The Top 40

I'm trying to visualize this thing called a "phesant," Chines or otherwise, handling a Mosin, or any other bolt-action rifle.

And I have a crush on that Soviet sniperette. Isn't she adorable?

Don: yes that girl is attractive. I think I can help you unravel the mystery of the "Chinese Phesants" with some help from one of the books my uncle wrote under the name of "Letsgo Lozko. "A bantam chicken rancher supreme and otherwise avian expert he describes the phesants and their adaptability to any landscape. They are tough fighting birds that will die defending their territory. Their only natural enemy is, yep, the bantam chicken.
As for the bantam chickens, those little sumbitches are the living descendants of velociraptors. I wouldn't be messing with 'em.

The sniper girl is Roza Georgiyevna Shanina[a] (Russian: Ро́за Гео́ргиевна Ша́нина, IPA: [ˈrozə ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪɪvnəˈʂanʲɪnə]; 3 April 1924 – 28 January 1945[b]) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with fifty-nine confirmed kills, including twelve soldiers during the Battle of Vilnius. Shanina volunteered for the military after the death of her brother in 1941 and chose to be a marksman on the front line. Praised for her shooting accuracy, Shanina was capable of precisely hitting moving enemy personnel and making doublets (two target hits by two rounds fired in quick succession).

Thanks, Chas. Sad she only lived to 21. Combat death?

My war boards on Pinteres t are inundated with hot Sove chicks apparently acting as snipers most of the time. Must have been a helluva war on the Eastern front!

This one is holding the rifle like she owns it. I will stay with John Moses Browning, but diversity is a sound principle in gun (may or may not) ownership.

Go ahead and buy a Mosin. They are a fun rifle to own and shoot. Cheap, built like a tank, accurate, powerful and did I say cheap? You can get a 440 round can of old surplus Russian ammo for under $100.00 Everyone at the range wants a turn on the cannon, is is the loudest rifle on the firing line.

When it comes to firearms less isn't always more, I'll stick with my model 700's. Not that I wouldn't stash a Mosin in the vault just because.

I shoot one of those Mosin-Nagants frequently. The girl is holding the sniper model which had the turned down bolt handle to clear the scope. The lower rifle shown is the regular issue rig with straight bolt handle.

Out to about 350 yards I can stay with most other era, open sighted service rifles. The big draw back to the Mosin-Nagant is the very poor iron sights.

The power of the Russian 7.62R round is between the .308 and the 30-06. Very fun to operate rig and brings lots of curious people over to the line to look at it. Appears to be junk but will kill an enemy just fine. It gets more accurate (repeatable/tighter groups) the dirtier the barrel gets.

By the way, I paid $69.00 for the rifle about five years ago and it came with all the service issue goodies.

I did order the kit which has a go/no-go gauge for under $10. There are interesting videos on YouTube as to how to care for it, but the best are narrated by Russians (if not for accuracy, at least for ambiance).

Don, yes, in combat. This from Wikipedia:

In the face of the East Prussian Offensive, the Germans tried to strengthen the localities they controlled against great odds. In a diary entry dated 16 January 1945, Shanina wrote that despite her wish to be in a safer place, some unknown force was drawing her to the front line. In the same entry she wrote that she had no fear and that she had even agreed to go "to a melee combat". The next day, Shanina wrote in a letter that she might be on the verge of being killed because her battalion had lost 72 out of 78 people. Her last diary entry reports that German fire had become so intense that the Soviet troops, including herself, had sheltered inside self-propelled guns. On 27 January Shanina was severely injured while shielding a wounded artillery officer. She was found by two soldiers disemboweled, with her chest torn open by a shell fragment. Despite attempts to save her, Shanina died the following day.

All the Russian small arms were made to be used in extreme conditions of heat, cold. They were made with a guideline that even the dumbest soldier could operate and maintain the weapon.
Cheap and Cheery was the motto, with a lot of stamped parts. Note: Ruger used this method to produce the Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III .22 pistols.

The AK, Moisin-Nagant, the SKS, all are crude by Western standards of gunmakers like Smith & Wesson or Colt; tool marks, loose tolerances where not critical, so forth. But they are very reliable and can take abuse or neglect.
Look at what all the Muslim troops are using in the Middle East. I have owned several of these rifles and I will say that they do not need pampering. Kerosene and 10W30 oil and some rags, a rod to shove through the barrel, that's it. Of course I treat them better but if I was hunkered down in a frozen foxhole or up to my knees in sand I could keep one running for a long time.

A little classical music and a nice slo-mo gun video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PqAk-qianA

"Thanks, Chas. Sad she only lived to 21. Combat death?"

Proof that when they're in range, so are you.

You know war is hell when a cutie like this has to be out there fighting.

Chris: Oh yeah war is hell but I think a lot of Russians had bought into the party line so they saw themselves as patriots and freedom fighters warring against the Evil Nazi hoards. Mm, actually that was what they were doing.

Warning about Mosin-Nagants: The Mosin had no pressure relief hole drilled through the bolt so a bad round tends to blow the thing up rather spectacularly, so I'm told.

"a bad round tends to blow the thing up".

Roll your own ammo and that ultra rare potential would be moot.

Terry: mostly correct. I have reloaded north of thirty thousand rounds and I only have made one with a double charge. It blew up a S&W 1911.

See here for the story:
http://dpjk.blogspot.com/2014/01/1911-kaboom.html

The rifle is a good one, just doesn't have that blow hole.

I'm a Mosin shooter and collector.

If you are ever in Utah stop by and I'll show you why.