt is very slick to operate , although the standard handle is a bit far forward to reach easily for rapid fire . On a sporting rifle , the bolt handle is swept back and down to clear the scope and is far easier to manipulate rapidly .
The single-row magazine , unlike most of the contemporary designs , can be loaded by pressing directly down on each cartridge from the top , and the interrupter ( which retains ammunition in the magazine ) is a neat feature of this design .
A rifle of this age has seen several variations during its history , and the models commonly found in New Zealand are usually arsenal-refurbished Model M1891 / 30s manufactured in the early 1940s , and M1944 carbines manufactured in the early 1950s ( Smith & Smith , 1963 ). The ones made during the Great Patriotic War ( between Germany and Russia , 1941 – 1945 ) show toolmarks left when the external finish was compromised in order to keep up the numbers produced ( more than 3,000,000 in 1942 ).
Cartridges of the time
Cartridges of the late 1800s . From left : 7.62 x 54R Mosin Nagant ; . 303 British ; . 30 ’ 06 Springfield ; . 308 Winchester ; 7.62 x 39 mm ( M43 ). These military cartridges were used from the late 1880s to the late 1940s – including two world wars . Note : apart from the . 303 and 7.62 x 39 mm the rest are soft-point hunting loads – not military rounds .
MN actions showing differences in detail of finish . The rifle behind dates from the 1940s , when the desperate urgency of wartime production meant the finish was less tidy – but it worked just as well . Also shown is the bolt positioning , a feature that is not so good for rapid firing in sporting use .
Comparison with post-World War 2 rifles reveals that the latter were far better finished externally – but there was nothing wrong with their internal workings , as later tests confirmed .
Model 1891 / 30 rifles are more than four feet ( 1200 mm ) long , with a 28.7-inch ( 730 mm ) barrel , and as issued , weigh 8.7 lb ( 3.95 kg ) without sling or bayonet .
42 NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017