SFRC was very reasonable...

[gwilliam187]

i retracted my earlier statement. is that spray paint?

[caramel]

I guess it is... JP.

[pubb]

Actually it is Duracoat. A two-part epoxy-type finish that is extremely durable and weatherproof, comes in a whole whack of different colors and is easy to apply with an airbrush or HVLP sprayer. It is so unpopular and repugnant to CGNers that when I did a pay-it-forward thread, my offer for the unopened black and the leftover grey-green lasted less than a minute.

What I did was take a not-great specimen of one of the most common rifles ever made and make it different from the hundreds of 91/30s you can find at Silverdale. I took a force-matched rifle (bolt + receiver were the same, mag/bayonet/butt had different original serial) whose bayonet wouldn't fit on it and stripped the poorly finished wood and sanded it (all the way from 120-600 grit), degreased it, filled it, and finished it. I spent literally hours heating the wood gently and scrubbing away cosmoline, making sure every nook and cranny in every mechanism was free and clean. I used various solvents to clean the bore. When I couldn't get the bore as clean as I wanted it to be with Hoppe's and CLP, I bought special brushes to use with MPro7 to get rid of copper fouling.

The handguard looks unevenly finished, but it is just the lighting. Up close and personal, that stock looks as smooth as plastic. No grain visible anywhere except for the curves of the foregrip.

Then I put a scope on it which would allow me to hit targets more than 50 yards away (my eyes are s**t).

As for how I got the parts: I have friends & relatives who live in the US.

P

[AManWithAGun]

You should try counterboring the ruined barrel from the muzzle, drill past the distorted rifling and accuracy might improve a lot. Since you're treating it as a parts gun already, you have nothing to lose.

[pubb]

I might give that a go.

I got the replacement rifle yesterday. The stock looks OK but the gun itself isn't much to behold. Lots of surface rust and very poor rifling. It is practically a smoothbore. I got all the cosmo off yesterday, and will take it to the range next week, but I ain't holding my breath.

P

[sfbruner]

I too had a good experience with Sfrc. I bought my mosin from them and some ammo about a week ago. The only gripe is a snapped rear retainer spring but considering i looked over the rifle i have only myself to blame i guess. No biggie.

I have yet to shoot it.

[pubb]

After a really thorough cleaning, the rifling on the 2nd Mosin isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was, but it is still very poor.

Lesson learned though: never buying used sight unseen again. I'm tired of paying useful money for useless guns.

P

[sDot]

I bought S&K's instamounts for the 91/30 (they won't ship to Canada) and a cheapo Millett red dot sight. The mount cost significantly more than the sight. This WAS supposed to be a cheap fun rifle, and if the rifle I get is sufficiently accurate enough, I'll invest in a better sight.

The mount includes a very nice pair of rings, but requires you to remove the movable part (the "leaf" and spring) of the rear sight.

I was very happy with both the sightline and the look of that combination. I didn't have a chin weld, but it was high. You do lose use of the iron sights.

P

I think it looks awesome. I might pick up another mosin just to do something a little different to it..

[pubb]

Thanks. At least you didn't change your mind when someone else didn't like it.

P

I think it looks awesome. I might pick up another mosin just to do something a little different to it..

[sDot]

I bought S&K's instamounts for the 91/30 (they won't ship to Canada) and a cheapo Millett red dot sight. The mount cost significantly more than the sight. This WAS supposed to be a cheap fun rifle, and if the rifle I get is sufficiently accurate enough, I'll invest in a better sight.

The mount includes a very nice pair of rings, but requires you to remove the movable part (the "leaf" and spring) of the rear sight.

I was very happy with both the sightline and the look of that combination. I didn't have a chin weld, but it was high. You do lose use of the iron sights.

P

Thanks. At least you didn't like it but change your mind when someone else didn't like it.

P

Hey, it's your gun, why care if someone else doesn't like it.