Mosin 91/30 range question

[Shrinkmd]

How does affixing the bayonet affect point of aim? I was consistently high and th the left (nice groups off a bag, though), and when I started aiming a little low and to the right, voila!

Do I need to bring the bayonet to the range?

 

[Roudy]

The bayonet will make the point of impact erratic....try a group with and a group without the bayonet. Generally it should cause the group to shoot lower because of the extra weight on the end of the barrel.

(the best weapon in a bayonet fight is a bullet)

 

[JimJD]

I think this applies to your rifle as well...

On My M44, when the bayonet is in place(or not), barrel harmonics change, which affects the POI of the rifle when fired.
I've been told that some of these rifles, if not all, are sighted in with the bayonet either in place or not. There's more to it, and I hope those more knowledgeable than I chime in with a more accurate answer.

In the past, I've seen some considerable differences in groupings when I had the bayonet unfolded and locked in place. In short, My particular specimen shot better. As an aside, I can't fire it until further notice until I get the headspace checked out. Had some cracked/fractured casings.

 

[Shrinkmd]

I will have to try next time...

Maybe it was sighted in with the bayonet on. I will try this next time and report back.

As far as headspace, I used the Yankee Engineering gauges advertised on Surplusrifle.com, and they worked fine. I've been inspected the fired cases and everything looks just fine, no cracks or bright rings or any other problems (what else does one look for?)

Not quite sure where to keep another couple crates of that 80's Polish surplus stuff. I wonder if they will ever run out? Instead of "peak oil" when will we hit "peak surplus"?

 

[JimJD]

Hmmmm... Surplusrifle.com?
I have to check them out.

 

[losangeles]

Surplusrifle.com rocks. For many things military surplus.

 

[sctman800]

JimJD
I can't fire it until further notice until I get the headspace checked out. Had some cracked/fractured casings.

Your headspace is probably allright, of course it never hurts to be on the safe side. Cracked cases seem to be a common thing if you are shooting steel cased milsurp. Jim.

 

[Koobuh]

I'm wondering about this too, I was using a bushnell holosight on my bubbaed up M44 for a while, but got disgusted with the buckshot pattern groups I was getting and pulled the sight off. The original leaf sight got me shooting groups again, but it pulls down and to the right a couple inches at 50 yards. Moving the sight up to the 400 meter mark got me even with the bull, but about 3-4 inches to the right.
I'm going to try and get the original bayonet for it back and try shooting with it extended to see if it makes a difference- I'd really rather not mess with the front sight.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've heard that some of the Soviet 91/30's were sighted in with the bayonets fixed. But keep in mind that "sighting in" by Soviet standards was pretty loose. I'd just leave the bayonet off and start fresh. Most Soviet 91/30's I've owned needed proper sighting in from the start.

If you've got a lot of fliers or shifting POI, the standard fix is to tighten the receiver screws and check for stock impingement on the barrel.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Clean up check?

I have been checking the barrel and bolt for any rust after yesterday's trip. Looks ok so far, although I think I see yellow stuff in the magazine, parts of the reciever. I think it is cosmoline, though. I poured maybe 12 oz of water, chased it with windex, and then used Hoppe's elite for cleaning. I also dissembled the bolt and more hoppe's elite. I'm new to corrosive, so I'm a little paranoid.

The bore wasn't perfect when I got it, but it doesn't look any different so far. I want to practice before I start sending rounds down that "new" m48 mauser I have my eye on...

 

[Cosmoline]

I've had excellent luck with a blast of the m-pro cleaner after shooting. Not much is needed, just enough to coat the bore. Works like magic.

 

[Koobuh]

Something you may consider to deal with the excess cosmoline is just blasting everything down with brake cleaner, then reapplying a light oil once the parts have dried out. That's how we cleaned up my dad's new VZ24 and M91/30, and it was a lot easier than most of the other methods that you hear about.
I also like to blast brake cleaner down the still-warm barrels of rifles we've been using corossive ammo in, just to get any surface deposits taken care of before transport. That plus some foaming bore cleaner makes cleaning a lot faster and easier. A few passes with a nylon brush, patch out until clean, then a CLP patch. No problems with the primer salts yet, so I'm happy.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Did great with the bayonet!

After I got warmed up, it is almost sighted in fine with the bayonet on, maybe a bit low now, and still a drop to the right. Either it got in tune as the day went on or I did, not sure.

Also, a couple of my polish light ball cases split the neck, maybe 5 or 10 out of 160 today. Is this a big concern? I headspaced my rifle with the Yankee Engineering gauge milspec and it passed fine.

 

[m39fan]

Split cases are fairly common with most of the milsurp. Albanian is especially bad. Watch the primers for pressure signs. BTW, if you want to use the rifle for things where the bayo would be inappropriate, may I suggest replacing the rear sight with a Mojo peep or the front with a taller blade. Many milsurps shoot high and a taller blade will bring groups down closer to point-of-aim. Most armies (including the Russians) were taught to have a 6:00 hold i.e. the target should "sit" on top of the front sight. I think Tennesee Gun Parts had some taller blades for the 91/30's. Put it on then tap it left or right to fix the windage. And ENJOY!

HTH,
Mike