buying an "unfired" mosin what to look for.

[lost.in.cali.]

I already have a mosin. Loking to get another one off a fellow calguner. He said he hasnt fired the mosin what should i look for,whats an easy realable way to test/ verifie that it will shoot when i take it out. Thanks for any advice

[Lucky Scott]

They are kind of simple, I would just cock it and see if you hear it fire on an empty chamber. Not much to go wrong with them, and if there is an issue they are simple to fix.

[0321jarhead]

Clean it inside and out if the previous owner has never fired it. Especially the bolt. Cosmoline is the enemy if you are to fire it. Also be sure that the chamber is thoroughly clean. Your bolt will and can be difficult to cycle when firing. So, basically tear it all down. Learn about your rifle as much as you can. They are fun shooters.

[Vacaville]

Clean it inside and out if the previous owner has never fired it. Especially the bolt. Cosmoline is the enemy if you are to fire it. Also be sure that the chamber is thoroughly clean. Your bolt will and can be difficult to cycle when firing. So, basically tear it all down. Learn about your rifle as much as you can. They are fun shooters.

This is exactly what I do whenever I get a used rifle. You won't find many guns that are simpler to tear apart than a Mosin.

[Capybara]

Please read this, parts 1 and 2 http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...n-nagant-9130/

[6mmintl]

A good cleaning of bolt/bore/chamber and overall cosmoline is the first step before you even pull the trigger.

If you buying a collectable rare one of 64 million rifle then the markings and general external conditions are your main concerns.

If you want a shooter then barrel muzzle condition and throat/bore condition is "EVERYTHING".

Muzzle:
1. Look to see that the crown is even with no dings or burrs on edges where muzzle and rifling intersect.
2. Look to see if muzzle is cone shaped/worn from rod/cleaning wear, top of lands should not be even with bottom of grooves. If cone is short/shallow then minor/shallow counter bore can restore accuracy.
3. If counterbored already then its well worn.

Throat:
1. Remove bolt and clean bore, look into area if front of chamber, if rifling (lands/grooves) look sharp edged chamber is good (rare).
2. If chamber shows rounded lands (top edges) then throat is worn. How much is worn is a guess visually and you have to look at a lot of mosin throats to assess what is normal and what is really worn/worn out.
3. If you have a OAL bullet/chamber guage and a bullet you intend to shoot (174 SMK preferred) then measuring the OAL will indicate throat wear. Of cource you have to have an idea of what constitutes minor/major wear, if a 174 SMK wont touch the rifling then walk away quickly.
4. After a good cleaning with copper bore solvent wipe dry and look at bore from chamber end and muzzle end, look for shine first, pretty rare in a mosin but possibly you have a gem if it does, if dull/frosted its typical mosin, now look for darkness in the grooves along with pitting, if very dark there is a good possibily that accuracy will be marginal and bore will foul up with copper requiring lots of cleaning between firings. walk away.

These are general rules, you have to look at a lot of rifle bores and understand the type of rifling to understand wear caracteristics of individual rifles, after you have done it enough you will get a good feeling for what you can look for and the ammo (surplus/handloads) you want to shoot and the level of accuracy you want to attain.