I too have an MN1891/30, manufactured in 1939 at the Tula Arsenal and "rearsenaled" prior to importing by Century Arms.
>>I am fascinated by this gun! I was able to buy one that was in
>>pretty good shape and the barrel was "re-arsenalized" and in
>>pristine condition. (I think I am the first one to shoot this rifle
>>since 1933.....the rifling was in excellent condition - looked
>>brand new).
That rifle of yours probably has been assigned to more people than you would believe. While Russia produced a huge number of MN rifles during WW-II, they were all needed to fight the wars. I wonder if mine (that was originally manufactured in 1939) was used in the invasion of Finland, if it was shipped to troops that eventually were deployed against the Germans or what its history was.
>>So this rifle is at least 71 years old and I am determined to shoot
>>it with some accuracy.
I share your feelings. That is why I have taken to handloading mine.
The most accurate Factory ammo I have found for mine is both the Wolf 180 grain ammo and the Winchester Metric 180 grain ammo. I have bough a fair amount of the Winchester Metric at about $9.50 to $10 per box at gunshows, so I can use it for reloading. For large groups (ie 10 round groups-not excluding flyers) and using factory ammo, I get about 3 inch by 3.5 inch groups at 100 yards with iron sights. Others claim much smaller groups, but rarely state their group sizes. They could also be much better shots than I am. Most factory 180 grain ammo seems to shoot high. I curred this by raising the front sight on my MN1891/30 with a roll pin from the hardware store that slips over the front sight pin and raises it by about 1/10th of an inch.
I have also purchased 100 pieces of brass from Graff and sons for reloading and have reloaded all my Winchester Metric brass. My reloads include cast bullets and jacketed bullets. My handloads are more accurate than the factory ammo.
If you want to see a discussion group on target loads for the MN where people ocassionally indicate that they are getting incredible accuracy (I have to take some of it with a grain of salt) check out the following website.
http://pub125.ezboard.com/fcollectorguns35625frm2.showMessage?topicID=343.topicMany of what they are talking about are very very accurate Finnish M39's, which may indeed be capable of sub-minute of angle accuracy. I would suspect that an standard issue and used MN 1891/30 with 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 yards is still respectable compared to many hunting rifles.
Personally, I am really enjoying shooting cast bullet loads at reduced powder levels using 155grain and 175 to 180 grain bullets. Once you get the barrel really cleaned out, they shoot quite accurately, don't kill your shoulder, and cause a lot of people at the range to come over to see what the heck is going on with that funny old iron-sighted rifle that shoots as good as their $800 hunting rifle with super scope.
