Quote Originally Posted by 30Three View Post
Secondly the bolt! I'm sorry but that really is clunky and slow.
Again some are better than others, especially because the cock-on-open effort is dependent largely of firing pin spring pressure and internal bearing surfaces fit and finish. Even a bad one can be easily smoothed up, however, even the best MN bolt is not as fast as a rack grade Lee Enfield.

I have mine polished up in a manner that it will run very fast, but if trying to keep the weapon in the shoulder during cycling, the stiffness of the action and short bolt handle slows delivery down to nearly as slow as a Martini-Henry.

Given the circumstances, if it weren't for the rapid production guns such as the MN and the PPSH, the Soviets would probably been down to fighting with stones and pitchforks before long.