Mosin Vs. SVT

[JTF#]

today i took out my Mosin nagant 1939(right) and my SVT-40 1940(left). both have about the exact same looking bore.
i was really impressed with the mosin. once you could see it was shooting high to the right you could put the shots right were you want them. this gun might be a sniper candidate in the future.
the SVT was kind of all over the place but at least every shot hit the black and most important it didnt have any stove pipes or FTFs.

 

[Far North]

Did you have the bayonet on the mosin while you were shooting it? According to most of what I have read that may explain why the sights were off.

 

[bp2626]

Did you have the bayonet on the mosin while you were shooting it? According to most of what I have read that may explain why the sights were off.

The bayonet will indeed greatly change the POI. Some rifles were battle sighted at 300m though.

A 91/30 can happily do 2 MOA with iron sights if the bore, crown and bedding are good. SVT-40 is no slouch either but it was known for having a mystery flier on the first shot. The vertical stringing on the right target is probably from the barrel heating up and coming into contact with the stock. You'll need to be patient and do 3 shot groups and let it cool if you want to try and be precise.

Unfortunately, because of how the rifles were refurbished you get a lot of poor fitting on various parts which leads to precision problems. I've fired SVT-40s with brand new shiny bores that shot 12" groups at 100m and and have fired ones with dark bores that shoot 3 MOA.

 

[fiddler]

There is more to a rifle than bore alone. I judge each individual rifle on its own merit, most can be optimized to some regard with not much effort. I've found that anything 7.62x54 that I shoot, shoots better with a .312 bullet.

 

[JTF#]

the vertical stringing on the right target is me compensating for the shots going high right. i just kept aiming lower in the corner till i hit the red.
i judge each gun on its own too. i am a very bad shot so i know its a good gun if it puts down a good group. so far my ross m10 is the best but i am thinking if i shoot this mosin more it might be a close 2 with better ammo.
SVT is in the area but i just dont see it getting a bullseye.

 

[the11]

How many meters?

 

[JTF#]

its 50 yards. i was just sighting them in for the first time.

 

[grelmar]

One of the things I like about the SVT is that the front post is adjustable for both elevation and windage. With the Mosin, you can adjust windage, but the only way to adjust the elevation on the front post is with a file, and it's a one way deal.

Other than that, your groups are about what I would figure from the two rifles. My SVT has a great bore and a stock in good shape, but there stock is pretty thin in some places. one of these days, I want to put the action into a decently bedded custom piece of wood, and see how that effects accuracy (I suspect a fair bit), it it would involve time and $$ I can devote to other interesting projects at the moment.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Nice. As long as they have nice bores you can really get those rifles to shoot nice with some minor mods. Here's pics from my last outing with both an SVT40 with iron sights and a Mosin with a cheap AIM scope and a $20 mount. Since all threads are better with pics, here they are.

The SVT40 looks stock accept the sight is all the way moved over to the right to get it to shoot on target.

 

[dand883]

I have heard that one of the best/easiest thing to do for tightening up groups on the SVT 40 is to remove the cleaning rod. Apparently it affects the barrel harmonics more than you would expect.
Maybe try it again without the cleaning rod and see if you get any better results.

 

[Cdn303]

Hmm I'll have to try that.

Another good trick that I found when shooting my 91/30 is to bust the surplus ammo down and reload the powder and bullet into a brass case with new primer. It took my particular batch of surplus from a 10 or 12" group to a 1.5 to 2" group.

 

[RDMC]

I would try with out the cleaning rod in the svt for sure, I think somebody had posted some pics on this forum of both russian and German troops with svt's all had the cleaning rod removed

 

[JTF#]

I think the down fall I think of the svt is the fact the front sight is on the 'nose cap' I wonder if it has a wondering zero like the LE jungle guns are said to have.

 

[grelmar]

I have heard that one of the best/easiest thing to do for tightening up groups on the SVT 40 is to remove the cleaning rod. Apparently it affects the barrel harmonics more than you would expect.
Maybe try it again without the cleaning rod and see if you get any better results.

I tried this on mine. It made zero difference for accuracy in my rifle. Also, without the cleaning rod in place, the barrel bands that hold the stock/hand-guard in place are no longer locked in place and can slip off.

I would try with out the cleaning rod in the svt for sure, I think somebody had posted some pics on this forum of both russian and German troops with svt's all had the cleaning rod removed

More likely they just lost it in the field. 99.99% of soldiers would have ZERO chance to accuracy test their rifles, and would have to take it on faith that the regimental armourer had done their job.

 

[grinder08]

I have found my SVT to shoot a lot better than my Mosin. Not what I would call a tight group but I am not very good with a rifle either. Could be me but I can shoot much tighter groups with other rifles and the Mosin is all over the place. I suspect a combination of old bore (1936) and surplus ammo. Bore looks good but who know what the actual diameter is. Not like I am going to spend a lot of time and money making a $170 gun more accurate.

 

[Somerset Bar]

Hmm I'll have to try that.

Another good trick that I found when shooting my 91/30 is to bust the surplus ammo down and reload the powder and bullet into a brass case with new primer. It took my particular batch of surplus from a 10 or 12" group to a 1.5 to 2" group.

Heh, I do this too, but the SVT just wrecks brass cases... Great in the mosin, bad in the 40