Mosin Sniper Repro

[lejarretnoir]

I thought about building one up and can do it easily enough, that's not a problem.
The only problem that faces me is how many 91/30's do I have to go through to find a real accurate one. I'm not at the factory inspecting and testing to see if one becomes "sniper grade".
Also, it's just plain cheaper to buy one from Westrife and go have some fun, but is it going to be a crap shoot to see if one is more accurate than the other or have they been tested for accuracy prior to sniper repro conversion or refurb?
Just not interested in buying a new Repro only to find the best it can do is 6" @ 100yds.

 

[dirtytwo]

I rolled the dice and got one from Westrifle. You're right in that you're never sure what you'll get in the accuracy department. Mine shoots 1.25" to 2.25" 5-shot groups, depending on the day, using reloads built on Prvi cases and Hornday 150gr .312" SP at ~2800fps.

The first hurdle, however, was replacing the original 11 lb (yes folks, that's eleven-pound!) trigger with a Huber Concepts trigger (best investment ever!) The second hurdle is to shim the scope so you're not looking at crosshairs that are way right or left, high or low, in the reticle (Soviet-era scopes! Good times!)

It's a conversation starter at the range, to be sure! But in the end, the only way you'll have a guarantee of accuracy is to buy a range-tested used one or get an original sniper as an investment.

 

[bearhunter]

IMHO, even the original sniper rifles weren't all tack drivers.

For their day, they were very good though. They shot minute of man out to 500+meters.

The No4 Ts were similar, as were the M41 Swedes. The M1D Garand, is similar.

I have very little experience with the 1903 sniper versions or the German Mausers.

Most will settle down to between 1-2 inches with tuned handloads and some bedding work, if needed.

I've found, that out to 200m, they aren't that much more accurate than iron sighted rifles, in good light, as long as everything else is equal.

With all of my snipers, they really make a difference at ranges over 200m and in limited light conditions.

There is a discussion on the Mosinnetwork, where a manager in a firearms manufacturing facility was questioned about how the rifles were chosen.

He stated, that they just took them off the assembly line upon completion and shot them.

The rifles were then fitted with scopes and bases before final accuracy testing.

Their tolerances weren't really critical or limited.

The ammunition they used, was the same as issued to the regular troops. Of course, like British and Canadian snipers, their snipers were allowed to pick their ammunition out of different lots for accuracy.

The logistics of getting special sniper ammunition into the field during WWII would have been horrendous.

The job of the sniper comes into question here. What were his/her real goals.

Snipers were used as scouts, force mulipliers and harrassement specialists. Some only had one job and that was to maim/kill as many enemy troops as possible. The list goes on.

To compare the sniping equipment and techniqes of WWII to those in vogue today, is like comparing apples to oranges.

A 1.5-2.5 moa rifle would be perfectly adequate for most circmstances.

Remember, we're talking of the days when 4 inch groups were considered good shooting.

 

[Cdn303]

I suggest getting one of the ex-snipers from westrifle. They already have the bent bolt, and should be better then the average one. Not all the "ex-sniper" rifle saw service a sniper rifles during the war. If you get luck you can find a Tula one.

"Some Tula rifles have the sniper marks, but don't show any evidence of ever having a scope mount attached. These are probably a case where a rifle was deemed accurate enough for use as a sniper and marked, but sniper production quotas were met before it was needed or it failed some other test later in production." (taken from http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinM9130S.htm)

 

[lejarretnoir]

I suggest getting one of the ex-snipers from westrifle. They already have the bent bolt, and should be better then the average one. Not all the "ex-sniper" rifle saw service a sniper rifles during the war. If you get luck you can find a Tula one.

I guess I'm just too pessimistic. Still sounds like a crap shoot because I can't be there and look into the bores.
I've thought about an Ex-Sniper many times, but can't get past buying an M44 a decade ago that could only shoot minute of barn. I've also heard that ex-snipers can have a worn out barrel.
So we're back to square one.

 

[Major Sights]

I picked a repro one up from westrifle (one he picked out, didn't ask for anything special) before the deer hunt to be used as my om-age to Vasily Zaytsev (Russian Sniper). Partway through the hunt I accidentally loosened the bolt holding the scope mount on, not the guns fault, just me not tightening it enough. I was wary about my zero being since the male end of the scope mount was completely separate from the female. After the hunt I had the chance to put the scope back on and re-zero... it was rather easy. I put the bolt back into place and shot 1" groups at 120m (I only did a quick zero of the rifle when I first got it, and was shooting 1" groups at 75m. I was impressed.

Right now, this is my favorite rifle, naw screw that, favorite FIREARM in my safe.

Buy with confidence at Westrifle.

 

[svt1940]

I thought about building one up and can do it easily enough, that's not a problem.
The only problem that faces me is how many 91/30's do I have to go through to find a real accurate one. I'm not at the factory inspecting and testing to see if one becomes "sniper grade".
Also, it's just plain cheaper to buy one from Westrife and go have some fun, but is it going to be a crap shoot to see if one is more accurate than the other or have they been tested for accuracy prior to sniper repro conversion or refurb?
Just not interested in buying a new Repro only to find the best it can do is 6" @ 100yds.

From what i heard,repro have nice bore,probably not tested for accuracy but still nice bore. I would buy with confidence from Westrifle. Weimajack also have repro too,more expensive i think but also hand selected. With a clean bore and undamaged crown, should be a very fine shooter. I have a repro myself but didn't have time to shoot it,bore is excellent. Majorsights seems very satisfied with his repro so you can be confident.
Jocelyn