Bought another Mosin Nagant...some questions on it.

[His lordship.]

After owning 2 other Mosin Nagant rifles in the past I bought a 1942 Ishevsk made long barrel, it is arsenal rebuilt, and I aquired it as a curio and future wall hanger with the option to shoot it every now and then.

I took it to the range and used a box of 180 grain Hotshot brand distributed by Century International.  I have used Norma and Soviet army surplus on my prior Mosins, with various results.  Does anybody have a recommended factory brand I should try, I could look for it at the next gunshow?  As this rifle really had a kick to it I want to avoid heavy bullets, I will put on a slipon padded butt pad next time as this gun is all business in the recoil department.

I also noticed that the barrel is a floating type on this gun.  The muzzle end of the barrel will flex with out contact with the stock, the outer stock is more like a hollow shell, this is similar to my old Enfield Mark 4, that had a floating barrel on it as well.  The rifle was showing itself to be a good accurate shooter, but with only 10 rounds in one brand it is not fair to judge yet.

I initially took the bolt apart to oil and grease it good internally, and as I have field stripped these in the past I have not had a problem, as I also have numerous photographs to use as a reference. However, I have read that this design is dangerous to re-assemble wrong, that it could be a hazard.  Has anybody ever heard of anyone screwing up on this with problems? :?

Thanks

[1911crazy]

The only problem I ever ran into or heard of is when taking the bolt apart.  When reassembling it just make sure the scribed lines match up again on the end of it on the knob thats the firing pin location it should be flush(the threaded end) with the end of the knob with the scribed lines matched up too.  Also be sure to check the firing pin depth with the mosin wrench/tool to be sure its set  right. As far as ammo I have only shot these very little I've been playing with the semi's too long.  The only ammo i used mainly is the 205gr russian barnaul soft point hunting ammo in both my Finnish M39 and SVT-40 Tokarev and it shot accurate good enough to hunt with.  The only FMJ I tried so far was chinese and shot ok for cheap surplus stuff I did hit the target but the hunting stuff was better.            BigBill

Bolt actions are great for easy shooting days when you just sit and take your time and relax.  If you think the long barrels are tough on the shoulder you have to shoot an M44 mosin I have only shot it once so far it feels like a little cannon.  But don't forget i'm used to my '06 and 338 too the 7.62x54 is right in there with the '06 in power.

[Mikey]

Chris:  Sellier and Bellot makes a 200 grain hunting load for that caliber and it is accurate.  My brother has a M44 and after a bit of 'accurizing', he can put 20 rounds into a 4" circle at 100 yds without letting the rifle cool down.  Also, his doesn't have any sort of a nasty kick to it, in fact, it's a pretty easy rifle to shoot.  You may need to bed your action if there is any looseness there, that might create so recoil that you don't expect.  HTH.  Mikey.

[SBF]

91/30 I presume?
From what I've experienced (have a 91/30, M38 and a 91/59 myself) and read the carbine length seem to prefer the heavier bullets and the long rifles (91/30's) seem to prefer the lighter rounds for best accuracy.  I've only shot milsurp ammo out of mine so I can't say much for the commercial loadings.
Make sure that all you screws are tight as well.  You might also want to try shooting with the bayonet on.  Some rifles like the M44's seem to shoot better with the bayonets extended.

Good luck!  Have fun and be safe.

[His lordship.]

The first few rounds fired in the rifle did not seem to kick that hard.  My Model 44 carbine that I used to own did not seem that bad from my memory of it, just a big muzzle flame.  

About midway through shooting my long barreled Mosin, the thing really began to kick very hard, even with a winter coat on, it really hurt.  Then I heard a thumping sound when pulling on the bolt, and low and behold the 2 receiver screws were very loose.  I tightened them up with a proper fitting screw driver, and the recoil was noticably less.  I guess the lesson here is to make sure the screws are tight before taking a newly purchased military/sporter rifle out for the first time.

I plan to attend a gunshow in about a month and will pickup some sample ammo to try out. :grin:

I was looking at a series of photos on a Mosin Nagant web site that showed the difference between the Finish and Russian made trigger parts, has anyone altered their trigger to make it more like a Finland made one, or is there really a difference in the feel between the Finish and Russian produced rifle that they could tell?

[sturmgewehr_1944]

Both of my 91/30s like the Czech "Silver Tip" surplus stuff out there right now and it's cheap, around $3.00 a box at most gun shows. I've tried Win. FMJ and S&B but the Czech. stuff out groups both in the longer barrels but the S&B shoots better in my M-44s. Hope that helps.  

[1911crazy]

I also heard about the M44's to extend the bayonet when shooting it its more accurate.                                                 BigBill

[Mikey]

BigBill and Chris:  If you really want to improve the accuracy on your M44, remove the bayonet.  Most seem to shoot better with the bayonet extended but since removing both the bayonet and grinding off the attaching lug on my brother's M44, the thing shoots much, much better.  

Also, if your rifle kicks hard, bed the action.  It seems as though both your rifles have free-floated barrels, which is just whatcha want.  Actually, it probably means that the wartime production of those rifle stocks left something to be desired but the end result of the free-floated bbl is more desireable.  To reduce that kick, and to tighten up your groups, glass bed just the action and leave the bbl, from the end of the chamber forward, free-floated.  A bedding job on one of those is an exercise in simplicity, and you really gotta hand it to the Ruskies for such a simple, yet incredible design.  You will be very happy with the recoil reduction as well as your group size reduction.  HTH guys.  Mikey.

[kevin.303]

have you tried the Bell 148 gr. ammo? in winnipeg that is the only soft point reloadable 7.62X54 around. i'll probably buy a hungarian M44 because they are $40 at the local gun shop. stock's are garbage but i'd slap on a ramline and have a decent hunting rifle i can loan my dad. i know Wolf has both 200 gr SP and FMJ available but i'm confused .all wolf ammo is lacquered steel casesbut the picture in the cabelas catalogue shows a brass case. is that a wrong picture? a finn 91/30 would be nice but ccan't find one for a good price..

[Robert357]

Wolf sells both lacquered and copper washed ammo.

Olympia Ammo in 7.62x54R is about the same price and has real brass cases, but is berdan primed.

So far I have shot a variety of Wolf Ammo, Olympia, Winchester Metric, and HotShot ammo.  

I have seen but not purchased or shot a vaiety of surplus ammo and S&B ammo.

For cheap, I like the Olympia.  For getting reloadable brass, I am happy with the Winchester.

For hunting, if I ever have some one use this for hunting, I will use handloads.

[kevin.303]

i could be wrong but wasn't the Mosin Nagant designed for the russians by a pair of belgians. i'd heard this some where but don't know if it's true

[spitpatch]

To reduce the recoil on my M44 I purchased the strap on muzzle brake that was made for these rifles by the Ruskeys......VERY effective. They strap on like the flash hiders that were made for the .30 M1 carbines. Talk about taking away the bite! They will fit all models and are reasonably priced.