What’s the fuss all about with Comm block C&R (Mosins & SKSs) these days?

[pro-nra]

[WTSGDYBBR]

Ton of people collect SKS's from country to country just like aks.

[af240z]

$0.18 per round vs $1.20 per round with gp11 ammo, and unlike Swiss guns, they may have seen combat?

[BrokerB]

For me its common ammo ..7.62xcommie
Then even cheaper main battle rifle rounds x54r

Stack it cheap and deeeeeep

I dont reload . I already have too many hobbies and not enough time . I shoot on private land that i have dozens of steel plates hanging up . I dont care about steel core or fmj rounds .

I shoot often and shoot a lot . I keep readable brass for future as you never know .


Im not venturing into what i consider oddball /limited / expensive ammo . I want a garand but i doubt ill ever own one now as it doesnt fit my ammo profile . There is no more surplus 3006 ever coming back
7.62nato and 7.62-54r is the largest i will go no.w

Sad as i would shoot at sac valley vintage more then once if i could use fmj rounds

[pro-nra]

For me its common ammo ..7.62xcommie
Then even cheaper main battle rifle rounds x54r

Stack it cheap and deeeeeep

I dont reload . I already have too many hobbies and not enough time . I shoot on private land that i have dozens of steel plates hanging up . I dont care about steel core or fmj rounds .

I shoot often and shoot a lot . I keep readable brass for future as you never know .


Im not venturing into what i consider oddball /limited / expensive ammo . I want a garand but i doubt ill ever own one now as it doesnt fit my ammo profile . There is no more surplus 3006 ever coming back
7.62nato and 7.62-54r is the largest i will go no.w

Sad as i would shoot at sac valley vintage more then once if i could use fmj rounds

So this is basically all about ammo? M2 ball are still out there. The CMP was sitting on 50+ million rounds and probably still have about half of that left.

I reaload as I can make more accurate ammo using match component than surplus rounds. However, for contingency, I am sitting on about 20K rounds of USGI (LC, TW and SL) M2 ball just in case SHF scenario.

Althoug you can not shoot silhouette with FMJ, you can shoot the long range match at Sac Valley. We just had one a week ago. Did not see any Mosin or SKS in the firing line.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I see Mosins and SKSs thread popping up all the time in the C&R section. Members are raving about these rifles. Call me ignorant but I’m just trying to understand what the fuss is all about.

Although some of these rifles have colorful history, I’m sorry to say that most of these rifles are crudely made (except for the Finns) and not an eye candy either. Comparing a Mosin to say a Swiss or Swedish rifles of the era, it’s like comparing a cheap Chinese made bicycle to a finely tuned Honda super bike.

I mainly collect US WWI & II rifles (1917, 1903, 03-A3 & M1) and a few Swiss and Swedish rifles in the mix.

Please someone school me on the Mosin and SKS craze.

If I had a Swiss rifle I would trade it for an SKS.

Although I do prefer Swiss coffee and Swiss cheese to the Chinese variants.

[mosinnagantm9130]

Both of those rifles are well made...although wartime M/Ns might not look it. The wartime 91/30s usually look crappy because thats what happens when you need one factory to produce 2.5 million rifles in a year, and with the Germans attacking you...

Still, the pre and post war M/Ns are on par with other rifles quality-wise. A new post war M44 is easily on par with other milsurps of the era quality wise.

As for the SKS, they are all well made, with the Soviet SKS being arguably the best of the bunch in terms of overall quality.

Why all the fuss? Some of them can be had for cheap, as can the ammo.

[mosinnagantm9130]

To add:

Neither the SKS or the 91/30 was intended to be a match rifle. 91/30s most likely will not shoot like one if they aren't properly bedded (most refurbs aren't), lack decent triggers, have ammo that shoots well in them, and has a shooter that knows the platform.

As for Finnish M/Ns, give them good ammo and a competent shooter and they do fine. I've outshot modern commercial rifles with my Finn 28/30. (which I don't do often, but that is my fault, not the rifle)

[Rekrab]

Additionally, these are fine rifles. Reliable and tough. They've gone to hell and back and still work just fine for a soldier's rifle.

[Josh Smith]

Overbuilt, idiot-resistant, very tunable (where do you think the Finns got their Mosins?)

The SKS was originally chambered for the 7.62x54R cartridge (SKS-41) with the production carbines being chambered for the much less-powerful 7.62x39.

To stretch a Mosin's receiver far enough to keep it from firing, you have to load a compressed Bullseye load. This was an actual experiment done by a gunsmithing school!

Given this, and the fact that US rifles, ones we might otherwise own, are simply insanely overpriced used guns, the Russian stuff starts looking very good.

I really want a Garand. I will not pay $800 to $1000 for one in the condition I'd like it in. No, I don't care what it looks like, but the bore must be good and it must shoot 2" at 100 yards.

Given that my $90 Mosin did this out-of-the-box and now does sub-MOA groups with handloads, a piece of friggin' cork gasket under the barrel, and a few shims under the receiver, hell man, give me the Mosin.

The Garand, as awesome as it is, is underbuilt. Remember, it was chambered originally for a .243 class cartridge, the .276 Pedersen. This is why it's limited to lighter .30-06 loads and has a strange mag capacity! The prototype held 10 and was built to the standards of a lesser round than the .30-06.

Heavy loads give bent parts.

Now, the Garand was awesome and as I said, I love that rifle. But it's still overpriced for a rifle I'm going to use and abuse.

Same for the 1903. It's a very nice rifle, probably the best Mauser variant on the planet. Prices are insane, though, due to collectors, and I'll not have one to carry around, especially since my Mosin will outshoot it!

You're more than welcome to participate here:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=605451

Heck, I still need to get some official targets up. I'll outshoot you with irons, I promise...

Anything further than 100 yards and I'll have to buy range time, but I'll shoot out to however far you'd like.

If you want to talk best weapons fielded by militaries, the Gewehr 88 would certainly be up there. I have one and it's a fine weapon. It's just not given to easy cleaning under the barrel's jacket, and the barrels often rusted through.

The Gewehr 98 was a compromise.

Josh

[Vlad 11]

If this was 1958 every other thread would be showing off a new $80 Garand or a $40 Springfield 1903 that someone just got at Ye Old Hunter. Maybe a $10 Arisaka out of a barrel at Five and Dime.

If it was 1988 it would be Enfield after Enfield and heads up on cheap crates of .303 surplus ammo. Maybe a $150 M1 carbine or two

If it was 1993 we would have a bunch of $200 Tokarev SVT-40s to gawk at.

2002? We would have our threads on the Big 5 sale of K31's for $80

Its 2012. Mosins are whats plentiful and cheap. Every average Joe can afford one.

More people have them, more people talk about them, that simple



( the T56 SKS bonanza was kind of an aberration where we were fortunate to feast on a small batch of low priced rifles. A blip on the radar not likely to be repeated)

[IronColt]

it comes down to the prices. If Garands were selling at 300-400 range now days, CMP would be out of stock by now.

[NOTABIKER]

i see a beauty in a MN others do not see i guess. to find a 1928 TULA in very nice condition for 120 bucks , this is amazing to me. serious collectors cloud what is good and not good. i have bought quite a few mosins in the last year. i really have not wanted a FINN. we are splitting hairs about best shooters etc.
and SKSs are just plain fun to own and shoot. i just bought a 29 year old springfield M1A . it cost me a lot of money. my mosins and SKS are just as important to me. for every collector clamoring for a FINN their is 50 guys here that bought a regular MN . they shoot it and have a lot of fun.
a MN is a very well made ,simple war rifle. if you tried to make a new one today it would cost a lot to make.
do you want to impress yourself or others. if you want to impress others you better have deep pockets.
i bought a Mauser because people say how nice they are. it is a nice rifle , well made. i have a romanian MN M 44 that cost me almost the same as my Mauser. if one rifle has to go the Mauser is history.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Some friends and I took a desert trip earlier this year. I brought Mosins and SKS's and lots of steel case ammo. One of our friends brought a newly purchased M1 Garand and a whole can of ammo for it.

The Garand had some sort of mechanical issue and did not fire a single round. I shot my Mosin and SKS's until my hands were black and my shoulder was purple.

This is not to disparage millions of happy Garand owners or GI's who loved it, but it just reinforced my personal preference for Boris and his idiot proof boomsticks.

[sixoclockhold]

Me, I'm going to have to side with cheap, reliability, ease of use, they shoot pretty dang straight too. How cheap? Well the pic of my family says it all K-Mart shoppers, under $1500 for everything including a $130 scope and leather sling. I think I'm missing a $300 SKS and I'm done.

One is an antique, an ex-dragoon with a tula receiver 1897, barrel 1926.

I can have just as much fun as the next guy while also arming my real family.

There is nothing like a good deal