Mosin rifle specifications. Mosin rifle - an overview of the technical characteristics of the "three-line

"Three-line", or Mosin rifle, was created and put into service in 1891. It combined outdated technology and modern scientific solutions. This made it possible to create a weapon worthy of showing itself on the battlefields of several world wars.

Mosin sniper rifle (photo)

The Mosin sniper rifle, due to its technical characteristics, was used for many decades, and the army of the Soviet Union already abandoned it in the 60s of the 20th century, replacing it with the SVD.

During the operation, a number of upgrades were made, but still the sniper Mosinka remained a reliable weapon capable of confidently hitting the enemy at a distance of up to 1 kilometer.

History of creation

It is worth noting that Tsarist Russia in the 19th century did not produce weapons of its own design and foreign weapons were assembled at factories under purchased licenses. However, attempts to develop and adopt a domestic rifle took place, and gunsmiths offered their projects to the army officials for judgment.

Among them came across exotic samples, which had several barrels and a drum loading scheme, in the manner of revolvers. But despite such a flow, the command refused, I argue that the options presented did not meet the criteria. In particular, in terms of the reliability and accuracy of the guided fire.

C.I. Mosin

This went on for quite a long time and it seemed that foreign domination of the arms market in Russia would not end. The situation was disturbed by an event that came from a completely unexpected direction.

The famous scientist and chemist Mendeleev in 1891, after several years of experiments, discovered the formula of pyrocollodion smokeless powder. This chemical composition had more power than simple gunpowder and at the same time was much cheaper.

Another factor was the creation of a new type of cartridge, which used a recently discovered chemical composition. Veltischev designed this ammunition, taking as a basis the French cartridge for Lebel's rifle.

Mosin rifle stock

Simultaneously with the advent of the three-line cartridge, technical innovations began to appear, which marked the beginning of a new weapon era - the era of magazine rifles. The advent of store food had a positive effect on the rate of fire of rifles and the armies of the world began to introduce new models into infantry and cavalry units. The Russian Empire was no exception.

The generals of those times faced a difficult choice. On the one hand, the license for the production of the Nagant rifle had already been paid, on the other hand, the first sample of a completely domestic weapon appeared, a rifle created by Captain Mosin chambered for the 7.62 caliber. A series of field trials were ordered to make the final decision.

caliber of cartridges of Mosin rifles

After all the checks and tests, the commission made a number of conclusions about both submitted samples. In particular, the Belgian Nagant had the best characteristics in terms of accuracy and rate of fire, but experienced problems in conditions of increased pollution. Another drawback was the indecently large number of misfires (almost 2 times more than the "mosinka").

The positive aspects of the Mosin rifle were considered: high reliability and simplicity of the mechanism, a small number of failures and ease of production. As a result, it was decided to adopt the "three-line", but with a magazine from the Nagant rifle.

The mass production of the rifle did not start immediately, but several years after the events described above. The reason was the low industrialization of Tsarist Russia and the long establishment of technological lines.

Cartridges for "Three-Line"

Simultaneously with the adoption of the Mosin rifle, the production of new ammunition began. The cartridge for the three-line consisted of 3 parts:

sheathed blunt bullet:
smokeless powder propellant;
a sleeve, bottle-shaped, with a pronounced rim (the rim was tedious to facilitate the transition to the production of new ammunition for cartridge factories).

The caliber of the three-ruler cartridge was 7.62 mm or three lines, according to the measurement system adopted at that time. For this, the rifle received its nickname in the infantry units - "three-line".

Training cartridges for the Mosin rifle: 1, 2 - cartridges of the "1st sample", 3 - cartridge "2nd sample" (development of the SNS), 4, 5 - modifications of training cartridges arr. 1908, 6 - one of the options for a dummy cartridge

Modifications

Adopted by Mosin's "Three-Linear", the technical characteristics of which differed in 3 modifications, for different branches of the armed forces. Basically, barrel length:

option for the infantry. Long bayonet and barrel;
cavalry variation had a shortened barrel and a different principle of fastening the belt;
Cossack version was not supplied with a bayonet-knife and had the smallest barrel length.

The bayonet, which the rifle was equipped with, had a four-sided shape, was attached using a pipe-shaped coupling, and the tip had a horizontal sharpening. This design feature was considered obsolete.

An interesting fact about such a bayonet was that it was used as a screwdriver when disassembling a gun. For this, the tip of such a shape was provided.

Bayonet from the Mosin rifle

In the course of combat operation, another unpleasant fact came to light. The bayonet could not be removed, and the weapon was always carried in a combat position. When the piece was open, the balancing and shooting accuracy were disturbed. The flaw was corrected during the modernization, already in 1930.

A little about the places of production

The industry of the Russian Empire at the time of 1891 did not make it possible to establish full-fledged production of the "three-line" Therefore, the first batches of new weapons were ordered from the French Chatellerault.

Later, in 1894, the production of "mosinka" was started at domestic arms factories. First, at the Sestroretsk Arms Factory near St. Petersburg (it was headed by Mosin himself), and then in Tula and Izhevsk.

During the First World War, Russian industry could not meet the needs of the army. The rifles were ordered from the United States and shipped by sea.

After 1917, a large number of rifles that were never shipped to Russia remained in warehouses in the United States. Later they were used to train recruits or sold to other countries.

1891 construction

The Mosin rifle is a five-shot rifle with manual reloading. For a shot, the barrel is locked with a bolt having 2 stops located at different points. One in the front, the other in the horizontal plane. It is in the bolt that the mainspring and a simple drummer are located.

Diagram of the Mosin rifle 1891

To reload the rifle after firing, you had to do these steps:

take the reloader handle to the extreme rear position;
remove the sleeve;
take the recharger to its original position;
remove the cartridge from the magazine and lock it in the barrel.

The receiver was marked by the manufacturer.

Unlike modern rifles, the Mosinka had an integral box-type magazine. It housed 5 rounds in one row.

Reloading took place by introducing the cartridge through a specially designed window, accessible when the shutter is open. If necessary, the store opened from the bottom and all the ammunition was removed.

The design of the store provides a cut-off reflector, which blocked the supply of cartridges when the shutter was open.

The bed is made of wood, usually birch. In addition, there are wooden pads on the barrel to prevent burns to the shooter's hands. Initially, the barrel was "naked" and soldiers were often injured because of this.

Sights of the open type. Later, during the First Plague, they began to install optical sights, trophy or domestic. Optics were extremely expensive and snipers were equipped with them.

Speaking about snipers, I would like to note the sniper modification of the rifle released already during the Great Patriotic War. For the production of such guns, more advanced technologies were used. In particular, another metal alloy, chrome plating and vertical barrel cutting. Such rifles were marked with "CH".

The model showed the best parameters of range and accuracy of firing. An optical "PU" - "Shortened Sight" was used as a standard sight. By the way, such a sight was installed on anti-tank rifles - it had incredible resistance to damage.

Mosin rifle with bayonet

There was also a not entirely successful modification of the "three-line". It was named the Mosin carbine of 1907 and was distinguished by low efficiency at long distances, poor elaboration of the mechanism, a number of negative design decisions and unsatisfactory performance characteristics of the three-line.

Mosin rifles are produced in a number of countries and are actively sold from military warehouses.

this year the gun became the best-selling gun in the USA

According to estimates by a number of services, the gun became the best-selling gun in the United States in 2012. It is used for sport shooting or for hunting big game.

Mosin rifle specifications (TTX)

The Mosin rifle has the following dimensions and tactical and technical parameters:

Weapon weight 4.5 kg;
Length without bayonet 130 cm;
Length with an attached bayonet 173 cm;
Barrel length 51 - 80 cm;
Caliber 7.62 mm or 3 lines by the standards of Imperial Russia;
Type of used cartridges 7.62 * 54;
Rate of fire 55 rounds per minute;
The bullet starts at a flight speed of 870 m / s;
Sighting range with optics 2 km.
The destructive power of the Mosin rifle is 3000 m.

Advantages and disadvantages

The technical characteristics of the Mosin rifle have a number of positive and negative parameters.

Positive sides

excellent ballistics;
high power of the cartridge;
long life of the barrel and bolt;
manufacturability of production;
undemanding care;
trouble-free operation in conditions of high pollution;
ease of disassembly;
high rate of fire.

Negative sides

rimmed cartridge, outdated design;
the presence of a "capricious" cut-off delay;
horizontal stops of the shutter;
the complexity of the ammunition equipment;
sharp stroke of the trigger.

Mosin system rifles for more than seventy years were in service with the armies of Russia and the USSR. Outside the Soviet Union, these weapons were used even longer. Mosin rifles are considered one of the most successful designs in the world. This assessment is based not so much on the duration of the use of the weapon as on its quality.
On April 16, 1891, a commission appointed by the Minister of War of Tsarist Russia made a decision to adopt the Mosin system's multiply-charged rifle, model 1891, into service. The creator of the rifle was a Russian captain, and later Colonel Sergei Ivanovich Mosin. Belgian gunsmiths Emil and Leon Nagana helped him design the shop shortly before the start of mass production. The Czechoslovak engineer Karel Krnka subsequently equipped the bolt with a guide bar, equipped the magazine with a clip and somewhat changed the shape of the sleeve in this regard.
The long infantry rifle, which in accordance with the Russian standard for measuring length was called "three-line" (1 Russian line = 2.54 mm), began to be modernized soon after the start of production. Its modifications included a shortened Dragoon rifle of the 1891 model, the 1907 carbine and the so-called Cossack carbine of the 1910 model. These weapons were massively produced in the Russian weapon centers - Tula, Sestroretsk and Izhevsk.
Shortly before the First World War in the tsarist army, in addition to other types of rifles, there were 4,171,743 Mosin rifles. However, its own production could not satisfy all the needs either in the pre-war years, or, moreover, during the First World War, when Russian factories produced no more than a third of the needs for weapons. Rifles were purchased in large quantities from abroad, including from Belgium and France, as well as from Switzerland and the United States.

Cartridges for the three-line - an early version with a blunt-pointed bullet and a light pointed bullet, model 1908.

The shortage of weapons of all kinds subsequently became even greater. The reserves, according to Soviet sources, were small, and the release of new weapons lagged behind needs. From June to December 1918, it was possible to collect 926975 rifles and carbines for the needs of the army. A significant part of them were new rifles produced this year - 380329. In view of such volumes of supplies to the army, stocks were almost exhausted.
As a result of the First World War, which lasted four years, and three years of foreign intervention against the Soviet regime, which also took root during the bloody civil war, the country inherited a heavy legacy. The level of production in ruined Russia in 1920 was only 13.8% compared to 1913. Created in 1918, the Red Army, militia and other armed formations were subjected to massive enemy attacks.

In these difficult conditions, it was necessary to maintain the supply of the armed forces. An extremely critical situation arose in April 1919, when enemy troops seized an arms factory in Izhevsk. Almost 215 thousand rifles and carbines were manufactured there in 1918. After the liberation of the city by the Red Army, production resumed: in July 1919, about 12,500 rifles were produced, and by the end of the year, the monthly production was 20 thousand weapons. The annual production volume of this enterprise reached a total of 171,075 Mosin rifles that year.
The Tula Arms Plant had much better performance. In addition to 79060 revolvers Nagant 1895 and 6270 heavy machine guns of the Maxim PM 1910 system, 290979 rifles and carbines of the Mosin system were produced there in 1919. The next year, production increased to 429898 rifles and 4467 machine guns. According to Soviet sources, from 1918 to 1920, 1,298,173 Mosin rifles were manufactured in the Soviet Union and another 900,000 were repaired.

At that time, there was nothing to think about new models of small arms. Before tackling this problem, it was necessary to create basic prerequisites. The first step was followed by a decree of October 3, 1922 recognizing a dragoon rifle with a bayonet as a standard weapon.
In early 1924, a group of experts was tasked with modernizing small arms. It included representatives of the committee for arming the army with small arms and artillery weapons, inspections of infantry troops, officer courses "Shot" and other military departments. Specialists from arms factories also received the right to vote.
Due to military necessity and in connection with the economic situation in the country, a plan was developed for a phased solution of the problem. First of all, it was necessary to modernize well-proven weapon models and organize their mass production, and at the same time prepare for the development of new generations of weapons.

Varieties of the Mosin rifle. In early samples, the receiver is faceted, in later Soviet production, starting with sample 1891/30 - round.

The design bureau of automatic small arms, organized in 1921 at the Kovrov arms factory under the leadership of the world-renowned specialist Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov, was tasked with creating all the necessary conditions for the development of new weapons systems. However, their serial production could begin only if the military situation permits, and subject to economic stabilization in the country. As a priority measure, it was planned to concentrate all forces on the main weapon of the Soviet infantry - the Mosin multiply-charged rifle of the 1891 model and its modifications, especially on the dragoon rifle.
This decision was made taking into account the quality of rifles in other countries. Nowhere after the First World War there were new serial developments that would significantly surpass the Mosin rifle. This also applied to the German Mauser 98 rifle. Thus, there was no reason to abandon a well-proven weapon in favor of any new products.
The industry was tasked with modernizing existing weapons. Experienced designers carried out the transfer of the dragoon rifle from the traditional Russian to the metric system of measures, equipped it with an appropriate sight, changed some other details, for example, the bayonet mount, front sight protection, and simplified the manufacturing technology.
As a result, soon the Soviet infantry had rifles that not only met modern requirements, but were also manufactured at much lower costs and in a shorter time. It was also important that the production technology was perfect, since large-scale production of weapons was planned. More than six million rifles were manufactured from 1930 to 1940.

Shooting tests began in 1927, and then, after careful analysis of the results and elimination of deficiencies, were repeated the next year. On April 28, 1930, the military command issued an order for the adoption of the modernized rifle model 1891/30. At that time, it already existed in a sniper version with an optical sight and a bolt handle bent downward.

Sniper variant of the three-line rifle

The curved bolt handle of the Mosin rifle - sniper version

Bolt of a three-line rifle with a straight bolt handle

Both of these samples were created on the basis of the 1891 Dragoon rifle.
It remained unclear whether a sample was adopted, the basis for which was a shortened Cossack carbine of the 1910 model, but there is information that this model, called model 1924/27, had the following data: total length 1015 mm, barrel length 510 mm, weight 3.6 kg, sector sight ranging from 100 to 1000 m. A folding 4-sided bayonet was attached to the barrel (this information is not taken from Soviet sources).
The model 1891/30 multi-shot rifle is equipped with a cylindrical rotary bolt with two lugs and a removable head. The cartridges are fed from the built-in magazine. The practical rate of fire is about 10 shots / min. The ammunition of the rifle is 4 + 1 rounds. 4 rounds are loaded into the magazine in the clip, and one is inserted into the chamber. We are talking about cartridges of the Mosin system of 1891, but with a pointed bullet that appeared in 1908. In 1930, the power of the cartridge was increased, and they were named M1908 / 30. At the same time, in addition to a light bullet, a heavy one appeared.

Light Bullet Cartridge Options L arr. 1908 different years
release. From left to right:
1. Cartridge with a bullet mod. 1891, 1905 release 2.3. Cartridges with a light bullet L mod. 1908 with a bullet landing on three lines, 1909 release. 4. Cartridge with a bullet L production
Tula cartridge plant, 1913. 5. Cartridge with a bullet L produced by the St. Petersburg Cartridge Plant, 1915. 6. Cartridge with a bullet L produced by the Tula Cartridge Plant, 1917. 7. Cartridge with a bullet L produced by the St. Petersburg Cartridge Plant, 1917.

The magazine feeder is equipped with a special cut-off that releases the second cartridge only after the first is sent by the bolt into the chamber.
The bottom of the magazine leans forward, after which the magazine can be easily discharged from below. The safety lock is carried out as follows: the pulled back trigger turns to the left. Due to this, the nut of the striker abuts against the protrusion and is held by it.
Unlike the Mosin rifle model 1891, the rifle, which was put into service in 1930, has a different sighting device. The old one has a frame sight. with a notch from 400 to 3200 arshins (1 arshin = 0.7112 m), in the new one - a sector sight from 100 to 2000 m. The open beveled front sight is equipped with protection. The aiming line is 622 mm long. All other changes, with the exception of the bayonet and belt attachment, relate mainly to dimensions and weight. The rifle has become shorter and lighter.
A needle bayonet with four stiffening ribs, mounted on the barrel, remained, in principle, unchanged. However, if earlier it was fastened with half rings, which were tightened with screws, then since 1930, with blind rings on a spring latch. The bayonet mount was developed by engineer Irizarkh Andreevich Komaritsky, who later designed a disk magazine for the Degtyarev PPD1934 / 38 submachine gun and, together with Boris Gavrilovich Shpitalny, developed the ShKAS aircraft machine gun. In addition, starting in 1942, the Mosin rifle was also equipped with a blade-type bayonet.

The weapon for cleaning is disassembled as follows: the shutter handle is set to a vertical position, when the trigger is pressed, the shutter is retracted and removed. Then the firing pin rests against something, and the bolt handle pivots downward with force. In this way, the nut of the striker is unscrewed, after which it can be removed with a spring.
The silencer supplied as optional equipment weighing 0.5 kg and a length of 235 mm deserves interest. During the Second World War, rifles equipped in a similar way were used by special groups and partisan detachments. The muffler consisted of a steel cylinder with two 15 mm thick rubber inserts. The muffler was put on the barrel, like a bayonet, and snapped into place. The numbers engraved on the muffler body helped to correctly set the distance on the sight. When firing with a silencer, special cartridges were used with a powder charge of only 0.5 g and a bullet weighing 9.75 g, the initial velocity of which was only 260 m / s.
When installing a rifle on a bipod and using a special grenade barrel, it was possible to shoot explosive and fragmentation grenades from it. True, the shooter at the same time had to rest the butt against the ground due to the strong recoil. The grenade was fired using a standard cartridge. When using a special charging cap and an additional sighting device from a rifle, it was possible to shoot armor-piercing grenades weighing about 680 g. At a distance of 60 m, they, when hit at an angle of 60 °, pierced armor with a thickness of 30 mm.
Rifles of the best quality were selected for conversion to sniper rifles. They had an optical sight and a shutter handle bent down. During the Second World War, snipers were given great importance in the Soviet
the armed forces. They went through an extensive training program that included intense shooting training. Often the involvement of such specialists in operations had a decisive effect on the outcome of the battle. Foreign researchers, giving credit to Soviet snipers, also note the quality of their weapons.

At first, the selected rifles were equipped with a PU optical sight, which had a 3.5-fold increase, a length of 169 mm and was designed for a firing range of up to 1300 m.Since the mid-thirties, the PE sight with a fourfold increase, which had a length of 274 mm and was designed for a firing range of up to 1400 m. He had a stepless focusing. Optical sights were attached to the body in different ways, since initially it was 6-sided, and then became cylindrical.
Soviet snipers were equipped with such rifles for two decades after the end of the war. Attempts to equip rifles of the ABC 1936 models of the Simonov system and SVT1940 of the Tokarev system with optical sights adopted in 1936 and 1940 did not bring the desired result. A suitable replacement was found only in 1963, when the SVD self-loading sniper rifle designed by Evgeny Fedorovich Dragunov appeared.
The Mosin multiple-shot rifles of the 1891 model were produced until 1930, and the 1891/30 model until 1944. Indicative in this respect are the figures showing the volumes of output. As already mentioned, by the end of 1940 the industry had significantly crossed the 6 million mark. If in 1930 only 102 thousand were produced, and in 1931 154 thousand rifles, then in 1932 there were already 283451. In 1933 this figure was 239290, a year later - 300590, and a year later - 136,959. 1936 no data available. In 1937, production reached 560,545 units, and in 1938 for the first time exceeded a million, amounting to 1,124,664 rifles. In 1939, 1396667 rifles were produced, and in 1940 - 1375822.
These figures do not include sniper rifles. In 1933, for the first time, the milestone of 1000 units was overcome, and the next year, 6 times more sniper rifles were produced - 6637 units. This figure doubled in 1935 - 12752. Two years later, the armed forces received 13130, and in 1938 19545 sniper rifles. The total number of rifles produced since 1932 is unknown, since there are no data for 1936 and 1939. If these years are not taken into account, the army received a total of 54,160 sniper weapons.

Mosin carbine modification 1944:

Despite the impressive numbers, there was a shortage of not only automatic weapons, but also rifles in the infantry units. Only on the Western Front in September 1941, as is clear from the report of the commander, there was a shortage of 113 thousand rifles. On other fronts, a similar situation was observed not only with respect to rifles, but also with respect to other types of small arms.
This situation required an immediate and dramatic increase in the productivity of all enterprises in the difficult conditions of retreat on all fronts. How much this was possible is evidenced by the fact that the Soviet defense industry from 1941 to 1945 produced rifles about 6.4 times more than Tsarist Russia during the First World War.
The exact total volume of production of multiply-charged rifles and carbines of the Mosin system before the cessation of their production is unknown, but in the Soviet literature there is data on their production during the war years. True, these figures include automatic rifles.
According to this information, the Soviet defense industry in 1941 produced at least 1,292,475 rifles
and carbines, the next year - 3714191, and from 1943 until the end of the war annually produced more than 3.4 million units of this type of weapon. Of these, 419084 carbines were in 1941, and 687426 in 1942. The decline in production rates since 1943, Soviet authors explain by the fact that the needs of the army in the rifles were satisfied, and in addition, the rearmament of entire formations with submachine guns was carried out. Of interest are also the figures for the release of sniper rifles, the production of which was temporarily suspended in 1940. In 1942, after its resumption, the volume of production amounted to 53195 units, that is, about the same as for the period from 1931 to 1938.

Mosin carbine arr. 1938 produced in 1944:

The latest modifications of the Mosin system's multi-charge rifles were carbines of the 1938 and 1944 model. The first version entered service on February 26, 1939, and the second, on January 17, 1944. Carbines differ from rifles in smaller size, weight and effective range of fire. The main difference between both versions of the carbines is the bayonet fitting. The 1938 carbine was supplied without a bayonet, and the 1944 carbine was serially equipped with it.
The bayonet is not removable, but can be folded. In the stowed position, it is folded to the right of the barrel: in the firing position it is held by a ring with a spring latch. Shooting is possible only if the bayonet is in the firing position.
Having structural and functional principles identical to the rifle, both versions of the carbines hardly differ from each other, except for the bayonet. The barrels of the carbines are shorter than those of the rifle, the sector sight is adjustable from 100 to 1000 m, the length of the sight line is 416 mm. Ammunition, like that of a multiply charged rifle, is 4-g1 rounds.
The effective firing range of the rifle reached 600 m, and the carbine - 400 m. This applied to single targets. With dense fire, group targets were successfully hit at a distance of 800 m, and air targets at an altitude of 500 m.The sight of sniper rifles was installed, as a rule, at a distance of up to 800 m and only in very rare cases at a greater distance, although the properties of the optics, in principle, allowed This.
The rifle remained the standard weapon of the Soviet infantry until the end of World War II, but increasingly lost its dominant position as it was supplanted by carbines and submachine guns. Increasingly, the preference was given to short-barreled weapons with a high rate of fire. In addition to submachine guns, other automatic weapons, such as self-loading and automatic rifles, appeared at this time. Machine guns at that time had not yet become widespread and existed only as prototypes, but after the Second World War, all small arms were already operating on an automatic principle.
First of all, cavalry, artillery units and special units were equipped with carbines. Carbines of the 1938 model were probably produced until 1943-1944, and the 1944 model was produced after the end of the Second World War. Although most publications indicate 1945 as the date of completion of their production, there are reliable sources that report the release of these carbines up to 1948.
This may well correspond to reality, since the armies of the socialist states were armed with weapons of this type, and later, for quite a long time, also various formations in the third world countries.
Soldiers of Tsarist Russia fought with rifles and carbines of the Mosin system during the First World War and even before it. Soldiers of the Red Army were armed with Mosin rifles during the civil war. With modernized weapons of this type, the Soviet infantry defended their homeland during the Second World War, and they were used for many years after its end.
Experts all over the world are unanimous in the opinion that the Mosin system's multi-charge rifle is one of the most remarkable designs. Its reliability and reliability under any climatic conditions are highly appreciated.

Features: rifle of the Mosin 1891/30 system

Bullet muzzle velocity (Vq), m / s ........................................ ..865 *
Weapon length, mm .............................................. ...................... 1230 **
Rate of fire, shots / min ........................................... .................10

for 4-1-1 rounds
Unloaded weight with bayonet, kg ............... 4,50
Bayonet weight, kg .............................................. ................................ 0.50
Weight of the optical sight PU, kg ........................................... 0 , 27
Weight of the optical sight PE, kg .......................................... 0, 60
Muffler weight, kg .............................................. ........................ 0.50
Full clip weight, kg ........................................ 0,12-0 ,13
Cartridge................................................. ................................... 7,62x54 R
Barrel length, mm .............................................. ....................... 730 ***

Sighting range, m ....................................... 2000
Effective firing range, m ............................. 600 ****
* Cartridge with a light bullet.
** With a mounted bayonet —1660 mm.
*** Free part - 657 mm.
**** In sniper version with telescopic sight - 600 m.
Specifications: 1938 sample multi-shot carbine
Caliber, mm ............................................... ....................................... 7.62

Weapon length, mm .............................................. ........................... 1020

Ammunition supply .................................... built-in store
for 4-1-1 rounds
Uncharged weight, kg .................................... 3.50

Barrel length, mm .............................................. ......................... 512 **
Rifling / Direction ............................................... .................... 4 / p

* Cartridge with a light bullet.
** Free part - 439 mm.
Specifications: 1944 sample multi-charge carbine
Caliber, mm ............................................... ....................................... 7.62
Bullet muzzle velocity (Vq), m / s ........................................ .820 *
Weapon length, mm .............................................. .............. 1020 **
Rate of fire, shots / min ........................................... ................10
Ammunition supply .................................... built-in store
for 4-1-1 rounds
Uncharged weight, kg .................................... 3.90
Bayonet weight, kg .............................................. ............................... 0.40
Cartridge................................................. .................................. 7,62x54 R
Barrel length, mm .............................................. ................ 517 ***
Rifling / Direction ............................................... .................... 4 / p
Sighting range, m ....................................... 1000
Effective firing range, m ....................................... 400
* Cartridge with a light bullet.
** With bayonet in firing position - 1330 mm.
*** Free part - 444 mm.

Drummers

Oiler for the Mosin rifle. Divided into two parts, one contains neutral oil and the other alkaline

Three-line rifle model 1891 in the "infantry rifle" version, the rifle in the photo was made in 1892

Three-line rifle of the 1891 model in the "infantry rifle" version of the 1910 modification with an aiming bar designed by V.P. Konovalov, the introduction of which was necessary due to the transition in 1908 to pointed bullets, which differed from the old blunt-pointed bullets in flight path.

Three-line rifle model 1891 in the version "Dragoon rifle" and "Cossack rifle" produced in 1908. The Cossack rifle differs from the Dragoon rifle by the absence of a bayonet.

Three-line rifle model 1891 in the version "dragoon rifle" and "Cossack rifle" modification in 1910, with the V.P. Konovalova

The 7.62-mm (3-line) rifle of the 1891 model (Mosin rifle, three-line) is a magazine rifle adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891. It was actively used in the period from 1891 to the end of World War II, during this period it was modernized many times. The name of the three-line comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (the old measure of length is equal to one tenth of an inch, or 2.54 mm - respectively, three lines are equal to 7.62 mm). In the west, it is known almost only as the Mosin-Nagant rifle. Based on the rifle arr. 1891 and its modifications, a number of samples of sporting and hunting weapons, both rifled and smooth-bore, were created.

In 1889, Sergei Ivanovich Mosin proposed for the competition a three-line (7.62 mm) rifle, developed on the basis of his earlier single-shot, from which the bolt group and receiver were borrowed practically unchanged; At the same time, some ideas regarding the design of the store were borrowed from the newest Austro-Hungarian rifle of the Mannlicher system tested in the same year with a batch loading of an in-line middle store, which was found to be fully consistent with all the requirements set.

Later, at the very end of the same year, the Belgian Leon Nagant also offered his system for the competition (in the same 1889, the Mauser rifle, which had already lost in the competition for arming the Belgian army). There were three copies of the Nagant rifles, all store-bought, with a caliber of about 8 mm, although Nagant undertook to make a rifle with a 7.62 mm caliber. The Nagana system was found to be generally sound, but in need of improvement. Of particular interest to the Commission was a magazine of a successful design with loading from clips, resembling the magazine of the Mauser rifle that had just been adopted in Belgium.

As a result of their testing, as well as comparative tests with the Austrian Mannlicher rifle, it became possible to finally determine the requirements for a new rifle, in modern language - to draw up a technical task for it. It was decided to adopt a 7.62 mm caliber (three Russian lines), a barrel and sight modeled on Lebel (but with a change in the direction of the rifling from the left to right in France), a sliding bolt, locked with a separate combat mask (since the replacement in the event of a breakdown, the larva is cheaper than replacing the entire bolt), the store is middle, permanent, with five rounds loading from the frame holder. The commission was consequently renamed in 1889 as the Commission for the development of a model of a small-bore rifle.

Since neither the Mosin rifle nor the Nagant rifle fully met these requirements, the designers were asked to develop new systems on their basis, which, thus, were initially doomed to be largely similar in design, being created on the basis of the same the barrel and cartridge developed by the Commission, which together determine all the ballistic properties of the weapon, and by virtue of the requirements set by it, using the bolt and magazine of the same type, and having differences only in the specific design of these elements. In fact, Mosin and Nagan were tasked with creating their own versions of bolt action groups and magazines for the existing barrel.

At the same time, in 1890, 23 more systems were considered, which, however, did not show advantages over the Nagant and Mosin already selected for further comparison.

After the delivery of an experimental batch of modified 3-line Nagant rifles from Belgium in the fall of 1890, large-scale comparative tests of both systems began.

According to the results of the initial tests, the Nagant rifle showed some advantage, and at the first stage of the competition, the Commission voted for it by 14 votes to 10. However, this vote was not decisive, since the first stage of the competition was essentially for informational purposes. In addition, many members of the commission felt that the tests showed the equivalence of the samples presented - this preliminary assessment of Mosin's design, in their opinion, was mainly associated with a lower quality of finish compared to the demonstration Nagant samples, while the Mosin rifle was generally simpler and structurally more reliable. The difference in the quality of the finish was quite natural, given the fact that Mosin rifles at that time were ordinary prototypes of weapons made in semi-handicraft conditions, which were at the very early stage of refinement - while the Nagan rifles presented for comparison with them, executed "with amazing precision" and very well finished, represented a further development of the design, at one time already submitted to a competition in Belgium and ready for mass production back in 1889.

Moreover, it was written that: "Taking into account that ... that the guns and clips presented by Captain Mosin for experiments were made under extremely unfavorable conditions and, as a result, very inaccurate, Nagan's guns and clips, on the contrary, turned out to be made amazingly accurately, General- Lieutenant Chebyshev did not find it possible to agree with the conclusion that both tested systems are equally good. In his opinion, in view of the above circumstances, Captain Mosin's system had a huge advantage. "

Having familiarized themselves in more detail with both systems and the results of military tests (300 Mosin rifles and 300 Nagant rifles were tested), the members of the Commission revised their opinion. On test firing, Mosin rifles gave 217 delays in feeding cartridges from the store, and Nagan - 557, almost three times more. Considering the fact that the competition essentially boiled down to the search for the optimal store design, this alone clearly spoke of the advantage of the Mosin system in terms of reliability, despite any “unfavorable conditions”. In addition, the Commission came to the conclusion that: "... the pack guns of the foreigner Nagan, in comparison with the same cap. Mosin, are a more complicated mechanism to manufacture ... and the cost of each copy of the gun will undoubtedly increase."

Moreover, it was about more than significant costs: even by the most conservative estimates, the production of the Nagant system would give additional costs in the amount of 2 to 4 million gold rubles for the first million rifles produced, that is, 2-4 rubles for each, moreover, that the total amount required for the rearmament of one Russian soldier averaged about 12 rubles. In addition, an additional 3-4 months were required for the development of the design by industry, in the conditions of an already outlined lag of Russia from developed European countries in rearmament with new small arms, despite the fact that the Mosin rifle was already being prepared for production and was specially designed for a high degree of technological continuity with already produced Berdan rifle.

So in 1891, upon completion of military tests, the Commission worked out a compromise solution: a rifle was adopted, developed on the basis of Mosin's design, but with significant changes and additions, both borrowed from the Nagant design and made taking into account the proposals of the members of the Commission themselves.

From the experimental Mosin rifle, a locking mechanism bar, a safety cocking device, a bolt, a cut-off reflector, a magazine lid latch, a method for connecting the feeder to the lid, making it possible to disconnect the lid from the feeder from the magazine, a hinged swivel were used directly in it; from the Nagant system - the idea of placing the feed mechanism on the door of the store and opening it down, the method of filling the store by lowering it from the cartridge holder with a finger, - therefore, the grooves for the clip in the receiver and, in fact, the cartridge clip itself. The rest of the parts were worked out by members of the Commission, with the participation of Mosin.

Probably the most fully reflecting the authorship of the design of this rifle would be the name "Commission Rifle Model 1891", by analogy with the German "Commission Rifle" (Kommissionsgewehr) Model 1888, also developed at one time by a commission based on the Mannlicher and Mauser systems.

The authorship of the new rifle was absolutely clearly formulated by the then Minister of War P.S. Vannovsky in his resolution on the adoption of the model for service: "The new model being manufactured contains parts proposed by Colonel Rogovtsev, the commission of Lieutenant General Chagin, Captain Mosin and the gunsmith Nagan, so it is advisable to give the developed sample the name: Russian 3-line rifle of the model 1891 ".

On April 16, 1891, Emperor Alexander III approved the model, deleting the word "Russian", so the rifle was adopted under the name "three-line rifle of the 1891 model of the year".

Mosin retained the rights to the individual parts of the rifle developed by him and awarded him the Great Mikhailovsky Prize (for outstanding developments in the artillery and rifle unit).

This was not the first time that a sample, created on the basis of a certain system with extensive additions, was adopted by the Russian army under an impersonal index, without mentioning the name of the author of the original system; for example, a rifle developed on the basis of the Karle system (in the original Russian documentation - Karl) was adopted in 1867 as a "rapid-firing needle rifle of the 1867 model."

Subsequently, however, voices began to be heard that such a name violated the well-established tradition of naming small arms of the Russian army, since the name of the designer was deleted from the name of the model adopted for service. As a result, in 1924, the name of the rifle appeared in the name of Mosin.

At the same time, both in the Manual of 1938 and its reprint of 1941, in the brochure for OSOAVIAKHIM of 1941 "The rifle and its use", and in the Manual of 1954, the rifle (in the version after the modernization of 1930) is simply called "arr. 1891/30 ", without mentioning any surnames, despite the fact that the designations of other samples (self-loading rifle and carbine of F.V. Tokarev, submachine guns of GS Shpagin and A.I.Sudaev, etc. ) in the similar literature almost always were provided with notes of the form "construction of such-and-such" or "system of such-and-such". Thus, it is likely that during this period, officially in relation to the rifle, they continued to use the "impersonal" name according to the years of its adoption. In the manual from 1938, the authorship of the rifle is also stated directly: "The 7.62-mm rifle model 1891, adopted by the Russian army in 1891, was designed by Captain Mosin together with other members of the commission formed for this."

That is, it also points to the "commission" origin of the rifle design, although not directly mentioning individual borrowings from the Nagant system. Abroad, the name of Nagan is often placed next to the name of Mosin, as well as in the names of the Tokarev-Colt and Makarov-Walter pistols.

Production and operation of the three-line

Rifle production began in 1892 at the Tula, Izhevsk and Sestroretsk arms factories. Due to the limited production capacity of these factories, an order for 500 thousand rifles was placed at the French arms factory in the city of Chatellerault (Manufacture Nationale d "Armes de Châtelleraut).

The first combat test of the Mosin rifle took place in 1893 in a clash of a Russian detachment in the Pamirs with the Afghans, according to other information - during the suppression of the Ihetuan ("boxer") uprising in China in 1900-1901.

Already in the first years after the rifle was put into service, during the production and operation of weapons, changes began to be made in the original design. So, in 1893, a wooden barrel pad was introduced to protect the shooter's hands from burns, in 1896 - a new ramrod, longer and with a head of increased diameter that does not go through the barrel, which simplified the cleaning of the weapon. Eliminated the notch on the sides of the magazine box lid, which, when carrying a weapon, wiped uniforms. These improvements were made to the design of previously released rifles.

On March 21, 1897, the 500,000th rifle was released. At the end of 1897, the first stage of rearmament of the Russian army with a rifle arr. 1891 was completed and in 1898 the second stage of rearmament began.

By the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, approximately 3,800,000 rifles were delivered to the army.

After the adoption in 1908 of a cartridge with a pointed ("offensive") bullet in 1910, a new version of the rifle with the Konovalov system sight was adopted, corresponding to the ballistics of the new cartridge.

By the time Russia entered the First World War, the Russian army had 4,519,700 rifles in service, four rifle variants were in production - dragoon, infantry, Cossack and carbine. During the war, the Russian military industry produced 3,286,232 three-line rifles, repaired and repaired 289,431.

Due to the catastrophic shortage of weapons and problems of the domestic industry, the Russian government began to purchase rifles of several foreign systems abroad, and also ordered 1.5 million rifles arr. From Remington and Westinghouse in the United States. 1891/10 Some of them were never delivered to Russia - after the Revolution they were confiscated by the US government. Today, American-made Mosin rifles are among the rarest and most collectible, along with rifles made in France in the city of Chatellerault. Due to the same shortage of weapons, it was even necessary to equip the shooters with imported weapons under a non-standard cartridge - so, according to the memoirs of the gunsmith Fedorov, the entire Russian Northern Front since 1916 was armed with 6.5-mm Arisaka rifles, supplemented by a small number of those using the same cartridge "Machine guns" (automatic rifles) of the system of Fedorov himself, which were available to selected shooters in the company.

A large number of rifles were captured by German and Austro-Hungarian troops.

In the course of hostilities, significant shortcomings of the rifle in its then form were revealed, primarily associated with the unsuccessful design of the clip, which reduced the rate of fire in combat conditions, and the design of individual elements of accessories, such as fastening a bayonet with a clamp, a ramrod device or the design of false rings, which in direct comparison with German and Austrian samples, they left a very unfavorable impression.

The greatest number of problems, however, was caused by the backwardness of the domestic industry and the extreme haste in the manufacture of rifles in the pre-war period, due to which each of them required careful fitting of parts and debugging to ensure reliable operation, which was aggravated by the recent transition to pointed cartridges, more demanding to work. feeding mechanism, as well as the inevitable in the conditions of trench warfare, strong contamination of both rifles and cartridges.

Rifles taken from the stock and transferred to the front without modification gave many delays in reloading, some of them could not shoot even one full magazine without disrupting the supply. Numerous organizational flaws were also revealed, first of all - the disgusting training of ordinary shooters and poor supplies, in particular, the lack of high-quality packaging of cartridges sent to the front.

During the Civil War, two types of rifles were produced in Russia - dragoon and, in much smaller quantities, infantry. After the end of the war, since 1922, only the dragoon rifle and carbine mod. 1907 year.

In the early years of Soviet power, there was a wide discussion about the advisability of modernizing or replacing the existing rifle with a more advanced one. In its course, it was concluded that the rifle mod. 1891, although yielding to new foreign counterparts, subject to a number of improvements, it still fully satisfies the existing requirements for this type of weapon. It was also noted that the introduction of a new model of a magazine rifle would be essentially meaningless, since a magazine rifle itself is a rapidly aging type of weapon, and the cost of developing a fundamentally new model would be a waste of money.

In addition, it was noted that the change in the rifle sample must be accompanied by the change of the standard rifle cartridge to a new one, devoid of the shortcomings of the existing three-line, in particular, having a smaller caliber with a greater transverse load of the bullet and a sleeve without a rim - the development of a completely new model of a rifle for an outdated cartridge is also was regarded as meaningless. At the same time, the state of the economy, still emerging from the post-revolutionary devastation, did not at all give reason for optimism regarding the possibility of such a large-scale rearmament - as well as the complete rearmament of the Red Army with an automatic (self-loading) rifle proposed by Fedorov.

The introduction of a self-loading rifle in addition to the existing magazine rifle, Fedorov himself considered useless, since the gain in the firepower of the infantry squad was negligible - instead, he recommended, while maintaining the magazine rifle of the current model, supplement it with a large number of light manual rifles (in his terminology - “ maneuverable ") machine guns of the newly developed successful model.

As a result of the discussion in 1924, a committee was formed to modernize the rifle arr. 1891

As a result of the modification of the dragoon version of the rifle, as a shorter and more convenient one, a single model appeared - a rifle of the 1891/1930 model. (GAU index - 56-V-222). Although it contained a number of improvements relative to the original model, in comparison with analogs that were in service with the armies of the states-probable enemies of the USSR, it still did not look the best. However, a magazine rifle by that time was no longer the only type of infantry small arms, therefore, in those years, the stake was made primarily on the creation of more modern and advanced types of it - submachine guns, machine guns, self-loading and automatic rifles.

In the 1920s - 1930s, Mosin rifles were used in the USSR in the general training system and OSOAVIAKHIM for training in shooting, the movement of "Voroshilov shooters" became widespread.

In 1928, the USSR began the serial production of the first samples of optical sights, specially designed for installation on a rifle arr. 1891

In 1932, the serial production of the sniper rifle arr. 1891/30 (GAU index - 56-V-222A), distinguished by improved quality of barrel bore processing, the presence of a PE, PB or (later) PU telescopic sight and a bolt handle bent down. A total of 108,345 units were produced. sniper rifles. At present, Mosin's sniper rifles are of collectible value (especially the “nominal” rifles, which were awarded to the best Soviet snipers).

In 1938, a modernized carbine mod. 1938, which was a modification of the 1907 model carbine. It became 5 mm longer than its predecessor and was designed to conduct aimed fire at a distance of up to 1000 m. The carbine was intended for various types of troops, in particular artillery, engineer troops, cavalry, communications units and logistics personnel, such as transport drivers. who needed a light and easy-to-use weapon, mostly for self-defense.

The latest version of the rifle was the carbine mod. 1944, distinguished by the presence of a fixed needle bayonet and simplified manufacturing technology. Simultaneously with its introduction, the rifle itself of the 1891/1930 model. was discontinued. The shortening of infantry weapons was an urgent requirement put forward by the experience of the Great Patriotic War. The carbine made it possible to increase the maneuverability of the infantry and other types of troops, since it became more convenient to fight with it in various earthen fortifications, buildings, dense thickets, etc., and its fighting qualities both in fire and in bayonet combat compared to a rifle practically did not decrease.

After the adoption of the fairly successful Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT) in 1938, it was assumed that in the early 1940s it would almost completely replace the Mosin rifle in the Red Army and become the main weapon of the Soviet infantry, following the US Army, which adopted in 1936 on armament self-loading rifle Garanda. According to pre-war plans, in 1941 it was supposed to produce 1.8 million SVTs, in 1942 - 2 million.In fact, by the beginning of the war, more than 1 million SVTs were manufactured, and many units and formations of the first line, mainly in the western military districts, received full-time number of self-loading rifles.

However, the plans for the complete rearmament of the Red Army with automatic weapons were not fulfilled due to the beginning of the Soviet-German war - since 1941, the production of SVT as more complex in comparison with a magazine rifle and a submachine gun was reduced significantly, and one of the main types of weapons of the Soviet army remained a modernized rifle arr. 1891, although supplemented by very significant quantities (more than half of the total number of small arms at the end of the war) of self-loading rifles and submachine guns.

In 1931, 154,000 were produced, in 1938 - 1,124,664, in 1940 - 1,375,822.

In 1943, in the occupied territory of Belarus, railway engineer T.E. Shavgulidze developed the design of a 45-mm rifle grenade launcher, in total, in 1943-1944, in the workshops of the Minsk partisan formation, Soviet partisans manufactured 120 rifle grenade launchers of the Shavgulidze system, which were installed on the Mosin rifles.

Production of the main rifle arr. 1891/30 was discontinued in early 1945. Carbine mod. 1944 was produced until the start of production of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Rifles and carbines were gradually removed from the army's armament, replacing the SKS carbine and the Kalashnikov assault rifle (although a certain number of 1944 carbines continued to be used in the paramilitary security system).

In 1959, the Izhevsk plant shortened the barrels and stocks of the surviving rifles arr. 1891/30 to the size of the carbine mod. 1938. "New" carbines were produced in large numbers and entered service with private security and other civilian organizations. In the West, they received the designation 1891/59.

Mosin rifles and carbines continued to be used in the armies of Eastern Europe and around the world for several more decades. As a weapon of infantry and fighters of irregular armed formations, Mosin rifles were used in many wars - from Korea and Vietnam to Afghanistan and conflicts in the post-Soviet space.

Design

Barrel and receiver

Rifle barrel - rifled (4 grooves, curling from left-up-right). In early samples, the groove is trapezoidal. Later, when we were convinced that the metal of the bullet does not envelop the barrel, it was the simplest rectangular one. The caliber of the barrel, measured as the distance between opposite rifling fields, is nominally equal to 7.62 mm, or 3 Russian lines (in reality, as measurements carried out on a large number of rifles of various years of production and various degrees of preservation show, it is 7.62 ... 7.66 mm). The groove caliber is 7.94 ... 7.96 mm.

At the rear of the barrel there is a chamber with smooth walls, designed to accommodate the cartridge when fired. It is connected to the rifled part of the barrel using a bullet inlet. Above the chamber there is a factory mark, which allows identifying the manufacturer and the year of production of the rifle.

At the back, on the threaded barrel stump, the receiver is tightly screwed on, which serves to place the shutter. To it, in turn, are attached a magazine box with a feeder, a cut-off reflector and a trigger.

Magazine box and cut-off reflector

The magazine box (magazine) is used to accommodate 4 cartridges and a feeder. It has cheeks, a square, a trigger guard and a cover on which the feeder is mounted.

The cartridges in the store are located in one row, in such a position that their edges do not interfere with the feed, which is associated with the shape of the store, which is unusual by modern standards.

The cut-off reflector is controlled by the movement of the shutter and serves to separate the cartridges fed from the magazine box to the receiver, preventing possible feed delays caused by the engagement of the edges of the cartridges with each other, and also plays the role of a reflector of spent cartridges. Before the modernization of 1930, it was a single piece, after that it consisted of a blade with a baffle plate and a spring part.

The reflector cutoff is considered one of the key design details of the rifle introduced by Mosin, ensuring the reliability and reliability of the weapon in any conditions. At the same time, its very presence was caused by the use of outdated cartridges with a rim, which were not very convenient for feeding from the store.

However, even the Lee system stores, adopted for the British rifles Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield, which also used a cartridge with a rim, did not have a reflector cutoff, instead of which the magazine had spring jaws on top and a diamond-shaped profile, thanks to which the cartridges were located in it so that the rim of the upper cartridge stood in front of the rim of the next one, and their engagement was excluded (herringbone). It was this scheme that later became generally accepted for stores for welded (rimmed) cartridges.

Trigger mechanism

The trigger mechanism consists of a trigger, a trigger spring, which also serves as a sear, a screw and a hairpin. The rifle trigger is long, rather tight and without "warning" - that is, the trigger stroke is not divided into two stages with a different effort.

Gate

The bolt of the rifle is used to send the cartridge into the chamber, lock the barrel at the time of the shot, fire the shot, remove the spent cartridge case or the axial cartridge from the chamber.

Consists of a stem with a comb and a handle, a combat larva, an ejector, a trigger, a striker, a mainspring and a connecting bar. On a sniper rifle, the bolt handle is lengthened and bent downward to increase the convenience of reloading the weapon and the possibility of installing an optical sight.

The bolt contains a drummer and a twisted cylindrical combat spring. Compression of the mainspring occurs when the bolt is unlocked by turning the handle; when locking - the combat platoon of the drummer rests on the sear. The hammer can be cocked manually with the bolt closed, for this it is necessary to pull back the hammer (in this case, the hammer is the tip screwed onto the hammer shank). To set the safety catch, the trigger must be pulled back to the full and turned counterclockwise.

Stock and receiver plate

The stock connects the parts of the weapon, it consists of a forend, a neck and a butt. The stock of the Mosin rifle is solid, made of birch or walnut wood. The neck of the stock is straight, more durable and suitable for bayonet fighting, although it is less comfortable for shooting than the semi-pistol neck of the stock of many later models. Since 1894, a separate detail has been introduced - the barrel pad, which covers the barrel from above, protecting it from damage, and the shooter's hands from burns. The stock of the dragoon modification is somewhat narrower, and the forend is thinner than that of the infantry. The stock and receiver plate are attached to the weapon mechanisms with two screws and two false rings with ring springs. The stock rings are split on the main mass of rifles and deaf on the dragoon arr. 1891

Sights

The sight is stepped on a rifle mod. 1891, sector rifle arr. 1891/30. Consists of an aiming strip with a clip, an aiming pad and a spring.

On the rifle arr. In 1891, the sight was graduated in hundreds of steps. There were two rear sights on the aiming bar: one was used when shooting at 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 steps, and the second, for which it was necessary to raise the aiming bar to a vertical position, at a distance of 1300 to 3200 steps ... There were also two options for the frame sight: the original version, used until 1910 and designed for a heavy bullet, and modernized, with a Konovalov system bar, designed for a light pointed "offensive" bullet of the mod. 1908 year. On the rifle arr. 1891/30, the sight is marked up to a distance of 2,000 meters; a single rear sight can be set to any position from 50 to 2000 m in 50 m increments.

The front sight is located on the barrel near the muzzle. U arr. 1891/30 received a ring mount.

In 1932, the serial production of the sniper rifle arr. 1891/31 years (GAU Index - 56-V-222A), which was distinguished by improved quality of barrel bore processing, the presence of a PE, PB or PU telescopic sight and a bolt handle bent down.

Bayonet

Serves to defeat the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. It has a four-edged blade with valleys, a tube with a stepped slot and a spring latch that attaches the bayonet to the barrel, and a neck that connects them.

The rifle was brought to a normal battle with a bayonet, that is, when firing, it had to be attached, otherwise the point of impact shifted significantly and at a relatively large distance it became almost impossible to get from a weapon into something without a new reduction to a normal battle. When firing with a bayonet at a distance of 100 m, the middle point of impact (STP) deviates on a rifle reduced to a normal battle without it to the left by 6-8 cm and down by 8-10 cm, which is compensated by a new reduction to a normal battle.

In general, the bayonet had to be on the rifle, in fact, constantly, including during storage and on the march, with the exception of movement by rail or road, in light of which it was very practical that its edges were not sharply sharpened, like knife-shaped bayonets. since with the established method of wearing it could create significant inconvenience when using the weapon and cause injuries when handling it.

The manual ordered to remove the bayonet, in addition to the above cases, only when the rifle was disassembled for cleaning, and it was assumed that it could be difficult to remove from constant presence on the weapon.

The sharpened tip of the bayonet was used as a screwdriver for complete disassembly.

Until 1930, there was no spring latch, instead of which the bayonet was attached to the barrel with a bayonet clamp, the shape of the blade was also slightly different. Practice has shown that over time, such a connection is prone to loosening. In 1930, the method of attachment was changed, but rifles were still fired with bayonets. Some of the modernized rifles also had a bayonet with a gun (an early version), later they began to make a gun on the rifle itself.

Carbine mod. 1944 had an integral loose-leaf bayonet of its own design, designed by Semin. The rifles are zeroed in with the bayonet in the firing position.

An interesting fact - the sniper version of the Mosin rifle also had a bayonet, and it was extremely tightly planted. In this case, it served as a muzzle weight that significantly reduced the vibration of the barrel when fired, which had a positive effect on the accuracy of the battle. The slightest loosening of the mount, which was not uncommon on conventional rifles in the infantry, on the contrary, had a negative effect on the combat of the rifle.

Belonging to the rifle

Each rifle relied on an accessory consisting of a wiper, a screwdriver, a muzzle pad for cleaning the barrel, a ramrod clutch, a hairpin, a bristle brush, an oiler with two compartments for cleaning the barrels and oil, as well as a gun belt.

Accuracy of combat and effectiveness of fire

Rifles mod. 1891 and 1891/30 were high-precision weapons, allowing you to confidently hit a single target at a distance of up to 400 m, with a sniper using optics - up to 800 m; group - at a distance of up to 800 m.

In 1946, Senior Sergeant Nemtsev developed a method of high-speed rifle fire. At the range of the Ryazan Infantry School, he managed to make 53 aimed shots per minute from a rifle from a distance of 100 meters at a chest target, hitting it with 52 bullets. In the future, Nemtsev's high-speed shooting method became widespread among the troops.

Mosin sniper rifles of pre-war production were distinguished by amazing, by the standards of their time, the quality of combat, largely due to the barrel with a choke (narrowing of the channel from the treasury to the muzzle), with a difference in diameters at the breech and muzzle of 2-3%. When fired from such a barrel, the bullet is additionally compressed, which does not allow it to "walk" along the bore.

The advantages of the three-line

Good ballistics and high cartridge power (at the level of 30-06), despite the fact that many analogues at that time still used black powder;
Great survivability of the barrel and bolt;
Undemanding manufacturing technology and large tolerances;
Reliability, trouble-free operation of rifle mechanisms in any conditions;
Simple and reliable design of the shutter, consisting of only 7 parts; it can be disassembled and assembled quickly and without any tools;
Cheap frame clip;
Shutter, easily removable for cleaning;
A separate combat bolt larva, the replacement of which in the event of a breakdown is much cheaper than replacing the entire bolt;
Cheap replacement of wooden parts.

Flaws

An outdated cartridge with a rim that makes it difficult to feed from the store and required the introduction of an otherwise unnecessary part, which is quite difficult to manufacture and vulnerable to damage - a cut-off reflector (later, during the modernization, replaced by two parts that are easier to manufacture; nevertheless, the most advanced magazine systems provided reliable feed of cartridges with a rim and without clipping as a separate part, for example, the Lee system magazine for Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles with a two-row arrangement of cartridges, which made it possible to increase the capacity of the rifle magazine from 5 to 8-10 rounds);
The horizontal arrangement of the lugs of the bolt larva when locking, increasing the dispersion; rifles with the best fighting already at that time had a vertical arrangement of lugs with the bolt locked;
Long and difficult descent without "warning", interfering with accurate shooting;
Frame non-spring clip, which makes loading difficult; the spring plate clips that already existed at that time, including the Mosin clip, were more perfect, although more expensive than the adopted Nagant clip;
A long and extremely outdated crank-necked needle bayonet that mounts to the barrel rather than the stock;
Infantry and dragoon rifles were fired with a bayonet, that is, when firing, he had to be on the rifle, otherwise the point of impact shifted significantly, which made the weapon ready for battle cumbersome; the bayonet loosened over time, as a result of which the accuracy of the rifle fell; the Cossack rifle was aimed without a bayonet, but it was still too heavy and generally inconvenient for shooting from a horse and carrying by a horseman; the loosening of the bayonet was eliminated in arr. 1891/30, but the bayonet still had to be on the weapon when firing; this problem was completely solved only on the carbine mod. 1944 by the introduction of an integral rocker bayonet, which, when fired, also remained on the weapon, but could fold, increasing the ease of handling;
Short, not bent to the bottom of the bolt handle, making it difficult to open it, especially when the sleeve is tightly "stuck" in the chamber; a strong movement of the handle forward due to the design of the bolt and its horizontal position without bending downward, which forced the shooter to take the butt off the shoulder when reloading, thereby reducing the rate of fire; (with the exception of sniper modifications that had a longer handle bent down); the advanced models of those years already had a handle that was bent downward, which was very far backward, which made it possible to reload the weapon without taking the butt off the shoulder, thereby increasing the rate of fire - the handle of the Lee-Metford rifle can be considered a reference in this respect;
It is worth noting that both the Mosin experimental rifle of 1885 and the Nagant rifle had a bolt handle extended back, located in a special cutout, separated from the window for ejection of spent cartridges by a jumper, which also strengthened the receiver; however, when testing the rifle in 1885, it turned out that with such an arrangement of the handle, delays in reloading often occur, due to the fact that the long sleeves of the soldier's greatcoat fell between the stem of the bolt and the receiver, and it was considered necessary to abandon a separate cutout for the handle, returning to the same configuration receiver, as on the Berdan rifle;
Straight butt neck, less convenient when firing than a semi-pistol one on the latest rifle models at that time, although it is more durable and convenient in bayonet combat;
Mosin's fuse is very simple, but inconvenient to use and short-lived due to the shrinking of the safety protrusion with frequent use (how much a fuse on a magazine rifle is generally needed is a moot point);
Some lag behind the leading foreign counterparts in the design of small parts and accessories, for example - outdated and quickly loosening stock rings, a sight vulnerable to impacts, less convenient than the side, lower "infantry" swivels (since 1910, replaced by not the most convenient slots for belt passage, originally available on a dragoon rifle), an inconvenient ramrod stop, etc.;
Poor quality wood parts due to the use of cheap wood, especially in later releases.

Technical characteristics of the Mosin three-line 1891 (infantry rifle)

Caliber: 7.62 × 54R
Weapon length: 1306 mm
Barrel length: 800 mm
Weight without cartridges: 4 kg.
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

TTX rifle Mosin 1891 (Dragoon and Cossack rifles)

Caliber: 7.62 × 54R
Weapon length: 1238 mm
Barrel length: 731 mm
Weight without cartridges: 4 kg.
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

7.62 mm (3-line) rifle, model 1891

A magazine rifle, adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891.

It was actively operated from 1891 to the end of World War II, during this period it was modernized many times.

The name of the three-line comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (the old measure of length is equal to one tenth of an inch, or 2.54 mm - respectively, three lines are equal to 7.62 mm).

On the basis of the rifle arr. 1891 and its modifications, a number of samples of sporting and hunting weapons, both rifled and smooth-bore, were created.

Creation

In 1889, Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (Russian designer and organizer of the production of small arms, major general of the Russian army) proposed a three-line (7.62 mm) rifle for the competition, created on the basis of his earlier single-shot, from which the bolt action was taken practically unchanged. group and receiver; some ideas regarding the design of the store were taken from the tested in the same year the newest Austro-Hungarian rifle of the Mannlicher system with a batch loading of an in-line middle store, which was found to be fully consistent with all the requirements set.

Later, at the end of the same year, the Belgian Leon Nagant also proposed his system for the competition (in the same 1889, the Mauser rifle, which had already lost in the competition for arming the Belgian army). There were three copies of the Nagant rifles, all store-bought, with a caliber of about 8 mm, although Nagant undertook to produce a rifle with a caliber of 7.62 mm. The Nagana system was found to be generally benign, but requires some improvement. The great interest of the Commission was aroused by a store of a successful design with loading from clips, resembling the store of the Mauser rifle that had just been adopted in Belgium.

Since neither the Mosin rifle nor the Nagant rifle fully met these requirements, the designers were asked to create new systems based on them, which, thus, were initially doomed to be largely similar in design, being created on the basis of the same the barrel and cartridge developed by the Commission, which together determine all the ballistic properties of the weapon, and by virtue of the requirements set by it, using the bolt and magazine of the same type, and having differences only in the specific design of these elements. In fact, Mosin and Nagan were tasked with creating their own versions of bolt action groups and magazines for the existing barrel.

At the same time, in 1890, 23 more systems were considered, which, however, did not show advantages over the Nagant and Mosin already selected for further comparison.

After the arrival from Belgium of an experimental batch of modified 3-line Nagant rifles in the fall of 1890, large-scale comparative tests of both systems began.

According to the results of the initial tests, the Nagant rifle showed some advantage, and at the first stage of the competition, the Commission voted for it by 14 votes to 10. However, this vote was not decisive, since the first stage of the competition was essentially for informational purposes. In addition, many members of the commission felt that the tests showed the equivalence of the samples presented - this preliminary assessment of Mosin's design, in their opinion, was mainly associated with a lower quality of finish compared to the demonstration Nagant samples, while the Mosin rifle was generally simpler and structurally more reliable. The difference in the quality of the finish was quite natural, given the fact that Mosin rifles at that time were ordinary prototypes of weapons made in semi-handicraft conditions, which were at the very early stage of refinement - while the Nagant rifles presented for comparison with them, executed "with amazing precision" and beautifully finished, represented a further development of the design, at one time already shown at a competition in Belgium and ready for mass production back in 1889. Moreover, it was written that:

"Taking into account that ... that the guns and clips shown by Captain Mosin for experiments were made under extremely unfavorable conditions and, as a result, very inaccurate, the guns and clips of the Nagant, on the contrary, turned out to be amazingly accurate, Lieutenant General Chebyshev did not find it possible to agree with the conclusion that both systems tested are equally good. In his opinion, in view of the above circumstances, the system of Captain Mosin had a huge advantage. "

"... the pack guns of the foreigner Nagant are compared with the same cap. Mosin is a more complicated mechanism to manufacture ... and the cost of each copy of the gun will undoubtedly increase."

So in 1891, upon completion of military tests, the Commission worked out a compromise solution: a rifle was adopted, created on the basis of the Mosin design, but with significant changes and additions, both borrowed from the Nagant design and made taking into account the proposals of the members of the Commission themselves.

The changes borrowed from the Nagant rifle (the shape of the loading clip, the attachment of the feed spring to the magazine cover, the shape of the reflector cutoff) somewhat increased the convenience of handling the rifle, but even if they were removed, they did not deprive it of its functionality. For example, if you completely abandon the magazine loading, the magazine can be loaded with one cartridge. If you disconnect the feed spring from the magazine cover, the cartridges will still feed, although there is an increased risk of losing the spring when cleaning. Thus, the role of these changes is secondary to the purpose and functioning of the weapon and does not give grounds for refusing to recognize Mosin as the author or to put the name of Nagant in the name of the sample, without mentioning the authors of other, no less important than borrowed from his system, additions ...

"The new sample being manufactured contains parts proposed by Colonel Rogovtsev, the commission of Lieutenant General Chagin, Captain Mosin and the gunsmith Nagan, so it is advisable to give the developed sample the name: Russian 3-line rifle, model 1891."

On April 16, 1891, Emperor Alexander III approved the model, deleting the word "Russian", so the rifle was adopted under the name "three-line rifle of the 1891 model of the year".

Mosin retained the rights to the individual parts of the rifle created by him and awarded him the Great Mikhailovsky Prize (for outstanding developments in the artillery and rifle unit).

This was not the first time that a sample created on the basis of a certain system with extensive additions was adopted by the Russian army under an impersonal index, without mentioning the name of the author of the original system; for example, a rifle developed on the basis of the Karle system (in the original Russian documentation - Karl) was adopted in 1867 as a "rapid-firing needle rifle of the 1867 model."

Subsequently, however, opinions began to appear that such a name violated the well-established tradition of naming small arms of the Russian army, since the name of the designer was deleted from the name of the model adopted for service. As a result, in 1924, the name of the rifle appeared in the name of Mosin.

At the same time, both in the Manual of 1938 and its reprint of 1941, in the brochure for OSOAVIAKHIM of 1941 "The rifle and its use", and in the Manual of 1954, the rifle (in the version after the modernization of 1930) is simply called "arr. 1891/30 ", without mentioning any surnames, despite the fact that the designations of other samples (self-loading rifle and carbine of F. V. Tokarev, submachine guns of G. Shpagin and A. I. Sudaev, etc. ) in the similar literature almost always were provided with notes of the form "construction of such and such" or "system of such and such". Thus, it is likely that during this period, officially, the "impersonal" name continued to be applied to the rifle according to the years of its adoption. In the manual from 1938, the authorship of the rifle is also indicated directly:

"7.62-mm. Rifle arr. 1891, adopted by the Russian army in 1891, was designed by Captain Mosin together with other members of the commission formed for this."

Design and principle of operation

Barrel and receiver

At the rear of the barrel is a chamber with smooth walls, designed to accommodate the cartridge when fired. It is connected to the rifled part of the barrel using a bullet inlet. Above the chamber is a factory stamp, which allows identifying the manufacturer and the year of manufacture of the rifle.

Magazine box and cut-off reflector

The magazine box (magazine) is used to accommodate 4 cartridges and a feeder. It has cheeks, a square, a trigger guard and a cover on which the feeder is mounted.

The cartridges in the store are placed in one row, in such a position that their edges do not interfere with the feed, which is associated with the shape of the store, which is unusual by modern standards.

However, even the stores of the Lee system, adopted for the British rifles Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield, which also used a cartridge with a rim, did not have a reflector cutoff, instead of which the magazine had spring jaws on top and a diamond-shaped profile, thanks to which the cartridges were placed in it so that the rim of the upper cartridge stood in front of the rim of the next one, and their engagement was excluded (herringbone). It was this scheme that later became generally accepted for stores for welded (rimmed) cartridges.

Trigger mechanism

The bolt of the rifle is used to send the cartridge into the chamber, lock the barrel at the time of the shot, fire the shot, remove the spent cartridge case or the axial cartridge from the chamber.

Stock, receiver plate

The stock connects the parts of the weapon, it consists of a forend, a neck and a butt. Mosin rifle stock is solid, made of birch or walnut wood. The neck of the stock is straight, more durable and suitable for bayonet fighting, although it is less comfortable for shooting than the semi-pistol neck of the stock of many later models. Since 1894, a separate detail has been introduced - the barrel pad, which covers the barrel from above, protecting it from damage, and the shooter's hands from burns. The buttstock of the dragoon modification is somewhat narrower, and the forend is thinner than that of the infantry.

The stock and receiver plate are attached to the weapon mechanisms with two screws and two false rings with ring springs. The stock rings are split on the main mass of rifles and deaf on the dragoon arr. 1891

Sights

Consisted of sight and front sight.

The sight is stepped on a rifle mod. 1891, sector rifle arr. 1891/30. Consists of an aiming strip with a clip, an aiming pad and a spring.

On the rifle arr. In 1891, the sight was graduated in hundreds of steps. The aiming bar had two rear sights: one was used when shooting at 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 steps, and the second, for which it was necessary to raise the aiming bar to a vertical position, at a distance from 1300 to 3200 steps ... There were also two options for the frame sight: the original version, used until 1910 and designed for a heavy bullet, and modernized, with a Konovalov system bar, designed for a light pointed "offensive" bullet of the mod. 1908 year. On the rifle arr. 1891/30, the sight is marked up to a distance of 2,000 meters; a single rear sight can be set to any position from 50 to 2000 m in 50 m increments.

The front sight is placed on the barrel near the muzzle. U arr. 1891/30 received a ring mount.

Serves to destroy the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. It has a four-edged blade with valleys, a tube with a stepped slot and a spring latch that attaches the bayonet to the barrel, and a neck that connects them.

The sharpened tip of the bayonet was used as a screwdriver for complete disassembly.

Carbine mod. 1944 had an integral loose-leaf bayonet of its own design, designed by Semin. The rifles are zeroed in with the bayonet in the firing position.

Belonging to the rifle

Operating principle

To load a rifle you need:

1.Turn the bolt handle to the left;
2. Take the shutter back to failure;
3. Insert the clip into the grooves of the receiver; drown the cartridges and discard the clip;
4. Send the shutter forward;
5.Turn the bolt handle to the right.
After that, the rifle is immediately ready to fire a shot, for which the shooter can only pull the trigger. To produce the next shot, repeat steps 1, 2, 4 and 5. Four cartridges from the clip are fed into the magazine, and the upper one remains in the receiver, separated from the rest by the cutoff blade, and when the shutter is closed, it is sent to the chamber.

Incomplete disassembly of the rifle

1. Remove the bolt, for which, while keeping the trigger pressed, turn the handle up to the left and pull back to the end.
2. Remove the bayonet.
3. Unscrew and remove the cleaning rod.
4. Separate the cover of the magazine box.
5.Dismantle the shutter.

Operating countries

Russian empire
-Kingdom of Montenegro - on May 24, 1898, 30 thousand rifles and 12 million cartridges were delivered to Montenegro, on July 20, 1909, another 10 thousand rifles and 17.5 million cartridges were delivered on the ship "Petersburg"; by the beginning of World War I, rifles were in service with the army
Ethiopia - in 1912, several thousand rifles were purchased for the army
-Bulgaria - after the creation of the Balkan Union in the spring of 1912, during 1912 50,000 rifles were supplied to the Bulgarian army; as of October 14, 1915, by the time Bulgaria entered the First World War, there were 46,056 rifles in service; these and captured rifles were used during the First World War; after September 9, 1944 supplied from the USSR
-Mongolia - 10,000 rifles delivered in 1913
-Kingdom of Serbia - in 1914, an agreement was signed on the supply of 120 thousand rifles and 120 million cartridges, the first batch of 50 thousand rifles arrived in August 1914, before the start of the First World War, and in total until August 16, 1914, the Serbian army received 113 thousand rifles and 93 million cartridges

Austria-Hungary - captured rifles were used during the First World War, 45,000 pcs. were converted to a standard 8-mm rifle cartridge, the rest were used in front-line units along with captured cartridges
-German Empire - captured rifles, due to the lack of domestic rifles in the German army, were used during the First World War, were adopted by the German Navy
-USA - rifles of the "Russian order" not delivered to Russia until the end of the civil war under the name U.S. Rifle, 7.62 mm, Model of 1916 was used as a training weapon in the army, including student training centers (SATC) and officer reserve training centers (ROTC), were in service with individual units of the US National Guard.
-USSR - in service from the moment the Red Army was created until the end of the Great Patriotic War; after the war, a huge number of rifles were transferred to DOSAAF, were used for training in shooting and in classes for basic military training.

Estonia - after the declaration of independence in 1918, the rifles of the Russian army were used to arm the Estonian army, border police and other Estonian paramilitaries. After the end of the War of Independence, some were transferred to the Defense League. Rifles remained in service until Estonia became part of the USSR in July 1940 (later, they were transferred to service with units of the 22nd corps of the Red Army).
-Poland - was in service in the 1920s, in the 1920s-1930s, modifications were made to wz. 91/98/23, wz. 91/98/25 and wz. 91/98/26 for ammunition 7.92x57 mm, in 1941-1942. were in service with the "army of Anders"
-Finland - rifles have been in service with the Finnish army since the beginning of their creation, in the 1920s there were supplies from Germany; were in service at least until the end of World War II, modernized versions of the M / 24, M / 27, M / 28, M / 28-30, M / 39 were produced
-Mongolian People's Republic
-Second Spanish Republic
-China - used during the civil war in China, carbine arr. 1944 was produced under the name "type 53"
-Third Reich - trophy rifles entered service with auxiliary and security and police units. Rifles arr. 1891 entered service under the name Gewehr 252 (r), and rifles arr. 1891/30 - under the designation Gewehr 254 (r); from the autumn of 1944, rifles entered service with the Volkssturm detachments

Czechoslovakia - in service with the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, and then other units of the Czechoslovak army
-PNR - since 1943 in service with the 1st Polish Infantry Division, and then other units of the Polish Army; in addition, after the end of the war, the carbine model 1944 was produced in small batches at an arms factory in the city of Radom under the name wz. 44
-Yugoslavia - supplied to NOAU in 1944
-Hungarian People's Republic - the rifle was in service under the designation 48 M. puska; in addition, the carbine model 1944 was produced in small batches in 1952-1955. at the Budapest Arsenal
-GDR
-Vietnam

DPRK
-Belarus - the rifle was removed from service in December 2005
-Kazakhstan - rifles and carbines mod. 38/44 are in service with the departmental security, as well as certain categories of workers in the system of the production association of hunting, hunting and zoological enterprises (PO "Okhotzooprom") of the state concern "Kazmestprom"
-Russia - carbines are in service with departmental guards, paramilitary and guard units of private security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and FSUE "Okhrana" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation
-Ukraine - as of August 15, 2011, the Ministry of Defense had 180,000 rifles mod. 1891/30 and 2500 carbines arr. 1944 of the year; carbines are in service with the state security service

As of the beginning of 2011, a large number of rifles (mainly delivered in the period after the end of World War II) were used by armed paramilitaries in Africa.

Modifications

Civilian options

The USSR produced conversion carbines KO-8.2 (based on the Mosin rifle), KO-38 (based on the carbine arr. 1938) and KO-44 (based on the carbine arr. 1944).

In Russia, at the Tula Arms Plant, the production of conversion carbines model 1944 KO-44 and KO-44-1 continued, and the production of conversion versions of the rifle arr. 1891/30 - KO-91/30 (Vyatsko-Polyanskiy machine-building plant "Molot") and MR-143 (Izhevsk mechanical plant). Conversion rifle options arr. 1891/30 practically do not differ from the original army rifle - all the differences boil down to the track-forming pin and the forensic mark in the chamber installed in the bore to meet the forensic requirements, as well as the absence of a bayonet.

In addition, in 2005, the production of the VPO-103 conversion carbine chambered for 9x53 mm R.

In recent decades, Mosin rifles, sold from the warehouses of the armed forces, due to their price-performance ratio, have gained great popularity in the civilian weapons market in many countries of the world, including Russia and the United States.

According to the largest American online weapons store Bud's Gun Shop, the Mosin rifle took the first place in 2012 in sales among all types of small arms allowed for sale to the US population. In the list of 20 bestsellers, the 1891/30 rifle is the third oldest adopted in service in the world. Only two types of "police" model of the Smith-Wesson revolver (11 and 19 lines in the popularity list) have a larger age of adoption. The cost of rifles and carbines sample 1891/30 is about $ 100. Delivery from the former USSR mobilization reserves. Set includes bayonet, belt, cartridge belt and accessory.

Sports modifications

After the war in the USSR, based on the design of the bolt and receiver of the "three-line", several variants of sports rifles for target shooting were created:

Created in 1959, designer A. Shesterikov.

It was mass-produced from 1961 to 1970, a total of 1,700 pieces were assembled. In 1963, the rifle was awarded a gold medal at the international exhibition in Leipzig.

Produced from 1964 to 1970, it was created due to the fact that since 1963 biathletes switched to the use of 6.5 mm cartridges.

- Target Rifle AB (Army Rifle)

It had a weighted barrel of particularly precise processing 720 mm long, a more comfortable bolt handle bent downwards, a diopter sight and an optical mount, a more comfortable stock. AB had an accuracy of combat of about 3x2 cm at a distance of 100 m with a target cartridge (according to technical conditions; in fact, the accuracy of combat of many samples was much better, modern shots show an accuracy of about 0.5 MOA with an Extra cartridge from 5 shots from bipods at 200 m ), which in theory it was quite possible to use it as a "police" sniper rifle. After the removal of the corresponding discipline from the Olympic Games program in the late 1970s, a few copies of the AB rifle were mostly disposed of, although at least one surviving sample is known, albeit significantly altered. In September 1999, a sniper pair from the SBU took part in a sniper competition with a modified AB rifle. At least one sample of the AV rifle is in the rifle of SDYUSTSH "ROSTO", Ulyanovsk.

Sports modification of the rifle with a match barrel, created and continues to be produced since 2003 in a piece design by the Vyatka-Polyansky plant "Molot"

TTX

Weight, kg: 4.5
-Length, mm: with / without bayonet: 1738/1306 (infantry), 1500/1232 (dragoon and arr. 1891/30), - / 1020 (carbine)
- Barrel length, mm: 800 (infantry), 729 (dragoon and arr. 1891/30), 510 (carbine)
- Cartridge: 7.62x54 mm R
-Caliber, mm: 7.62
-Working principles: sliding shutter
-Fire rate, shots / min: 10
-Initial bullet speed, m / s: 865-870
- Sighting range, m: 2000 m
-Kind of ammunition: non-detachable magazine for five rounds, equipped with clips
-Sight: open or optical

Even those who are far from the world of weapons know about this legendary rifle. Mosinka has a rich history. It appeared back in 1891 and was used by the army, first of the Russian Empire, and then of the Soviet Union for more than 50 years. This weapon remains relevant today. For military purposes, sniper rifles are used, created on the basis of the Mosin three-line. Also "Mosinka" can be used for hunting. It is a very reliable and inexpensive rifle suitable for medium to large game hunting.

Mosin rifle history

The three-line rifle of the 1891 model, which is more often called simply the Mosin rifle, "Mosinka" or the three-line rifle, was put into service in 1891. It was massively used from 1892 to the end of the 50s of the XX century. During this time, the rifle has been repeatedly upgraded. It is called three-line because of the caliber, which is equal to three lines. This is a traditional measure of length of 2.54 mm.

the first version of his famous three-line Russian designer Sergei Ivanovich Mosin presented in 1889. It was developed on the basis of his earlier single-shot rifle, from which it borrowed the receiver and bolt group unchanged. But for its adoption by the Russian army, it was necessary to change the design of the bolt group and the store, which was done. In 1892, the production of this version of the rifle began at the Izhevsk, Tula and Sestroretsk arms factories. Since their capacity was not enough, "Mosinka" at that time were also produced at a plant in the French city of Chatellerault;
in combat conditions, the three-line was first used in 1893 during the battle with the Afghans in the Pamirs. The first stage of rearmament of the Russian army "Mosinka" was completed in 1897. Subsequently, the rifles adopted by the armies of other countries were rapidly modernized, while the three-line lagged behind them in this regard. As a result, by the First World War "Mosinka" was noticeably inferior to them in terms of characteristics;
in the early years of Soviet power, there was a question of replacing the Mosin rifle with a more advanced one or its modernization. The second option was chosen, because after making changes to the design, "Mosinka" could meet the requirements for this class of weapons. At the same time, the development of a new magazine rifle was pointless, since magazine rifles were an obsolete type of weapon. As a result of the modernization of 1924, the Mosin rifle of the 1891/30 model appeared. In 1928, the production of optical sights for it began in the USSR.
in 1938, another modification of the Mosinka was developed - a carbine of the 1938 model. It was designed for aimed firing at a range of up to 1000 m;
the next modification adopted by the Red Army was the 1944 carbine. It was distinguished by a simplified manufacturing technology and the presence of a fixed bayonet. After its adoption, the issue of the Mosin rifle of the 1891/30 model was discontinued.

Design

The Mosin rifle has a barrel with 4 grooves. In its rear part there is a chamber with smooth walls. Also at this end of the barrel there is a threaded stump, the receiver is tightly screwed onto it, in which the bolt is located. A magazine box with a feed mechanism, a cut-off reflector and a trigger mechanism are attached to the shutter.

The cartridges inside the store are arranged in one row. The reflector cut-off separates the cartridges that are in the magazine box and the cartridge in the bore. This avoids feeding delays that could be caused by the flanges of the ammunition engaging each other. This detail also reflects spent cartridges. The reflector cutoff is one of the key elements of the rifle, which was introduced into the design by Mosin. Thanks to her, the rifle works flawlessly in any conditions.

Components of the trigger:

hook;
the trigger spring, which also serves as a sear;
screw;
hairpin.

The descent of the Mosin rifle is tight and long, without warning - the trigger stroke is not divided into two stages with a different effort.

Component parts of the three-ruler shutter:

stem with comb and handle;
larva;
ejector;
trigger;
drummer;
action spring;
connecting strip.

The mainspring is compressed when the bolt is unlocked by turning the handle. During locking, the combat drummer rests against the sear. The striker can also be cocked manually with the bolt closed, for this you need to pull back the hammer. To put the rifle on the safety, you need to pull the trigger back and turn it counterclockwise.

Sights

The Mosin rifle of the 1891 model was equipped with a stepped sight. A sector sight was installed on the 1891/30 modification. It consists of an aiming bar with a collar, an aiming pad and a spring, and is marked at a distance of up to 2000 m. The rear sight can be set to any position from 50 to 2000 m, a step - 50 m. The front sight on the 1891/30 rifle received a ring flyer.

To fully unleash the potential of the Mosin rifle, you need to install an optical sight on it. The owners of this weapon put on it like anything, but the situation is complicated by the fact that it was not originally intended for use with optical sights. It is important to choose optics that will not interfere with the use of an open sight.

A good solution might be to install the "native" optical sight PU using the Kochetov vertical-base bracket. Thus, you can get the most authentic and externally harmonious weapon.

Another option is to use modern brackets and modern telescopic sights.

The principle of operation of the Mosin rifle

To charge the three-ruler, you must:

turn the bolt handle to the left;
take the shutter all the way back;
insert the clip into the receiver;
drown the cartridges, discard the clip;
take the shutter forward;
turn the bolt handle to the right.

Then all that remains is to pull the trigger to fire. To fire the next shot, it is enough to repeat steps 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. From the clip, four rounds are fed into the magazine, the fifth into the receiver. After closing the bolt, it is in the chamber.

Versions and modifications

The Mosin rifle is a weapon designed for military purposes. Some people use such army three-lines for hunting. Specifically for hunting purposes, various modifications of the Mosin rifle and carbines created on its basis were developed - first of all, these are KO-91/30, OTs-48 and "Los" carbines.

A rifle designed for hunting medium and large animals. Main characteristics of KO-91/30:

length - 1232 mm;
barrel length - 745 mm;
weight - 4.0 kg;
caliber - 7.62 mm;
used cartridge - 7.62x54R;
magazine capacity - 5 rounds.

The rifle is designed for shooting at a distance of up to 300 m. You can also put an optical sight on it, which, after installation, does not interfere with using an open one. Recharging is done manually. The design feature of this rifle is a safety mechanism that protects against premature firing.

Carbine OTs-48

The OTs-48K sniper rifle was developed by the Tula TsKIB of sporting and hunting weapons in 2000. It was created for the needs of the Interior Ministry troops and special forces. The rifle showed excellent results in tests both in the range of the shot and in the accuracy of fire. From it, you can aim at 1300 m, while at a distance of 100 m, the spread of bullets does not exceed 3.5 m.For the Dragunov sniper rifle, these indicators are 1000 m and 8 cm, respectively.

OTs-48, in turn, is a hunting carbine based on the Mosin rifle, which is intended for hunting large animals. It is designed to use 7.62x54R cartridges. The barrel and locking unit remained from the Mosin rifle, and the stock and butt were replaced with modern ones. Unlike OTs-48K, which is produced only in small quantities for special orders, OTs-48 went into mass production and has become a fairly recognizable brand.

A rifle of 8.2 mm caliber, which was developed for cartridges with semi-sheathed bullets and was produced in the USSR. Its other characteristics:

rifle length - 1010 mm;
barrel length - 520 mm;
weight - 3-3.6 kg;
magazine capacity - 5 rounds;
bullet starting speed - 440 m / s.

Designed for hunting medium and large game. Rechargeable manually, trigger without warning. There is also a modification of the KO-8.2M, which differs in a different rifling pitch, has an active sector sight and a different stock shape.

Carbine KO-38

A hunting rifle, which was created on the basis of the 1938 model carbine and was produced in the USSR.

Carbine KO-44

A hunting carbine developed on the basis of a military carbine of the 1944 model, which was produced in the USSR.

Carbine "Los-7-1"

The Los family of hunting weapons was developed in the USSR largely on the basis of the Mosin three-line rifle. Main characteristics of the Los-7-1 carbine:

barrel length - 550 mm;
weight - 3.5 kg;
caliber - 7.62 mm;
used cartridge - 7.62 × 51 mm;
magazine capacity - 5 rounds.

On sale you can find modifications of the Los-7-1 carbine for different versions of imported cartridges.

Among experts, opinions about the "Mosinka" and the carbines created on its basis differ. But they are quite popular and are suitable for fishing medium and large game. The main advantages that distinguish the Mosin hunting carbine are the highest reliability and affordable price. This weapon is used by many professional hunters. Thanks to the release of updated versions such as the OTs-48, this combat system remains relevant.