I sent this tongue-in-cheek comparison of the three rifles to a lot of my former military buddies and they just about broke a blood vessel laughing. One of them, a retired Navy SEAL Captain (that's a full bird colonel for the Marines, Army, and USAF) who's about as ornery as a razor wire fence, did something that he rarely does -- he sent it on to HIS buddies on his list (and I got it back from one of them)! Talk about what goes around comes around.
For some of those who aren't as small arms oriented as others, the Model M1891 Moisin-Nagant rifle became the standard Russian infantry arm under the Tsar. It originally came with an absurdly long barrel and a cruciform socket bayonet. The Model '91 fought in World War 1 against the Germans. After the Tsar was deposed in 1917, it was used by both pro- and anti-Soviet forces in the Russian Civil War that followed. It soldier on into World War 2 and was used as an infantry rifle, sniper rifle, and cavalry carbine. It turned up again in Korea and in Vietnam. It was manufactured by Russia, China, and a lot of the Warsaw Pact countries. The Finns used their versions against the Russians when they invaded Finnland during the winter of 1939-1940 and the Continuation War after 1941 to 1945.
The most commonly found variation of the Model '91 in Vietnam was the Model 1944 carbine. This was a cutdown rifle with a permanently attached bayonet attached to the left side that folded back when it was not fixed. Shooting the Model '91 was not a pleasant experience -- especially for your average Vietnamese where the rifle was about 10% of his body weight. The rifle shoots the 7.62x54R rimmed cartridge (also from 1891) whose ballistics are roughly the same as the .30-06. The bullet shot by the '91, depending on the loading is between 170 and 200 grains -- very heavy. Our M2 .30-06 loading is a 150 grain bullet and that of the 7.62x51 NATO is 147 grains.
Recently, a lot of surplus Model '91s have come to our shores. If you are looking for a simple bolt action rifle that's homely as an outhouse, is cheap, uses powerful ammo that's relatively cheap, then take a look at the Moisin-Nagant.
Speaking of snipers and the Model 1891/30 rifle, here's the story of the greatest woman sniper.
LYUDMILA PAVLICHENKO
THE GREATEST WOMAN SNIPER
by
Thomas W Bruner
On 12 July 1916, a girl was born in Ukraine in the small village of Belaya Tserkov . She became a bright student in her elementary years. By the time she was fourteen, her parents moved to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. At that time she joined a shooting club and developed into a sharpshooter. She also worked at an arsenal as a grinder. Her name was Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko; the greatest female sniper who every lived.
In June of 1941, the Germans launched Operation Barbarosa attacking the Soviet Union. Lyudmila was studying at the Kiev University. She was 24-years-old and majoring in history. Many of the Russian students rushed to join the military. Lyuda was an exceptionally beautiful young girl. When she went to the recruiter, she requested to join the infantry and carry a rifle. The recruiter laughed at her. She pulled out a marksmanship certificate to prove her worth. He wanted her to become nurse. Being strong willed, she refused. She signed up with the 25th Infantry Division. She became one of the two-thousand women Soviet snipers of which only about 500 survived the war. As a sniper, she made her first two kills near Belyayevka. Her rifle was a Mosin-Nagent Russian sniper rifle with a P.E. 4-power scope. The Mosin-Nagent was a 5-shot bolt action rifle. It fired a 148gr bullet at a velocity of 2800 fps. It was effective out to 600 yards.
Pvt. Pavlichenko fought about two and a half months near Odessa. There, she recorded 187 kills. The Germans gained control of Odessa, and her unit was pulled to be sent to Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula. In June 1942, she was wounded by mortar fire . In May 1942, Lieutenant Pavlichenko was cited by the Southern Red Army Council for killing 257 German soldiers. Her total confirmed kills during WWII was 309 enemy. Lyudmila killed 36 enemy snipers. She found the kill logbook of one of the Nazi snipers she killed. He had taken the lives of over 500 Soviet snipers.
Because Lyudmila was a hero, less than a month after receiving her wound, she was pulled from combat. She was sent to Canada and the United States. She became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a U.S. President. President and Mrs. Roosevelt welcomed her at the White House. Lyudmila was invited by Eleanor Roosevelt to tour America relating her experiences. She was invited to appear before the International Student Assembly being held in Washington, D.C., where she received a heros welcome. Later she attended C.I.O. meetings and made appearances and speeches in New York City. In Canada, she was presented with a Winchester rifle with an optical sight, which is now on display at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow. When she left for her return to the Soviet Union, she was presented with a Colt semi-automatic pistol.
Having attained the rank of Major, Pavlichenko never returned to fighting but instead became an instructor. She trained hundreds of Soviet snipers until the wars end. In 1943 she received the Gold Star of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Lyudmila returned to Kiev State University. From 1945 to 1953, she was a research assistant of the Chief HQ of the Soviet Navy. She also was involved in numerous international conferences and congresses. She was active in the Soviet Committee of the Veterans of War.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko died on 10 October 1974 at age 58 and is buried at the Novodevichiye Cemetery in Moscow.
Above: A Russian Model 1891/30 sniper rifle with PE scope and socket bayonet. The Russians moderized the rifle in 1930 for more efficient production. This particular rifle has a turned-down bolt handle. The projection ahead of the trigger guard is the magazine for the 7.62x54R cartridges. The Russians intended for their troops to have their bayonets mounted on the rifle the majority of the time and, although scabbards for the bayonet existed, most of the time it was not issued. Peculiar to the Model 91/30 are the oval disks with slots that pass through the stock. These are the sling attachment points. The Russians used a cloth sling with leather loops on both ends that fed through the slots. This feature was retained on rifles made by China and other Warsaw Pact countries. China and Vietnam used this kind of sling on their Type 56 AK rifles and SKS carbines. These slings were very common on the weapons used by the VC/NVA during the Vietnam War.
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