please help this ignorant mother!!!

my ignorance on weaponry is only exceded by my sons enthusiasm for guns. he is hellbent on getting a mosin nagant m91/30. i made him ask our gun guy for his professional opinion on it. he stated that they are not consistent in terms of safety, however he also admitted his lack of personal experience with them. so i am looking for honest and knowledgeable opinions from people who have experience with this particular weapon and are as concerned about my sons safety as i am.

thank you for helping me to deny my ignorance!!!

I can't help you with the gun but i can offer a little advice,

when posting a thread asking for advice, put some hint of the question in the title so as to attract those who might be able to answer your question

Don't mean to be rude just denying some ignorance hehe also saves some of us who could have been answering other mothers questions about bivy bags, water filters and other non lethal survival topics time

oh and guns are bad mu'kay.

Originally posted by wehere
my ignorance on weaponry is only exceded by my sons enthusiasm for guns. he is hellbent on getting a mosin nagant m91/30. i made him ask our gun guy for his professional opinion on it. he stated that they are not consistent in terms of safety, however he also admitted his lack of personal experience with them. so i am looking for honest and knowledgeable opinions from people who have experience with this particular weapon and are as concerned about my sons safety as i am.

thank you for helping me to deny my ignorance!!!

Why did you not post on a weapons forum?

my bad i meant to post in the weaponry forum

thanks for the heads up

reply to post by wehere


Actually, the Mosin Nagant is a great rifle. If you find one that is packed with cosmoline (grease), then most likely its been run through an armory and tested for accuracy and safety. They were built for durability and function.
Nagants are beasts, though, with a pretty good kick to 'em. A really young person, (say, under 16), might have trouble handling one.

Absolutely great weapon!

But as the anon poster above me stated it is not for the faint of heart nor the small of size, it has got a good kick to it. Knocked one of my ex's off her seat (but she was under 100lbs).

I own a few of them for plinking and teaching friends to shoot with, mainly due to the cheapness of the weapons and ammo.

I could be a good first weapon for your son. It is simple to operate and clean, and requires discipline with cleaning due to corrosive ammo.

Another option would be a .22. It does not have the bark or kick, and he would learn accuracy and safty with a weapon that is not as powerful, before he tries to tackle recoil (and in mosin's case at times, pain) management.

[edit on 18-2-2009 by DropInABucket]

I concur with anonymous and drop. It's a great rifle, but does has quite a kick to it! It's also of a rather largish (long) size, and someone small of stature or size would have a hard time shouldering or firing it accurately. I'd recommend the M-44 as an alternate selection.

As with most curios and relics you should inspect before you buy. What makes these guns unsafe is the multitude of ways people abuse them as well as improper assembly as most are made from parts guns.

If you get a decent one it's a great shooter. If you get a melon it's a nice piece to hang on the wall. They're cheap enough.

Check for burrs, rust, funny spots that look like grinding marks, make sure the bolt functions well and locks tight. You dont want to hear any scratching noises or feel any hang-ups.

If there are no obvious signs of damage the gun should fire safely. I'd fire the first few shots with the rifle on a stand and my face as far back as my arm will allow for.

My wife is 5'6" and about 115lbs. We have a Mossberg 12g tactical shotgun that she can't handle but she's very handy with a DPMS M4 (.223 caliber). Not much recoil and the ammo is readily available and reasonably inexpensive. Plus it's a great little plinkin' rifle. Just my 2 cents

Originally posted by griffinrl
My wife is 5'6" and about 115lbs. We have a Mossberg 12g tactical shotgun that she can't handle but she's very handy with a DPMS M4 (.223 caliber). Not much recoil and the ammo is readily available and reasonably inexpensive. Plus it's a great little plinkin' rifle. Just my 2 cents

Mossberg 500/590 = $400-$500

M4 = $600-thousands

Mosin = $99.99

reply to post by wehere


I've got the exact rifle he's looking at getting

Mosin's are great... and, as they are a bolt action, they are relatively safe...

The safety is a bit of a pain... ok... the saftey is a BIG pain... its so inconvenient... not to mention its really difficult to operate... but, I don't carry it around with a chambered round... so no worries... I just keep the bolt open... (he'll see what I mean when he tries to engage it... you have to pull back on a spring loaded part of the bolt, and latch a tongue over the outside of the chamber... and let me tell ya... that bolt is under some PRESSURE lol)

If he's not used to using a heavier rifle, he might not like the mosins...

but, you can't beat the the sheer firepower to dollars ratio....

you can even get crates of surplus rounds.... thus its pretty cheap to shoot.

If he's planning on using this for a home defense weapon or something, I'd go with something else... the bullet will go through your target, and travel for miles... (a really really good dirt backstop is mandatory when shooting this).

you might want to have him check what the different symbols on the reciever mean... as it will tell a history of the gun, where it was made, and usually has a decent indicator of how accurate the weapon will be...

Anyway, for a milsurp weapon, I couldn't recommend it enough!

Originally posted by DropInABucket
he would learn accuracy and safty with a weapon that is not as powerful, before he tries to tackle recoil (and in mosin's case at times, pain) management.

ahhh yes... there was that one day I got ambitious, and put about 120 rounds through mine in the prone position...

My shoulder was varying shades of blue/black... and sore as hell LOL (only wearing a Tshirt... prabably shoulda worn something with a little thickness to it..)

I forgot about that aspect... it is a fun rifle... but it takes some stamina to put serious amounts of rounds through it...

but not to worry... 120 rounds is a LOT of shooting on a bolt action...

If your son has ever shot a 12 gauge slug... thats about on par with kick...

Only its not so much of a kick... as it is a "push"... hard to discribe... but the heavyness of the rifle seems to mellow the kick to a firm shove if that makes any sense...




[edit on 18-2-2009 by nj2day]

my son will pleased with these positive responses and i greatly appreciate your time.we have small ,humble collection of 223s,including an armolite 180 i like,30.06s,.22s,shotguns,etc..i can and do shoot them all, but i don't know much about them.there just too many kinds. i thank y'all for your input.

OK Mom, don't freak out about your son wanting this particular gun just yet.

How old is your son and is this his first gun? Does he have a knowledgeable adult that can assist him in the purchase of the gun?

I have seven grandchildren. When each one became five years old I gave them a 22 rifle and taught them how to use it. The girls enjoyed them as much as the boys did.

Everyone in my family and all my friends shoot for sport and competition. I feel it is better to know the proper way to handle and respect a firearm early on so nobody has a tragic accident later if they come upon a misplaced firearm.

Edit to add that I didn't see the last post you made. It answered some of my questions.

Guns are not bad and they don't kill. Bad people use guns to kill.

If your son can get the gun he wants in good working order and get training on how to use and clean it I say what's the problem.

I, too, would like to protect my loved ones from all harm. Once they leave the nest it is not possible to be with them and protect them. I understand your feelings as I am a mother and great grandmother. We have to learn to let go. It sure does hurt sometimes doesn't it?

It is very good that you love and care about the safety of your son.

[edit on 18-2-2009 by dizziedame]

I have 4 mosins and absolutely love them. Sure they kick a little and weigh a ton, but for the price, you really cant beat them. Ammo is easy to find and rather cheap by todays standards. If nothing else, you attach that mammoth bayonet and impale anything within 6 ft of you.

So, for the tiny investment, I would have him pick one up, clean it well and if he likes it, great, if not, then you are only out 69-100 bucks.

Mosin-nagant's are great rifles, as long as they have been taken care of. Not as accurate as most modern firearms, but for the price you can't beat 'em.


And to natureboy. Guns aren't bad. They are inanimate objects with no good or evil intentions. I'm 38 years old and have owned guns all my life and not one of them has gotten up and shot someone or commited a crime.

reply to post by salchanra


$100? Hmmmm....maybe I should check one out then I'll give a shout to my gun dealer and see what he can advise. I'm always up for a new toy especially one that's affordable! My DPMS M4 retailed for $950.00 stock. With all my attachments it is in the $2,000 range now!

[edit on 18-2-2009 by griffinrl]

Originally posted by griffinrl
reply to post by salchanra

 

$100? Hmmmm....maybe I should check one out then

I'll give a shout to my gun dealer and see what he can advise. I'm always up for a new toy especially one that's affordable! My DPMS M4 retailed for $950.00 stock. With all my attachments it is in the $2,000 range now!

[edit on 18-2-2009 by griffinrl]

Have your C&R license? On J&G right now for $64.95 Link

reply to post by salchanra
Man thats a helluva deal. If i needed a weapon i would jump on it. I think the ten i have should do me just fine though.

reply to post by salchanra


Heck yeah I live in Arkansas brutha...you know I got a license Thanks for the link!