Bedding the stock of a Mosin Nagant

[Curt Dawson]

Any things I should be aware of?

[woodchukhntr]

Start searching for Finnish Mosin Nagant sites.  Somewhere I saw how they bedded their rifles which were the most accurate MN's made.  I had a couple and they shot very well.

[1911crazy]

I think the Finn's shimmed there stocks till they shot 1"MOA then they were put into service. They could of bedded them too at the sametime. Like remove wood from inside the stock till the receiver sits flat with no spring on either end. Becareful when you take a finnish mosin apart to clean it so the shims go back were they were.  Most of my finnish mosins had shims.  I never did it but i wonder if we took the barreled receiver and installed it in the stock without the trigger housing if we can see gaps between the wood and the inside part of the barreled action if we hold the barreled action in hand tight into the stock.  I think it gave the finn's a starting point on shimming and how much shim to start off with.  I think the rear stock screw area had more shims over the forward stock screw.  Wether its a russian or finn mosin a mosin is a mosin so we can shim them all for accuracy.  But i would benchrest it first before touching it.

[shot1]

I have shimmed a couple of 91/30 M/N's and it really made them accurate. You can use metal but I used pieces of those plastic fake credit cards that you always get in the mail trying to get you to use their card.  I placed a piece with a hole drilled in it under the front ring where the action screw screws into the action and one under the back action screw. This raises the action up enough to allow the barrel to float. I have found brass pieces under these two spots on Finn rifles. Also I took a piece of wool felt cloth 1 inch wide and long enough to wrap it around the barrel for a length of about 4 inches. I put some oil on the felt piece and wrapped it around the barrel about 2 inches back of where the barrel exits the forearm and then placed the top hand guard on. This will cushion the barrel and allow it to move during the harmonic movement of the barrel during firing but not allow it to come up hard against the wood. It also helps keep the barrel lined up squarely. This is how the Finn's did it also.

All you need to do then is slug your bore to see which bullet size it needs. Either a .311 or .312 diameter. If you slug measures .310 to .3105 between high spots left by the grooves use a .311 diameter bullet if it measures .3105 to .3115 use a .312 diameter bullet. If it measure larger than .3115 and you don't want to shoot cast bullets then get rid of it and get you another one. It will not shoot accurately with jacketed bullets.

Once you find your bullet diameter needed then get you some Accurate 4350 powder, and CCI 200 primers and load up using either .311 174 gr Sierra Match Kings or 180 gr SP COAL 3.000 or for .312 bullets use the Hornady 174 RNSP COAL 2.790 and use a Lee Factory Crimp Die on all loads. This is the most accurate load that I have found for all M/N's.

Good luck and good shooting. 

[moorepower]

Or bed it like it was any other gun and add pillars. Alot of these guns will really open your eyes with their accuracy for looking like they came out of a blacksmith shop.

[Mikey]

I have found that there is enough room in the Mosin stocks so that once you have laid in your bedding compound you need to make certain the action and barrel sit squarely centered in the stock and barrel channel as you tighten the action screws.  I do not bed the action any further than the end of the chamber area and free float the barrel.  You can add the shims spoken to if you want but a proper bedding job will do the same.  Also, when you reassemble the rifle you need to make certain that the barrel floats freely between the handguard and forend and that the handguard does not impact on the barrel. 

I have seen some Mosins with enough room in the stock so that if you weren't careful you could tighten the action down and have the barrel pressured against the forearm of the stock.  HTH and good luck.

[shot1]

The accuracy enabling shimming I spoke of above will not alter the rifle and thus it is legal to do this and still shoot it in military rifle matches where I shoot. We call it NON-BUBBAIZING ACCURATIZING  .

[moorepower]

As he did not say it was for match shooting, I still recomend pillars followed by a standard bed job. I agree about bedding the chamber as well. Free float is almost always good.

[Curt Dawson]

What is the recomended amount of torque for action screws after bedding?