History
Because of
experiences during the Russo-Turkish War, in which Russian troops armed
with mostly Berdan single-shot rifles engaged Turks with Winchester repeating rifles, the Russian Main
Artillery Administration undertook the task of producing a magazine-fed,
multiround weapon in 1882. After failing to adequately modify the Berdan
system to meet the requirements, a "Special Commission for the testing
of Magazine[-fed] Rifles" was formed to test various new designs (such
as the Mauser, Lee-Metford, and Lebel). A young captain named Sergei
Ivanovich Mosin submitted his "3-line" calibre rifle, an archaic Russian
measure (3 linii equals 0.30 inches or 7.62 mm), in 1889 alongside L��?on
Nagant's, a Belgian 3.5-line design. When trials concluded in 1891 all
units to test the rifles indicated a preference for Nagant's design and
the Commission voted 14 to 10 to approve it. However more influential
officers pushed for the domestic design resulting in a compromise:
Mosin's rifle was used with a Nagant-designed feed mechanism. Thus the
3-line rifle, Model 1891 (its official designation at the time) came
into being. Given its length and spike bayonet, the Mosin-Nagant has a
musket-like appearance.
Production began in
1892 at the ordnance factories of Tula Arsenal, Izhevsk Arsenal, and
Sestroryetsk Arsenal. Due to the limited capacities of these facilities,
an order of 500,000 weapons was placed with the French arms company,
Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Ch?tellerault. By the time of the
Russo-Japanese War in 1904, approximately 3,800,000 rifles had been
delivered to the army.
Between adoption in
1891 and 1910, several variants (see Variations produced in the Soviet
Union) and modifications to existing rifles were made, including changed
sights, the inclusion of a reinforcing bolt through the finger groove
(due to the adoption of a 147-grain pointed (spitzer) round), the
elimination of the steel finger rest behind the trigger guard, new
barrel bands, and the installation of slot-type sling mounts to replace
the more traditional swivels. A handguard was also added.
With Russia's
entrance into World War I, production was restricted to the M1891
dragoon and infantry models for the sake of simplicity. Due to the
desperate shortage of arms and the shortcomings of a still-developing
domestic industry, the Russian government ordered 1.5 million M1891
infantry rifles from Remington Arms and another 1.8 million from New
England Westinghouse in the United States.
Massive numbers of Mosin-Nagants were captured by German and
Austro-Hungarian forces and saw service with both militaries'
rear-echelon forces and the German navy. Many of these Austrian weapons
were sold to Finland in the 1920s.
During the Russian
Civil War, both the infantry and dragoon versions were in production,
though in dramatically reduced numbers. Following the victory of the Red
Army, a committee was established in 1924 to modernize the rifle that
had by then been in service for over three decades. This effort led to
the development of the Model 1891/1930 rifle based on the design of the
original dragoon version. Changes included the reintroduction of flat
rear sights and restamping of sights in metres, instead of the
antiquated arshinii on tsarist weapons; a cylindrical receiver replacing
the octagonal (or "hex" as some call it) one around 1936-37; changing
the blade front sight to a hooded post around 1932-33; and shortening
the barrel 5 mm. Also, a new bayonet with a spring-loaded catch was
designed for it. By 1945, approximately 17,475,000 M91/30 rifles had
been produced.
The Mosin-Nagant
was adapted as a sniper rifle in 1932 and was issued to Soviet snipers
during World War II (WWII). Early Mosin-Nagant Model 1891/1930 sniper
rifles had a 4x PE or PEM scope, a Soviet-made copy of a Zeiss design.
They were replaced by the smaller, simpler, and easier-to-produce 3.5x
PU scope. It served quite prominently in the Battle of Stalingrad, which
made heroes of men like Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev. The Mosin Nagant
rifle was also used by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, another famous Soviet
sniper that fought during World War II. The sniper rifles were very much
respected then and now for being very rugged, reliable, accurate, and
easy to maintain. Sniper-modified models are highly sought after and
valued by collectors, especially in the West.
In the years after
World War II, the Soviet Union ceased
production of all Mosin-Nagants and withdrew them from service in favour
of the SKS series carbines and eventually the AK series rifles. Despite
its growing obsolescence, the Mosin-Nagant saw continued service
throughout the Eastern bloc and the rest of the world for many decades
to come (see Foreign Mosin-Nagants). Mosin-Nagant rifles and carbines
saw service on many fronts of the Cold War, from
Korea and
Vietnam to Afghanistan and
along the Iron Curtain of Europe. They were used not only as reserve
infantry weapons, but also as front-line infantry weapons as well.
Recently, a large
quantity of Mosin-Nagants have found their way onto markets outside of
Russia as antiques and collectibles, and also as a dependable,
reasonably accurate, and cheap plinking and hunting rifle. Due to the
large surplus created by the Soviet small arms industry during World War
II, these rifles (mostly M91/30 rifles and M44 carbines) can be acquired
today for as little as $75 for a standard model. Sniper models are much
more expensive, when they can be found. So-called "fake" sniper rifles
which are either forgeries or replicas, are often found for sale as
actual Mosin-Nagants, and care must be taken to avoid scams and
mistakes.
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The Mosin-Nagant is a bolt-action,
five-round, magazine fed, military rifle that was used by the
armed forces of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union and
various Eastern bloc nations. Also known as the Three-Line
Rifle, it was the first to use the 7.62x54R cartridge. It was in
service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s, when it was
finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the
SVD
Type Service rifle
Place of origin Russian Empire/USSR
Service history
In service 1891-1998
Used by Russian Empire/USSR,
Finland, People's Republic of
China, most Warsaw Pact
nations.
Wars Russo-Japanese War, Russian Civil War, World War I, World
War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Soviet war in Afghanistan,
numerous others
Production history
Designer Captain Sergei Mosin, Leon Nagant
Designed 1891
Produced 1891-1965
Number built approx 37,000,000 (Russia/Soviet Union)
Variants M91 Dragoon
M1907 Carbine
M24(Finland)
M27(Finland)
M28(Finland)
M28/30(Finland)
M91/30
M91/30 PEM Sniper Rifle
M91/30 PE Sniper Rifle
M91/30 PU Sniper Rifle
M35(Finland)
M38 Carbine
M39(Finland)
M44 Carbine
T53(China)
VZ54 Sniper Rifle(Czechoslovakia)
M56(Finland)
M28/57(Finland)
M85(Finland)
M/52 (Hungary)
Specifications
Weight 4.05 kg (9.62lbs), unloaded
Length 131.8cm (51.37 in)
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Cartridge 7.62x54R
Calibre 7.62x54R
Action Bolt-action
Rate of fire 15 rounds/minute
Muzzle velocity Light Ball, ~2800 fps (853 mps) rifle, ~2650
fps(808 mps) carbine.
Effective range 600yds (548.64m)
Maximum range 2000yds (1828.8m)
Feed system five-round magazine, loaded with five-round charger
clips
Sights Sliding ramp rear sights, fixed-post front sights.
Click here to see cleaning instruction.
Click here to Buy Mosin Nagant Cleaning Kit
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Variations produced in Russia and the Soviet Union
Model 1891
Infantry Rifle ?? the primary weapon of Russian and Red
Army infantry from 1891 to 1930.
Dragoon
Rifle ?? intended for use by mounted infantry. 2.5 inches
(64 mm) shorter and 0.9 pound (0.4 kg) lighter than the M1891.
Cossack
Rifle ?? introduced for Cossack horsemen, it is almost identical
to the Dragoon rifle but is sighted for use without a bayonet.
Model 1907
Carbine ?? at 11.37 inches (289 mm) shorter and 2.1 pounds (0.95
kg) lighter than the M1891, this model was excellent for
cavalry, engineers, signalers, and artillerymen. It was stocked
nearly to the front sight and therefore did not take a bayonet.
It was produced at least until 1917 in small numbers.
Model
1891/30 ��C the most prolific version of Mosin-Nagant. It
was produced for standard issue to all Soviet infantry from 1930
to 1945. Its design was based on the Dragoon rifle.
Model 1938
Carbine ?? a rifle based on the M1891/30 design that was in
service from 1938-1945, though examples produced in 1945 are
quite rare. Essentially a M1891/30 with a shortened barrel and
shortened stock, this carbine did not accept a bayonet.
Model 1944
Carbine ?? this carbine was introduced into service in late 1943
and remained in production until 1948. Its specifications are
very similar to the M1938, with the major exception of having a
permanently affixed, folding quadrangular-bladed bayonet. These
were in use not only by the USSR, but also
its various satellite nations.
Model
1891/59 Carbine ?? existing M1891/30 rifles that were cut down to
carbine length. Little is known about them. Some collectors are
generally suspicious of this so called "91/59", and feel it may
have been produced for commercial sale by arms importers in the
United States
and Canada[citation
needed]. There is growing evidence that the 91/59 carbine was
made in the Soviet Union for reserve military forces and for militia
forces during the 1950s.
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