So I was given a few of these rifles by a buddy who is moving, they are old russian military rifles, pretty fascinating really. Anyhow, a local shop has ammo for these…for cheap. I was thinking it would be fun to shoot a few rounds through them. one of them is a sniper rifle, the other one was made in 1899…can I safely shoot a gun that is over 100 years old? should I? are these worth anything?
There are multiple forums on the web regarding these - value can vary pretty wildly.
As to firing it, I would strongly suggest getting it to a good gunsmith to have it checked over. If a rifle is well maintained, there is no real issue. However, if these did see military service, you could have myriads of problems with damaged bores, weak bolt mechanisms, worn firing pins etc which could render the rifle unusable without repair, and potentially dangerous to fire. The last thing you want is blow back through a bad bolt mechanism, or the barrel fracturing or potentially exploding on you. Not an assessment for amateurs.
And here I thought a mossin nagant was a game bird.
Go watch Enemy at the Gates and you will be ready to shoot the sniper version. After have a gunsmith check it out. The cheap ammo may have a corrosive primer so you should clean them well after firing. I think the original snipers are pretty valuable. Retro-fitted copies less so.
If you suspect they have any value as antiques, don’t try to clean or refurbish them yourself.