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Mosin a Survival Rifle?

17K views 137 replies 59 participants last post by  Streetglide 
#1 ·
Would a Mosin be a suitable survival rifle? With all these preppers/survivalist showing up I thought it would be a good topic to discuss. Personally I think it is to big of a caliber, tad on the heavy side as far as carry weight, with that said there is alot of pro's as well to a mosin, especially a M38 or M44 type rifle in a survival situation. Anyway, what do you guys think?
 
#36 ·
read the QUESTION.
would it be a suitable survivle rifle.....

the answer is yes, any rifle will do as oppose to no rifle.

is it the BEST....that is an opened argument
and lots of opinions...
ask the afgans and the losing russians what they think of the mosin...the afgans "survived" with them...
in town...maybe not the best choice....

mike in co
 
#37 ·
Gents, instead of the platform being the solution, take a look at the caliber it shoots and what you want
dropped. We have a board member Caribou who survives in austere circumstances in Alaska and he uses
a Mosin (mostly Finn M39 which lights a fire under all the Finn Fanatics here ) and has enough Gun for year in and year out subsistence. He is as likely to run into a close encounter with a bear as you might encounter the Hulk coming up your driveway to do harm. I recommend reading Caribou's hunting threads
for appreciation of what a 30 caliber 150 and heavier grain bullet will do .

If you define survival as Zulu Dawn scenario then the bolt rifle is not ideal and the semi auto menu of rifles in 30 caliber is far better. Some may be inclined for 5.56 for this scenario and you will be well served as well. In Stalins Ghost's scenario, back in that day, a M4 would have been my choice over any M1, FN FAL or AK that I own. However in my more open neighborhood, I have my FN FAL stoked and ready.

Weapons are tools and truth be known, you'll grab the one you are most trained on and efficient on using. So if you aren't shooting Mosins alot, have the shot gun ready. If you train (shoot) with a Mosin routinely, then both you and the rifle are in a ready status. Give some thought to that. Give thought to a pistol for back up.

I have neighbors with Mosins and strength of character to use them. I have a neighbor with a lever action Marlin who is not going to be ill armed if the time comes.

If this thread does not shine a light on what you think is needed, just have a Mosin and one spam can of ammo on site and sleep well at night. As a minimum, the Mosin will bring in the bacon and drop threats dead in their track. As Vic said... only takes one shot.
 
#38 ·
Im gonna recommend a good book on this subject. Not a gun book but a book about trying to survive and all that we take for granted in our daily lives.

One Second After, by William Forstchen. It'll make you think.
 
#40 ·
You may want to jump to the SURVIVAL Forum ...
Depending on budget and needs, a Mosin can have a place. Consider: cheap, rugged, reliable, low maintenance, limited moving parts to lose/break, inexpensive ammo that can be bought in bulk.
However, a long 91/30 has some physical drawbacks. An M38 or M44 may be a bit more comfortable to sling over your shoulder and carry if you are on the move. The shorter carbines lose nothing in accuracy out to 200yds or more.
7.62x54R is a whopper on power comparable to most other .30 rounds. It only takes one hit to leave a huge impression.
With adequate training and practice, you will be amazed how fast you can cycle the bolt and make fairly rapid shots at multiple targets.
If I had to forage through heavy woods to hunt, I would likely choose my custom M44 to sling over my shoulder. I know I could take down a deer or a man at 220m with iron sights.

That being said, nothing against a Mosin as a cheap first choice rifle for someone starting out, however;
You need to obtain the right tools for the job.
That includes, but is not limited to:
A handgun for close up personal defense
A shotgun, pump action for reliability, preferably compact and in "tactical" dress for close range defense, with other accessories and additional barrels for hunting
An "intermediate range" semi-auto carbine for "urban combat"
A rifle for longer range hunting, where the Mosin fits nicely
A long range scoped rifle for distance "stand off" shooting

Many choices and considerations on all the above. Buy what you can afford to fit in your budget but don't limit yourself to any one particular "tool". Build a "toolbox" with the right tools for the particular job.
 
#41 ·
I've always read these shtf discusions with a bit of wtf. Most of them are 1 guy standing off hoardes like Rambo ,or heading to the hills alone , or with the family . Mosin nagant as a survival rifle you bet, those of us that read these forums tend to get hung up on caliber or specifc type of rifle .Probably for the average blue collar guy a mosin ,and 1000 rnds put aside would be a good thing learn how to shoot it, and put away for just in case. If it ever comes to real shtf you had better get organized fast , friends, family, coworkers ,comunity . Pick wich side your going to be on and dig in ,your street,your town your state ,your country.Four or five guys in the middle of the street firing remington 870s with 00 buckshot will stop any mob. If it ever comes to real shtf they aint going to like what happens to them or niether will you . The best weapon is your vote ,and get this country back on course.
 
#42 ·
Depends for me. Lets say in a unlikely-made up scenario of Foreign troops on U.S. soil,If it came to conflict,I would grab first my 1943 PU sniper-Can't go wrong with it,Accurate,Reliable,Excellent scope - I personally wouldn't take anything past 4X in the field. I'd actually choose my PU over my Rem. 700, seriously.
 
#43 ·
With all these preppers/survivalist showing up I thought it would be a good topic to discuss.
How about Zombies? Vampires? A werewolf epidemic?
Puhleeeze! Stuff like that and survivalism may be fun but lets try and keep this serious and avoid topics off the subject, and that may lead to useless chopping up of C&Rs.

And any survivalists that take offense, you can try and find any industrialized nation that's ever had an such collapse. Even recent TV SF shows have to resort to alien invasions or a mysterious disappearance of electricity.
 
#46 ·
......may lead to useless chopping up of C&Rs.
Your post made me think.
If the S does HTF, my least accurate Mosin will become a pistol pretty quick.
Worked well in the wars, and no law to worry about breaking.
No one will be thinking about 'collectable' or 'original condition' anything.
Heck, modified rifles will become the new 'Vietnam bringbacks' to future generations.

Phil
 
#45 ·
Any rifle would be handy, provided the shooter has some training. If I were headed to the hills, as it were, I would bring mine. I have a big family and a lot of guns. But if I had to take only one rifle it would be my mini 14; it's about as accurate as a laser beam. It only takes one shot. Living in central CA, I could see a situation where an earthquake takes out the delta levees and ruins the water supply for LA, causing some to riot and such over water. Possible, but not very likely. On another note, a Mosin will hold six rounds; one in the chamber and 5 in the magazine. I loaded mine that way just to see if it would work. You just have to turn it over and open up the floorplate to get that 6th round in there.
 
#53 ·
All this talk about bolt action rifles being unsuitable when facing superior numbers, IMO is so much BS.

I have read many a time where a lone sniper for hours would hold up squads, platoons, companies, or even battalions of trained troops armed with many full automatic weapons.

When one sees people's heads exploding around them, said one becomes very reluctant about sticking theirs up.
 
#54 ·
Being a sniper is a little different than being forced into a defensive situation on a spur of the moment notice. In a defensive situation it would probably be trying to stop an immediate threats until you could remove yourself (run away) from the superior numbers.
 
#56 ·
Again, what are we "trying to survive" here?

Very many people, including millions of Soviets armed with artillery and tanks and machine guns and rockets let alone bolt action rifles did not *survive* World War II. Something like 3.8 million Soviet prisoners were deprived of 1. water 2. food and 3. shelter and died of starvation, exposure, etc. etc. as a deliberate German policy...

If "survival" is paramount, *not going to war* in the first place is a pretty good idea... So what is the purpose of the weapon chosen? Is a Mosin-Nagant rifle an effective firearm? You bet. Is skill and training important? Yes and yes.

Can someone point me to a recent or even historic *civilian* gun battle where shots were exchanged at, say, a hundred yards? Two hundred?
 
#57 · (Edited)
Can someone point me to a recent or even historic *civilian* gun battle where shots were exchanged at, say, a hundred yards? Two hundred?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29 Here ya go...

As to the original post question of the Mosin being an effective SHTF/survival rifle, I'll put it this way- *I* sure wouldn't care to be shot with one. And I can't think of many who would relish the experience, so in that sense yes- it would be effective. It would make people stop doing whatever they are doing that threatens the shooter, and it would- if aimed correctly- bring down most any animal for food (save for squirrels 'n such, on which all you have left would be a diet of nails and tails). Is it the OPTIMAL rifle? It is if it is the one you have and still have ammo for. So is most any other IF you find yourself in such circumstances. As for fighting off hordes of savage rioters? As Belloc's poem goes, "Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun, and they have not." -The Modern Traveller (1898) It would better to have a DP-28 or a DPM in such circumstances than a Mosin. But if a Mosin is what you have, then aim for the one that yells "Follow ME!" first, and pray his compatriots take the hint and move on to easier pickings.
 
#63 ·
I say an M44 would be an ideal survival rifle.

simple and rugged.
attached swing-arm bayonet!!?? can't go wrong with that. attached cleaning rod!??
with a scout scope perhaps?

now yer surviving.

survival usually means running anyways.

are you sure you are not looking for the best "die in a firefight " rifle?
 
#68 ·
Survival as in a meat gun in a survival situation, a good Mosin would be just fine. Add spare bolt assembly you know works in your rifle. Dependable in all conditions. If I still hunted, would use a particularly accurate straight stocked M39.

The "Other survival situation"...good pump 12 gauge, S & W .357. .357 because cartridges are everywhere, and ya' can shoot any thirty eight special cartridge and .38 Long Colt out of it. Three fifty seven can stop a vehicle engine. And the king of sidearms, 1911, ammo is all over the place, man stopper. And of course a good .22 rifle and pistol, like Ruger's .22/45 with a stainless bull barrel. And a Ruger Mini thirty. As already stated, bottled water and canned food and survival meals. Good big knives, magnesium fire starter, etc. And duct tape.

If only one firearm for all situations, Ruger mini thirty with spare parts and reliable mags. Millions of 7.62 X 59 rounds all over the states. Doubt the SHTF situation will happen here, but never say never...

Lancebear
 
#69 ·
for my survival gun in a SHTF situation i take my SVT-40 i have tens of thousands of rounds stashed away decent reliable semi auto with powerful round. would keep an m44 or m38 handy as a back up though. I prefer mausers but ammo is everything and 8mm ain't plentiful like it once was.
 
#70 ·
Would really depend, I think .22 makes a dandy cartridge, also encourages a person to practice invisibility and the better part of discretion...
x54, maybe, would rather something in 5.56 or 308 or 30.06, pretty sure I could scrounge the rounds.
 
#71 ·
I realize I'm just plain ignurnt but I was thinkin' that

this particular thread was about the 121 year old design

of a rifle that is still in use by military units even today

in the world called Mosin Nagant . But in my fogginess it

seems that a large number of ''other'' weapons have been

injected into the discussion . Since the original set has been

breached , why not add tanks , artillary , quad fifties and

Pershing missles amongst other pissabilities ? Just a thought .



FIVESHOT
________________
He who articulated it ,
particulated it .

 
#72 ·
Well, it's 5:30 and I'm about to leave for work, so why not give a mention?

We went through Katrina in our neck of the woods. The eye wall passed over head and we were without power for weeks. Mississippi suffered greater damage than New Orleans (yet everyone thinks New Orleans is what suffered). That is not to minimize the flooding and problems in the Crescent City, many dealt with the storm. In New Orleans, thugs were the main source of trouble, though people acting foolishly made matters worse. Who didn't actually have food in their pantries? A Wal-Mart sack of can goods, cereal, even a six-pack of beer, what ever, would have been fine for a day, perhaps two or more, before help arrived. Too many folks down there ignored their own resources and then cried out for help. Those people made it hard for the responsible ones.

In my town, which was a few years before the thug of a police chief and his minions came on the scene (he's since been fired), we had a terrible mess but nobody went crazy. The only looting occurred when two New Orleans refugees (yes, really) broke into the pharmacy down the street. They were caught within minutes. The police acted professionally and the people got to work. I carried a 45acp on my hip for exactly one day, but no more. My small town acted in unity and nobody went nuts. Folks found out I had a working gas stove, so I became a source for boiled water (mostly for coffee in the morning). We also grilled and fried all food in our thawing freezer. We kept all we could use and gave out cooked burgers, chicken, and even some beautiful red fish filets that broke my heart to grill (couldn't store the cooked fish, ate all I could eat, and could not bear to see them go to waste). My neighbor let us use his pool water for toilets, and we worked on each others yards to get things cleaned up. Folks came by to borrow books because I have a large library, and one woman I did not know dropped off a bag of ice because we had a 9-month old. August in Mississippi was hot, real hot, but we got by.

For most of that SHTF event, my firearms remained locked up. However, a Mosin makes an excellent storage rifle for food/hunting. I keep an old 91/30 stored away just for that. 7.62x54r ammo is plentiful and is all over these days, so much so that I would have no problem finding it were I to need it. But, I bought it cheap a decade ago and now have all I could ever use. Yet for me, SHTF does not mean taking out zombies, but rather dealing with nature in the long term. Short term issues should not be a problem in our town. We formed a functioning citizen government before our own small government got to work. We did not need police, National Guard, or a mayor to keep order. We kept it ourselves.

Given I have two perfectly reliable D-166 Finnish m28/76's, I can think of no better long-term rifle to own. Ammo will last if stored, the rifles handle heavy and light bullets, and the sights are so good that a scope is not even needed.
 
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