I was looking at a old Russian military rifle in a pawn shop but couldn't find out much about it. I was thinking it was chambered in 7.62 x 59 but I've never heard of that round. The rifle is cheap, but I'm worried about ammo for it. The bolt is straight, if this helps anybody figure out what Im talking about. thanks

Moisin-Nagant 7.62x54R cartridge.

Ammo is plentiful and cheap. Rifles are, too.

Comparable generally to .308 Win or the old .300 Savage.

Accuracy is fair, expecially when the attached bayonet is removed. Kicks fairly good, too!! :D

Mosin-Nagant. About a jillion different varients you could see, Russian, Finnish, Chinese, and almost any of the former Soviet block countries. All varients can be great shooters, assuming the bore is good. If you buy it, please don't go cutting (sporterizing) on it until you know what you have. Go to Gunboards.net, and look at the Mosin-Nagant boards. All the information you could ever want about MNs.

There was a large order of these rifles made by Remington for the Russian Government. Don't forget that the Russian snipers were armed with scoped version of rhis rifle, and their success rate was as good or better than the other Allied nations. The 30-06 is 2740 FPS for 150 grain ball, and the 7.62x53R Russian is 2950 FPS. So it compares with the 30-06 quite well. Properly bedded these rifles will hold their own with any military bolt gun. The best ones to get are either the Russian, Remington, or the Finnish Models.

Lee L.