Mosin Nagant at 300 yards

[30Three]

I had the opportunity to test a friends Mosin Nagant a couple of weeks ago. I rarely shoot anything other than my Enfields; it was an interesting experience. The rifle is reasonably accurate, but the trigger pull was awful; not heavy, just vague with no obvious point of release (for me anyway). My friend has obviously got used to it. I'm sure it could be improved. Secondly the bolt! I'm sorry but that really is clunky and slow. I know it's probably the rifle that contributed most in shortening WWII; but if the Russians had used Enfields, it would have been over quicker

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[Sentryduty]

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.