First gun purchase

[Serenity]

I don't use the Cleaning Rods that comes with any of my Milsurp. I use one of those Winchester cleaning kits (Brass Rod) or a boresnake.

Good to know! Are they something I can find at a local store? Or should I plan on hitting the internet?

[Jack16]

Good to know! Are they something I can find at a local store? Or should I plan on hitting the internet?

The Hoppes#9 Rifle Cleaning kit I mentioned comes with a 3-piece cleaning rod. The pieces attach together to make a 1 long rod.

[Coshy]

Couple things come to mind after reading the thread:

1: Do not use boiling water or windex to clean your gun. Its unnecessary and exposes the wood to moisture which could mar the finish and cause rust if you are not super careful about getting all the water out/off AND letting the wood dry before you reassemble it. Hoppes #9 (or similar) is all you need to clean the metal on your rifle, regardless of how many rounds of corrosive primed ammo you burn through. You linked an article on 7.62x54r.net, read it, and go back through the posts on their forums. Lots of good info there.

2: Cosmoline removal - don't dunk your rifle in hot water, for the same reasons stated above. There are other, less risky, methods for getting the cosmoline out of your rifle. Don't disassemble it and stick it in a low (150 degree) temp oven. It makes a mess, stinks up the house, and your wife/girlfriend/significant other will not be happy. Other than that it works pretty well if you have to de-cosmoline your rifle over cooler months. The best method I've heard/used is to put it in a sealed black garbage bag on a nice warm summer day. Don't expect, or even try to get all the cosmoline out in one session. I've had 6 sessions with my M44 and I STILL have cosmoline seeping out on summer range trips.

3: Do go to Wal-Mart, or your local gun shop and pick up a recoil pad. Using a recoil pad makes you no less of a man. Of course, I DO recommend shooting a few rounds without the recoil pad first, just so you remember why you bought the recoil pad.

4: Do not expect accuracy. Do not expect a "shot group". Expect a "pattern". If at 100 yards you can get a 5 shot group of 6 inches, be thankful. Try to do better, but remember in many cases you are shooting a gun that has had inexperienced conscripts maintaining your rifle and its barrel/rifling. If you luck into one of the ones that can pull off tight groups, your expectations will be met and exceed.

5: If your final decision is a Mosin-Nagant, see about getting an M44, the slightly higher price is more than made up from the enjoyment of the fireball at dusk/night.

[Tupac]

I agree with what Coshy said.

The fireball makes me squeal with joy

[Nefarious]

Couple things come to mind after reading the thread:

1: Do not use boiling water or windex to clean your gun. Its unnecessary and exposes the wood to moisture which could mar the finish and cause rust if you are not super careful about getting all the water out/off AND letting the wood dry before you reassemble it. Hoppes #9 (or similar) is all you need to clean the metal on your rifle, regardless of how many rounds of corrosive primed ammo you burn through. You linked an article on 7.62x54r.net, read it, and go back through the posts on their forums. Lots of good info there.

Do as you want... Here is what I do. I own three Mosins (91/30, M38 and a T-53) and I use Windex. I spray the Windex down both ends of barrel and that's it. I run a few Windex soaked patches and then I run Hoppes#9.
I make sure all my patches are clean and dry before storage. I also check all of my firearms once a month for rust and a general wipe down.

2: Cosmoline removal - don't dunk your rifle in hot water, for the same reasons stated above. There are other, less risky, methods for getting the cosmoline out of your rifle. Don't disassemble it and stick it in a low (150 degree) temp oven. It makes a mess, stinks up the house, and your wife/girlfriend/significant other will not be happy. Other than that it works pretty well if you have to de-cosmoline your rifle over cooler months. The best method I've heard/used is to put it in a sealed black garbage bag on a nice warm summer day. Don't expect, or even try to get all the cosmoline out in one session. I've had 6 sessions with my M44 and I STILL have cosmoline seeping out on summer range trips.

I agree here, the trash bag method does work the best. Although complete disassemble and soaking of ONLY metal parts in some kind of degreaser will remove COSMO from all metal. Once or while that is being done, put the stock in a garbage bag out in the sun on HOT day and you will be fine.

3: Do go to Wal-Mart, or your local gun shop and pick up a recoil pad. Using a recoil pad makes you no less of a man. Of course, I DO recommend shooting a few rounds without the recoil pad first, just so you remember why you bought the recoil pad.

Personal preference here 

4: Do not expect accuracy. Do not expect a "shot group". Expect a "pattern". If at 100 yards you can get a 5 shot group of 6 inches, be thankful. Try to do better, but remember in many cases you are shooting a gun that has had inexperienced conscripts maintaining your rifle and its barrel/rifling. If you luck into one of the ones that can pull off tight groups, your expectations will be met and exceed.

I agree here. Here's my tip... Buy a box of bullets and take one single bullet with you on your purchasing trip. Use the bullet as a barrel tester. ASK the seller if you can "test" the barrel, if he asks, tell him you are going to stick the projectile into the end of the barrel to get an idea of how it fits. While its not completely accurate, you can gauge which rifle should be more accurate by how much the barrel "swallows". As mentioned by Coshy these rifles were handled by conscripts and some of them may have been counter-bored or just plain Shot-out, like my M38 (From what I have heard most M38s are). If the bullet goes all the way to casing or behind, PASS. The more bullet it shows the better.

5: If your final decision is a Mosin-Nagant, see about getting an M44, the slightly higher price is more than made up from the enjoyment of the fireball at dusk/night.

Here is my M38 spittin' fire!





I would look at all the Mosin-Nagants they have and inspect each one. I will agree that I like the fireballs, but I also like the feel of the full size 91/30.

NEF...

PS... Great comments Coshy.

[Serenity]

ooh, Nef, you made my day. That comment on testing the barrels was EXACTLY the kind of info I need! (I do, of course, want to pick out the best!) I'm not sure I understand what you're saying though. Do I place the round, bullet first, into the business end of the rifle? Or do I place it into the chamber?

And is the 7.62x54r regularly available in gun stores? Or should I start buying boxes of it online. (I ask because while I would love to run to the store and check, I'm currently on holiday in California)

[Nefarious]

ooh, Nef, you made my day. That comment on testing the barrels was EXACTLY the kind of info I need! (I do, of course, want to pick out the best!) I'm not sure I understand what you're saying though. Do I place the round, bullet first, into the business end of the rifle? Or do I place it into the chamber?

The Business end like this... Sorry I just searched and grabbed them from the web. (Bullet Barrel Test, Mosin Barrel Test). The pictures seem to be all M44s.

Good



Bad



Worst (and it could be worse... My M38 goes all the way to the bottom of the neck)

And is the 7.62x54r regularly available in gun stores? Or should I start buying boxes of it online. (I ask because while I would love to run to the store and check, I'm currently on holiday in California)

In Gun Stores... Yes it should be.

[Serenity]

The Business end like this... Sorry I just searched and grabbed them from the web. (Bullet Barrel Test, Mosin Barrel Test). The pictures seem to be all M44s.

Good

(Image removed from quote.)

Bad

(Image removed from quote.)

Worst (and it could be worse... My M38 goes all the way to the bottom of the neck)

(Image removed from quote.)

In Gun Stores... Yes it should be.

For the purpose of this test, I have a deactivated 7.62x54r keychain (It claims to be a deactivated cartrige, might be a straight replica though.) I'm guessing that would work too? (Carrying around a loaded bullet might not end well, if someone gets jumpy). And so ideally the entire shell itself won't go into the business end?

[Nefarious]

I don't know... In a gun show or gun store, I don't think anyone would care keychain or a live bullet as long as you were polite and asked before trying.

But then again, I live in West Virginia. 

[Serenity]

I don't know... In a gun show or gun store, I don't think anyone would care keychain or a live bullet as long as you were polite and asked before trying.

But then again, I live in West Virginia. 

I'm in Texas, but it's Austin, the hippie side of Texas, so I'm not terribly sure... lol

[Becinhu]

The show Nef and I went to where I got my Mosin Nef just asked if he could borrow a round to test the barrel. They had no problem with it.

[Tupac]

I've got like a thousand of em Serenity.

Next time I see you I'll give you a couple

[Serenity]

I've got like a thousand of em Serenity.

Next time I see you I'll give you a couple

The third or fourth of january I'm thinking of taking a road trip to a couple stores in Austin and then Cabellas to make the purchase. You free?

[Tupac]

The third or fourth of january I'm thinking of taking a road trip to a couple stores in Austin and then Cabellas to make the purchase. You free?

Yup

[Nefarious]

Keep us updated! And post some pics...