Not modern but I have a M39 Finnish Mosin and that thing is a tack driver. It rivals the accuracy of my modern .308 and 270 bolt action rifles. That version of Mosin is pretty pricey though.
I don’t really know anything about Mosin rifles, but I’ve always heard them referred to as being garbage rods.
If you’re willing, would you mind being more specific?
Is yours an exception, or are all decent Finnish M39 Mosin rifles capable of that?
What kind of ammunition are you using?
Have you shot a five-shot grouping at 100 yards with it? If so, what did it measure? Did you use a scope?
I’m not trying to interrogate you, but I’ve always put the Mosin rifle and 7.62x54r out of my mind because I didn’t think they could be capable of precision, but now you have me hopeful.
And I know I could probably find it all on Google, but you’re here, I’m here, and I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
Finnish M39 models are regarded as the highest quality version of the Mosin made. It's the millions of Russian manufactured ones that greatly vary in quality, usually tending towards poor craftsmanship, tolerances, and wear from use.
The M39 Finnish was called the widowmaker for good reason. My son-in-law was teasing me for using an old rifle like that saying ," old gun for an old man ..." I shot the chains off his gong at 300 yards in response. The M39 made junior cry. I love that old war horse....just wish it had a better trigger.
nobody makes bolt action since the 1970s when finland build some for competitions.
russians make or made single shot rifle based on break open shotgun. it is called izh-18mn. they also have combination gun, izh-94, that is over/under with one 12 gauge barrel and one rifle barrel.
i think all the rest are semi auto.
I won’t be cheap but you can check gunbroker for 7.62x54 veprs. There really isn’t anything in the west chambered for that though. Best bet would be a bubbaed mosin for something “modern”.
Admittedly it's not worth it.
How much soft or hollow point ammo do you really go through in a year shooting it at game? Is it enough to offset the cost of a new rifle? If it's not (which is what I'd wager) then I'd stick to modern practical cartridges and just use it as free mosin fodder.
No its useless, send it to me for proper disposal….. joking , joking. May I suggest trying several things to improve the accuracy of your mosin? Snug up your stock fitment, you can shim it if you need to. It migjt not be plainly obvious if your stock components are loose, definitely check all the barrel bands and ensure all firmly locked in place with the spring locks engaged. If you have the original bayonet, fix bayonet then test accuracy. On my personal on it helped IMMENSELY with barrel harmonics. As in, my 5-6 inch groups at 100 Yards turned into the first 3 rounds in the group literally touching (on steel, it hits the plates hard enough on steel to measure groups cause its punching 1/4 inch deep divots). Hope that’s helpful. Or like someone else said, by a finnish mosin.
I think it's just carbon build up in the bore, the bedding is fine but while the bore looks fine looking through it and has very little wear, no matter how much I clean it the swatches all come out black. It wasnt a normal import, a family member who served in ww2 trained Soviet soldiers on American land lease small arms and the story all his great grandkids have been told is he saw an unattended duffle and swiped it on his way to the plane. I have the uniform that supposedly was in it minus the boots but, idk what throws it off so much. I would say it's me but no one I hand it to seems so be able to manage much betyer.
Fair enough, mine does about 2-2.5” groups at 100 but it has one of those repro PU setups on it which helps me a lot versus the iron sights. It was about 3-4” groups before I put cork under the fore end.
I have got 2 different Mosins I bought for $99 a piece several years back. After a good cleaning they both have bright barrels. I can keep 5 shots within 6 inches at 100 yards with both with Brown Bear 203 grain soft points. Kills deer dead every time.
They and my M44 carbine shoot acceptably with surplus Russian ammo too.
You might take a bullet with and look at other mosins. Mine is pretty accurate but two others bought the same day were not. This was back in the pallet days where you get the rifle and spam can for like 250 max.
I'd look into why your mosin is performing so poorly. Have you gone through all the accurizing tips? There are many that don't permanently alter the gun.
Otherwise, the reality is that there aren't any new guns made in 54r available in the US, so you're just looking at buying an older used gun, which is either another mosin or something expensive.
It's not really obsolete so much as there's already things in the West that do everything it does, so there's no demand for a new rifle chambered it. Someone in Eastern Europe would have no shortage of modern rifles chambered for it, since there's existing stock and an established market for it.
>Someone in Eastern Europe would have no shortage of modern rifles chambered for it
There really isn't. Even in Europe 7.62x54r isn't really used as a sporting round and I'm not aware of any modern sporting offerings.
I'm no expert on European gun markets but if talking hunting, a lot of the same calibers that are popular in the US. .308, .270, etc. There will be some more oddball (to us) popular ones like a lot of modern hunting rifles over there chambered in 6.5x55 which don't have as much appeal here. Then of course a lot of Mauser actions built into hunting rifles so 8mm Mauser is around. Then there are other calibers that you don't see much in the states like 7x64mm or unique cartridges you see in high end dangerous game double rifles.
I think people forget *a lot* of the sporting rifles (Sako, Tikka, CZ, Bergara, etc) and ammo (S&B, PPU, etc) available in the states are from Europe and even Eastern Europe. They have much of the same supply.
I was aware of the 6.5x55mm being popular, supposedly for moose hunting, and the only other round that I could think of would be 9.3x62mm.
Thank you, I appreciate the help.
Yep, and 6.5x55 is a nice rimless round that still makes a good platform for a rifle to be built around. x54r just isn't and that's why you don't see CZ or Sako or whoever making modern hunting bolt action rifles around it. But anyway, there probably are a bunch of articles with much more info out there if you google "popular European hunting cartridges." I know there are a bunch of interesting ones over there and with some countries having bans on "military" ammo they find replacements for .308 and .223 (.222 remington for example). And you're welcome.
I believe 7.62x54r really got popular cause of how plentiful it was along with everything else.
I saw one company was making reproduction Martini-Henry rifles and you could get one in 7.62x54r which sounded pretty fun to me.
Only issue was there are really no reviews for the rifle and the video on YT that they posted showed some poor fitting.
It just always seemed like it’d be a nice caliber to have on hand for inexpensive full-power plinking, so I’m not sure if I should try to find a nice M39 Finnish Mosin rifle or get a semi-automatic.
Yeah it was popular stateside because of the plentiful imports until the bans and surplus dried up. Same with 5.45x39 when it was 10 cents around, they even made ARs chambered in it because it was so cheap.
>It just always seemed like it’d be a nice caliber to have on hand for inexpensive full-power plinking
It *was* a really nice caliber for that about 7+ years ago. I remember when it was 25 cents a round or less. Ever since the surplus x54r dried up it stopped being that great imo. Steel case .308 is the same cost as new steel case x54r, and there isn't really a point to getting a gun in x54r nowadays for cheap plinking over a .308 unless you really just want a Mosin or Vepr or something. That said, I have a 91/30 Mosin and used to have a M39. I'd say get the M39 if you want a surplus rifle, x54r still is way cheaper than a lot of other oddball surplus calibers.
I saw someone talking earlier about their M39 rivaling their modern bolt-action IIRC in terms of precision.
They have responded to me yet, but was this the case for you as well? Are the Finnish M39s really that good?
They called theirs a “tack-driver”, and I’ve never heard about a Mosin being capable of that before without a lot of work that turns it into something completely different.
Exactly. The US is the primary market for pretty much all of the commercial firearms and ammo production worldwide. If it's not banned from import, it's coming here.
Post author: /u/Short-Requirement-96. This comment is an attempt to control posts made by a new type of spam bot. If you are a human, you can ignore it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/guns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not modern but I have a M39 Finnish Mosin and that thing is a tack driver. It rivals the accuracy of my modern .308 and 270 bolt action rifles. That version of Mosin is pretty pricey though.
I second this
I don’t really know anything about Mosin rifles, but I’ve always heard them referred to as being garbage rods. If you’re willing, would you mind being more specific? Is yours an exception, or are all decent Finnish M39 Mosin rifles capable of that? What kind of ammunition are you using? Have you shot a five-shot grouping at 100 yards with it? If so, what did it measure? Did you use a scope? I’m not trying to interrogate you, but I’ve always put the Mosin rifle and 7.62x54r out of my mind because I didn’t think they could be capable of precision, but now you have me hopeful. And I know I could probably find it all on Google, but you’re here, I’m here, and I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
Finnish M39 models are regarded as the highest quality version of the Mosin made. It's the millions of Russian manufactured ones that greatly vary in quality, usually tending towards poor craftsmanship, tolerances, and wear from use.
The M39 Finnish was called the widowmaker for good reason. My son-in-law was teasing me for using an old rifle like that saying ," old gun for an old man ..." I shot the chains off his gong at 300 yards in response. The M39 made junior cry. I love that old war horse....just wish it had a better trigger.
nobody makes bolt action since the 1970s when finland build some for competitions. russians make or made single shot rifle based on break open shotgun. it is called izh-18mn. they also have combination gun, izh-94, that is over/under with one 12 gauge barrel and one rifle barrel. i think all the rest are semi auto.
I won’t be cheap but you can check gunbroker for 7.62x54 veprs. There really isn’t anything in the west chambered for that though. Best bet would be a bubbaed mosin for something “modern”.
I’ve seen tc single shot barrels in 54r. Not sure what bore matches your ammo- 308? 310? 12?
.312
There aren't any
Get Romanian PSL. Or SVD Dragunov
or vepr.
Admittedly it's not worth it. How much soft or hollow point ammo do you really go through in a year shooting it at game? Is it enough to offset the cost of a new rifle? If it's not (which is what I'd wager) then I'd stick to modern practical cartridges and just use it as free mosin fodder.
No its useless, send it to me for proper disposal….. joking , joking. May I suggest trying several things to improve the accuracy of your mosin? Snug up your stock fitment, you can shim it if you need to. It migjt not be plainly obvious if your stock components are loose, definitely check all the barrel bands and ensure all firmly locked in place with the spring locks engaged. If you have the original bayonet, fix bayonet then test accuracy. On my personal on it helped IMMENSELY with barrel harmonics. As in, my 5-6 inch groups at 100 Yards turned into the first 3 rounds in the group literally touching (on steel, it hits the plates hard enough on steel to measure groups cause its punching 1/4 inch deep divots). Hope that’s helpful. Or like someone else said, by a finnish mosin.
> I have a mosin but it holds a solid 12in group at 100 yards There's no reason to believe your ammo isn't responsible for eight of those 12 inches.
Just run it through your mosin at the range for fun
That seems to be the consensus that I'm getting here
If your mosin groups so poorly play with the bedding perhaps?
I think it's just carbon build up in the bore, the bedding is fine but while the bore looks fine looking through it and has very little wear, no matter how much I clean it the swatches all come out black. It wasnt a normal import, a family member who served in ww2 trained Soviet soldiers on American land lease small arms and the story all his great grandkids have been told is he saw an unattended duffle and swiped it on his way to the plane. I have the uniform that supposedly was in it minus the boots but, idk what throws it off so much. I would say it's me but no one I hand it to seems so be able to manage much betyer.
Fair enough, mine does about 2-2.5” groups at 100 but it has one of those repro PU setups on it which helps me a lot versus the iron sights. It was about 3-4” groups before I put cork under the fore end.
Personally I reccomend getting a 54r Vepr or the Zastava M91. Both are really great rifles
I have got 2 different Mosins I bought for $99 a piece several years back. After a good cleaning they both have bright barrels. I can keep 5 shots within 6 inches at 100 yards with both with Brown Bear 203 grain soft points. Kills deer dead every time. They and my M44 carbine shoot acceptably with surplus Russian ammo too.
You might take a bullet with and look at other mosins. Mine is pretty accurate but two others bought the same day were not. This was back in the pallet days where you get the rifle and spam can for like 250 max.
I'd look into why your mosin is performing so poorly. Have you gone through all the accurizing tips? There are many that don't permanently alter the gun. Otherwise, the reality is that there aren't any new guns made in 54r available in the US, so you're just looking at buying an older used gun, which is either another mosin or something expensive.
I mean it’s far from a modern round. Rimmed cartridges aren’t the norm
My Mauser 1895 in 7x57mm has always done the job. Not as harsh to shoot as the K98s 8mm either
[удалено]
It's not really obsolete so much as there's already things in the West that do everything it does, so there's no demand for a new rifle chambered it. Someone in Eastern Europe would have no shortage of modern rifles chambered for it, since there's existing stock and an established market for it.
>Someone in Eastern Europe would have no shortage of modern rifles chambered for it There really isn't. Even in Europe 7.62x54r isn't really used as a sporting round and I'm not aware of any modern sporting offerings.
Do you know what calibers are popular in Europe, and more specifically Eastern Europe if not 7.62x54r? I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just curious.
I'm no expert on European gun markets but if talking hunting, a lot of the same calibers that are popular in the US. .308, .270, etc. There will be some more oddball (to us) popular ones like a lot of modern hunting rifles over there chambered in 6.5x55 which don't have as much appeal here. Then of course a lot of Mauser actions built into hunting rifles so 8mm Mauser is around. Then there are other calibers that you don't see much in the states like 7x64mm or unique cartridges you see in high end dangerous game double rifles. I think people forget *a lot* of the sporting rifles (Sako, Tikka, CZ, Bergara, etc) and ammo (S&B, PPU, etc) available in the states are from Europe and even Eastern Europe. They have much of the same supply.
I was aware of the 6.5x55mm being popular, supposedly for moose hunting, and the only other round that I could think of would be 9.3x62mm. Thank you, I appreciate the help.
Yep, and 6.5x55 is a nice rimless round that still makes a good platform for a rifle to be built around. x54r just isn't and that's why you don't see CZ or Sako or whoever making modern hunting bolt action rifles around it. But anyway, there probably are a bunch of articles with much more info out there if you google "popular European hunting cartridges." I know there are a bunch of interesting ones over there and with some countries having bans on "military" ammo they find replacements for .308 and .223 (.222 remington for example). And you're welcome.
I believe 7.62x54r really got popular cause of how plentiful it was along with everything else. I saw one company was making reproduction Martini-Henry rifles and you could get one in 7.62x54r which sounded pretty fun to me. Only issue was there are really no reviews for the rifle and the video on YT that they posted showed some poor fitting. It just always seemed like it’d be a nice caliber to have on hand for inexpensive full-power plinking, so I’m not sure if I should try to find a nice M39 Finnish Mosin rifle or get a semi-automatic.
Yeah it was popular stateside because of the plentiful imports until the bans and surplus dried up. Same with 5.45x39 when it was 10 cents around, they even made ARs chambered in it because it was so cheap. >It just always seemed like it’d be a nice caliber to have on hand for inexpensive full-power plinking It *was* a really nice caliber for that about 7+ years ago. I remember when it was 25 cents a round or less. Ever since the surplus x54r dried up it stopped being that great imo. Steel case .308 is the same cost as new steel case x54r, and there isn't really a point to getting a gun in x54r nowadays for cheap plinking over a .308 unless you really just want a Mosin or Vepr or something. That said, I have a 91/30 Mosin and used to have a M39. I'd say get the M39 if you want a surplus rifle, x54r still is way cheaper than a lot of other oddball surplus calibers.
I saw someone talking earlier about their M39 rivaling their modern bolt-action IIRC in terms of precision. They have responded to me yet, but was this the case for you as well? Are the Finnish M39s really that good? They called theirs a “tack-driver”, and I’ve never heard about a Mosin being capable of that before without a lot of work that turns it into something completely different.
Exactly. The US is the primary market for pretty much all of the commercial firearms and ammo production worldwide. If it's not banned from import, it's coming here.
[удалено]
Do you know what calibers are popular in Europe? I’m just curious, not disagreeing with you.
Post author: /u/Short-Requirement-96. This comment is an attempt to control posts made by a new type of spam bot. If you are a human, you can ignore it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/guns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Barrel liner or replacement barrel on your mosin?