The Donbas armed forces are fighting alongside Russian soldiers but are not part of the Russian armed forces, which have different rules about which troops they send into combat.
Several Donbas draftees have been issued with a rifle called a Mosin, which was developed in the late 19th century and went out of production decades ago, according to three people who saw conscripts from the separatist region using the weapon.
Images shared on social media, that Reuters was not able to verify independently, also showed Donbas fighters with Mosin rifles.
Some Donbas conscripts were given the highly dangerous mission of drawing enemy fire onto themselves so other units could identify the Ukrainian positions and bomb them, according to one of the sources and video testimony from a prisoner of war published by Ukrainian forces.
How old is that ammo?
I am told that the Moison-Nagants remained in service until WW2; some readers say they are an effective sniper rifle.
I have much experience with Mosin-Nagant's. I'll take a 91/30 with open sights and fulfill the designated marksman's role all day long. Recent surplus ammo is 147 gr steel core running around 2700 fps. It takes a little practice to load by 5 round stripper clip. A Mosin without a scope is preferred due to the lower profile. They may be old school, but in the hands of a skilled rifleman they are deadly.
ReplyDeleteThe ammo could well be brand new. Mosins are *incredibly* popular as deer rifles. 7.62 x.54R is the oldest military cartridge still in use and Mosins are capable of great accuracy. If nothing else, the darn things are long enough you can fix the bayonet and just stab the other guy in most combat situations.
ReplyDeleteI've fired a few hundred rounds of WWI-surplus 8mm Mauser and never had a misfire.
ReplyDeleteSome decades ago I purchased a can of pre WW-I Mosin ammo, goodness only knows how it's been stored in the intervening decades. The ammo is OK, it goes boom when I pull the trigger in my M1891.
ReplyDeleteMy late wife's favorite rifle was her M28-30 (she was of Finnish heritage) and with good ammo, it was quite accurate. Even with the spam can ammo it was pretty good.
These rifles are old, but few were anything like worn out, just poorly stored. Back when they were cheap (a rifle with sling and bayonet, and a can of ammo and enough change back from a Benjamin to buy lunch and fill the truck), you could pick the best in the barrel, give them a thorough cleaning and have a good rifle. As my wife said when she hunted with her M28 with bayonet, she could kill, field dress and BBQ an elk with one pull of the trigger.
Do they still have to issue a two-by-four to eject the spent cartridge, or have they worked out that bug?
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