How political corruption almost forced a flawed Mosin rifle into service

Published on February 26, 2026
Duration: 1:18

This analysis from Forgotten Weapons details how political corruption nearly led to a flawed Mosin-Nagant rifle variant being adopted. The modified rifles, including those with barrel fluting, did not outperform standard M91s in accuracy and exhibited reliability issues. The significant cost of retrofitting these changes was not justified by performance gains, yet 32,000 units were ordered due to political connections, highlighting a case where politics superseded sound engineering and testing.

Quick Summary

Modified Mosin-Nagant rifles, including those with barrel fluting, failed to outperform standard M91s in accuracy and suffered from reliability issues like slow-action feeding failures. The high cost of retrofitting was not justified, yet 32,000 units were ordered due to political connections, not performance.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Mosin Accuracy, Reliability, Cost
  2. 00:32Barrel Fluting on Existing Mosins
  3. 00:48Tula and Political Connections

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the modified Mosin-Nagant rifles perform better than the standard M91s?

No, the modified Mosin-Nagant rifles did not perform better on accuracy testing than the standard M91s. They also exhibited reliability issues, such as failures to feed when the action was worked slowly, indicating the modifications were not an improvement.

What were the main issues with the retrofitted Mosin-Nagant rifles?

The primary issues were a lack of improved accuracy compared to standard M91s and significant reliability problems, particularly with slow action manipulation. The cost of retrofitting these features, like barrel fluting, was also deemed unjustifiable.

How did politics influence the Mosin-Nagant rifle order?

Despite poor field testing results, political connections, specifically those of Kolodowski, led to an initial order of 5,000 modified Mosin-Nagants. This order was later increased to 32,000 due to political pressure, demonstrating how politics overrode technical merit.

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