Finnish Mosin Nagant M28/30 value?

[RocknRolla`]

Hi all. My grandfather had this in his safe for a long time and I inherited some years back. Its been sitting in the safe and it wasn't until recently that i realized what it is. Per 7.62x54r.net its a M28/30. I'm curios on the value of this. I've googled it but not much has popped up. I guess these are not as common as the m39. All I have are a few camera phone pics. The bore is not counter bored and the rifling is strong. Could use a cleaning but thats about it. The stock is solid with no repairs and the trigger pull is very nice. An thoughts on the value would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56161664@N07/7040786019/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56161664@N07/7040785235/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56161664@N07/7040784257/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56161664@N07/7040781827/

[Cessnapilot89]

I think I am in love with it

[mosinnagantm9130]

At least $350. I'd ballpark it at $350-$450.

[Flyin Brian]

I agree with MN9130, Minimum would be $350 but could be more to someone who really was looking for that year. There are a few bonuses on your rifle. First of all it has the Civil Guard cartouche and "38" on the buttstock, so that is the correct stock. The second bonus is the HV stamp on the side of the magazine, which denotes the Finnish "Jamb Free" modification. Does the bolt number match?

If it has a number stamped on the right side of the barrel shank along the wood line, beginning with an "S" you can look up on a chart to see which district it was issues to. Sometimes they only have the "S" and no number.

Another thing to check is the buttplate, there should be a 2 digit "73" stamped in the middle of the buttplate surface. That would confirm it is the original plate and stock.

I would bet the receiver is an american made, since there is no imperial crest or Russian acceptance stamp on top. If you do pull the action out of the stock be careful to not strip the band screws, the threads are delicate.

If you want to sell it, let me know

EDIT: I would NOT recommend shooting russian surplus out of this rifle. 28-30s are very desirable to reloaders because they usually have a .308 bore, while most Russian Mosins will have a .311 bore. Surplus is usually .311 and although you probably won't blow anything up but you could experience excessive chamber pressure and accelerated bore wear.

[Fate]

I'll second Brian's warning about shooting surplus or even commercial 7.62x54r thru it. Unless it has a D on the barrel shank, you'll want to reload for it.

5-7 years ago these were north of $550. Today, I'd probably think $450 would be minimum for such a nice example. Prices crashed in the past couple years, but they're climbing again from what I've seen.

[Warrior King]

Those Civil Guard rifles along with the Finn capture 91/30's were the real Ivan killers during the wars not the M39.

[RocknRolla`]

Awesome info!

Thanks for the reply guys. I'm not planning on selling it yet but its good to know what it's worth. Unfortunately I don't reload so this will stay a safe queen for a while longer. And in response to some of the earlier questions the bolt and the butt plate are both stamped and matching. For now i'll just stick to shooting my Izhevsk m44 and 1925 hex Tula