Are sporterized Mosin worth it for hunting ?

OR4NGE

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I love the cartridge, was wondering if 7.52x54r sp ammo with a sporterized mosin nagant was a hunting worthy rifle and what was the opinion of the good folks of cgn on this.
 
Plenty of people use them for hunting. I actually sporterized one myself for the very same purpose but with a scope, the heavy-ish stock it all came in at 10 lbs total (unloaded, mind you) and it was too heavy for me - and that was after I cut down the barrel to 22 or so inches.
You might have better luck with a lighter stock (like a Monte Carlo style) since I went with the Archangel stock and a high-magnification scope so I reckon that's where a lot of the weight went. It's a fun as hell and cheap benchrest shooter, though!

As long as your example is accurate enough for your liking and for ethical hits I don't see a problem with it.
 
A savage axis will blow it out of the water even with the crappy scope that comes with it. Don't screw up your hunt with a 100+ year old antique made for peasants.
 
I don't really have any experience with 7.62x54r, or with hunting, but I don't see why not? Within the proper bullet, and confidence in your ability with the rifle, there shouldn't be a reason why it wouldn't work just fine, especially if you reload (again, I'm unfamiliar with factory offerings for the 7.62x54r).
 
I have one that I got as part of a package deal, it shoots fine.

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I'd be willing to part with it, if you're interested.
 
A savage axis will blow it out of the water even with the crappy scope that comes with it. Don't screw up your hunt with a 100+ year old antique made for peasants.

Yeah but then you'd own and be seen with an Axis!

Personally if I had to choose between those two for deer I'd take the "peasant" gun, WAY more character and there are no flies on the x54r cartridge.
 
A savage axis will blow it out of the water even with the crappy scope that comes with it. Don't screw up your hunt with a 100+ year old antique made for peasants.

It pains me to agree with you, but I do. And that's coming from someone who doesn't much like the Axis.

The Nagant is a rifle you throw on your snowmobile to shoot a polar bear on an ice floe, or maybe a caribou way up in the frozen north. An Axis is a gun you can use anywhere where 95% of the population REALLY hunts and will be more accurate and pleasant to shoot and will save you money because it won't be such a PITA to get sighted in. Sure the Nagant will go bang every time for the next 200 years, but hunting is much more fun with a hunting rifle, not a SHTF military rifle.
 
If you want to hunt with a Mosin, it's certainly doable. You can buy a mount, bend the bolt handle, change the stock, chop the barrel, get a timney trigger, and make a decent hunting rifle.

However, It'll be a bit on the heavy side and it'll end up costing a lot more than just buying an axis or rem 783 ect.

Again, if you want to hunt with a Mosin, it's certainly doable. If you just want to hunt for a minimum cost, there are better options though.

Example :

Same rifle as last year but modified a bit more, shooting MFS 203gr soft points.

1943 Mosin Nagant 91/30.
Barrel cut and crowned at 19".
Archangel Target Chassis
TrueShot see through scope mount.
Nikon Buckmaster II 4-12x40 With BDC Reticle.
Bent bolt.
d87d6dy.jpg
 
Mosin might not hold up to the rigors of hunting...…….



If I was shooting in open fields from a ground blind I would gladly hunt with my Mosin Sniper. For trekking around and stuff I'd prefer a lighter rifle. Still a good Mosin can shoot just as well as a Savage. Plus it could break the savage in half if swung at each other. 7.62x54r is good for essentially all game on earth. It will work on deer and moose and elk, bear etc...
 
I get my 91/30 build out a bit more than some of my newer rifles as its shoots cast 180's so nice and is fine for still hunting. Great cartridge and a dead reliable rifle make a nice huntin' tool fer us Mosin fans.:d

Mosin 91-30 (2).jpg
 

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I wouldn't bother when already sporterized M98 and M96 Mausers are available for $250 to $400. A Mauser 98 is a forever gun; it will always be worth building the action into a custom rifle if the old barrel and stock are worn out. A Mosin...maybe, maybe not.
 
If I had one that accurately shot modern sp rounds I’d hunt with it, over a savage axis. I already hunt with a sporterized Lee Enfield, it weighs in at just under 10lbs with a full mag. So I’m used to some weight, I ground sit and hike with it. I’ve shot my round receiver with x54 S&B sp and it shot bigger groups at 100y then I felt comfortable hunting with, I haven’t found anything else to try locally and my Enfield will out shoot it with commercial hunt ammo.
 
If I had one that accurately shot modern sp rounds I’d hunt with it, over a savage axis. I already hunt with a sporterized Lee Enfield, it weighs in at just under 10lbs with a full mag. So I’m used to some weight, I ground sit and hike with it. I’ve shot my round receiver with x54 S&B sp and it shot bigger groups at 100y then I felt comfortable hunting with, I haven’t found anything else to try locally and my Enfield will out shoot it with commercial hunt ammo.

As someone who started with a sporter enfield and then moved to a Savage Axis, I have to disagree. The Savage is much better to run optics on, its far lighter (my rifle with a full mag, sling, 1 piece rail, optic, rings is 8lbs 3.5oz) and the trigger is easier to make decent (as in stock form, both suck for their own reasons). One problem I did have was I couldn't move the scope that came with the rifle far enough back for me, but a 1-piece rail fixed that issue. It also shoots sub-MOA with handloads.

Long story short, scoping either a Mosin or an Enfield doesn't work well with their military stocks, which are designed for use with iron sights. They tend to have very poor cheek welds with an optic due to that. Some people are good with iron sights, Others are good without a decent cheek weld, I am neither of those things though so for me, going to a Savage Axis was a notable step up.
 
As someone who started with a sporter enfield and then moved to a Savage Axis, I have to disagree. The Savage is much better to run optics on, its far lighter (my rifle with a full mag, sling, 1 piece rail, optic, rings is 8lbs 3.5oz) and the trigger is easier to make decent (as in stock form, both suck for their own reasons). One problem I did have was I couldn't move the scope that came with the rifle far enough back for me, but a 1-piece rail fixed that issue. It also shoots sub-MOA with handloads.

Long story short, scoping either a Mosin or an Enfield doesn't work well with their military stocks, which are designed for use with iron sights. They tend to have very poor cheek welds with an optic due to that. Some people are good with iron sights, Others are good without a decent cheek weld, I am neither of those things though so for me, going to a Savage Axis was a notable step up.

×2!
 
A savage axis will blow it out of the water even with the crappy scope that comes with it. Don't screw up your hunt with a 100+ year old antique made for peasants.

He said in a haughty voice wth nose firmly held high geezz a mosin is fine for hunting as is or sportered and
re stocked
 
MN is usable in a pinch, but awkward.
Any $150 cut down Lee Enfield with a good bore is a better gun, with a much handier action.
And a cheap Savage Axis, homely as it is, is ten times the sporting rifle.
 
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