Raven (КРУК), a Ukrainian company, has released a series of aluminum chassis stocks for the Mosin Nagant, Remington 700, Howa 1500, and SIG Sauer 202 rifles.
The Firearm Blog has published a review of these chassis.
Doug E
Doug has been a firearms enthusiast since age 16 after getting to shoot with a friend. Since then he’s taken many others out to the range for their first time. He is a husband, father, grandfather, police officer, outdoorsman, artist and a student of history. Doug has been a TFB reader from the start and is happy to be a contributor of content.
TFB’s Mike R. is working on Raven’s Remington 700 chassis, and they were kind enough to send me their Mosin-Nagant chassis. There may be some people out there that consider the Mosin-Nagant rifles as “trash guns,” and therefore wouldn’t want to use one for anything more than for historical appreciation. However, some Mosins have been well taken care of and are still tack drivers that can be pushed beyond the accuracy of the bargain bin rifles. Thus, if you’re a “chassis all the things” kind of shooter, I hope this review will be helpful.
GETTING STARTED WITH THE MOSIN NAGANT CHASSIS FROM RAVEN
Just to be clear, the bore on my Mosin wasn’t bright and shiny, to begin with as it was one of the bargain bin rifles, but I can provide a proof of concept in several ways. First, Raven knew what they were doing when they designed their chassis and there wasn’t any fitment issues with it. Secondly, I didn’t want to permanently alter my rifle since I still want to be able to put it back into its original configuration for historical reference. To completely install the Raven chassis, I’d need to remove the front and rear sights, which I was fine with since they’re just held on by dovetail and pins and that can all be replaced down the road. I’d also like to be clear that Raven provided their chassis for free with no expectation of return, but I have no problem being honest and objective.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE RAVEN MOSIN-NAGANT CHASSIS
My initial impression of the Raven Mosin-Nagant chassis was conflicted. I was impressed by the solid construction of the chassis and the simplicity of which it fits together. On the other hand, Raven’s chassis felt so light that I was expecting some massive felt recoil, which I’ll address further in the review.
In the images where you’ll see I’ve mounted an optic, I realized that my setup wasn’t the most ideal, but it provides the proof of concept while still being able to return my rifle to its original configuration. Another possible scope mounting configuration would be to cut a small section of the handguard rail out to allow for a rear sight scope mount to be used for a more solid contact point with more input from the barrel itself. Of the rear sight replacement mounts I’ve seen though, they are not generally well regarded, but I’ve not had any experience with them myself. Raven recommends drilling and tapping the Mosin-Nagant’s receiver.
The handguard rail is full of M-LOK slots at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions, while the skeletonized stock has slots for mounting a rail as well for a mono-pod.
The handguard rail will naturally accept M-LOK sling adapters as well, but in a pinch, the numerous lightening cuts can provide a quick attachment point for HK style sling hooks, or even the Mosin Nagant’s original “dog collar” sling attachments.
Raven’s Mosin-Nagant Chassis is designed to accept the fixed stock assembly by itself, but they’ve also manufactured their own folding stock adapter as well. The MSRP is listed as $99 on their website. The lockup on the folding adapter is very solid with no wobble. It also locks into place while folded.
DETACHABLE BOX FED MAGAZINE FOR THE RAVEN MOSIN-NAGANT CHASSIS
Raven designed their Mosin-Nagant Chassis to work with the ProMag Archangel removable five or ten round magazine, originally designed for the Archangel stock system. I had to make two minor modifications to the Archangel magazine, but it was very simple to do with just a hacksaw and a file.
I needed to cut a small notch out of the left side of the magazine to allow the Mosin-Nagant’s shell interrupter to move freely. I also needed to file about a sixteenth of an inch from the bottom of the magazine catch lug to allow the chassis’ built-in paddle release to lock the magazine into the well.
One consistent issue I had was that the last round in the magazine doesn’t release completely on its own, but a little help from a screwdriver can release it every time. Otherwise, the magazine functioned flawlessly and fed every round above the last cartridge.
TRIGGER TIME WITH THE RAVEN MOSIN-NAGANT CHASSIS
Earlier in the review, I had mentioned that I was concerned about the recoil impulse from the lightweight chassis, however, that concern went out the window after my first shot with the Raven Chassis. Between the inherent weight of the Mosin-Nagant action and barrel, and the very functional shock absorption of the Raven’s buttpad, I couldn’t believe how soft and smooth it was to shoot. The rifle as I had configured it weighed just a hair under 10 pounds. Last fall, I had decided to have my son wait to shoot my Savage 10 in .308 Winchester because I was worried it would be too punishing for him, but I turned the Mosin-Nagant over to my twelve year old son and he agreed that it was quite pleasant to shoot.
Due to the configuration of the scope placement, I made sure each shot was done while supporting the main chassis body rather than putting pressure on the handguard rail which could affect the scope. However, my Mosin-Nagant 91/30 was not exactly a tack driver when I bought it for $100. I was printing about four-inch groups at 100 yards, so the Raven Mosin Nagant Chassis didn’t improve its accuracy, but a much better specimen may be aided by freeing the barrel and securing the action in the solidly built chassis. Despite the accuracy issues my personal rifle presented, I was still able to smack some steel targets at 100 and 200 yards, which brought a smile to my face with each report.
OVERALL THOUGHTS OF THE RAVEN MOSIN-NAGANT CHASSIS
While the Mosin-Nagant Chassis from Raven may be meant for a more limited market of Mosin-Nagant owners, I was impressed by Raven’s quality and engineering. The Mosin-Nagant Chassis provides a unique and modern look for an old warhorse and allows shooters to customize their rifle using any M-LOK or 1913 Picatinny rail accessories. Removing the original sights was a challenge, but I like working with my hands. As I’ve suggested, the transition to the Raven Chassis can be done without permanently modifying your Mosin-Nagant rifle, though, for the best results, you may need to drill and tap the receiver, but the rifle would still be able to return to the original configuration if you wished.
The Raven Chassis has an MSRP of $450 and currently ships from Ukraine. This cost can be a positive or negative depending on the mindset. For some, adding a $450 stock to a sub $400 rifle (plus drilling and tapping for a scope) can be viewed as counter intuitive, however, for others, it offers those with very accurate Mosin’s to turn it into a modular, scoped rifle for well under the price of more modern rifles configured with a chassis.
You can check out Raven’s main page HERE, and their chassis page HERE. Raven also has a Facebook page with more images as well. What do you think about Raven’s chassis system for the Mosin-Nagant rifle? Do you have an accurate Mosin-Nagant you’d consider putting in a chassis?
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