I bought this rifle back some ten or fifteen years ago for about $100.00. Great rifle. Seems like new, so I imagine it came out of the factory back in 1948 (that's when this one was made), then got put right into storage till being shipped to the US as war surplus. They are today going for about $350.00.
When I bought it, I also bought two spam cans of Russian 7.62x54mmR for dirt cheap. I don't know how old it is, but the cans look pretty old fashioned, so could be pre-WWII. They are almost certainly corrosive, so I will have to clean the rifle tonight or tomorrow the latest, using water liberally, before finishing up with Ballistol.
Some more shots of the rifle:
The reason the folding bayonet is extended is because that's how you're supposed to shoot them. They were actually sighted in at the factory with the bayonet extended. They were meant to be only folded for storage or transport. Once in the field of battle, Soviet block soldiers were meant to extend them and leave them extended, unless getting into a transport of some kind.
Accuracy was damned good considering the ammo is likely pretty old. I was getting consistent sub-2 inch groups at 100 yards at will from the bench with the rear sight set to the 100 meters position (It can go up to 1,000 meters). And, as you can see, the windage was perfect. My point of aim was the bottom of the V. My first group is circled. Then I put another five shot group in the same place. All ten rounds form a group less than 2 inches in size.
I then brought the target back to the 50 yard line and tried my hand at shooting it standing and unsupported. Not bad. All roughly where they should be, other than the one that landed way up top on the seven. My fault, not the rifle's. I accidentally pulled the trigger before lowering it to the bullseye. That trigger breaks pretty light.
The Polish Mosin Nagants have among the best reputations for the model. The trigger on this one is very nice, with a 3.5 lb break that's pretty crisp and consistent after a tiny bit of stacking. It stacks to the wall, then breaks cleanly.
The 7.62x54mmR (the R stands for rimmed) is at a power level roughly like 7.62x51mm NATO. It was designed for a much longer barrel, though, so it sent a huge flame plume from the muzzle each time I fired it. Like a big plasma ball. I imagine it looks spectacular at night.