The thing about the Mosin Nagant is that its production changed from country to country and time period to time period. Pre-war models of the Mosin Nagant are often much nicer than the models pumped out in a rush during the Second Patriotic War. Models from Eastern Europe are often considerably nicer than the Chinese clones, and the Finn and Remington Mosins are often considered the nicest in terms of craftsmanship and quality. This had made the trigger vary from ok, to downright terrible. Proper and comfortable triggers are apparently the work of capitalist dogs.
A good trigger is, however, necessary for accurate shooting. If you are just using a Mosin as a plinker you can have a lot of fun, but when you decide to get serious about your Mosin shooting the biggest consideration should be a trigger upgrade. A trigger upgrade is going to help squeeze as much accuracy as possible out of your Mosin Nagant.
What exactly is wrong with the Mosin Nagant trigger? Well, this goes back to the different production standards of Mosin Nagants, you’ll find a wide variety of different problems with the trigger. Mosin Trigger is often very inconsistent, often having a mixture of creep, and overtravel and one thing you can always expect is grittiness. There is also the issue of a heavy trigger that often resides with the Mosin, which may be a feature and not a bug when you consider how difficult it would be to rapidly use the safety in combat.
What can we do about the trigger? Well, there are three different things you can do, each at a different price point. The Mosin is not an expensive rifle, so some may not want to go the route of installing a trigger that costs nearly as much as the gun, but others may consider that a drop in the bucket and well worth it. Luckily, our capitalist society has given us an option for everyone.
The Free Option!
Money being money we don’t always want to spend, so the free option is best for most who aren’t looking to spend any more money on the Mosin Nagant. This option requires a little gun know how, some tools, and some willingness to do some work. The process itself can be done in around twenty minutes. This process is going to take a little bit of polishing, and some grinding. Something like this is impossible to illustrate without posting hundreds of pictures and writing a few thousand words at it. If you are looking to do this kind of trigger job there is a number of different videos on youtube, the most descriptive being one by IraqVeteren8888’s channel.
The Mid-Priced options
The Mid Priced option involves installing the two stage Finnish M39 trigger. These are available for right around 30 bucks, give or take. These triggers are common and can be found around the internet, including sites like eBay, and any respectable surplus gun website. These triggers are basically drop in and work with all European models of the Mosin, they may even fit the T-53, but I couldn’t find any sources claiming one way or the other.
Installation is pretty simple and again is best explained in video form. It is very simple though, remember these rifles were manufactured using old techniques by half starved peasants. While you have the weapon apart though go ahead and polish what you can on the trigger components. Something else you can consider is a Mosin Nagant slack spring, available on Amazon for less than $10 this trigger gives the Mosin an overall better feel. It pushes the trigger forward and gives the trigger much more consistency. It’s a simple, cheap upgrade that anyone can do. The combination of the M39 trigger and the slack spring can give you a decent feeling trigger. It will be heads and tails above a factory model.
Trigger Replacements
Replacing the stock Mosin trigger is without a doubt a top modification. In my initial search for Mosin mods, the Timney trigger was always a top mod right along with the new stock. For about a hundred bucks you can get a new trigger, an entirely new trigger for the Mosin Nagant, at this price point, you have two options the Timney drop in trigger or the Huber Concepts trigger. Both are a drastic improvement in quality in a Mosin trigger and are basically match grade triggers.
For only a little more money than you would spend to replace your old trigger with another old M39 trigger, you can purchase a Timney with a drastic improvement in shooting quality as opposed to just an upgrade. Most gun guys and gals have heard of Timney, they make triggers for most modern weapons and have a spotless reputation. You can view the current price and reviews of the Timney Trigger here.
Huber Concepts isn’t a company most have heard of unless they are Surplus rifle enthusiasts. They make triggers purely for surplus weapons. I’m an enormous fan of their mods to the Lee Enfield rifles and have had nothing but positive experiences from this company. Both the Timney and Huber triggers are excellent options. The Timney does offer a safety, and an easier install, though, and for that, I recommend the Timney trigger over the Huber. Both offer a light, clean and crisp trigger break, and have an awesome effect on Mosin accuracy.
The Huber trigger is closer to a standard Mosin Trigger and has a trigger pull between 2.5 to 3.5 pounds. The trigger reduces friction and doesn’t require any fitting to install. It’s is very simple to install.
The Timney trigger can be ordered at a variety of weights ranging from 1.5 pounds to 4 pounds, so you have options. The trigger safety is way enormously better than the Mosin safety will ever be. Some Mosins may require fitting for the Timney trigger, but most do not.
Trigger time
The Mosin Nagant is an awesome weapon, it’s cheap, reliable, and powerful. The Mosin Nagant can also take a wide variety of upgrades which not only make the weapon a better weapon but make the rifle even more fun to own. Gun owners love customizing, and the Mosin Nagant is an excellent platform for the customizer or the budding gunsmith.
