Mosin-Nagant M38 Carbine

[Miller]

Anyone on here have experience with the M38 carbine version of the Mosin-Nagant 91/30? 
Wondering how good of a job the Russians did on them.  Sights, etc....

I'm thinking the shorter length might make it a bit easier to pack along...

[Reddot]

Nice little piece; I replaced the issue sights with Mojos; work pretty well. Very short sighting plane, at least compared to the 91 series; fierce blast, and from the prone kicks up quite a bit of dust.  The lighter bullets are a bit easier on the shoulder, but that's pretty subjective. 
When you can score 210 with an M38, you know you're a rifleman.

[Caliper]

Picture a 91-30 with a shorter barrel and sights "only" regulated to 1000m or a M44 without the side-folding bayonet and you have a M38.  The bolt, receiver, trigger, sight picture, etc are all the same.  While the sights are among the best post/notch sights on a battle rifle, they are still post and notch sights. 

[AFTERMATH]

Anyone on here have experience with the M38 carbine version of the Mosin-Nagant 91/30? 
Wondering how good of a job the Russians did on them.  Sights, etc....

I'm thinking the shorter length might make it a bit easier to pack along...

That's the first rifle I ever bought.  Went looking for a 91/30, but saw that right next to it with a laminated stock, couldn't resist for a couple extra dollars... 
Quality and workmanship is the same as any other Mosin - Depends on year, arsenal, and the slaveglorious war laborer who made it.  You'll find most have been re-equipped with an M44 stock - Actually, I'm not sure I've ever ran across one that wasn't.  It's about half an inch shorter than the M44, with a narrower sight base and cannot accept a bayonet.  Unless, perhaps, you make one.   
They're not as cheap as they used to be, though....

[Miller]

Well, In a week or so I'll have to post an update on my new boomstick.
I went ahead and ordered a M-38 from Buds.  Listed as "Excellent" condition so we'll see.

And I've already looked at the Mojo sights.  I'm going to feed a few clips through it first but a Mojo rear sight may be in my future.


Now...
To find some 7.62x54R to feed the little bugger.

[Twineagles]

Scheels WDM had a bunch last time I was there. Sorry I didn't pay any attention to pricing but it was a white box range ammo. It has continued to be around and maybe you can find the practice ammo with wooden bullets. They should work good for Vampires.

[Kosciusko]

I picked some up when they were under $100

The closest thing available right now is the Chinese type 53  at your local fleet Farm.  BTW, the M44 variant often shoots better w/ bayonet extended.

go to gunboards.com and peruse the collectors forum for everything you'd want to know about Mosin-Nagant variants of all kinds  the WTS/WTT trader forum  there often has Mosins for sale.  The folks there are pretty honest as well.

Lay your hands on a Finnish M28-30 or  M39  if you want a Mosin that's a joy to handle and shoot.

See Allan Schissel or Dennis Kroh for you Mosin needs.  You'll pay a little bit more, but you'll be satisfied.

Kosciusko

[Miller]

Oh trust me Kos....

A Finnish Mosin is on my list.

The M-38 is intended as a trunk gun and as a cheap to feed bolt gun to break some of my semi-auto habits.

[techres]

If you decide to have some mod fun with it.  When it comes out, check out Pro-Mag's new mosin stock that includes a single stack removable magazine:

http://www.promagindustries.com/product-p/aa9130.htm

Talked with them at the convention and they have 7k on backorder with a 6 week lead time.

[Miller]

If you decide to have some mod fun with it.  When it comes out, check out Pro-Mag's new mosin stock that includes a single stack removable magazine:

http://www.promagindustries.com/product-p/aa9130.htm

Talked with them at the convention and they have 7k on backorder with a 6 week lead time.

Aww hell......
I haven't even gotten my first one in hand yet and now I have to order a full length 91/30 just to mount in one of those....

Bugger it....
I'm off to buy a lotto ticket.

[spitstickler]

If you are going to try to run aqt's with it look for some original Russian stripper clips. Most of the ones you see for sale on eBay and whatnot do not work well at all. The rimmed cartridge makes it even more important that it works correctly. Aim surplus sells 7.62x54r on the original strippers every once in a while.

[dart67eb]

I went to my first AS with an M38 and a cracked rib.  It didn't work out so well.

[BeSwift]

Hope we have some flame retardant AQT's due to the fireball that comes out of the Mosin carbines!     BeSwift

[Kosciusko]

Oh trust me Kos....

A Finnish Mosin is on my list.

The M-38 is intended as a trunk gun and as a cheap to feed bolt gun to break some of my semi-auto habits.

If we ever work a shoot together, I could be persuaded to bring along an M39.

Of course, It's 17 weeks and 5 days until I get off these crutches, but who's counting?

k

[Miller]

IT'S! HERE!!!!


So I picked up my M-38 from the gun store just an hour or so ago.

Immediate impressions:

Muzzle and rifling are gorgeous.

Overall she looks pretty good.

Greasy as a politician but a little work will fix that in no time.  The weather here has been fairly warm and is suppose to stay that way so I think the stock will be removed, put in a black plastic bag with some paper towels, and left in a sunny spot by the back door for a day or three.

After just a cursory wipe down I had to play with her a bit and I have to say it shoulders well and my eye finds the front sight immediately and lining up the rear took less time to do than to think about.  It's going to take some lead down range to be sure but I think this rifle will fit me pretty well right out of the box. 

If this one shoots as good as it feels I'll be squeezing the budget for a second one pretty quick.  And as soon as I get enough ammo through it to find my zero and get comfortable with the manual of arms she'll be living in the trunk along with a can of good, non-corrosive ammo that I trust right next to the get home bag. 


Now, no Rifleman can leave a working rifle as-is right?
But this one I don't think is going to get a lot done to it.
I'm going to work with the GF's father on machining some inserts for the sling attachment slots that will allow me to use a standard G.I. sling.  Something along the lines of the metal loops you see on some of the Finnish Mosins.  Maybe a Mojo rear sight but I'm going to run a few clips down the barrel before I make that call.



Now the next one....
New stock with a wider and flatter fore end, detachable sling swivels for the G.I. web sling, Picatinny rail ahead of the receiver for a scout scope, butt cuff with a pouch for a stripper clip or two...

And then the next one will be a full length 91/30 to drop into one of those fancy Pro-Mag stocks...

Then a Finn...

And another 91/30...for a historical piece...

[Miller]

I am amazed at how naturally this rifle points for me.
For every other rifle I've shot getting a good sight alignment has required a bit of tweaking to the comb height.  Even my Garand fits me better with a few turns of vet wrap.

This little commie though comes to my shoulder, neck out, cheek snugs right up to my thumb, and the sights are just perfectly aligned. 

[Twineagles]

Do we need to start referring to you as comrade? I see a Russian army jacket in your future ........

[Miller]

Nyet tovarich.
And no Russian jacket needed at this point.
Mind you....
Those high sherpa collars do look nice for winter....


At present the stock is dismounted, wrapped in cotton, sealed in a black plastic bag, and laying in full sun in the back of my car.

The various metal bits are spread across my bench awaiting a good cleaning.

[Miller]

And if anyone can post a link to a source for reliable stripper clips I'd be appreciative.

[Mutti]

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Search.htm?s=292270A

Says ammo is not included...

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

This auction has real Russian stripper clips. The real Russian ones are good to go.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Original-circa-1946-Russian-Stripper-Clip-for-7-62-x-54R-for-Mosin-Nagant-/171025568709?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d1eb13c5#ht_376wt_917

There are some repro clips out there that - simply said - often don't work as advertised and unfortunately are more common than the real ones. The ones in the auction above should function fine.

There are also some blued steel Bulgarian stripper clips out there from a batch of Bulgarian ammo that came in about 5 years ago. They will have the number 10 with a circle (or two circles) around the number stamped on the back of the clip. The Bulgarian clips are good to go.

My eyes are no longer doing so well focusing on the Mosin front sight on my non-import marked Chinese Type 53 (M44). At 100 and 200 yards I can perform with the rifle to Rifleman standards, but not so much at 300 and 400. Doesn't stop me from persisting though.

[Bluesteel]

I love Mosin's and own 6 of them (all 91/30 refurbs that I bought cheap before the panic).  The M38 is a great carbine that should have the iron sights set correctly unlike the 91/30's and M44's which were sighted with the bayonet extended and tend to shoot quite high and right without one (usually around 18" high right @ 100 yards). 

Mosins are very easy to scout scope with a cheap NC Star pistolero (a 4X fixed is best if you can still find one) long eye relief scope by knocking out the rear sight base (often they are both pinned and soldered in place) and attaching an inexpensive leapers (or UTG) offset .22 rimfire one piece mount to the 11mm dovetail that's underneath the rear sight.  Surprisingly, they stay in place if you torque them down well and the fixed power is fairly reliable.  Some guys used the 2-7x32 NC Star or AIM scope with good results too.

Another issue with Mosin's from an AS perspective is that they don't take well to sling usage due to both the sling design (dog collars) and the flimsy forend which contacts the  barrel.  The very thin barrel is extremely whippy and finding the right combination of either fully floating or known pressure points can be a maddening exercise.

My best shooter with pristine barrel is still only about a 2-3 MOA rifle off the bench though so not an AQT killer.  Doesn't shoot modern ammo (even match) any better than 70's Bulgarian surplus.  Still trying to find out the best shim/barrel wrap package on that one.  But sure can't beat 440 rounds for $90