The Mosin Nagant was originally designed by the Russians in 1891. The approximate pronunciation of Mosin Nagant is (Moseen Nahgahn) due to the Russians emphasizing vowels over consonants. Over the years they made some modifications to the rifle the most obvious modification was the switch from a Hex to a Round receiver to produce more accuracy. My particular year is a very interesting year for the Russians. In 1942 the Russians were in some very heated and significant battles to protect their homeland from the unstoppable German war machine. One such example was Stalingrad which everyone here should even know about. This meant the Russians were in a tight bind and really needed to get more weaponry out to the soviet soldiers so often the refurb process in the arsenals was quick and half assed so to speak in order to the the rifle out on the field. In 1942 the Mosin Nagant was still a mainstay weapon for the Russians due to their lack of a efficient Assault Rifle. This meant they suffered in medium range combat as their only other weapons were really the PPSH sub machine gun and some shovels and grenades.
The Mosin Nagant was a top notch rifle and very rugged. Accuracy was a key point in designing the Model 91/30 and other models as the sport a whopping 28 3/4" barrel or larger in some early models. They were designed and sited in to use the Bayonet all the time as it was Soviet doctrine to never remove the Bayonet. Hand picked the most accurate 91/30's were retrofitted with a bent bolt and often a PU scope or some other model scope for the snipers. The 91/30 was used as the Russian sniper rifle all the way up to the cold war when they designed the Dragonov sniper rifle based off the AK-47. Even during the post war time up to and including the cold war Mosin Nagant's were still in use and manufactured but in a Carbine form known as the M44. Numerous other countries also used the Mosin as many of them were part of the Soviet Block at some point or another including Poland, Hungaria, Finnland, and Bulgaria. Many other countries outside the Block used them as well including China, and the North Vietcong. Even today there have been reports of terrorist forces in Iraq, and Afghanistan are using Mosin Nagant rifles.
As stated above the rifle was designed for accuracy. The 7.62x54R was designed as a high velocity cartridge. To give some perspective with some Russian Surplus ammunition ballistic test using 148gr LPS ammunition which is a Light Ball ammo with a steel core instead of led. The muzzle velocity (this is as the bullet leaves the barrel aka 0 yards) sits around 2800 feet per second+. The impact force under 50 yards sits around 2800 foot lbs per sq inch. With the right configuration of load this rifle and push over 3000 feet per second. For those who do not know velocity and twist ratio really decide the accuracy of the rifle from a ballistic perspective. These rifles can easily hit out to 1000 meters if needed.
Ok now more about my rifle. My rifle was manufactured in 1942 by the Izhevsk arsenal in Soviet Russia. This is a wartime rifle in a wartime stock meaning the stock was not replaced post war. The rifle has been refinished by a Soviet Arsenal even though it appears that the refinishing stamps are missing, however, this is normal they forgot this stuff all the time. The rifle is also known as all matching numbers. This means the serial numbers on all the parts match which is good. I am 99% sure the rifle was force matched which is well known for military surplus as the fonts look slightly different on the stamps. There are no lineouts on the old serial numbers they were probably totally ground off and then re-stamped. There is lots of black paint on the rifle as well which was common to hide the rushed bluing jobs and light pitting. One thing you will also notice is a amazing stock repair job done by the Russians on the front of the stock. When it was done I do not know but it really adds to the unique character and history of the rifle.
The best part of this rifle is the fact that it is one heck of a good shooter. Had her down the range and it still functions great. The trigger does take some getting use to I estimate the trigger pull is around 8 - 9 lbs possibly 10 lbs. I would estimate the rifle weighs in at about 12 - 13 lbs or so.
As promised here are some pictures. Due to there being some 18 pictures or so I will just post the link to the album and you can check out a piece of history. http://s752.photobucket.com/user/blewisjr86/media/DSC_0001_zpsfbd2b09e.jpg.html?sort=9&o=0
That's a nice piece of history right there. Lovely.