Hello everyone, I have decided to talk about a great rifle that I had recently made to my collection a few months back, that rifle is the Mosin Nagant model 1891/30. This particular version of the Mosin Nagant was made during World War II, the one I own was made in 1943 and is still functional. The round that this rifle fires is the 7.62 x 54 Russian which is quite powerful and is comparable to other high powered rifles such as the 30-06, 8mm Mauser, and so on. Although this rifle was originally produced in 1891, it was used by many military forces around the world and gained some notoriety in World War II due to the fact that the Soviets used these rifles with great effect, particularly snipers. The North Koreans also used this rifle in the Korean War, the Vietnamese used this rifle in the Vietnam war, and even in the present day war in Iraq this rifle has found its place on the battlefield. A few months back in a firearms magazine, they featured an article in which there was a picture of a Mosin Nagant modified with a silencer made of PVC pipe and fitted with a scope that was captured in Iraq off of the body of a dead sniper.
For gun enthusiasts and target shooters, the Mosin Nagant is a great weapon of choice, it is cheap, reliable, and the ammunition is both plentiful and cheap. If you want to fit a scope on this rifle, you have plenty of options, although I would say that it might be best to purchase a new more modern stock for it. I have been told however, that many of these rifles that are on the market today were not designed to accept a scope and putting a scope on these rifles would not be recommended although some gunsmiths might be willing to do the work. If you want a cheap sniper rifle, your best bet may be to purchase a Mosin Nagant already fitted with an original scope which is about $500, however, with that kind of money it would probably be better to purchase a Dragunov-like rifle such as the PSL (which I have been told has nothing to do with the Dragunov despite similar features). For those who want a super cheap weapon, I got mine for $99, look no further, this is the rifle for you, and with ammo as cheap as 440 rounds for just over $84.00 (Look at JGsales.com), you cant beat it.