Mosin nagant

QuickDraw16

QuickDraw16

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Im looking into buying a mosin for giggles, would try using it for hunting if deemed accurate enough.
My questions are what should I look for in a mosin when buying? what can I expect from it as far as groups go? and who has the best deal on them right now? (prefer to buy local BC)
 
The Mosin would be better than the sks for hunting. No one I've talked to recommends doing so beyong 100m with the 7.62x39, whereas a 7.62x54r behaves more like a 30-06. Also, the sks would be limited to deer, whereas a Mosin can handle larger game. I'm sure there are CGNers who'd disagree with the 100m thing, but if hunting's your aim (see what I did there!), I'd go Mosin.

That being said, my sks is a lot of fun at the range. Cheaper ammo helps.
 
Just an fyi too, this thread will likely be moved to milsurp section. I know it's a "red rifle" but it falls under the military surplus umbrela :)

Get one with a nice bore and slug it. From what I understand the bores can be a range of sizes, and accuracy can be achieved with hand loads.
 
One of my 91/30s can do 3" at 100 yards with open sights and my eyes are 60 years old. I don't know what it would do if I scoped it.
 
QuickDraw16 said:
Im looking into buying a mosin for giggles, would try using it for hunting if deemed accurate enough.
My questions are what should I look for in a mosin when buying? what can I expect from it as far as groups go? and who has the best deal on them right now? (prefer to buy local BC)
Click to expand...

Depends, you buying a russian garbage nagant, or a checked out finn M39? ;)
 
I hunt with my Mosin. IMO a proper serviceable Mosin should be able to shoot 1 inch at 50 yards with irons. I have no problems taking a deer up to 200 yards with iron sights. If you scope it, you will have more range and tighter groups. The cartridge is slightly smaller than a 30.06, but performs comparatively in that class with similar velocity and energy.

Others were making comparisons to an SKS, a Mosin is 3 times the gun and bullet performance. 7.62x54R is the big game bullet in Eastern Europe.
 
I've had 3 so far. 2 shot around 12" shotgun groups and the 3rd will shoot 2" groups at 100yds with handloads and irons. Unless you know how to check out bores it's Russian Roulette whether it's a shooter or not.
I think the vast majority of the grunt WWII MN's once refurbed were meant to be wall hangers and plinkers only.

Better off with an SKS as they all come with excellent bores and cheap ammo to shoot. Most will shoot anywhere from 2 to 6" groups at 100yds all the time with cheap surplus.
 
lejarretnoir said:
I've had 3 so far. 2 shot around 12" shotgun groups and the 3rd will shoot 2" groups at 100yds with handloads and irons.
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Rather than looking at the bore, you might want to check the crowns, for 40 bucks to re-crown a muzzle you will probably find the other two will drastically improve.




Further to anyone trying home loads in your Mosin, a .312 bullet shoots improved grouping, and better in every X54R rifle I own.
 
I already own an sks and wouldn't think of using it for any hunting other than yotes at close range...

How should I check the bore? I can check the crown... It defenitly wouldn't be my go to gun for hunting if I bought one, but it would be something I would consider using it for.
 
I went through 6 mosin nagants until i got one to do 1.5 inch grouping at 50 yards with open sights. With my first ones i could barely hit anything. Try and get a mosin that was made before the war. Get one from the years 1930-1940 and you should get good accuracy. Also talking about sks's i got good accuracy with my sks. I prefer the sks since its shorter.
 
I bought an old Russian 91/30.
There are ways to slightly improve the accuracy of them using basement(redneck) non permanent gunsmithing methods.
First, put a thin piece of plastic or metal under the screw area on the sear/trigger spring to drasticaly reduce the pull required to release the firing pin. Actually, I used a standard credit card thick piece of an expired ID card. It is the perfect thickness.

You can also modify a clothes pin spring to make a "two-stage" trigger and eliminate the slop inherent in the mosin trigger after cocking. I just finally got this figured out yesterday and installed :D Took a lof of dicking around with a pair of pliers but it works awesome now!

The other thing, which the Finns actualy did on captured russian rifles to improve the accuracy was to place metal shims in the stock. Specifically under the top rear receiver screw, you will have to drill a hole through it so the screw can pass. It focuses the angle of the barrel into the stock. Depending on the condition of your stock, this will cause a bedding effect if your bands are in good condition. Alternatively you can use flat pieces of cork at equal lengths to bed your stock without actually permanently altering it. Some people try to free float the barrel but this is pointless in a Mosin and causes more pain than it's worth.

Another is that some Mosins shoot VERY high. Partly becuase they were designed to. You can buy a piece of 12 guage insulated electrical wire, strip off the insulation and slip it over the front post. Keep shooting 4 round groups at 100m and trim down the post a smidge at a time until your groups are dead center POA. Just marker the insulation black after, I found it easier to pick up the sight image leaving the tip white actually so that was a bonus! This was an issue with mine as the front post had been visibly hacked very short. I was shooting more than 2 feet high at 100m!

The last and most important, get your barrel recrowned. You would not believe the improvement in accuracy you can achieve with this simple step.

All this for nothing more than $50 :D
There is a wealth of info on this subject on the net. Just stay away from the free floating barrel nonsense.
 
QuickDraw16 said:
How should I check the bore? I can check the crown...
Click to expand...






You check the bore by slugging it with a lead ball, then measure it once its pushed through. This gives you the bore and groove diameter. These measurements indicate the bore size and actual wear on the rifle. Although this information is more valuable for home loading, it can also give explanation if your pressures are above or below normal readings and ballistics. Not all rifle bores were made to the same spec, and just because it can measure out large does not indicate the barrel is worn out. You can google "slugging a bore" for u tube stuff or go to:

ht tp://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm



A problem with a crown is less visual and more of an effect when shooting. A 30 inch group at 100 yards is an indication that your crown is worn uneven. Crown wear is usually caused by improper cleaning habits from the muzzle side of the gun or not using the muzzle protector when doing so. Without being too scientific, when a bullet exits the barrel with a bad crown, gas pressure escapes on the warn side of the crown and makes the bullet wobble. Its hard to tell by simply looking at it, but many milsurp rifles have this problem and are written off as bad guns from people who cannot recognize this fault. A gunsmith has a tool to shave off an eighth of and inch and cut the barrel crown clean. Last summer i had two rifles re-crowned in an Edmonton shop for about 40 bucks each. So its not an expensive repair. In the old armories, they often used a method called counter-boring.



I've had more old Mosins come across my work bench than i could ever count. Other than one with a bent barrel, all the results have been good to excellent. I hunt with my old Mosins and there re lots of choices for ammunition if you don't make your own.
 
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