When Nazi Germany invaded Russia in 1941, Hitler had almost four million soldiers to throw into the fray. Stalinist Russia had roughly half that many. In an effort to stave off the Nazi invasion, Soviet production lines went into overdrive to produce weapons to defend their country. Among these weapons, was the Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle.

Named after Sergei Ivanovich Mosin, an artillery colonel, the Mosin-Nagant fired a 7.62x54mmR round, which remains one of the few constants in modern-day ammunition. The rifle held five bullets, fed into the barrel via a loading system designed by the Belgian Emile Nagant. As with many Russian small arms, the Mosin-Nagant was extremely hardy; able to live in difficult terrains and withstand heavy abuse. Originally inducted into military service in 1891, the Mosin-Nagant is still in use today. It’s history includes every major war (and most minor ones) fought in the last 120 years–the Boxer Rebellion, Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War, the Chinese Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the First and Second Chechen War, and is still being used in the Iraq War.

The number of Mosin-Nagants manufactured is in the neighborhood of 37,000,000, one of the most prolific guns of history (another Soviet weapon, the AK series, holds the record at more than 100 million.)

After World War II, the high point of the Mosin-Nagant’s usage, many copies of the rifle were warehoused until the fall of the USSR. In the aftermath of the Soviet breakup, vast amounts of Soviet weaponry and military equipment were sold off to other nations. The Mosin-Nagant has become a particulary sought after piece. Gun dealers across the world, and especially the U.S., carry the Mosin-Nagant at extremely attractive prices. Most can be picked up for under $100, and come with the signature star-patterned bayonet. Due to their spending the majority of their life in Soviet warehouses, these Mosin-Nagants are often brand-new, unfired, untouched since their creation in World War II. The 7.62×54 round is affordable, but it is important to bear in mind that this round is still in use in sniper rifles; it handles like a cannon.