Mosin followed me home.

[Chowder]

I have been meaning to pick up Mosin Nagant in some form eventually. They are so cheap and plentiful I figured why not, but I kept putting it off. Lately the prices started to climb just a tad so when I saw this laminated stock M44 I though now is as good a time as any. I paid a little more for it then I wanted to but the M44 looked great and has a nice shiny bore and sharp rifling. Only issue I saw was the crown looks a bit beat up so I might as well re crown it to a nice target crown.

Since it didn't happen without pics...

It is a 1945 production and I will have to look up the manufacture. Going to sight it in tomorrow and might remove the bayonet. I will get better pictures then. I also got a little money knocked off 2 440 cans of ammo for buying the gun at the same time so I guess a little higher price for a better than average Mosin isn't so bad.

 

[Toney]

Very nice!!!

 

[kilimanjaro]

Get some Prvi Partisan ammo, brass case, boxer primed, and reload for it.

Fun rifles to shoot. Keep the bayonet on it, it belongs there.

 

[tahunua001]

its a pretty rifle, it'd be a shame to remove the bayonet on one in such condition.

if I wanted a carbine without the bayonet I would get a M38 or get one of the piecer type 53s that century is peddling nowadays with no matching numbers and take the bayonet off of it.

 

[Chowder]

I might leave the bayonet on, but it is put on with a screw, its not like I can't just put it back on if I felt like it. I don't plan on messing with the rifle other than getting it to shoot strait. Of course, it may shoot strait already so I will find out tomorrow.

 

[Chowder]

if I wanted a carbine without the bayonet I would get a M38 or get one of the piecer type 53s that century is peddling nowadays with no matching numbers and take the bayonet off of it.

I found a local shop with a bunch of mismatched 91/30s for a good price. I might pick one of those up soon if I get the itch to start messing with a mosin. Don't worry guys I very much appreciate the fact that this is a numbers matching rifle, you wont see scout scopes and bi-pods on this one .

 

[Chowder]

Got my M44 to the range today. After struggling a bit to get it sighted in and getting used to the sights on this rifle I have to say I am impressed! Most of the frustration sighting it is was because I forgot my hammer so I was drifting the sight with a punch and small rock .

The front fight was flush to the mount in this pic when I started so I had to drift it pretty far to be dead on.

I have only sighted in iron sights once so this might not be drifted very much, it just seemed a lot to me.

So once I got it shooting where I aimed it I moved out to 75 yards to see what I could do. I was shooting off the bench with elbows resting on the bench for support . I was all over the place at figuring out where to hold as the elevation was high. I figured out that a 6 o'clock hold right on the bottom of the black circle on my target was dead on.

This is was my best group after some practice.

That shot off to the bottom right I knew was off as I was pulling the trigger... Next time I wont let it happen .

At 100 yards I struggled a bit more with elevation, I think I need to figure out how to add some height to the front sight.

Over all I am super happy with this rifle and think it will be coming to the range with me very often.

 

[tahunua001]

that's about all the accuracy you can hope to get out of most of these rifles so you did pretty good. match ammo or handloads would shrink those groups by a bit and eventually the holdover will become almost second nature to you.

 

[LockedBreech]

I finally ordered an Excellent-grade 91/30 that I should be able to pick up in the middle of this week. Very excited. Enjoy yours!

 

[kraigwy]

No its not the most you can get out of accuracy. A bit of practice will tighten those groups up.

At 100 yards I struggled a bit more with elevation, I think I need to figure out how to add some height to the front sight.

I wouldn't fool with the front sight. It's a simple fix but from the rear sight.

On the Mosin Nagant, every movement of your sights 0.0068
inches moves the impact 1 inch at 100 yards.

Sight radius divided by 3600 (3600 inches in a hundred yards) tells you how much to move the sights to move the impact 1 inch.

The sight radius of the Mosin 91/30 is 24 3/8s. Divide that by 3600 and you get .0068.

Find the center of the group, and measure how high it is. Mine was 7 inches high at 100 yards when set on the 100 mark on the sights.

I wanted to keep it legal per CMP Rules so I couldn't change the front sight, but I could adjust the rear sight.

I too the sights off the rifle and turned it up side down and milled .048 of the bottom of the sliding part of the sight.

Put the sight back on and its on at 100 when on the 100 mark, same with 200, 300 and 400, (didn't try it past that).

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What I like most about the Mosin is its cheap, its accurate, its reliable, and the ammo is cheap. I can shoot surplus ammo cheaper then I can shoot cast bullets.

It's competitive in the CMP GSM matches, this means any one can afford to get into competition.

I hate to see shooting sports become a rich man's sport. That's why I like the CMP matches. The Mosin fits perfectly.

Difference between a accurate Mosin and a not so accurate Mosin is learning how to shoot it, and lots of practice.

 

[Chowder]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Kraigwy, I didn't even think about adjusting the rear sight that's a great idea. Doesn't seem too difficult as long as I'm patient with it. It's easier to take away metal than it is to add, as long as I don't take too much haha.

 

[tobnpr]

You can also slip a small piece of tubing over the front sight post.

 

[kilimanjaro]

The sights are in meters, not yards. At 100 meters on the sight, you are shooting at 109 yards. Just aim at the belt buckle on the target, you'll get used to where it's at.

 

[Chowder]

The sights are in meters, not yards. At 100 meters on the sight, you are shooting at 109 yards. Just aim at the belt buckle on the target, you'll get used to where it's at.

I guess I forgot that, should be embarrassed to think a 68 year old Russian rifle would be in yards haha. Of course, it would still be about 6" high at 100 meters but that is something to consider.

You can also slip a small piece of tubing over the front sight post.

If I can find the right diameter in a rigid tube that might be an easy removable trick. Great Idea!

I just picked up some large Silhouette targets for this weekend. I think I am going to try and go out to 2-300 yards and see how I do.

 

[kilimanjaro]

It's still shooting a bit high, but not as much as you thought. These were military rifles and made to shoot a bit high, the idea was to aim at the belt and hit the chest area. I'd spend some time running various ammo makes through it, see what's the most consistent.

 

[Chowder]

kraigwy,

I forgot to ask if you had access to a machine shop or if you used hand tools to fix your rear sight. I have a decent quality dial caliper but only access to hand tools. I was also looking at the rear sight and saw that only one corner of the adjustment block on the sight touches the ramp. So theoretically I could remove some material from that edge and have the same effect correct? I might be easier that way with hand tools as long as I am very careful about not taking too much material as a corner would file very fast.

 

[tobnpr]

He said he used a mill, but if you're only "hitting" on a corner, that's easy enough to do with a file or stone since you don't need to carry that across the width of the sight. Calipers should be accurate enough for a couple of hundredth's off.

 

[WV_gunner]

Nice looking rifle. I almost bought 1 and an SKS for $400 for both at a store. Bought an AK for $450 instead. Those were the times. They'll never that cheap again and that was just 2 years ago.

 

[Chowder]

Nice looking rifle. I almost bought 1 and an SKS for $400 for both at a store. Bought an AK for $450 instead. Those were the times. They'll never that cheap again and that was just 2 years ago.

I would take either of those deals in a second lol

 

[Jack O'Conner]

The Soviet Mosin is a good battle rifle which proved it's merit in several wars and conflicts. My chief complaint is the mediocre safety device.

Jack