My first curio & relic. the mosin nagant.

[young mosin]

about one year ago i bought a sporterized m44 carbine, bad thing was the magazine didnt work and the bolt sliped right out. so my mom traded it back for full cash and got me a mossy 500. Well this christmas i got me a M91/30 from 1942 with a dark but not worn barrel. I am used to shooting scope and my visions terrible so i wasnt really good with it.

[simonkenton]

That is a good looking rifle!

You can get a scope mount for that rifle.

I know what you mean, I have Finnish M39 that I haven't shot in 3 years, I am not much good without a scope.

[SigP6Carry]

I have to argue differently. I have an 1891/30 and I can do about a 1.5" group at 100 yards without a scope... standing... without any wind... on a good day... with about 15 minutes between shots... but, still I do great groups with my 1891/30.

The trick is: a good barrel, trigger discipline and keen eye sight. I've never shot it benched. I assume mine would fire amazingly benched. But all 1891s fire very differently. I've heard some can't do better than 3MOA and others are sub 1.

Hope yours shoots fantastically when you finally slap a scope on it, youngin'.

[kilimanjaro]

Not to make assumptions, but if you aren't shooting well with iron sights, a scope will not make it any better.

Sight, relax, breathe, and squeeze. I've seen a lot of people who flinch or anticipate the recoil, they are literally afraid of the shot and their aim suffers accordingly.

[SigP6Carry]

well, I can see how folks with poor eyes might not be able to focus both the sites and the target at once. But, I don't know what it's like to have poor eyesight... so for certain people a scope may help.

[simonkenton]

young mosin said "my visions terrible."

I too have bad eyesight. I am 58 years old.

I am a damn good shot. I used to be a great shot with iron sights, until about ten years ago.


I can remember reading Jack O'Connor's book, he talked about how a scope is good "for aging eyes."
I didn't know what he was talking about.
I was 14 years old, I didn't realize that your vision goes bad when you get older.

[30cal_Fun]

Hi young mosin,

the 91/30 is a great rifle, congratulations with it! Its very forgiving, and easy to dis-assemble. I don't know if you have or are going to shoot corrosive ammo trough it (good chance you will with all the surplus ammo out there), but with some warm water trough the barrel right after shooting (some use a solvent or even windex) its not that different to clean than a normal rifle.
I clean mine with Balistol, great stuff! cleans, dissolves, lubricates, conserves (even the wood and leather) and everything else. butt I'm sure other people will have some good tips too.

I have one that is an infantry rifle outfitted with a scope, it shoots about 2MOA on a good day. the scope is a VERY good Ukrainian reproduction of the original PU-scope and has a very clear sight picture, as good as some modern day bottom line scopes. I LOVE THE PU-SCOPE! it gives that original WW2 look and its very easy to operate (to zero; just move POV to POI).
I don't have the best eyes myself (I am a bit near-sighted), and i have difficulty shooting iron-sighted at 100meters. and I thought I was the only one who had trouble with open sights, phew... (I'm 20 years old).
I don't know who made the scope, or where you can get it, since I got the rifle this way.
here's is a link to some pictures of it: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=392934


There are some good reproductions out there, you can fit it yourself (see bottom link) if you're a bit handy, or you can have it done by a local gunsmith. here are some links to sites that offer reproductions. ONE TIP: cheap (less than 200 dollars for everything) usually means flimsy cast-iron mounts that can easily break of. mine is solid as a rock. Accumounts is very reliable, but expensive. and there are a lot of other places that sell the PU-scope to.
you can get an original for about 300-350 dollars from places like ebay.

http://www.accumounts.com/

http://www.opticsbestbuy.com/PU-Sniper-Scope-Black.html

If you want to do it yourself: http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...iper/index.asp


If you DON'T want to alter it's original state, but still want a scope on it, you can go for a scout set-up, just google "mosin nagant scout scope" and you'll get a ton of options. it will replace the rear sight, you can do it yourself, NO GUN SMITHING REQUIRED, and you can still put it back to its original state.

let me know what you want to do with the rifle, I love my mosin nagant and its a great rifle, if you want to know anything, let me know.

take care and have fun,

Louis

[young mosin]

I do want to turn it into a sniper rifle since im a hunter.

[30cal_Fun]

the first thing is that you have to ask yourself is if you want the original "WW2 sniper" look (it does have the "cool" factor ), or that you prefer the scout set-up. remember the scout set-up doesn't require any gunsmithing and you can do it yourself.

if you want to have the original look, it runs down to these options:
1. you find an original scope+mount+base on ebay, gunbroker or the likes and have it fixed to the rifle. will cost you about 300-350 dollars for a PU-scope type and some more if you want a PE or PEM style scope.
2. you find a reproduction scope+mount+base and have it fixed to the rifle. will cost you about 250-300 dollars for a PU-scope type and some more if you want a PE or PEM style scope.

you can see what it will look like if you see the link to my rifle in my previous post or google "Mosin Nagant PU (or PE/PEM) scope"


have you thought about what ammo you are going to shoot though it? mosin nagants do not like one single type of ammo as a rule, experiment with different brands to see which gets you the best results.

do some research and some looking around and Im sure you will find something that will look nice (and fit you wallet too if that's a factor )

[simonkenton]

I am in a dilemma with my M39.

As I said above, bad eyes, need scope. That is why I don't hunt with my 3 caplock rifles any more. I got a Savage muzzleloader with a scope, that is one fierce hunting rifle.

At any rate, I had 3 M39s, a Sako, a SkY, and a VKT.
So I wanted to hunt with them.
I bought a real nice scout mount, the Darrel mount. This is a very well made scout mount.
I bought a pistol scope and mounted it.
I didn't like it at all. I am used to a regular configuration for a scope, I could not get used to that long eye relief.
I sold the scope, and I still have the scout mount sitting around somewhere.
I don't want to drill and tap one of my beautiful Finnish rifles.

Now, a M91/30 I might be willing to drill and tap.

[30cal_Fun]

Hi Simonkenton,

you're absolutely right about not butchering your m39.
thou shalt not leave a Fin to bubba...
for the scout set-up, I don't have any experience with long-eye-relief scopes, so you're the authority here .

did some more searching, and I think I found something just right for you! a scope mount for your m39 WITHOUT having to drill or tap, here is the link:
http://advancedrifleparts.com/
it still uses the rear sight, but thanks to the clamps that grip the receiver, you can use a normal scope set-up. however, I have no experience with this one. you still need a bent down bolt with it, but there is nothing with this option that doesn't permit you to put it back to it's original state.

Let me know what you think.

Louis

[simonkenton]

I tell you what, 30caliber, that is a good looking mount. I might have to get one.

And the guy he has a link to, The Boltman, is very good at bending the bolts.
He will bend your Mosin bolt for fifty bucks.

http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/boltman/bolt_work/

[30cal_Fun]

I can't argue with the bolt man, he delivers great work.

my advice: search some more, there may be more out there than I know of, but if you do go with the mount, let me know how it turns out, I'm very curious about it.

[young mosin]

I decided im working hard for the scope and bolt this summer.

[benogil]

Wait!!!
There is another mount, not cheap, and does require drill and tap. But, it will give you a regular mount.
Try Rock Solid Industries.

[30cal_Fun]

It requires gunsmithing like you said, so it might not be suited for a Finnish m39.
however, if gunsmithing is no problem , Rock Solid Industries seems to make a rock solid mount maybe another option for you young mosin...
thanks for the info benogil. do you have any experience with the mount?

[young mosin]

Its a russian 91/30 not a finnish m39

[30cal_Fun]

I was referring to Simonkenton's dilemma about his m39 when I said m39.
(your m91/30 is probably Russian, there were MANY country that used/made the mosin nagant in some configurations) but like I said, if gunsmithing is no problem, it will work just fine for your m91/30 too.

have you decided what you are going to do with your m91/30 as for scoping it?

[young mosin]

Im not butchering the rifle with all new scopes and such. Im getting a original mount and original PU scope. repro or not.

[30cal_Fun]

I think it will look great on your rifle young mosin!

I would get a good reproduction if I where you,
the optical quality of the repro's is much better than the originals so it will be the best option for your eyes. the original ones tend to have problems with clarity and parallax, things that will be a problem if your eyes are not 100%
Kalinka Optics used to make a good reproduction too, but I can't find it anymore.
I would do a search for a good reproduction, There is a lot of choice on the web.

Good luck and let us know if there's any progress.
Louis

[young mosin]

But one question. Is it going to be good with a dark bore but with good rifling?

[young mosin]

Also In the buttstock theres this black line that starts at the butt plate and goes up a couple inches. what is this?

[simonkenton]

It should shoot fine with the dark bore and the good rifling.

[30cal_Fun]

my bore isn't very shiny either, but still has very strong rifling. after all the cleaning I've done it's still dark, but it shoots well.
I wouldn't worry about the dark bore if I were you, if the rifling is good, the rifle will probably be a good shooter.

I don't know about the black line, it could be a crack, it could be anything. if you can make a good picture, maybe we can identify it.

[benroe]

Have any of you guys seen the UTG tri rail for the mosin?? It looks like a pretty hot setup.
http://store.a51tactical.com/index.p...oducts_id=1646