The Mini Mosin Nagant is just like the original rifle, only chambered in a smaller caliber.
In the long and storied history of firearms, there are handful that are instantly recognizable by gun enthusiasts. The M-16, the M1 Garand and the Colt 1911 handgun to name a few.
The Mosin Nagant, a Russian-designed bolt action rifle was first designed in the 1870s. The design was so good, the rifle was used in countless conflicts, including both World Wars.
After World War II, there was a surplus of these rifles and now they can be found all over the United States. Because they were so cheap, almost everyone owned one. Mosin Nagants have been responsible plenty of deer harvests over the years.
The rifle's popularity is probably why Keystone Sporting Arms decided to meticulously re-create it as a single shot chambered for 22lr cartridges. Meet the KSA9130 Nagant. Our favorite rimfire guru, 22plinkter got his hands on one and you've simply got to see it to believe it.
We have to say, this is a release we did not see coming. It's a brilliant idea to take iconic WWII rifles like this and re-package them for a new generation of shooters. We've already seen some people dog this one for being a single shot rifle. However, this is a great idea for youth shooters.
For comparison, the original Mosins ranged from eight to nine pounds depending on the model. However, at 2.8 pounds, the mini Mosin will be a breeze to shoot compared to the big guns. It sounds like a cool way for kids to learn firearms safety to us. The single-shot crickett design is perfect for the target range or for squirrels.
We're a little curious why they didn't make a version that functioned just like the real Mosin. It could be possible that downsizing he inner workings for .22 Long Rifle was just a bit too complicated and would have driven the $400 MSRP on this rifle up even more. We do really dig the look of this rifle though. From the blued finish to the beautiful walnut stock. It was also a stroke of brilliance to ship these in a wooden crate that makes it look like it just arrived at the armory from a factory.
While the size of this special edition rifle was clearly meant for young shooters, we imagine a lot will end up in the collections of adults just for the sheer novelty of it. Keystone Sporting Arms says this will be the first of a series of scaled-down iconic WWII rifles. We think plinkster is spot on that the 1903 Springfield will likely be one of them.
We also wouldn't be surprised to see the Lee-Enfield, Mauser 1889. Personally, I'd love to see the M1 Garand or M1 Carbine in a scaled-down 22 like this, although it might be harder to make a version of those seeing as they are semi-autos.
In any case, Keystone Armory certainly got our attention with this interesting design. We're looking forward to seeing what they develop next!
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