Accurizing my Mosin Nagant results

[LeftyTSGC]

I received my Mosin Nagant from my son a couple of years back as a Birthday present. I shot it a couple of times and was thinking that is was worn out. It is a 1938 Tula, I was getting lousy shot groups at 50 and 100yds with my Mosin. I tried Milsurp, Factory and reloaded ammo, and still was not getting good groups.:banghead:

I was using iron sites at first, I didn't know if my rifling was bad or if it was me or what. Then opted for a cheap Scout Scope 2-7x32, yea that's cheap but I didn't want to spend a lot on a scope when I wasn't sure if it was me or the rifle. It did not help, so I went and purchased an accurizing kit I saw online from someone named Brian Rau. I used the shims on the upper and lower receiver areas and opted for the cork version instead of the cloth wrap.

I shot both 150gn and 180gn Sierra bullets. I was initially getting 5"+ groups at 50yds and 8"+ groups at 100yds. I am now actually getting shot groups that are measurable. I am getting less then 1" at 50yds and 1.5" at 100yds. I think that I could get better and I actually think that the cheap Scout Scope is the reason I cant tighten it up at this point especially for the 100yds.

The blue target is the 50yd result and the orange is the 100yd result.

Not being a rifle shooter, I had no idea that semi-floating the barrel and shims could make such a difference. Great little project, now to see if I can find a good scope to mount.

LeftyTSGC

 

[LeonCarr]

That is impressive. It is amazing how little things like shims and cork make that much difference.

Now maybe tweaking your handloads a little and better optics will get it to MOA or better.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[WardenWolf]

I have heard that some handloaders get best results with heavier bullets in the 200-grain range. Try some of this stuff and let us know your results: http://www.jgsales.com/7.62x54r-silver-bear-203gr-sp-ammo,-20rd-box.-p-1672.html

Don't worry, it's perfectly pleasant to shoot (actually less sharp than lighter bullets) and hits like a ton of bricks.

 

[elwoodm]

i have found the most of my mosin's like 174gr to 180gr bullets. to get better results you need to slug the bore and start neck sizing your brass. my pu sniper load is 174gr sierra hpbt with varget at 2600 fps. the bore on that gun likes .311 bullets.the bore is .313 groove and .301 lands. most of the mil surp ammo with 150gr .310 bullets are around 2750 fps and up. that's why the groups aregood going on the project

 

[mgkdrgn]

YES! My Mosin's LOVE 200gr or better bullets, and slightly reduced (over mil spec power) loads. Easier on me, cheaper, and more accurate.

 

[Panzerschwein]

The Mosin Nagant was a quality war rifle. Good stopping power and reliability. I love mine.

 

[LeftyTSGC]

I have already slugged my barrel and found that .311 works best. I will have to find some 174 or greater bullets to load, most likely start back at 180 and see what I can find to load at the 200 range.

LeftyTSGC

 

[TreeDoc]

Had tried the cloth method and it really tightened up the groups.

 

[dh1633pm]

I made shims from an aluminum can. It sure did help.

 

[justin22885]

i dont think youre going to get better accuracy than what youre getting now, mosins are not the most accurate rifles, most were built in a hurry with little care to the individual product but for getting weapons into the hands of soldiers as quickly as possibly.. if you want to go any better than that you'll have to do modifications and custom work that quite frankly wouldnt be worth the time, effort, or costs

dont be like the guy in the video below, be happy with what you have or just get a mauser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_RrUpTI5Q

 

[AzShooter1]

Try recrowing the mussel. That will help immeasurably. It's easy to do just look up recrowning on You Tub. You need a brass bolt and some grinding compound and a drill.

 

[Holescreek]

i dont think youre going to get better accuracy than what youre getting now, mosins are not the most accurate rifles, most were built in a hurry with little care to the individual product but for getting weapons into the hands of soldiers as quickly as possibly.. if you want to go any better than that you'll have to do modifications and custom work that quite frankly wouldnt be worth the time, effort, or costs

dont be like the guy in the video below, be happy with what you have or just get a mauser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_RrUpTI5Q

Stepping into the big leagues now arent you! Sweet!

 

[HB]

I think rifles can always shoot better, there's an infinite amount of experimentation to be done on the reloads alone. Try seating the bullets longer nearer the rifling etc.

Very impressive for a Mosin though, many are very rough.

HB

 

[LeftyTSGC]

There is one neat item I did leave out above, and is the reason I want to tweak my reloads to see if I can get better.

I am currently re-loading my 7.62x54r using 17gn of TrailBoss with either the 150gn or 180gn Sierra bullet. I only get around 1470fps.

So, I figured that if I use either H4895, VARGET or Reloader 15 I can get better fps around 2200-2500 and see the improved performance.

I zeroed at 50yds, so yes I was getting around 8" drop at 100yds. I adjusted my sights to raise my POI to what you saw.

LeftyTSGC

 

[farmerboy78]

i dont think youre going to get better accuracy than what youre getting now, mosins are not the most accurate rifles, most were built in a hurry with little care to the individual product but for getting weapons into the hands of soldiers as quickly as possibly.. if you want to go any better than that you'll have to do modifications and custom work that quite frankly wouldnt be worth the time, effort, or costs

dont be like the guy in the video below, be happy with what you have or just get a mauser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_RrUpTI5Q

That mosin is sick!!! I've got 3 sako mosins that will out shoot a mauser an time of day...2 m28/76 and 1 m28/30, I regularly shoot the 2 m28/76 sako's to 810yds.

 

[LeftyTSGC]

Update on some range data.

I put back on the iron sights and was doing some chrono tests at 25yds, but accuracy was still great.

LeftyTSGC

 

[farmerboy78]

Great job, glad to see her shooting!

 

[carbine85]

I accurized my X sniper by doing my own version of what the Russian snipers did back in the day. 1st thing was the trigger job following Russian drawings, 2nd was brass shims, 3rd was the barrel harmonics. I used rubberized cork gasket material instead of the cloth. I modified the iron sights slightly. Using Russian match ammo I get 1.5 - 2" groups with irons.
One thing I have found is it's not the heavier weight of the bullet the rifle likes but it's the longer length. I have used 2 different types of Russian match ammo and they both use longer bullets. SMK's of the same weight but shorter shot a slightly larger group. I also removed the Russian bullet and replaced them SMK's and got the same results.

 

[LeftyTSGC]

I accurized my X sniper by doing my own version of what the Russian snipers did back in the day. 1st thing was the trigger job following Russian drawings, 2nd was brass shims, 3rd was the barrel harmonics. I used rubberized cork gasket material instead of the cloth. I modified the iron sights slightly. Using Russian match ammo I get 1.5 - 2" groups with irons.
One thing I have found is it's not the heavier weight of the bullet the rifle likes but it's the longer length. I have used 2 different types of Russian match ammo and they both use longer bullets. SMK's of the same weight but shorter shot a slightly larger group. I also removed the Russian bullet and replaced them SMK's and got the same results.

carbine85 the longer bullet makes since. I have been reloading using Sierra 150 and 180gn bullets. They are descent in size but I did notice that when I pulled the Milsurp 147gn ammo that the bullet is longer than both of my Sierra rounds 150 and 180gn. The shank is overall longer and thus probably the contact with the rifling is more.

I did get excellent results with the 147 downloads I made.

LeftyTSGC

 

[elwoodm]

the bearing surface of sierra .311 180gr spitzer and speer .311 180gr HCRN bullets are around .5455. those seem to grab the most out of the lands and grooves of the rifles i have. those bullets can be loaded out to any length around 60 thousands from the lands. slug your bore and you will know a whole lot more.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

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