Welcome to my take on “the most famous prepper gun”, the Mosin-Nagant.
Not long ago, the Mosin-Nagant (in it’s various forms) was considered to be the “classic” prepper gun, a high powered rifle that sold for under $100 and a gun where you could buy 880 round cases for $150. When I first contemplated doing this article several years ago, this was the case. At that time, it was a no-brainer, go buy one (or a dozen) and a couple of cases of ammo, and you have a high-powered rifle that you can both use and pass out.
You can spend a LOT of money modding a Mosin
Unfortunately, those days have gone. You can still get Mosin’s, but long gone are the days when I started buying them when you could spend $69 for a Mosin Nagant 91/30 full-length battle rifle, sling, bayonet cleaning kit with firing pin gauge, oil bottle and cartridge case.
Photo courtesy Antique Military Rifles
Today, depending on where they are and what condition they are, the guns are now running anywhere from $200-300, and ammo cases have completely dried up.
I gotta be honest, as much as I love Mosins, I wouldn’t consider buying one today as a prepping gun. Instead, I would spend the same $300 and buy something like a Savage Axis in .308. If you want to bang away shooting mil-surp ammo, you can with that gun, as well as use it for hunting. It is much easier to mount a scope on, it’s also got a much better trigger. Just being strait up here, it’s a better deal.
EDITED TO ADD: We have a really good discussion going on (as of 8/9/2017 – CLICKY!) at our favorite prepping forum, Prepperforums.net, about this article. Join the forum if you are not already a member and join in.
