The legendary Mosin rifle and its modifications. Secrets of the "three-ruler". Who invented the most famous Russian rifle? Mosin rifle sighting range

People who are interested in military culture or weapons are probably aware of the existence of such a rifle as a three-ruler. However, if in the case of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, everyone has long known why and in honor of whom the truly classic and legendary weapon got its name, then not everyone knows why the three-ruler is called that. But today we will look into this issue.

The original name and development history of the "Mosin Rifles"

It is important to understand that the name "Three-ruler" is common, and this rifle has an original, official name. It sounds like "Mosin Rifle".

This weapon was developed over 100 years ago, and the beginning of its production dates back to 1892. Despite the belonging of this weapon to the Russian side, factories in France were also engaged in the production of rifles, since the lack of production capacity of domestic factories affected the impossibility of fulfilling the minimum order.

After their creation, rifles were quickly adopted by the Russian army, and were widely used for more than half a century, starting in 1881 and ending in the late 1950s.

On the question of why the Mosin rifle is called a three-ruler, we will understand a little lower, but now it is necessary to pay attention to the origin of the original name.

The fact is that Mosin S.I. was a designer and organizer of the production of weapons, in addition, he also bore the rank of major general of the Russian army. During his life, Mosin was engaged in the development of magazine rifles, the improvement of other weapons used by the Russian army. It was such merits that led to the fact that as a result the rifle was named after him.

Why is the rifle called "Three-ruler"

As for the common name, which was very quickly assigned to the Mosin rifle, it sounds like "Three-ruler". And this name has a completely rational explanation, because it comes directly from the caliber that was assigned to the Mosin rifle. During the years of use of this weapon, the weapon caliber was measured by an outdated measure of length, using the "Lines". Then the lines were equal to 2.54 mm. (1/10 inch).

Based on the information above, it is easy to draw a parallel, and understand that the caliber of the Mosin rifle had three lines, that is, 3/10 inch or 7.62 mm. That is why the Mosin rifle is called the "Three-ruler" to this day, and its second name has become almost more popular than the original, received in honor of Mosin himself.

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 based on the Mosin trilinear are used. Also "Mosinka" can be used for hunting. This is a very reliable inexpensive rifle that is suitable for fishing medium and large animals.

History of the Mosin rifle

The three-line rifle of the 1891 model, which is often referred to simply as the Mosin rifle, "Mosinka" or three-line rifle, was adopted in 1891. Massively it was used from 1892 until the end of the 50s of the XX century. During this time, the rifle was repeatedly upgraded. It is called trilinear because of the caliber, which is equal to three lines. This is a traditional measure of length, equal to 2.54 mm.

• Russian designer Sergei Ivanovich Mosin presented the first version of his famous three-ruler 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 in order to adopt it into service with the Russian army, it was necessary to change the design of the bolt group and 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 capacities were not enough, "Mosinki" at that time were also produced at a factory in the French city of Chatellerault;
• in combat conditions, the three-ruler was first used in 1893 during the battle with the Afghans in the Pamirs. The first stage of the rearmament of the Russian army with the Mosinka was completed in 1897. Subsequently, the rifles adopted by the armies of other countries were quickly modernized, while the three-ruler lagged behind them in this regard. As a result, by the First World War, the Mosinka was noticeably inferior to them in terms of performance;
• 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, the Mosinka would be able to meet the requirements for this class of weapon. At the same time, the development of a new repeating rifle was pointless, since repeating 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 shooting at a distance 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 releases of the Mosin rifle of the 1891/30 model of the year were 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 shutter is placed. A magazine box with a feeder, a cut-off reflector and a trigger are attached to the shutter.

The cartridges inside the store are arranged in one row. The cut-off reflector separates the cartridges that are in the magazine box and the cartridge in the bore. Due to this, there are no delays in the supply, which could be caused by the engagement of the rims of the ammunition with each other. This detail also reflects spent cartridges. The cut-off reflector 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.

Trigger components:

• hook;
• trigger spring, which also acts 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 different effort.

Components of a three-line 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 drummer can also be cocked manually with the shutter closed, for this you need to pull the trigger back. 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. On the modification of 1891/30, a sector sight was installed. It consists of an aiming bar with a collar, an aiming block 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, the step is 50 m.

To fully unlock the potential of the Mosin rifle, it is necessary 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 an optic that will not interfere with the use of an open sight.

A good solution may be to install a "native" PU optical sight using the Kochetov vertical base bracket. Thus, you can get the most authentic and harmonious outwardly weapons.

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

The principle of operation of the Mosin rifle

To charge the three-line, you must:

1. turn the shutter handle to the left;
2. pull the shutter all the way back;
3. insert the clip into the receiver;
4. drown the cartridges, discard the clip;
5. take the shutter forward;
6. turn the bolt handle to the right.

Then it remains only to pull the trigger to shoot. To make 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 - in the receiver. After closing the shutter, he finds himself in the chamber.

Versions and modifications

The Mosin rifle is a weapon designed for military purposes. Some use such army three-rulers for hunting. Especially for hunting purposes, various modifications of the Mosin rifle and carbines based on it were developed - primarily KO-91/30, OTs-48 and Los carbines.

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

• length - 1232 mm;
• barrel length - 745 mm;
• weight - 4.0 kg;
• caliber - 7.62 mm;
• cartridge used - 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 the open one. Reloading 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 sports and hunting weapons in 2000. It was created for the needs of the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special forces. The rifle showed excellent results in tests both in terms of firing range and accuracy of fire. From it you can hit accurately 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 figures 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 game. It is designed to use 7.62x54R cartridges. The barrel and locking unit were left from the Mosin rifle, and the stock and butt were replaced with modern ones. Unlike the OTs-48K, which is produced only in small quantities on special orders, the OTs-48 has gone into mass production and has become a fairly recognizable brand.

Rifle caliber 8.2 mm, which was designed for cartridges with semi-shell 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;
• starting bullet speed - 440 m / s.

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

Carbine KO-38

A hunting rifle that was created on the basis of a carbine of the 1938 model 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 hunting weapon family was developed in the USSR largely on the basis of the Mosin three-line rifle. The main characteristics of the carbine "Los-7-1":

• barrel length - 550 mm;
• weight - 3.5 kg;
• caliber - 7.62 mm;
• cartridge used - 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 connoisseurs, opinions about the Mosinka and the carbines created on the basis of it differ. But they are quite popular and are suitable for fishing for 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 is still relevant.

The Mosin rifle, also known as the famous "three-ruler", was the main weapon of the 1917 revolution, as well as the Great Patriotic War. It is the Mosin rifle of the 1891 model that is rightfully considered one of the most famous examples of Russian weapons. The royal "three-ruler" took part in the Russian-Japanese, and then in the First World War.

The Russian "three-ruler", created at the end of the 19th century, remained an effective and reliable weapon for a soldier for many decades. She became one of the first domestic designs adopted by the army. Today, Mosin rifles can often be seen in museums and private collections. There are not only Russian modifications of the rifle, but also made abroad. The design and technical characteristics have changed a little, but the principle of the weapon has remained the same.

The Mosin rifle was developed during the rise of technology and science, when the advent of smokeless powder made it possible to switch to reduced calibers. And thanks to the development of weapons technology, it became possible to create a replacement for a single-shot system - a store-fed system. Naturally, Russia also participated in the arms development process.

As a result, two systems of magazine-type rifles were presented to the choice of the Russian army - the Belgian Leon Nagant, as well as the domestic captain S.I. Mosin. Tests have shown that the Belgian rifle as a whole was better than the Russian one. But top management took into account that:

• the Belgian rifle had twice as many misfires;
• the Russian rifle was cheaper and easier to manufacture.

The generals eventually made a compromise: in 1891, the Mosin rifle was adopted by the Russian army, but a 5-round Nagant magazine was installed on it. Together with the rifle, a new three-line cartridge (7.62 mm) was also adopted. The rifle received the designation "three-line", and the soldiers nicknamed the weapon as "three-line". Name trilinear comes from the caliber of a rifle barrel, which is equal to three lines (an obsolete measure of length equal to one tenth of an inch or 2.54 mm)

This weapon received the name Mosin again only in Soviet times after the modernization of 1930. Russian three-line rifle abroad has always been called "Mosin-Nagan".

Inventor of the "three-ruler"

The history of the creation of the "three-ruler" was not easy. Several designers took part in the creation of the best repeating rifle in the world, but Sergey Ivanovich Mosin made the most significant contribution. History was unfair to him, and his rifle during his lifetime did not bear the name of the developer, which greatly upset the designer.

Sergey Mosin was born in the village of Ramon, Voronezh region. He graduated from the military and artillery school, the artillery academy. In 1875, Mosin became the head of the tool workshop of the arms factory in Tula. By 1880, he was already developing single-shot rifles and was an expert in gunsmithing. In 1894, Mosin became the head of the Sestroretsk arms factory.

Mosin carbine cartridges

The cartridge was created by the Russian designer Veltishchev by analogy with the French cartridge from the Lebel rifle, caliber 8x56 mm R. It used:

1. blunt shell bullets;
2. charge of smokeless powder;
3. sleeve with a protruding bottle-shaped rim.

The rimmed sleeve mechanism, which was already obsolete, was adopted due to the low level of industrial development in Russia - the applied tolerances in this case are less strict.

The adoption of the Mosin rifle into service

Weapon model 1891 (caliber 7.62)wasacceptedinto service in three versions (in fact, they were distinguished only by the length of the barrel):

1. Infantry rifle - the longest bayonet and barrel.

2. Dragoon (cavalry) rifle - the barrel length is shorter, and the method of attaching the belt has been changed.

3. Cossack rifle - there was no bayonet and a shorter barrel.

The bayonet for the rifle was adopted by a slightly outdated sample by that time - a four-sided needle, with a tubular sleeve attached to the barrel. The bayonet had a square section with small valleys on the sides; when disassembling the weapon, the tip, sharpened to a plane, could be used as a screwdriver.

The main drawback of the system, which was corrected only in 1938, was that the bayonet had to always be carried in a combat position, attached to the rifle, disassembly was not supposed. "Three-rulers" were shot (except for the Cossack) with an attached bayonet. If the bayonet was disassembled and removed, then the balance of the weapon was disturbed - the bullets flew past the target. In addition, over time, the attachment of bayonets led to loosening, and the accuracy of shooting deteriorated.

The weapons of early samples were distinguished by the absence of barrel linings, as well as the barrel, which was open at the top along the entire length. Since 1894, wooden top plates have been used to protect the shooter's hands from burns. At the time the weapon was put into service, Russian enterprises could not yet start producing new rifles, so the initial order was placed in France, in the city of Chatellerault.

Only in 1893-94 did the rifle go into serial production at the Sestroretsk Arms Plant near St. Petersburg, and a little later in Izhevsk and Tula. During the First World War, rifles had to be ordered from the United States to make up for front-line losses.

Technical characteristics of the Mosin rifle

Mosin rifle model 1891/1930 is a bolt-action repeating rifle with twist locking.

Specifications:

• Caliber - 7.62 mm
• Total weight without cartridges with a bayonet - 4.5 kg
• Total length without bayonet is 114 cm
• Total length with bayonet is 166 cm
• The shape of the rifling is rectangular
• Number of grooves - 4
• Magazine capacity - 5 rounds
• Clip weight with cartridges - 122-132 g.

Shooting can be carried out with regular cartridges with heavy and light bullets, as well as with incendiary, tracer and armor-piercing bullets.

Device

The scheme of operation of the Mosin rifle is based on the following design solutions:

1. The barrel is locked on two lugs with a longitudinally sliding rotary bolt behind the receiver. The stops are located in front of the shutter, they are located in the locked state in a horizontal plane.
2. The cocking of the drummer, as well as putting it on a combat platoon, is performed when the shutter is opened.
3. The shutter mechanism is simple in design. The reload handle is located in the middle of the bolt.
4. Instead of a fuse, a trigger head (drummer) is used, located behind the bolt.
5. The shutter from the receiver is easily removed without the help of a tool.
6. Shop box-shaped, with a single-row arrangement of cartridges, integral. Due to the fact that the lower magazine cover is hinged, magazine cleaning and quick unloading are simplified. Store equipment - one cartridge with the shutter open through the upper window of the receiver or from lamellar clips for 5 rounds.
7. Due to the peculiarities of the store, the design has a special detail - a cut-off, which blocks the second and lower cartridges in the store when the upper one is fed into the barrel.
8. The mechanism involves turning off the cutoff, if the shutter is completely closed, this makes it possible for the next cartridge to rise to the supply line.

Dismantling the rifle due to its manufacturability was not difficult.

The sniper rifle was adopted by the Red Army in 1931. Only the best fighters who had undergone special training were allowed to shoot from it.

The Mosin sniper rifle is perfect for point shots at distant single targets. The accuracy of shooting with an optical sight was ensured at a distance of 100-1300 meters. However, because of the optical sight, it was impossible to make a rifle design for loading a clip - you had to insert one cartridge at a time.

The review was acceptable, the sight gave 3.5x magnification. Accuracy was provided with the help of an aiming stump, as well as an aiming thread perpendicular to it.

The shutter handle was upgraded, which was lengthened and bent down so that when reloading, the shutter handle did not rest against the sight. For this reason, the rifle was loaded only with single cartridges, since it was no longer possible to insert a clip into the grooves. Also, the rifle has mounts for optical sights. The trigger sensitivity was reduced from 2.4 to 2 kg. The sniper rifle did not provide for the use of a bayonet. Its trunk narrowed in the output cut by 2-3% (the so-called "choke"). The bullet in such a barrel was better centered and there was not a flight, but a “spitting out” of the bullet.

Technical characteristics of the rifle:

• caliber 7.62 mm;
• weight 4.27 kg;
• muzzle velocity 865 m/s;
• length 1230 mm;
• magazine capacity 5 rounds;
• sighting range 1300-2000 m;
• rate of fire 10 rounds per minute;
• manual loading type.

Sight characteristics:

• 3.5x magnification;
• exit pupil diameter 6 mm;
• field of view 4° 30′;
• the removal of the exit pupil from the surface of the eyepiece lens is 72 mm;
• resolving power 17″;
• sight length 169 mm;
• sight weight 0.270 kg.

Advantages and disadvantages of a rifle

For decades, the Mosin rifle was praised by Soviet propaganda as the best weapon, surpassing other examples of its class. But it must be admitted that she was not perfect in every way.

Advantages of the rifle:

1. cheap and easy to manufacture, maintain;
2. available to poorly trained and semi-literate soldiers;
3. strong and reliable;
4. had good ballistic qualities for its time.

Rifle cons:

1. a bayonet of an outdated design, permanently attached to the rifle;
2. the horizontal bolt handle was not very convenient when reloading and carrying weapons;
3. the bolt handle is located far from the neck of the butt - it contributed to knocking down the sight and slowed down reloading.

In general, the Mosin rifle is a typical example of the Russian weapons idea, when ergonomics and ease of use were sacrificed for ease of development and production, reliability and low cost.

Video about the Mosin rifle

Shooting from a Mosin sniper rifle

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

The Mosin rifle, which is also simply called the Mosinka or the three-line rifle, is the most famous rifle in the post-Soviet space. Adopted back in 1891, it continued to be massively used until the end of the 50s of the twentieth century. For more than half a century, the Mosin rifle faithfully served first the Russian, and then the Soviet soldier.

The caliber of the Mosin rifle is 7.62 mm. The name three-ruler comes from the caliber of a rifle, which is equal to three lines, an old measure of length equal to one tenth of an inch or 2.54 mm.

On the basis of the Mosin rifle, a whole range of hunting and sporting weapons, both rifled and smoothbore, was created. Let's find out more about this legendary rifle.

History of the Mosin rifle

By 1889, the Russian army was in dire need of a new rifle, a special commission was created and development work began. The commission considered 25 variants of rifles of various modifications and systems, but only two rifles attracted the close attention of the commission members: the Mosin rifle and the Nogan rifle.

The Mosin rifle was developed on the basis of his earlier single-shot rifle, from which the receiver and bolt group were borrowed;

The Nagant rifle was presented in a caliber of about 8 mm, but Nagant undertook to make a rifle with a caliber of 7.62 mm. The Nagant rifle had an extremely successful magazine design with clip loading.

Both rifles were sent for testing to the troops, as a result of which the Mosin rifle was recognized as more successful, as it gave fewer delays when feeding a cartridge from the magazine.

The commission worked out a compromise solution: the Mosin rifle was adopted with improvements taken from the Nagant rifle and improvements based on the proposals of the commission members.

In 1892, the production of the Mosin rifle began at three Russian arms factories: Izhevsk, Tula and Sestroretsk. The production capacity of these factories was not enough, so an order for the production of 500 thousand rifles was placed at the French arms factory in the city of Chatellerault.

Different sources indicate the year of the first use of the Mosin rifle in combat conditions in different ways: either in 1893 during a military clash between the Russian detachment and the Afghans in the Pamirs, or in 1900-1901 during the suppression of the Yihetuan uprising in China.

The first stage of arming the Russian army with the Mosin rifle was completed in 1897; by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, about 3,800,000 rifles had been delivered to the army. During the war with Japan in 1904-1905, significant flaws in the rifle were revealed.

In 1910, the Mosin rifle underwent a significant upgrade for a new "offensive" cartridge with a pointed bullet.

By the time Russia entered the First World War in 1914, the Russian army was armed with more than 4.5 million Mosin rifles, which were produced in four versions: dragoon, infantry, Cossack and carbine. During the First World War, the Russian Mosin rifle was inferior in terms of its survivability, rate of fire and combat accuracy to the rifles of the countries of Russia's opponents (Austria, Germany, Turkey).

The main shortcomings of the Mosin rifle revealed during the First World War: the unsuccessful design of the clip, which reduces the rate of fire during the battle, the unsuccessful fastening of the bayonet with a clamp, the poor design of the stock rings.

But an even bigger problem was the lag of the domestic industry, the rush to manufacture rifles, as a result of which the extremely low quality of the rifles supplied to the troops.

During the civil war, two modifications of the Mosin rifle were made: dragoon and infantry. After the end of the civil war, since 1922, only the dragoon rifle and carbine of the 1907 model were produced.

In the early years of Soviet power, the question arose of modernizing the Mosin rifle. As a result of the modernization of the dragoon rifle, carried out in 1924, the Mosin rifle of the 1891/1930 model appeared. It was the Mosin rifle of the 1891/1930 model. was used in the 1920s and 1930s to train the Voroshilov Riflemen.

In 1932, on the basis of the Mosin rifle, mass production of a sniper rifle of the 1891/1930 model began, the rifle had an improved quality of the bore, it was equipped with a PE, PB, PU optical sight. In total, more than 100 thousand of these rifles were produced, they were actively used during the Soviet-Finnish and World War II.

In 1938, a new SVT self-loading rifle was adopted, which was supposed to completely replace the Mosin rifle in the troops and become the main weapon of the Soviet infantry. But these plans were not destined to come true, due to the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, the production of the SVT rifle was reduced several times and the Mosin rifle of the 1891/1930 model remained the main weapon of the Soviet army. Production of the Mosin rifle model 1891/1930. was discontinued in 1945. The Mosin rifle was gradually removed from the armament of the army, being replaced by the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

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

Carbines based on the Mosin rifle

The first version of the carbine based on the Mosin rifle was created in 1907. The Mosin carbine of the 1907 model had a shorter barrel and a shorter firing range, 1000 meters, a place of 2000 at the Mosin rifle.

The second version of the carbine based on the Mosin rifle was created in 1938, this carbine was a modification of the 1907 model carbine. It was 5 mm longer than the 1907 carbine, but also had a range of 1000 meters. The Mosin carbine of the 1938 model was intended for arming various branches of the armed forces: artillery, sapper units, cavalry, communications units, transport drivers.

The last version of the carbine was the Mosin carbine of the 1944 model. This carbine was distinguished by simplified manufacturing technology and a non-removable bayonet. Simultaneously with the adoption of the Mosin carbine of the 1944 model, the release of the Mosin rifle of the 1891/1930 model. was terminated. It was the Mosin carbine of the 1944 model that became the prototype of the hunting variants of the Mosin rifle.

Design and principle of operation

Trunk

The barrel of the Mosin rifle is rifled, has 4 grooves, in the early samples of the trapezoidal rifle, in the later ones it is rectangular. The caliber of the barrel along the fields is 7.62 mm, or 3 Russian lines, hence the name of the three-ruler rifle. Caliber for grooves 7.94-7.96 mm.

At the rear of the barrel there is a chamber and a threaded stub with which the receiver is attached. Above the chamber there is a factory stamp, by which you can determine the manufacturer of the rifle and the year of its production.

Magazine box and cut-off reflector

The Mosin rifle magazine holds 4 cartridges arranged in one row. The cartridges are located in the store in such a way that their rims do not interfere with the supply of cartridges; according to modern standards, the store has an unusual shape.

A feature of the Mosin rifle magazine is the presence of a special cut-off reflector that separates the cartridges in the magazine from the cartridge in the bore. Thanks to the cut-off-reflector, there are no delays in the supply of cartridges, the cartridges do not catch each other with their edges, and it also acts as a reflector for spent cartridges.

The cut-off reflector is a key part of the rifle, it was introduced into its design by Mosin himself, it is to her that the rifle owes its reliability. Although the cut-off reflector was introduced into the design of the rifle due to the use of obsolete cartridges with a rim (welt).

Trigger mechanism

The trigger mechanism of the Mosin rifle consists of the following parts:

• Trigger
• Trigger spring acting as a sear
• Hairpin

The trigger of the rifle is long, tight, without the so-called warning, that is, the trigger stroke is not divided into two parts, with different trigger pulls.

Gate

The Mosin rifle bolt consists of the following parts:

• Bolt stem with comb and handle
• combat grub
• Ejector
• trigger
• Drummer
• Mainspring (twisted, cylindrical)
• Connecting bar

The mainspring is compressed when the bolt is unlocked by turning the handle. When the shutter is locked, the drummer rests against the sear. The Mosin rifle drummer can be cocked with the shutter closed, for this you need to pull back the trigger (the tip screwed onto the drummer shank). In order to put the rifle on the safety, you need to pull the trigger back to the stop and turn it counterclockwise.

Lodge, handguard

The stock of the Mosin rifle is one-piece, made of birch or walnut. The neck of the stock is straight, this form of stock is more convenient for bayonet fighting, but less convenient when shooting than a semi-pistol.

For most Mosin rifles, the barrel is covered with a wooden barrel pad on top, which protects the barrel from damage, and the shooter's hand from burns.
The stock and handguard are attached to the rifle with two screws and two stock rings.

Sights

Initially, the Mosin rifle was equipped with open sights consisting of a front sight and a rear sight.

The sight of the Mosin rifle of the 1891 model is stepped, on the rifle of the 1891/30 model it is a sector. The stepped sight consists of two rear sights: the first is used when firing at a distance of 400, 600, 800, 1,000 and 1,200 steps; to use the second, you need to raise the aiming bar to a vertical position; it allows you to fire at a distance from 1300 to 3200 steps.

The sector sight has only one rear sight, which can be set to any position from 50 to 2000 meters in 50-meter increments.

The front sight is located at the muzzle of the barrel; the Mosin rifle of the 1891/30 model received an annular front sight.

Since 1932, the production of Mosin rifles in a sniper version began, they were equipped with PE, PB, and PU. They gave a 3.5-fold increase and had acceptable accuracy and accuracy of combat. PE, PB, and PU were installed not only on Mosin sniper rifles, but also on ordinary ones.

Nowadays, "frolovki" are practically not used for hunting, some of them may be of purely collectible interest.

Carbine KO-91/30

The KO-91/30 carbine is a civilian (hunting) version of the carbine created on the basis of the Mosin carbine of the 1944 model. Designed for hunting large and medium game. There is a fuse. The KO-91/30 carbine can be used both with a conventional sight and with a sight, and the installed one does not interfere with the use of a conventional one.

Technical characteristics of the carbine KO-91/30:

• Carabiner length: 1232 mm
• Barrel length: 745 mm
• Carabiner weight: 4.0 kg
• Caliber: 7.62mm
• Cartridge: 7.62x54R
• Muzzle velocity: 800 m/s
• Sighting range (with open sight): up to 300 meters
• Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Carbine KO-38

The KO-38 carbine is essentially a 1938 Mosin army carbine adapted for hunting use. It was supplied to hunting farms after it was removed from service.

Technical characteristics of the carbine KO-38:

• Carabiner length: 1020 mm
• Barrel length: 512 mm
• Carabiner weight: 3.5 kg
• Caliber: 7.62mm
• Cartridge: 7.62x54R
• Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Carbine KO-44

The KO-44 carbine is a 1944 Mosin army carbine used for hunting purposes.

Technical characteristics of the carbine KO-44:

• Carabiner length: 1020 mm
• Barrel length: 517 mm
• Carabiner weight: 3.9 kg
• Caliber: 7.62mm
• Cartridge: 7.62x54R
• Muzzle velocity: 820 m/s
• Sighting range (with open sight): up to 1000 meters
• Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Carbine KO-8,2

The KO-8.2 carbine is essentially a Mosin rifle with an 8.2 mm barrel. Designed for hunting medium and large game. It has a fairly high muzzle velocity and fairly light weight.

Technical characteristics of the carbine KO-8.2:

• Carabiner length: 1010 mm
• Barrel length: 520 mm
• Carabiner weight: 3.0-3.6 kg
• Caliber: 7.62mm
• Cartridge: 7.62x54R
• Muzzle velocity: 440 m/s
• Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Carbine OTs-48

The OTs-48 carbine is a hunting carbine based on the Mosin rifle, intended for hunting large game. Uses 7.62x54R ammo. The barrel and bolt from a Mosin rifle, the stock was replaced with more modern ones. It is produced in very small quantities, most often by special orders.

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 differ from the old blunt ones in their flight path.

A three-line rifle of the 1891 model in the "Dragoon rifle" and "Cossack rifle" version of the 1908 edition. The Cossack rifle differs from the dragoon rifle in the absence of a bayonet.

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

7.62-mm (3-line) rifle of the 1891 model (Mosin rifle, three-line) is a repeating rifle adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891. It was actively used from 1891 until the end of the Second World War, during this period it was repeatedly modernized. The name of the three-line comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (an old measure of length 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 exclusively as the Mosin-Nagant rifle. Based on the rifle mod. 1891 and its modifications, a number of samples of sports and hunting weapons, both rifled and smoothbore, were created.

In 1889, Sergei Ivanovich Mosin offered a three-line (7.62 mm) rifle to the competition, developed on the basis of his earlier single-shot rifle, from which the bolt group and receiver were borrowed with virtually no changes; At the same time, some ideas regarding the design of the store were borrowed from the latest Austro-Hungarian rifle of the Mannlicher system tested in the same year with batch loading of an in-line middle store, which was found to be fully compliant with all the requirements.

Later, at the very end of the same year, the Belgian Leon Nagant also offered his system for the competition (in the same 1889, he had already lost the Mauser rifle in the competition for arming the Belgian army). There were three Nagan rifles, all store-bought, with a caliber of about 8 mm, although Nagan undertook to make a rifle with a caliber of 7.62 mm. The Nagant system was generally recognized as benign, but in need of improvement. Of particular interest to the Commission was a well-designed clip-loading magazine, reminiscent of the magazine of the newly adopted Mauser rifle 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 terms - to draw up a technical task for it. It was decided to adopt a caliber of 7.62 mm (three Russian lines), a Lebel-style barrel and sight (but with a change in the direction of the rifling from the left to the right adopted in France), a longitudinally sliding rotary bolt, lockable with a separate combat mask (since replacement larvae in the event of a breakdown is cheaper than replacing the entire shutter), the store is middle, permanent, with loading from a frame holder with five rounds. The commission was consequently renamed in 1889 into the Commission for the development of a sample of a small-caliber gun.

Since neither the Mosin rifle nor the Nagant rifle fully met these requirements, the designers were asked to develop new systems based on them, which, therefore, were initially doomed to be largely structurally similar, being created on the basis of the same developed by the Commission of the barrel and cartridge, which in a complex determine all the ballistic properties of the weapon, and due to the requirements set by it, using the same type of shutter and magazine, and having differences only in the specific design of these elements. In fact, Mosin and Nagant were given the task of creating their own options for bolt groups and magazines for the existing barrel.

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

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 with 14 votes against 10. However, this vote was not decisive, since the first stage of the competition was essentially an exploratory character. In addition, many members of the commission considered that the tests showed the equivalence of the samples presented - this Mosin design, a preliminary assessment, in their opinion, was mainly due to the lower quality of the finish compared to the Nagant demonstration samples, while the Mosin rifle as a whole was simpler and more structurally more reliable. The difference in the quality of the finish was quite natural, given the fact that the Mosin rifles at that time were ordinary prototypes of weapons made in semi-handicraft conditions, which were at the very early stage of fine-tuning - while the Nagant rifles presented for comparison with them, executed "with amazing precision" and very well finished, they were a further development of a design that had already been submitted to a competition in Belgium and ready for mass production as early as 1889.

Moreover, it was written that: “Taking into account ... that the guns and clips presented by Captain Mosin for experiments were made under extremely unfavorable conditions and, as a result, very inaccurate, the guns and clips of Nagant, 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 circumstances outlined, Captain Mosin's system had a huge advantage. "

Having become more familiar 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, the Mosin rifles gave 217 delays when feeding cartridges from the magazine, and the Nagant - 557, almost three times more. Considering the fact that the competition essentially came down to finding the optimal design of the store, this alone spoke quite clearly about the advantage of the Mosin system in terms of reliability, despite any "unfavorable conditions". In addition, the Commission concluded that: "... the pack guns of the foreigner Nagant, compared with the same cap. Mosin, are a mechanism more difficult to manufacture ... and the cost of each copy of the gun will undoubtedly increase."

Moreover, it was about more than significant costs: even according to 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 issued rifles, 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, it took an additional 3-4 months to master the design by industry, in the face of Russia's already emerging lag behind developed European countries in re-equipping 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 the already produced Berdan rifle.

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

From the experimental Mosin rifle, a locking mechanism bar, a safety cocking device, a bolt, a cut-off reflector, a magazine cover latch, a method for connecting the feeder to the cover, making it possible to detach the cover from the feeder from the magazine, a swivel swivel; from the Nagant system - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bplacing a feeder on the magazine door and opening it down, a way to fill the magazine by lowering cartridges from the clip with a finger - therefore, the grooves for the clip in the receiver and, in fact, the cartridge clip itself. The remaining parts were worked out by members of the Commission, with the participation of Mosin.

The changes borrowed from the Nagant rifle (the shape of the clip for loading, the attachment of the feed spring to the magazine cover, the shape of the cut-off reflector) 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 clip-on loading, the magazine can be equipped with one cartridge at a time. If the feed spring is removed from the magazine cover, cartridges will still be fed, although there is an increased risk of losing the spring when cleaning.

Probably the most fully reflecting the authorship of the design of this rifle would be the name "Commission rifle of the 1891 model of the year", by analogy with the German "Commission rifle" (Kommissionsgewehr) of the 1888 model, also developed at the time by the 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 model a name: Russian 3-line. Rifle sample 1891".

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

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

This was not the first time that a model based on 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 Carle system (in the original Russian documentation - Carl) 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 established tradition of naming samples of small arms of the Russian army, since the name of the designer was deleted from the name of the adopted sample. As a result, in 1924, the surname Mosin appeared in the name of the rifle.

At the same time, both in the Manual of 1938 and its reprint of 1941, in the brochure for the 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 names, despite the fact that the designations of other samples (self-loading rifle and carbine by F.V. Tokarev, submachine guns by G.S. Shpagin and A.I. Sudayev, etc. ) in similar literature were almost always supplied with notes of the form “constructions of such and such” or “systems 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 into service. In the instruction from 1938, the authorship of the rifle is also directly indicated: "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 indicates the “commission” origin of the rifle design, although without directly mentioning individual borrowings from the Nagant system. Abroad, next to the name of Mosin, the name of Nagant is often put, as well as in the names of the Tokarev-Colt and Makarov-Walter pistols.

Production and operation of the three-ruler

The production of the rifle 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 Châtelleraut (Manufacture Nationale d "Armes de Châtelleraut).

The first combat test of the Mosin rifle took place in 1893 in a clash between the Russian detachment in the Pamirs and the Afghans, according to other information, during the suppression of the uprising of the Yihetuan (“boxers”) in China in 1900-1901.

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

On March 21, 1897, the 500,000th rifle was produced. At the end of 1897, the first stage of rearmament of the Russian army with a rifle mod. 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 had been supplied to the army.

After the adoption in 1908 of a cartridge with a pointed ("offensive") bullet in 1910, a new version of the rifle was adopted with a sight of the Konovalov system, 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 versions of the rifle were in production - dragoon, infantry, Cossack and carbine. During the war, the Russian military industry produced 3,286,232 three-line rifles, repaired and fixed 289,431.

Due to the catastrophic lack of weapons and problems of the domestic industry, the Russian government began to purchase rifles from several foreign systems abroad, and also ordered 1.5 million rifles mod. 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 Châtellerault. Due to the same shortage of weapons, it was even necessary to equip shooters with imported weapons chambered for 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 Arisak rifles, supplemented by a small number using the same cartridge "automatic rifles" (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.

During the hostilities, significant shortcomings of the rifle in its then form were identified, primarily related to the unsuccessful design of the clip, which reduced the rate of fire in combat conditions, and the design of individual elements of the fittings, such as attaching a bayonet with a collar, a ramrod stop device or the design of stock rings, which in direct comparison with German and Austrian models, they left a very unfavorable impression.

Most of the problems, however, were caused by the backwardness of the domestic industry and the extreme rush to manufacture 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 exacerbated by the recent transition to pointed cartridges, more demanding to work with. feed mechanism, as well as the inevitable heavy contamination of both rifles and cartridges in trench warfare.

Rifles taken from the reserve and transferred to the front without modification gave many delays in reloading, some of them could not shoot even one full magazine without breaking the feed. Numerous organizational shortcomings were also revealed, first of all, the disgusting training of ordinary shooters and poor supply, 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.

In the early years of Soviet power, a wide discussion unfolded about the advisability of upgrading or replacing an existing rifle with a more advanced one. In its course, it was concluded that the rifle mod. 1891, although inferior 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 type of magazine rifle would be essentially meaningless, since the magazine rifle itself is a rapidly obsolete type of weapon, and the cost of developing its fundamentally new model would be a waste of money.

In addition, it was noted that a change in a rifle sample must be accompanied by a change in a regular rifle cartridge to a new one, devoid of the shortcomings of the existing three-line cartridge, in particular, having a smaller caliber with a higher lateral load of the bullet and a sleeve without a rim - the development of a completely new model of a rifle for an outdated cartridge also regarded as meaningless. At the same time, the state of the economy, which was still emerging from the post-revolutionary devastation, by no means gave reason for optimism regarding the possibility of such a large-scale rearmament - as well as the complete rearmament of the Red Army proposed by Fedorov with an automatic (self-loading) rifle.

Fedorov himself considered the introduction of a self-loading rifle in addition to the existing magazine rifle to be useless, since the resulting 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 a newly developed successful model.

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

As a result of the modification of the dragoon version of the rifle, as shorter and more convenient, a single model appeared - the rifle of the 1891/1930 model. (Index GAU - 56-B-222). Although it contained a number of improvements relative to the original model, in comparison with the analogues that were in service with the armies of the states-probable enemies of the USSR, it still did not look the best. However, the magazine rifle by that time was no longer the only type of infantry small arms, therefore, in those years, the emphasis was placed 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 in the USSR, Mosin rifles were used in the system of universal training and OSOAVIAKHIM for training in shooting, the movement of "Voroshilov shooters" became widespread.

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

In 1932, mass production of the sniper rifle mod. 1891/30 (Index GAU - 56-B-222A), which was distinguished by improved quality of bore processing, the presence of a PE, PB or (subsequently) PU optical sight and a bolt handle bent down. A total of 108,345 units were produced. sniper rifles. Currently, Mosin sniper rifles are of collectible value (especially the "nominal" rifles that were awarded to the best Soviet snipers).

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

The latest version of the rifle was the carbine arr. 1944, distinguished by the presence of a non-removable needle bayonet and simplified manufacturing technology. Simultaneously with its introduction, the 1891/1930 model rifle itself. has been taken out of production. 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 branches of the armed forces, 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 fairly successful Tokarev self-loading rifle (SVT) was adopted 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 SVT, in 1942 - 2 million. In fact, by the beginning of the war, more than 1 million SVT 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 re-equipment of the Red Army with automatic weapons were not fulfilled due to the start 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 of the year, 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 mounted on rifles of the Mosin system.

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

In 1959, the Izhevsk plant shortened the barrels and stocks of the surviving rifles mod. 1891/30 up to the size of a carbine arr. 1938. The "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 groups, 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, winding from left to top to right). In early samples, the shape of the rifling is trapezoidal. Later, when they made sure that the metal of the bullet did not wrap around the barrel, it was the simplest rectangular one. The caliber of the barrel, measured as the distance between opposite fields of rifling, is nominally 7.62 mm, or 3 Russian lines (actually, as measurements taken on a large number of rifles of various years of manufacture and various degrees of preservation show, - 7.62 ... 7.66 mm). The grooved caliber is 7.94 ... 7.96 mm.

At the rear of the barrel is a smooth-walled chamber designed to accommodate the cartridge when fired. It is connected to the rifled part of the barrel by means of a bullet entry. Above the chamber there is a factory stamp that allows you to identify the manufacturer and year of manufacture of the rifle.

Behind the stump of the barrel, which has a thread, the receiver is tightly screwed, which serves to accommodate the shutter. Attached to it, in turn, is a magazine box with a feed mechanism, a cut-off reflector and a trigger mechanism.

Magazine box and cut-off reflector

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

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

The cut-off reflector is controlled by the movement of the bolt and serves to separate the cartridges fed from the magazine box to the receiver, preventing possible delays in feeding 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 reflective protrusion and a spring part.

The cut-off reflector is considered one of the key design details of the rifle introduced by Mosin, which ensures the reliability and non-failure operation of the weapon in any conditions. At the same time, its very presence was caused by the use of obsolete cartridges with a rim, which are not very convenient for feeding from a magazine.

However, even the magazines of the Lee system, adopted for the English Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles, which also used a rimmed cartridge, did not have a reflector cut-off, 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 one following it, and their engagement was excluded (herringbone). It was this scheme that later became generally accepted for stores for welted (having a rim) cartridges.

Trigger mechanism

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

Gate

The bolt of a rifle serves to send a cartridge into the chamber, lock the bore at the moment of firing, fire a shot, remove a spent cartridge case or misfire cartridge from the chamber.

It consists of a stem with a comb and a handle, a combat larva, an ejector, a trigger, a drummer, a mainspring and a connecting bar. On a sniper rifle, the bolt handle is elongated and bent down to increase the convenience of reloading weapons and the possibility of installing an optical sight.

The bolt contains a drummer and a twisted cylindrical mainspring. Compression of the mainspring occurs when the bolt is unlocked by turning the handle; when locking - the combat platoon of the firing pin rests on the sear. It is possible to cock the drummer manually with the shutter closed, for this it is necessary to pull the trigger back (in this case, the trigger is the tip screwed onto the drummer shank). To engage the safety, the trigger must be pulled back to failure and turned counterclockwise.

Stock and handguard

The stock connects the parts of the weapon, it consists of the forearm, neck and butt. The stock of the Mosin rifle is one-piece, made of birch or walnut wood. The neck of the stock is straight, more durable and suitable for bayonet fighting, although less convenient for shooting than the semi-pistol necks of the stocks of many later models. Since 1894, a separate detail has been introduced - a handguard that covers the barrel from above, protecting it from damage, and the shooter's hands from being burned. The butt of the dragoon modification is somewhat narrower, and the forearm is thinner than the infantry. The stock and handguard are attached to the mechanisms of the weapon with two screws and two stock rings with ring springs. The stock rings are split on the bulk of the rifles and deaf on the Dragoon mod. 1891.

Sights

Sight - stepped on a rifle arr. 1891, sector on a rifle mod. 1891/30. It consists of an aiming bar with a clamp, an aiming block and a spring.

On a rifle mod. 1891 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, 1,000 and 1,200 steps, and the second, for which it was necessary to raise the aiming bar to a vertical position, at a distance from 1,300 to 3,200 steps . There were also two versions of 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 cartridge mod. 1908. On a rifle mod. 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 2,000 m in 50 m increments.

The front sight is located on the trunk near the muzzle. At arr. 1891/30 received a ring namushnik.

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

Bayonet

Serves to defeat the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. It has a four-sided blade with fullers, a tube with a stepped slot and a spring latch that secures the bayonet to the barrel, and a neck connecting 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 would shift significantly and it would become almost impossible to hit something from a weapon at a relatively long distance without a new reduction to normal combat. When firing with a bayonet at a distance of 100 m, the average point of impact (STP) deviates on a rifle brought to normal combat without it to the left by 6-8 cm and down by 8-10 cm, which is compensated by a new reduction to normal combat.

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

The instruction ordered to remove the bayonet, in addition to the cases noted above, only when disassembling the rifle for cleaning, and it was assumed that it could be difficult to remove from being constantly on the weapon.

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

Until 1930, there was no spring latch, instead, the bayonet was attached to the barrel with a bayonet collar, the shape of the blade was also somewhat different. Practice has shown that over time, such a connection is prone to loosening. In 1930, the mounting method was changed, but rifles were still shot with bayonets. Some of the upgraded rifles also had a bayonet with a gunner (an early version), later the gunner was made on the rifle itself.

Carbine arr. 1944 had an integral flip bayonet of Semin's own design. The shooting of carbines is carried out with a bayonet in a combat position.

An interesting fact is that the sniper version of the Mosin rifle also had a bayonet, and it was planted exceptionally tight. In this case, it served as a muzzle weighting agent, which 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 ordinary rifles in the infantry, on the contrary, had a negative effect on the rifle's combat.

Rifle affiliation

Each rifle relied on an accessory consisting of a wipe, 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.

The accuracy of the battle and the effectiveness of fire

Rifles arr. 1891 and 1891/30 were high-precision weapons, allowing you to confidently hit a single target at a distance of up to 400 m, 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 shooting. At the training ground of the Ryazan Infantry School, he managed to fire 53 aimed shots per minute from a rifle from a distance of 100 meters at a chest target, hitting it with 52 bullets. Later, Nemtsev's method of high-speed shooting became widespread among the troops.

Mosin sniper rifles of pre-war production were distinguished by their amazing, by the standards of their time, 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.

Advantages of the three-ruler

• 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 to manufacturing technology and large tolerances;
• Reliability, non-failure operation of the rifle mechanisms in any conditions;
• Simple and reliable design of the shutter, consisting of only 7 parts; it disassembles and assembles quickly and without any tools;
• Cheap frame clip;
• Easy-to-remove shutter for cleaning;
• A separate combat larva of the shutter, the replacement of which in the event of a breakdown is much cheaper than replacing the entire shutter;
• Cheap replacement of wooden parts.

Flaws

• An obsolete cartridge with a rim that makes it difficult to feed from the magazine and required the introduction of an otherwise superfluous, otherwise quite difficult to manufacture and vulnerable to damage part - a cut-off reflector (later, during the modernization, it was replaced by two parts that were easier to manufacture; nevertheless, the most advanced magazine systems ensured reliable supply of cartridges with a rim and without cutoff 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 larvae of the shutter when locking, increasing dispersion; rifles with the best fight already at that time had a vertical arrangement of lugs with a locked bolt;
• Long and heavy descent without "warning", interfering with marksmanship;
• Frame non-spring clip, making it difficult to load; the spring plate clips that already existed at that time, including the Mosin clip, were more perfect, although more expensive than the accepted Nagant clip;
• A long and extremely obsolete needle bayonet with a crank neck, mounted on the barrel, and not on the stock;
• Infantry and dragoon rifles were shot with a bayonet, that is, when firing, it had to be on the rifle, otherwise the point of impact would shift significantly, which made the weapon ready for battle cumbersome; the bayonet loosened over time, as a result of which the accuracy of shooting from a rifle fell; the Cossack rifle was shot without a bayonet, but it was still unnecessarily heavy and generally inconvenient for firing from a horse and carrying by a horseman; bayonet loosening has been eliminated on arr. 1891/30, but the bayonet still had to be on the weapon when firing; this problem was completely solved only on the carbine arr. 1944 with the introduction of an integral flip bayonet, which also remained on the weapon during firing, but could be folded, increasing the ease of handling it;
• A short bolt handle not bent to the bottom, which makes it difficult to open it, especially when the cartridge case is tightly “settled” in the chamber; strong extension of the handle forward due to the design of the bolt and its horizontal location without bending down, which forced the shooter to take the butt away from 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 strongly extended back, bent down, which made it possible to reload the weapon without taking the butt off the shoulder, thereby increasing the rate of fire - the Lee-Metford rifle handle can be considered a reference in this regard;
• It is worth noting that both the experimental Mosin rifle of 1885 and the Nagant rifle had a bolt handle moved 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 1885 rifle of the year, it turned out that with this arrangement of the handle, delays often occur when reloading, caused by the fact that the long sleeves of a soldier's overcoat fell between the bolt stem and the receiver, and it was considered necessary to abandon a separate cutout for the handle, returning to the same configuration receiver, as on a Berdan rifle;
• A straight butt neck, less comfortable when shooting than a semi-pistol neck on the latest rifles at that time, although more durable and comfortable in a bayonet fight;
• The Mosin fuse is very simple, but inconvenient to use and short-lived due to the brightening of the safety protrusion with frequent use (how much a fuse is needed on a magazine rifle at all is a moot point);
• Some lag behind the advanced foreign analogues in the design of small parts and accessories, for example, outdated and quickly loosened stock rings, a sight vulnerable to impacts, less comfortable than the side, lower "infantry" swivels (since 1910, replaced by also not the most convenient slots for belt passage, originally available on a dragoon rifle), uncomfortable ramrod stop, etc .;
• Low quality wooden parts due to the use of cheap wood, especially on later releases.

Technical characteristics of the Mosin 1891 trilinear (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