Turd Polish

I was hanging out with Wally one evening and I was admiring his Finnish target Mosin. For those who have never seen one, picture a Mosin Nagant M91/30 with a custom target stock with adjustable butt-pad, target stock comb, and a heavy target forend. Add on a a very crisp trigger, and a very nice long-range target diopter sight.

Wally said “That’s about as much polish as you can throw on a turd!

Wally was wrong!

Man, on one hand I’m amazed by this rifle. Its a classic rifle done to commemorate an impressive weapon designer. On the other hand its so far from what the design was meant to be. A cheap rugged rifle you could put into the hands or a poorly trained army of conscripts and do a LOT of damage.

I think I’ll side with admiration if only because it got the Communist Mikhail Kalashnikov to sign his name to 100 pieces of American Decadence!

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11 Responses to Turd Polish

  1. Kristophr says:

    Ermmm, excuse me?

    No Finn Mosin-Nagant is a turd. The receivers are Russian, yes, but everything else has been replaced.

    Especially the barrels.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Oh I agree, but its still a very crude rifle.

      Just because the Finns made it doesn’t mean its now a high-end Sako.

      • Wally says:

        Two things to add.
        1) I sure did say that quote attributed to me.
        2) This is the most accurate rifle that I have ever shot, 5rd cloverleaf at 100y with the stock diopter sights.
        2.5) I am saving all the .311 180gr bullets that I pull from commercial ammo for a certain Weerdington Elizabeth….
        2.8) It brings intense levels of hipster-grade smug when you explain that yes, it really is 7.62x53R and no, you haven’t heard of that before 🙂

      • Kristophr says:

        Mine has apristine arsenal issued Sako barrel, and is still a pre-1897 antique.

        It will outshoot a modern Sako.

        The Mosin-Nagant action is probably the second most reliable action made for a rimmed rifle round, after the Lee-Enfield. It combined the Lee’s separate bolt-head, a dead simple magazine, and Mosin’s cartridge interrupter.

        It just works.

  2. Kristophr says:

    The next time you go shooting a Finn ( or even a Russian ) M-N, try using Norma or Winchester 7.62x54r.

    Russian ammo, even the spendy designated “Sniper” ammo, is notoriously inaccurate.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Only issue is that the Winchester and Norma 7.62x54R uses 0.311″ bullets. The Fins called their cambering for re-barreled rifles 7.62x53R and used a 0.308″ Bullet.

      IIRC Wally has been pulling all the 0.311″ ball from surplus ammo and re-seating a .308″ bullet.

  3. Wally says:

    not exactly true, M28/76s vary with .308 or .311 bores (1976ish)

    I did actually want the .308 bore for more handloading options. Really forced to roll my own, which is a bit of a drag-

    • Weerd Beard says:

      To be fair, for a rifle like that do you really want to be using factory loads? Especially given the ghetto quality for Ruskie and other com-bloc surplus?

    • Kristophr says:

      Those M28/76s were the last ones left in the armories. They did the same thing the Swiss did with their remaining K-31s … re-barreled them when they abandoned the old cartridge.

      Both the Swiss and the Finns went to .308 and .223. The few remaining Mosin Nagants went to 7.62x53R because they couldn’t make a .308 nato round feed in that rifle’s magazine.

      ( BTW, .308 nato K-31 Swiss target rifles are rare and sought after )

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