Searching for the best Russian M91/30 Mosin Nagant Rifle

If there is one rifle that fits the bill in every area, the Mosin Nagant is it. The easy part is understanding the firearm's background. What has become somewhat difficult is finding the best rifle out of the current surplus. These classic rifles have been flying off shelves ever since they started importing them into the United States a couple years ago. Before you go out and purchase one, you should understand exactly what you are investing in.

The Mosin Nagant was developed by Captain Sergei Mosin and Leon Nagant for the Imperial Russian Army in 1882-1891, and mainly used by the armed forces of The Soviet Union. It is one of the most mass-
produced military bolt action rifles in history with over 37 million units produced since its inception in 1891, and much like the AK-47 it has shown up in various conflicts around the world, despite its age and obsolescence. The amount of units produced, has a direct affect on prices. You must also consider the fact that despite of the Mosin originally being manufactured in Russia, it was also manufactured by
many other countries including the U.S. When the Mosin first became available it was going for $100.00. The average Mosin can now be purchased at a price of $150.00, to almost $600.00 for a sniper version, or any of the hard to find models.
There are several different models, each holding their own value in the collector's market. Here is a list of the first production of Mosins. You can view the entire list which includes all the production models, years produced and amount produced on mosinnagant.net.

Model 1891 Infantry Rifle

Chatellerault (1892-1895) - 503,539
Tula (1892-1926) - 4,388,242
Izhevsk (1892-1926)  - 1,486,236
Sestroryetsk (1892-1918) - 621,000

                             You can identify any Mosin by it's markings. There should always be a stamp on the top of the receiver which includes a logo (shows where the firearm was manufactured), date (depicts year of production) and serial number. All Mosin models have some sort of identifying engravings, so make sure you understand what they mean. They can be your best help in identifying the more valuable rifles.

I myself am still looking for the last of the Tula models to surface. Classicfirearms.com just last week had a bulk of premium models, and within two days they were already sold out. I suggest that anytime they become available again you should make a purchase. The word has been going around that importation of these firearms are becoming limited. Very soon there won't be any more delivered to the United States, due to the conflict in Russia and the imposed sanctions. 2015 may be the last year to purchase one of these collectible items until further notice.

In searching for a Mosin online I suggest you first check out slickguns.com. They are absolutely a lifesaver in terms of saving time scouring the web. All you have to do is search for any firearm, and the site will display vendors who have them in stock.  They also give you the exact price from each online retailer, plus a chart that show price changes throughout the year.

Purchase ammo for your Mosin Nagant here at luckygunner!