Author Topic: Mosin (Read 2808 times)

GH1 · « **on:** December 13, 2011, 12:23:47 PM »

I just picked up my Mosin, YAHOO!!!
Now, can anyone tell me how to open that @#$& ammo can?
GH1

yellowtail3 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 13, 2011, 02:27:42 PM »

they usually come with a can opener... kind of like the ones that use to come with the old-fashioned C-rats.

like this

slngblde · « **Reply #2 on:** December 13, 2011, 05:43:37 PM »

They are not fun to open either... next one i open im using a cut off wheel on my grinder or my bandsaw.

GH1 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2011, 07:28:32 AM »

I didn't get an opener with mine. I tried to use a kitchen can opener but I wasn't able to pierce the metal. However, with the help of a neighbor, a hammer, screwdreiver, and tinsnips, I was able to get it open.
Now I need to get to the range.
GH1

Pat/Rick · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2011, 12:26:44 PM »

The openers usually come with full case orders, I have seen them at gun shows as well.

GH1 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2011, 03:05:59 PM »

I'll have to keep my eye out for one.
GH1

yellowtail3 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 21, 2011, 02:20:14 PM »

gotta range report yet, GH1?

Rock Home Isle · « **Reply #7 on:** December 21, 2011, 02:29:01 PM »

When I bought my Mosin...the salesman was a real Mosin nut, just a font knowledge. He showed me how the Mosin can be feild stripped and that the gun is designed so that as you strip it down the various parts create their own tools to use in the disasembly process.

It is truly an amazing firearm.

shot1 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 22, 2011, 01:04:31 PM »

A good metal chisel and a hammer will open that can. Just cut around the edge of the can.

GH1 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 23, 2011, 01:39:39 AM »

Quote from: yellowtail3 on December 21, 2011, 02:20:14 PM

gotta range report yet, GH1?

Not yet, I'm planning on going New Year's Day.
GH1

shot1 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 23, 2011, 02:26:21 AM »

Clean your bore with soap and water after you shoot that military ammo. It has corrosive priming and the water kills the salts. Your rifle will most likely shoot high and left. Put the bayonet on and it will shoot closer to point of aim and shoot better groups.

GH1 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 23, 2011, 09:20:49 AM »

Quote from: shot1 on December 23, 2011, 02:26:21 AM

Clean your bore with soap and water after you shoot that military ammo. It has corrosive priming and the water kills the salts. Your rifle will most likely shoot high and left. Put the bayonet on and it will shoot closer to point of aim and shoot better groups.

Thanks for the cleaning tips. You know, I'd heard that bit about the bayonet and had planned on checking it out. It looks like I have some windage adjustment on the front sight, maybe I'll tweak it a bit. Or I may just shoot it with the bayonet.
In any event I'll be sure to post a full range report.
GH1

shot1 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 23, 2011, 12:33:12 PM »

If you hand load I can give you the low down on how to find the proper bullet that will shoot great in your rifle and I have THE LOAD.

I can also tell you how to do an accuracy job on your rifle that will not alter it permanently. You shim the action and pad the barrel like the Finn's did their sniper rifles. I have some Mosin's that will shoot under MOA. Just say tell me in a reply and I will take the time to type it up.

flmason · « **Reply #13 on:** December 27, 2011, 05:02:28 PM »

Quote from: shot1 on December 23, 2011, 12:33:12 PM

If you hand load I can give you the low down on how to find the proper bullet that will shoot great in your rifle and I have THE LOAD.

I can also tell you how to do an accuracy job on your rifle that will not alter it permanently. You shim the action and pad the barrel like the Finn's did their sniper rifles. I have some Mosin's that will shoot under MOA. Just say tell me in a reply and I will take the time to type it up.

I'd be *way* interested in your findings here.

Was wondering about the folks that shim with cork. I tend to be in that camp that cleans guns religiously. Was thinking, "If I accurize by bedding with cork, will the point of impact wander around every time I diassemble the gun to clean it and reassemble?"

Having been mostly a handgun guy my entire life, that was never a problem. Not much effect from a long wood stock on the vast majority of pistols.

Also real big on keeping things are close to original as possible...

So would be all ears to your experiences.

shot1 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 28, 2011, 03:33:28 AM »

This I understand is how the Finn's did their sniper rifles.
Remove the barreled action from the stock. Make two shims about the thickness of a credit card out of brass etc. I have even used those plastic credit cards they send you trying to get you to use their card. Place one shim in the lug mortise where the front action screw comes up through to the action. You will need to drill a hole through the shim for the screw. Place the other shim at the tang where the other action screw attaches to the action. It will need a hole drilled in it also. Take a piece of felt cloth about 1 inch wide and 6 inches long. Put some oil on it, not dripping wet but enough so that you can get a little on your finger if you handle it. Wrap this felt in a spiral like you would warp tape around a baseball bat handle but don't let it over lap around the barrel about 3" back of where the barrel comes out of the forearm. Place the barreled action back into the stock and re-assemble. The shimming will raise the action up just a little and free float the barrel. The felt around the barrel makes a support and damping spot for the barrel to allow it to move in the harmonics of shooting a bullet down it but not hit the hard wood which messes up the harmonics. The oil on the felt is to keep moisture from collecting in the felt and causing rust. You can make a longer front sight post to lower your point of impact by replacing the post with a finishing nail the same diameter. I remove the hooded site our of the dove tail. Sometimes you can use a punch and drive the old post out the bottom of the hood but most of the time you have to drill it out from the bottom. The sight post metal is VERY HARD. Use a drill press with plenty of cutting oil and go slow or the bit will run out off the sight post metal and get into the very soft hood metal. After you drill out the post use a finishing nail and JB weld to glue it into the hole you drilled. Leave the nail quite a bit longer than the original site post was. Once you find your most accurate load you can file the new site post down a little at a time to bring your point of impact up to where you want your point of aim to match. I usually leave my point of impact about 1" low at 100 yards. I then use pieces of duct or masking tape placed under the back site elevator to adjust my POI up. When target shooting light conditions and other weather related conditions will make you shoot high or low lots of times. This tape method will allow you to move your POI in small amounts. A piece of duct tape will move POI about 1/4" at 100 yards and masking tape about 1/8". And you thought this job would not include DUCT TAPE.

You asked about if point of impact would change after removing the action and replacing it after you have done the shim work. I do not know. I have never removed my actions after I have done this. I just use these rifles to target shoot with so I am not out in the rain and snow and bad weather. I put a light coat of oil on the action before I put it back into the stock and I have never had any trouble with rust with any of my other rifles.

THE LOAD for 7.62X54R: After you slug your bore if your slug measures .310 to .3105 use .311 diameter bullets. If it measures between .3105 and .3115 use .312 diameter bullets. If it measures larger than .3115 it will not shoot very accurate with jacketed bullets. Once you determine the bullet diameter use 50 grs Accurate Arms 4350, CCI 200 primer, Prvi Partizan made case, they make cases for Wolf Gold and Winchester in 7.62X54R or Lapua case, if you need .311 bullets use 174 gr Sierra Match King or 180 gr SP, COAL 3.000 and if you need .312 bullets use Hornady 174 RNSP, COAL 2.790. This is important to accuracy, use a Lee Factory Crimp Die on all loads. I would suggest you get a set of RCBS dies because they have both expander balls. One is for .308 bullets which I have never seen one of these rifles that would shoot a bullet that small. The other is for .311/312 bullets. Lee dies come with a .308 expander but you can get an expander for the 303 British that will fit a Lee 7.62X54R that is for .311/312 diameter bullets. You can use IMR 4350 powder BUT WORK UP TO THE LOAD checking for pressure and best accuracy. It has been in my experience that AA and IMR 4350 works with the same loads but I have not tried it in this load. I use AA 4350 because a few years ago I got a deal on a BUNCH of it.

flmason · « **Reply #15 on:** December 28, 2011, 03:30:43 PM »

@shot1 - Seems another vote for shimming the action and damping the barrel at the front. Seems like the most widely accepted approach I read of, followed by free floating it within the handguard coming in next. When it works, definitely sounds like a great and inexpensive way to make a good shooter.

handirandy · « **Reply #16 on:** December 29, 2011, 11:13:37 AM »

I have slipped a short piece of heat shrink tubing over the front sight and shrunk it in place. Then shoot and cut until elevation is on. Cheap easy fix.

GH1 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 01, 2012, 10:23:20 AM »

I finally made it to the range with my new toy. I placed a target at 50 yards, mainly because I didn't feel like walking out to 100 yards. Lazy, I know.
Anyway, it seemed to be shooting about 3 in low, but the windage was right on. This was with the bayonet fixed. The group size was about 3-4 inches or so using surplus ammo but to be perfactly honest I'd be willing to bet some of that was me. I was shooting from a seated position from a bench but I wasn't using any kind of a rest, other than resting my elbow on the bench top. I know I'm not the steadiest shot in the world and the high winds at the range this morning didn't help either.
The recoil wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was less than my .45-70 Handi. I was surprised by the sound of the gun, rather than a sharp "crack", it was more of a "whoomp". To me it sounded kind of like a .30-06 I heard a fellow shooting last summer.
I ended up putting about 40 rounds through it and another dozen or so through the .45-70 before my shouler cried Uncle. I did notice my accuracy beginning to suffer the more I shot it and if I had to guess it was probably due to fatigue, or maybe I was starting to develop a flinch. I realized continuing wouldn't be beneficial to honing my skills and would merely result in wasted ammo and unnecessary soreness.
It's a fun gun to shoot and I look forward to shooting it more. Heck, I might even take it pig hunting next month.
GH1

rdmallory · « **Reply #18 on:** January 01, 2012, 01:37:43 PM »

Quote

Now, can anyone tell me how to open that @#$& ammo can?

I gave up on the opener. It kept slipping off the edge.

Used a cold chisel and a ball peen hammer and cut the top and bent it back.

Doug

GH1 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 02, 2012, 12:12:56 AM »

Saturday at the gun show I found a fellow selling the surplus openers so I bought one. I should've bought a couple.
GH1

jlwilliams · « **Reply #20 on:** January 02, 2012, 01:46:37 AM »

Quote from: slngblde on December 13, 2011, 05:43:37 PM

They are not fun to open either... next one i open im using a cut off wheel on my grinder or my bandsaw.

This is the way to do it, my friends. The can openers are all well and good if you and your buddies Ivan and Borris are sitting in a muddy crater somewhere. If you, like me, are in modern America with power tools and electricity, use those advantages. Plug in that grinder and put the ammo can on a nice flat bench and have at it. In mere minutes you'll be rewarded with clean dry ammo. Borris and Ivan can keep their can opener and their muddy bomb crater.

I have a spam can opener and I have no intention of ever using it unless there is a serious situation involving an EMP or the like. If there is a blackout that nessesitates me opening spam canned ammo with the intent of playing for keeps, the can opener it is. I'm hoping that never happens for many reasons, not least of which being my fondness for electricly powered tools

GH1 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 17, 2012, 01:50:55 PM »

Sunday my gun club had an event called "Mosin Mania". It was a simple competition, man sized targets at 200, 300, and 600 yards. 5 sighters and 15 shots for points. The rules were equally simple, we had to use standard issue Mosins and surplus ammo. No sporters, no handloads.
I'm not sure exaclty where I finished up points-wise, but I wasn't really all that concerned with winning. My goals were to learn a little bit about my rifle, long distance shooting, and to become long range qualified. I'm happy to say I accomp[lished all that, met a bunch of good folks, and had an absolute ball. Can't wait to do it again.
I gotta say though, after firing sixty rounds my shoulder was KILLING me!
GH1

jamesrus · « **Reply #22 on:** January 21, 2012, 08:08:13 PM »

I bought a Mosin M-44 several years ago and absoloutly love this gun.....it packs some punch...at both ends, but i found out it is extreemely accurate. Using a Lead Sled and surplus ammo i can place 4 rounds within 2 inches at 100 yards with open sights. I made my dad and uncle mad with it at the range one day. They were sighting in their new 45-70's and were having trouble getting them sighted in with scopes....just for kicks i pulled out the m-44 and put it in the sled. They asked what i was gonna do with that mule, i told them i was going to out shoot them. They laughed at me until my first shot at 100 yards clipped the edge of the center dot on the target. 3 rounds clipped the center dot and the fourth pulled high left by an inch. They quit laughing.

Jamesrus

dynomike1x1 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 31, 2012, 02:55:15 AM »

Better watch using a grinder opening a can . The second can i opened with one it was a 7.62x25 and i got to deep had one to go off luckily it stayed in the can. Now i have an opener.

Mikey · « **Reply #24 on:** January 31, 2012, 03:32:52 AM »

Jamesrus: hey buddy - if you have not yet bedded that Mosin you can probably tighten your groups up quite nicely as well as cut down on the recoil. Those Mosin rifles I have worked with all seemed to have more than enough wiggle room in the stock for the action/barrel but they all tightened up very nicely when bedded. I also found the recoil was cut down or reduced by bedding as the action did not slam back into the wrist of the stock as it did before bedding. HTH.

DaGris · « **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2012, 03:30:08 PM »

love my mosin

jamesrus · « **Reply #26 on:** May 21, 2012, 07:47:06 PM »

my mosin is part of a 20 gun ww2 collection i staarted a few years ago, i do not modify them in any way, thanks for the info though.
jamesrus

DAT19K · « **Reply #27 on:** June 03, 2012, 09:49:44 AM »

another method for a taller front sight post is one of those tiny coffee straws pushed over the post and trimmed.

celt1314 · « **Reply #28 on:** July 03, 2012, 04:12:19 AM »

I used a piece of black wire insulation. But was shooting low at a hundred yards so took it off. Its not a shiny refurb, looks to be in issued condition. Great rifles!