According to German author and respected Mosin Nagant rifle authority Karl-Heinz Wrobel, the Iszevsk arsenal produced 53,195 91/30 PU sniper rifles in 1942, and a total of 275,250 when manufacture ended in 1958, when 100 PU rifles were made. Like most mil-surplus rifles, they are a dime a dozen, so was the case in 2010-ish. You could buy a M91/30 Mosin Nagant for $99 from a crate. Fast forward to 2016, the market is starting to dry up on Mosin’s and the price is starting to drive up. Oct 26, 2007.

1. Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle Serial Numbers For Sale
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Mosin Nagant M44, Ishevsk Arsenal 1945

Data

Make: Mosin Nagant	Model:M44
Arsenal: Ishevsk	Serial #: 2373
Caliber: 7.62X54R	Date of Manufacturer: 1945
Action:	Capacity:
Barrel Length:	Overall Length:
Other Numbers:	Import Mark?: C.A.I., Georgia, UT
Weight:

Information

Close Up Views

Visible Numbers and Markings

History

Mosin-Nagant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mosin-Nagant (Russian: Винтовка Мосина) 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 (Russian: Трёхлинейная винтовка), it was the first to use the 7.62×54R cartridge. It was in service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s in many Eastern European nations, when it was finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the SVD (Russian: Снайперская винтовка Драгунова — 'Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova'). The Mosin-Nagant can still be found in use as a service rifle in many modern militaries and armed conflicts due to its ruggedness and vast supplies produced during World War II.
History
Initial design and service
During the Russo-Turkish War, Russian troops armed with mostly Berdan single-shot rifles engaged Turks with Winchester repeating rifles resulting in highly disproportionate casualties. This emphasised to commanders a need to modernize the Imperial army. 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 new designs.
Sergei Ivanovich Mosin, a young captain in the Imperial army, submitted his '3-line' calibre (.30 cal, 7.62 mm) rifle in 1889 alongside a 3.5-line design by Léon Nagant (a Belgian). 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.
Production began in 1892 at the ordnance factories of Tula Arsenal, Izhevsk Arsenal, and Sestroryetsk Arsenal. Due to the limited capacities of these facilities and the newly formed Franco-Russian Alliance, an order of 500,000 weapons was placed with the French arms factory, Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Châtellerault.
By the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, approximately 3.8 million rifles had been delivered to the army. Initial reaction by units equiped with the rifle were mixed, but this was likely due to poor maintenance by undertrained infantrymen used to Berdans.
Between adoption of the final design in 1891 and 1910, several variants (see Variants) and modifications to existing rifles were made.
World War I
With the start of 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. Some of these rifles were not delivered before the outbreak of the October Revolution and the subsequent signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which ended hostilities between the Central Powers and Russia. The rifles in Great Britain armed the US and British expeditionary forces sent to North Russia in 1918 and 1919. The rifles still in the US ended up being primarily used as training firearms for the US Army. Some were used to equip US National Guard, SATC and ROTC units. Designated 'U.S. Rifle, 7.62mm, Model of 1916', these are among the most obscure U.S. service arms. In 1917, 50,000 of these rifles were sent via Vladivostok to equip the Czechoslovak Legions in Siberia to aid in their attempt to secure passage to France.
Large 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 weapons were sold to Finland in the 1920s.
Civil War, modernization, and wars with Finland
During the Russian Civil War infantry and dragoon versions were still in production, though in dramatically reduced numbers. The rifle was widely used by Bolsheviks, their allies, and Whites. In 1924, following the victory of the Red Army, a committee was established 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.
Finland, a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until 1917, had long used the Mosin-Nagant in its military. It was used in the short civil war there and adopted as the service rifle of the new republic's military (see Variants). As a result, the rifle was used on both sides of the Winter War and the Continuation War during World War II.
In addition, the rifle was distributed as aid to anti-Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War.
World War II
When the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1941 the Mosin-Nagant was the standard issue weapon to Soviet troops. As a result, millions of the rifles were produced and used in World War II as the largest army in history mobilized.
The Mosin-Nagant was adapted as a sniper rifle in 1932 and was issued to Soviet snipers. It served quite prominently in the brutal urban battles on the Eastern Front, like the Battle of Stalingrad, which made heroes of snipers like Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev and Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The sniper rifles were very much respected for being very rugged, reliable, accurate, and easy to maintain.
By the end of the war, approximately 17.4 million M91/30 rifles had been produced.
Increased world-wide use
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. 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 in Europe. They were kept not only as reserve stockpiles, but front-line infantry weapons as well.
Virtually every country that received foreign military aid from the Soviet Union used Mosin-Nagants at various times. Middle Eastern countries under the sphere of Soviet influence—Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Palestinian guerilla factions—have received them in addition to other more modern arms. Mosin-Nagants have also seen action in the hands of the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union's occupation of the country during the 1970s and the 1980s. Its use in Afghanistan continued on well into the 1990s and the early 21st century by Northern Alliance forces.
Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union Mosin-Nagants are common on modern battlefields. They are being used by forces in the Iraq War and the current war in Afghanistan. They have also been used by Chechen rebels in Chechnya alongside other modern Russian firearms in the ongoing war there.
Variants
Russia/USSR

• Model 1891 Infantry Rifle (Russian: пехотная винтовка образца 1891-гo года) — the primary weapon of Russian and Red Army infantry from 1891 to 1930. Between 1891 and 1910 the following modifications were made to the design of the rifle:

  • Changed sights.

  • Inclusion of a reinforcing bolt through the finger groove (due to the adoption of a 147-grain pointed ('spitzer') round).

  • Elimination of the steel finger rest behind the trigger guard.

  • New barrel bands.

  • Installation of slot-type sling mounts to replace the more traditional swivels.

• Dragoon Rifle (Russian: драгунская) — intended for use by Dragoons (mounted infantry). 2.5 inches (64 mm) shorter and 0.9 pound (0.4 kg) lighter than the M1891.

• Cossack Rifle (Russian: казачья) — 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 until at least 1917 in small numbers.

• Model 1891/30 (Russian: винтовка образца 1891/30-го года, винтовка Мосина) – the most prolific version of Mosin-Nagant. It was produced for standard issue to all Soviet infantry from 1930 to 1945. It was commonly used as a sniper rifle in World War II. Early sniper versions had a 4x PE or PEM scope, a Soviet-made copy of a Zeiss design, while later rifles used smaller, simpler, and easier-to-produce 3.5x PU scopes. Because the scope was mounted above the chamber, the bolt handle was replaced with a longer, turned version on sniper rifles. Its design was based on the Dragoon rifle with the following modifications:
  Flat rear sights and restamping of sights in metres, instead of arshinii.
  A cylindrical receiver, replacing the octagonal (commonly called 'hex') one.
  A hooded post front sight, replacing the blade on previous weapons.
  Barrel was shortened 5 mm.

• 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.
  Finland

• M24

• M27

• M28

• M28/30

• M35

• M39

• M56

• M28/57

• M85
  Czechoslovakia

• VZ91/38 Carbine

• VZ54 Sniper Rifle — based on the M1891/30, although it has the appearance of a modern sporting firearm.
  China

• Type 53 — copy of Soviet M1944 carbine. Made with 'chu wood' stocks.
  Hungary

• M/52
  Romania

• M/44 carbine

Civilian use
With the fall of the Iron Curtain, a large quantity of Mosin-Nagant's have found their way onto markets outside of Russia as antiques, collectibles, and plinking and hunting rifles. Due to the large surplus created by the Soviet small arms industry during World War II, these rifles (mostly M1891/30 rifles and M1944 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; they are highly sought after by collectors, especially in the West. Forged or replica sniper rifles are often found for sale and care must be taken to avoid scams and mistakes.

Other web sites with information about the Mosin-Nagant

Mosin-Nagant.net

7.62x54R.net

Russian-Mosin-Nagant.Com

Modern Firearms

The Pre-1899 Antique Guns FAQ by James Wesley Rawles

Gunboards.com

Global Security page on the Mosin-Nagant

Korean War website - Mosin-Nagant M-1891/1930 sniper rifle

Korean War website - Mosin-Nagant M-1944 carbine

MOSINS.com

1944 Mosin-Nagant M91-30 Sniper Rifle
(Mfg by Izhvesk Arsenal)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)<--- Roza Shanina (1924-1945) (see note #5)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)

Observations:
Extracted from article by Bert Kortegaard
'During the Winter War of '39-'40 the Russians learned from the Finns through bitter experience, the value of snipers. Simo Häyhä, a farmer, is credited with the killing of over 500 Russian soldiers in fifteen weeks with his Model 1928 Mosin-Nagant rifle. As a result, the Russians began to place more emphasis on their sniper training program.
Production of the 1891/30 sniper rifles began in 1937 and ended in 1963, when the 1891/30 sniper rifle was replaced by the Dragunov sniper rifle. Sniper rifles were chosen for accuracy from the production lines, had the bolt turned down and were fitted with a telescopic sights. Apart from these differences, they were the standard 1891/30 rifle. Two types of scopes were used, the earlier 4 power P.E. scope and the compact 3.5 power P.U. scope. The best of the Russian snipers preferred the 1891/30 to the SVT40, which was also issued in a sniper model, because they were more reliable and the action made practically no noise.'
Collector's Comments and Feedback:
1.'Question: Is this an authentic Russian m91/30 PU sniper?'
Originally posted by Vic Thomas on Gunboards 03/15/2006 09:14:06 AM
Yes you have an authentic MN m91/30 PU sniper. It appears to be an original piece that has escaped most refurbes. The gun looks to be very nice and has a pretty rare leather sling. The scope appears to have been replaced at one time due to the rifles serial number being different on the mount facing. The mount is an Izhvesk made mount though. All in all I would say its a very nice wartime example of a PU.
Michigan Historical Collectables
Owner-operator Gunboards.com
Mosin Nagant.net'
2. With the amount of put-togethers and fakes floating around, collecting Mosin snipers can be a challenging experience. For the uneducated, there's a great introductory article by Vic Thomas titled Spotting A Fake Sniper' (click here) .............. (Feedback by 'Badger')
3. Extracted from the 91/30 Sniper Page by Vic Thomas (click here). 'Due to the secretive nature of the Soviets during the Cold War era, the subsequent manufacture, and re-manufacture of the weapons by numerous satellite states, and the chaotic state of the former USSR since the Iron Curtain finally came down, definitive manufacturing figures for 91/30 PU sniper rifles are hard to come by. According to German author and respected Mosin Nagant rifle authority Karl-Heinz Wrobel, the Iszevsk arsenal produced 53,195 91/30 PU sniper rifles in 1942, and a total of 275,250 when manufacture ended in 1958, when 100 PU rifles were made. A small batch of 50 was apparently manufactured in 1948, and one 1947 example is known to exist, which is in Wrobel’s collection. Numbers made at Tula, which only manufactured PU rifles in 1943 and 1944, are not known, although rifles from this arsenal are without a doubt much rarer than Iszevsk examples. Hungary only apparently manufactured 91/30 rifles from 1951-54, and the author has only encountered M/52 sniper variants dated from 1952 onwards, with the highest serial number recorded being 7700, which could be a reliable indicator of the number of the weapons produced.' .............. (Feedback by 'Badger')
4.Simo Häyhä had 542 confirmed kills with a mosin, usually an M28 or captured M38. He's also credited with approximately 200 more kills using a Suomi submachine gun. .............. (Feedback by 'Claven2')
5. The female Russian sniper pictured in this MKL entry is Roza Yegorovna Shanina (1924-1945)
Place of birth: Yedma, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian SFSR
Place of death: East Prussia
Allegiance: Red Army
Years of service: 1943–1945
Rank: Senior Sergeant
Unit: 3rd Belorussian Front
Battles/wars: Eastern Front of World War II
Awards: Orders of Glory 3rd and 2nd class [1], Medal for Valor [2]
Roza Yegorovna Shanina (Russian: Роза Егоровна Шанина, 1924 – January 28, 1945) was a Soviet sniper during World War II. She was responsible for 54 confirmed kills, including 12 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Vilnius.[3] [4]
Shanina had light brown hair and blue eyes.[5] After attending Arkhangelsk Teacher's Training College, she became a mentor in the kindergarten. Then she voluntarily joined the Vsevobuch and later the Central Female Sniper Academy in Podolsk. On June 22, 1943 Shanina enlisted in the Red Army and on April 2, 1944 joined the 184th Rifle Division, where a separate female sniper platoon was formed. Once, upon receiving a battalion commander's order to immediately return to the rear, Shanina replied 'I will return after the battle'.[6] The words later became a title of the book From The Battle Returned by Nikolai Zhuravlyov. Shanina died in a battle near the khutor of Rikhau. Her battle diary and several letters have been published. Streets in Arkhangelsk and in the settlements of Shangaly and Stroyevskoye were named after her.
Shanina had four brothers, but only one survived the war.
Notes and references:
1. Awarded on June 18 and September 22, 1944 respectively.
2. Awarded on December 27, 1944.
3. SniperCentral.com
4. Russian: Овсянкин, Е. И. История АПК.
5. A-Z.ru.
6. (Russian) Молчанов, П., Журавлёв, Н. Подснежники на минном поле
Further reading
(Russian) Журавлëв, Н. После боя вернулась… (За честь и славу Родины). М., Досааф. 1985
For more information .. Rare Historical Photographs (click here)

Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle Serial Numbers For Sale

.............. (Feedback by 'Unsub') extracted from Roza Shanina
6. Ernest 'mag30th' kindly gave us permission to show his range videos in 'The Screening Room'. One of them shows him engaging an 18' steel plate at 1000 yards with his 1942 91/30 Mosin Nagant sniper rifle. Some very nice shooting with a very old milsurp. .............. (Feedback by 'Badger')

Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle Sale