Mosin sniper sight picture

cote_b said:
So I did a quick bore sight on my mosin sniper repro the other day and it looks like my sight picture is going to be way off to the left. Ive heard that I would have to grind the scope mount or base to get the crosshairs back to the centre of the field of view. Anyone done this before?

I did some research and found this site
http://www.mosinnagant.net/sniper section/mosin-nagant-sighting.asp
Click to expand...

There ya go, that site is exactly what you need, explains everything you need to know.
 
Its not really that hard. Just use a file, not an actual grinder and you should have no troubles being careful and slowly removing the correct ammount.
 
I used a fine metal file, then an emery file. Literally, you only need a pass or two each time. Take it very slow or you're going to have to shim it.
 
One final note - make sure you file it evenly, both up and down and end to end. Because it pivots off a ball at the front end, uneven filing can lead to the scope canting left or right if the top or bottom piece is over or under filed.

front/back uneven-ness is a little less of a problem, but still best that it have as much contact as possible without over filing to make up for a mistake.

Just something else to confuse the matter ;)
 
Another question on this topic. Which elevation setting should I use on the PU reticle? I understand the elevation screws are used to sight it in. but when sighting in the gun for the first time. what setting should i have it on? "10" seems to but the reticle in the centre. is that good enough or is there a proper setting? I plan on sighting it in at 100yrds if that makes any difference
 
I just went through all of this with my MN. I rather like the scope, mount and the way it gets the initial zero.

The scope is an old pre-War Zeiz design with moving cross hairs, so you really want to get a mechanical zero so the cross hairs are centered.

Elevation - Center the horizontal hair. Slacken off the top drum screws and set the drum to read 300 (or 400, or 500) and then re-tighten the drum screws. Then turn drum to 100, if that is the distance you will due to fire the zero shots. This will raise the ahir a little bit abouve the centre.

When you fire a sighter, the scope base has to be moved up or down to zero the scope/base. The two opposing screws do this. Turning the bottom screw clockwise moves the bullets up. A quarter turn is 5 minutes (5" at 100 yards).

The big zero adjustment challenge is the wind zero. Your first shot will probably hit left. Remove the scope base by backing off the the big thumb screw at only slacking off the TOP opposing screw. Assuming the shot hit left, take a few licks off with a file off the two flats that bear against the side of the base, under the thumb screw. Now turn the bottom elevation screw a bit in the correct direction.

The best approach, I suggest, is a small change after each shot, and work the hits towards the center.

I suggested setting the elevation drum to something to like 300 to 500 as you start the process because you will then turn the drum to to 100 to zero. This will raise the cross hair slightly above the center, but so much as to be annoying. In this way, when you turn drum for longer ranges you have more elevation to use before horizontal hair is so low it is anoying.

In closing, remember that the elevation set screws are 10" of bullet movement per half turn. Go easy on that screw.

Edit: After rifle is zeroed, unscrew the bottom elevation screw a long way and slather it in BLUE LokTite, and then tighten it. Then unscrew the top screw and put a small dab of Blue Loktite on it. If you ever need to remove the scope, unscrew the top screw. Because bottom one won't move, you won't loose your zero.
 
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thanks a lot for that Ganderite!

you suggest to "Slacken off the top drum screws and set the drum to read 300 (or 400, or 500) and then re-tighten the drum screws. Then turn drum to 100, if that is the distance you will due to fire the zero shots "

it seems i can turn the drum without slacking off the drum screws. is this too loose? should they be so tight that i can't turn it without unscrewing them?

so to get this all straight once everything is said and done and the elevation screws have been set for vertical and the horizontal has been fixed with shimming/grinding. the elevation drum should be set to "1" (100m) for a 100m shot? and then i would set "2" for a 200m shot? and so on. this leaves the sight picture very high in the scope for close shots. this is normal?
 
I fear our conversation will only make sense to someone who has one of these sights in their hands.

"Slacken off the top drum screws and set the drum to read 300 (or 400, or 500) and then re-tighten the drum screws. Then turn drum to 100, if that is the distance you will due to fire the zero shots "

By slakening the screws on top of the elevation drum, you can move the scale without turning the drum.

I set my horizontal crosshair to the centre, and then set the drum to read "100". This puts the crosshair slightly high. As I move it to 500 yards, it goes to the centre and then a bit low. In this way, I can shoot from 100 to 500 yards without the crosshair looking too far out of whack.

This is a taste thing. If you are convinced you will never shoot beyond 100, then centre it at 100, then zero the base.

When you say you can turn the drum without slakening the screws, you propbly are moving the crossair, as intended. By slakening the screws, you can turn the drum WITHOUT moving the crosshairs.

Your final summation is correct. Once zeroed, settign the drum to a number zeros the rifle for that distance.
 
aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh the light comes on!

that part was left out of the "Sighting in a mosin nagant sniper rifle" article. Seems like a pretty important part to leave out. I'm going shooting tonight. can't wait. i'll give you an update on how things went. Thanks much !!!!
 
Two things handy to know when sighting this scope/mount.

1. The opposing elevation screws move the elevation 10 minutes per half turn.

2. The wind drum is not calibrated. Each mark represents 4 minutes, so go easy when making a wind adjustment.

Edit. The wind knob is not marked for left or Right. Clockwise is left.
 
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Ganderite said:
Two things handy to know when sighting this scope/mount.

1. The opposing elevation screws move the elevation 10 minutes per half turn.

2. The wind drum is not calibrated. Each mark represents 4 minutes, so go easy when making a wind adjustment.
Click to expand...

I thought it was funny the way there were no click detents on those scopes. I do prefer the clicks.
 
My first time out to the range with my new MN sniper was so so. I didn't have a proper bench rest so I couldn't bore sight it properly. i wasted a few shots that didn't even land on paper. my second volley of 5 got a nice 1.5 inch group at 100yrds which i am pretty happy about. then i was moving the reticle around and never really accomplished anything. i'll need a better set up before i go back out and try that again. $1.55 a shot is to expensive to screw around!

now.... as i do more reading on the PU scope I read that the front sight globe should be in view in the bottom of the sight picture. my elevation screws can't even be adjusted to point that low!

also when I first set up the scope, the reticle was not level with the rifle. it was banked a few degrees left. so i backed off the mount screews and leveled it out. now I read that it was suppose to be like that due to the rifle and scope being off centerline? has anybody esle heard of, or seen this bank to the left? am i completely screwed now that i moved it? can i bank it back or do i just leave it?
 
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