First gun purchase

[Serenity]

Well, my initial plan was always to make my first purchase a Springfield Armory M1A, but not only is that out of my price range, but I realized I might want to cut my teeth on a cheaper piece of equipment until I'm familiar with maintenance, etc. I've decided to go with a Mosin Nagant as they are common, cheap, and I can afford to botch maintenance on it and get a new one.

I'm currently researching care and maintenance on the Nagant, but I was wondering if any of the gun owners here had any advice for a first-time owner. The local Cabellas has a rack full of pre-owned Nagants for about $120 each, so that's where I will probably be going. From my research, Texas does not require a permit or registration to purchase a rifle, and all of my google searches on Texas Gun Laws have not turned up any other necessary paperwork, so I'm assuming I can just walk in with ID and buy the rifle.

Is there anything in particular I should look at while picking out which individual Nagant I want to buy? And is there anything else I should add to my shopping cart while I'm there?

[redman555]

All I hope you know is 7.62 are pricey......if possible try to find sellers of older rounds from like WW2.  They arent going to be as good for hunting and you will probably have to clean your gun more often.  BUT you will save a pretty penny.  OR if you are going to be shooting like every week buy a re loader, you can re use most cartridges at least 10 times.  It will be more up front but over time you will save money.

-BigBOBCH

[Melvin]

"And is there anything else I should add to my shopping cart while I'm there?"

An SKS and a 1000 rounds.

Cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, and unbreakable.

<S> Melvin

[Tupac]

Dude just come get me, I'll hook you up.

Look for a star on the receiver, and a hexagonal receiver is more collectible than a circular one. If there are deep gashes and scratches on the wood, leave it. If there are any cartouches on the stock, give me a ring and I'll tell you what they mean.

Get a good cleaning kit while your there, since most of the ammo for them are corrosive.

[Tupac]

Also, it shoots a 7.62x54r
Not a 7.62x39 or 7.62x51

[Jayhawk]

A person is never too old, too young, too experienced, or too dumb to benefit from a gun safety class of some sort.  Though I could talk handguns with you all day, rifles are not really my thing, however the same rules apply.  Know gun safety by heart, and live it.  It's not just something that is allowed to go out the window when your buddies come over to see the gun.  You make it clear before anyone touches it that they are to adhere to the rules of gun safety at all time, and if they mess up, they lose the privilege.

Not as familiar with Texas gun laws, but that's pretty much how it is here in Kansas.  Don't forget to get a cleaning kit.  I wouldn't know where to start with a gun like that, but I have no doubt keeping it clean is mandatory.  


*EDIT*  I would hold off on the reloading.  That's a hefty initial investment, and it takes some experience.  Maybe you can get there in time, but I wouldn't worry about it now.

[Melvin]

A person is never too old, too young, too experienced, or too dumb to benefit from a gun safety class of some sort.  Though I could talk handguns with you all day, rifles are not really my thing, however the same rules apply.  Know gun safety by heart, and live it.  It's not just something that is allowed to go out the window when your buddies come over to see the gun.  You make it clear before anyone touches it that they are to adhere to the rules of gun safety at all time, and if they mess up, they lose the privilege.

Not as familiar with Texas gun laws, but that's pretty much how it is here in Kansas.  Don't forget to get a cleaning kit.  I wouldn't know where to start with a gun like that, but I have no doubt keeping it clean is mandatory.  

+1000 Safety first.

[Serenity]

Dude just come get me, I'll hook you up.

Already planning on it!

And I have no problem spending time cleaning. Knowing me, I'll probably clean it at the very least once a week even if I don't shoot it.

A person is never too old, too young, too experienced, or too dumb to benefit from a gun safety class of some sort.  Though I could talk handguns with you all day, rifles are not really my thing, however the same rules apply.  Know gun safety by heart, and live it.  It's not just something that is allowed to go out the window when your buddies come over to see the gun.  You make it clear before anyone touches it that they are to adhere to the rules of gun safety at all time, and if they mess up, they lose the privilege.

Not as familiar with Texas gun laws, but that's pretty much how it is here in Kansas.  Don't forget to get a cleaning kit.  I wouldn't know where to start with a gun like that, but I have no doubt keeping it clean is mandatory. 


*EDIT*  I would hold off on the reloading.  That's a hefty initial investment, and it takes some experience.  Maybe you can get there in time, but I wouldn't worry about it now.

Agreed on the safety. I'm looking into classes in the area that fit into my schedule, but between school and ROTC, I don't have time during the day and I cannot find any night classes on it.

[ariansworld]

Serenity, Go here www.classicarms.usthey have reasonable prices.  They are great people to deal with.

[Modas]

Mosin Nagats are nice guns.  Ammo is plentiful and CHEAP.  7.62x54R is available all over the place.  www.widners.com has it for $300 bucks/1200 rounds.  1200 rounds will last a LONG time.  My mosin was made in 1938 and is completely original.  All matching serials between the reciever and other components.  Lots of time serial numbers are "XXXXX'd" out and changed to match the other components.  Bought it from Gander for $99 bucks.   Kicks like a mule, but fun to shoot.

[katanaso]

All I hope you know is 7.62 are pricey......if possible try to find sellers of older rounds from like WW2.  They arent going to be as good for hunting and you will probably have to clean your gun more often.  BUT you will save a pretty penny.  OR if you are going to be shooting like every week buy a re loader, you can re use most cartridges at least 10 times.  It will be more up front but over time you will save money.

-BigBOBCH

7.62x54R is actually pretty cheap.

The biggest drawback is that it's usually corrosive, so always clean after shooting.

[Golfer]

It's a Mosin Nagant so don't overthink it.  Buds just had a sale where they sold something like 1600 never issued Nagants in a weekend for $95 shipped.  A buddy of mine bought a couple and we had them out at the range yesterday and they worked as you'd expect a Russian built gun for the lowest common denominator to shoot.

I'm not sure where he bought it but he got a spam can with 800-something rounds for about $120 shipped to his door so 7.62x54R is dirt cheap.  I know I see a lot of their brass (steel) at my club in the coffee cans so there are quite a few shooters of these things out there.  I thought I did well buying 5.56 green tips for $300/840rounds just to give you an idea of where the cost differences are.

While I don't shoot much in the way of corrosive ammunition hot soapy water to clean and then a few patches and some oil will have this gun last longer than you will.

You're doing well not dropping $1300-1500 on an off the rack M1A.  Mil Spec (not surplus) ammunition still isn't cheap and unless you're going to drop another $1000 or so into hand loading or buying match ammunition it's not going to be as accurate as you hoped.  I roll my own .308 ammunition and use very similar loads pushing match bullets as well as a hunting bullet derived from the match bullet.  It isn't cheap to get into.  The M1A can also be funny about what kind of ammunition you'll shoot through it but much less so than the M1 Garand which has the looooong operating rod as opposed to the gas piston of the M1A/M14.

For the price of an accurate M1A, good quality sighting system, reloading equipment and components on top of the ammunition you'd be shooting to get the brass you'd be loading I could own about 40 Mosin Nagants and have a lot of ammo to shoot through them.  Start small and work your way up so I'd say you're going about it the right way.  No need once your gun is cleaned and oiled to reclean and oil it every week.  It's not Charlene and you're not Private Pyle...right?

[Maverick]

The first question you have to ask yourself is, why do you want the gun. What is your plan for it?

If you want a military style rifle you will have a hard time beating the cost effectiveness of the Nagant. That goes for it's ammo too. A lot of the ammo is corrosive so you will need to learn to clean it properly for both corrosive and non corrosive ammo. Different methods and materials.

If you want something easier to use for hunting, either big game or smaller, then go look for a regular bolt action hunting rifle. Something like the base model Remington 700 ($350 or so) in a common caliber like 30-06 or .308. It's far far easier to scope and use for long range than the Nagant. It will cost more to shoot too so keep that in mind.

If you want really cheap and fun shooting get a .22. Something like a Marlin model 60 or even a Ruger 10/22. You can shoot over 500 rounds for about $20.00.

[68ZooM]

7.62x54 i can get from 4.25 box of 15 or 6.00 for 20 rounds all the way up to 300.00 for 1200 rounds different prices from different makers, any gun, any caliber

[Golfer]

You're allowed to use the phrase "Ammoengine" Zoom.