Mosin Advice Please?

[SpeedmanRC]

Recon_Ninja_985

I just take the entire lid off.

also, for the ones I have open, I unwrap all my ammo and put all my rounds back into the tin and take the tin with me to the range.

means I have a lot of loose rounds ready to reach into. saves a lot of time loading and minimizes trash cleaning time at range

yeah, that works...but I got some 50 cal ammo cans for that too, then being in ammo cans it's lock from outside air when it's not in use.  

[Fresnel]

Quick question about Mosins... sometime in the next few months, I plan to drive up to J&G with a friend and hand-pick our own Mosins. What should I check for and how should I check it?  

[Recon_Ninja_985]

Fresnel

Quick question about Mosins... sometime in the next few months, I plan to drive up to J&G with a friend and hand-pick our own Mosins. What should I check for and how should I check it?

bore mostly

fluidity of movement in bolt, smoothest possible

hex receivers supposedly stronger

date stamp/arsenal stamp if you want a specific arsenal or date

keep an eye out for some less common stamps, probably rare.

if you see a stamp with either "remington armory"
or "new england westing house" GRAB IT

look out for ex snipers too, adds to some collector value
they have two filled in holes on the left side of the receiver, best seen from the inside  

[Whence it Flows]

On the whole fluidity of the bolt, check headspace with a snapcap, if you can get one.  

[Fresnel]

Pripyat Dawn

On the whole fluidity of the bolt, check headspace with a snapcap, if you can get one.

How would I check for that? I've never bought a used gun before.

@Recon: I'll look for American-made Mosins, but I doubt I'll find one. Round receiver is a given, as it's $20 cheaper. Ex-sniper is meh for me, I don't see myself selling the thing unless I'm BRUTALLY strapped for cash.

I find it amusing that WESTINGHOUSE of all people made rifles. I mean, I guess GM designed and manufactured the M3 SMG, but still, I guess a car isn't too far off from a gun, but Westinghouse makes nuclear reactors now. confused