At last it is COMPLETE!!!

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 12:51pm

Well...it took some doing, but my Mosin-Nagant 91-30 project is complete.

Purchased last year for 48 dollars, my impulse-buy Mosin was in exceedingly poor condition. Picture this with no sling, a dried-out, warped wood stock, and all the metal hardware missing.

It was in rough shape. At the range, it would load a round, fire it, and then fail to eject without running a rod down the barrel. Basically, spent shells were lodging in the breach.

After determining that the weapon's condition was far too poor to restore realistically, I decided to sporterize it with some goodies, while working on the mechanicals to ensure reliable operation.

My goal was to produce a badass, bolt action rifle that was durable, reliable, and reasonably accurate at distances up to or exceeding 300 yards. Oh yeah, and to do it for 200 bucks or less.

(I have no intention of ever refining my rifle skills to the point where a thousand-yard kill shot is a reality. Sub-MOA accuracy is not essential here. If I can hit the torso at 500 yards, this rifle will have met my expectations and then some)

I purchased a composite Monte Carlo stock from M1 Surplus for 56.00 plus shipping. I also purchased a universal scope rail mount and special Mosin adapter for it. After that came an NC-Star 2-7X32 illuminated long-eye relief scope. I could have gone with a rear-mounted scope mount to put the scope closer to the eye, but that was more expensive. Mounting to the original rear ladder sight mount puts the scope far from the eye, but anyone who has shot pistol with a scope knows how to handle that.

Then out comes the dremel tool, the file, and every screwdriver in my possession. Years of neglect had warped the stock, degraded the headspacing, and damaged the extractor claw. Everything got polished, adjusted, shaved and/or re-calibrated according to the exacting standards of the Russian WWII industrial-military complex (Translation: Whack it with a hammer and see if it fits). The intarwebz was my guide, and much advice was had. Fortunately, lots of people have had lots of experience with these things; and they ain't complex.

EVerything got fitted back together, oiled, and tightened down into the following. I haven't fired it yet, but it loads, feeds and ejects smoothly and beautifully. I am rather pleased.

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 12:54pm

In conclusion:

Total cost:
Base parts-48.00
Scope and mount-77.00
Stock-56.00

Total-181.00

Man-hours: 20 or so.

Left to do: I still need to polish, clean, and/or re-blue the barrell/breach. there is some surface rust that is unattractive, but not critical. Then perhaps a bi-pod.

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 1:09pm

Particulars:
Mosin-Nagant 91-30
Caliber: 7.62X54
Capacity: 5
Action: Rotating Bolt
Muzzle energy: 2812 ft-lbs (2700fps/174 grains)
Range: This round will maintain lethal velocity over 1000 yards (750 ft-lbs at 1000 yards). Many high-quality Finnish models of this rifle are proven accurate within 3MOA at 1000 yards. This is an inferior-quality Romanian-built model, but is almost certainly sub-3MOA at 500 yards. Ergo, more than good enough!!

**Tom .C** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 1:09pm

Nice job. Post some target pics after you get her sighted in. Were there problems with the breech or was the extractor the only problem?

**Scrapper** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 1:14pm

Extractor was worn/bent, and the firing pin headspacing was WAY off. I beleive the warped stock was also affecting cartridge feeding and seating.

**tideliar** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 1:24pm

Didn't really understand a word of that, but bloody good show old chap!!

**mojo23** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 5:37pm

Whoa! Are those before and after pics? If so it looks like you went from COD:2 to COD:4 for $140 (pardon the video game reference). Anyway, good job man! If you host another shootout, I gotta get my hands on that.

**Vorpal** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 7:20pm

When I worked for Navy Arms Company we imported those things by the thousands. We would strip them, "sporterize" and refinish the stock, cut off the bayonet lug and refinish all the metal. We sold them for about $85 dollars each. They weren't the sexiest things on the rack but you could pick one up, along with 500 rounds of surplus chinese 7.62x54R for a bit over $100. Quite a bargain. I had one customer who was truly a top shelf kind of guy who normally didn't look at anything under $1,200. He came in one day, grabbed a sporterized Mosin off the shelf and said "Write it up". I started to do the paperwork for the sale but had to ask him about his sudden change in taste. He said "I like to buy nice ****. The trouble is, everyone knows it so every time I go for a hunt with friends there's always one guy who doesn't have a gun for one reason or another. They always borrow one of mine. I don't mind too much. Last week someone borrowed one of mine, leaned it against a tree and then backed his truck into it and folded it in half. The next time someone asks to borrow one of mine they're getting this. It'll do the job." It certainly will.

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 7:30pm

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Extractor was worn/bent, and the firing pin headspacing was WAY off. I beleive the warped stock was also affecting cartridge feeding and seating.

Do you know anyone who has a headspacing gauge for this caliber to tell you where you are now?

Sounds like the old gal was pretty worn in all areas. A bent extractor could mean the chamber was allowing cases to expand excessively.

**danno** · Posted On: 8/31/2009 8:36pm

great work!

the only mosins for sale that i can find here are in excellent condition and seem to be surplus weapons that were just put in storage or something. i really would like a gun which has been used in combat.