Joshua M. Smith
Member
Hello,
A 150 grain bullet moving at 2500fps is not fast for a Mosin-Nagant.
If you handload, you can move 180 grain bullets over 2700fps safely. These are strong actions and Hodgdon publishes data for this load.
You'll want to slug your bore to be sure but you'll likely have something in the area of 0.310 to 0.312" groove diameter. While 0.308" bullets will work just fine, you can get a bit more precision from 0.311" to 0.312" bullets and handloads.
I've never hunted anything like moose with this. I don't live in that area. However, I consider it heavy for deer unless I download the round. It turns a coyote inside out. Was pelt hunting and had a nasty shock there!
Any one of the 0.303"/7.7mm bullets listed at Midway will likely do fine as long as it's a soft or hollowpoint. I do not know much about bonded stuff; whitetail generally don't care if it flies apart around their heart area.
The rifling was originally designed to stabilize long, 212 grain bullets. I've had no problems at all with bullets from 150 grain to 200 grain. The 180 grain seems to shoot best.
I think I might try, after getting input from these folks, a Barnes Copper monolithic 150 grain bullet. Looks to be longer as I'd imagine it would be, but lighter due to the all-copper construction. I would figure it would hold together best and really deliver a punch to the vitals.
I plan on pig hunting with mine when they get here. The bayonet would be affixed; maybe get another M44 for brush. I'm looking at casting for that. I want a blunt nose hard cast bullet to get through all that gristle.
I'm left handed and, after polishing the bolt's contact points to mirror finishes, the Mosin bolt is one of the fastest I can work. I reach over, snag it with my thumb and operate it.
Bolt actions are never going to be as fast as other types, requiring four distinct movements (open, extract, load, close) while others require, at most, two (lever action). However, they make that up in precision and power.
Precision in a Mosin? Yup. After using cork stock to bed mine, it can shoot sub-MOA with loads it likes, but I am only capable of about 2.5MOA at 100 yards prone and front rest due to 20/40 vision.
If I were shooting corrected, I could see a 200 yard shot over open sights being about right for something like a deer-sized critter or larger. Just take it to the range first and confirm your rear sight settings. Shouldn't drop all that much but you want to know where it shoots out to 500 yards or so.
The thinner the front sight, the more precision you can get. Stock front sights measure about 0.080" wide; the ones I make are 0.060" wide as this is the thinnest most folks can see, but I've had requests for thinner, in the range of 0.030" to 0.040" from those eagle-eyed experts -- and the targets they send me show they make good use of that width. 10 in the 10 ring at 200 yards, people! I was impressed.
Regards,
Josh Smith
Smith-Sights.com
A 150 grain bullet moving at 2500fps is not fast for a Mosin-Nagant.
If you handload, you can move 180 grain bullets over 2700fps safely. These are strong actions and Hodgdon publishes data for this load.
You'll want to slug your bore to be sure but you'll likely have something in the area of 0.310 to 0.312" groove diameter. While 0.308" bullets will work just fine, you can get a bit more precision from 0.311" to 0.312" bullets and handloads.
I've never hunted anything like moose with this. I don't live in that area. However, I consider it heavy for deer unless I download the round. It turns a coyote inside out. Was pelt hunting and had a nasty shock there!
Any one of the 0.303"/7.7mm bullets listed at Midway will likely do fine as long as it's a soft or hollowpoint. I do not know much about bonded stuff; whitetail generally don't care if it flies apart around their heart area.
The rifling was originally designed to stabilize long, 212 grain bullets. I've had no problems at all with bullets from 150 grain to 200 grain. The 180 grain seems to shoot best.
I think I might try, after getting input from these folks, a Barnes Copper monolithic 150 grain bullet. Looks to be longer as I'd imagine it would be, but lighter due to the all-copper construction. I would figure it would hold together best and really deliver a punch to the vitals.
I plan on pig hunting with mine when they get here. The bayonet would be affixed; maybe get another M44 for brush. I'm looking at casting for that. I want a blunt nose hard cast bullet to get through all that gristle.
I'm left handed and, after polishing the bolt's contact points to mirror finishes, the Mosin bolt is one of the fastest I can work. I reach over, snag it with my thumb and operate it.
Bolt actions are never going to be as fast as other types, requiring four distinct movements (open, extract, load, close) while others require, at most, two (lever action). However, they make that up in precision and power.
Precision in a Mosin? Yup. After using cork stock to bed mine, it can shoot sub-MOA with loads it likes, but I am only capable of about 2.5MOA at 100 yards prone and front rest due to 20/40 vision.
If I were shooting corrected, I could see a 200 yard shot over open sights being about right for something like a deer-sized critter or larger. Just take it to the range first and confirm your rear sight settings. Shouldn't drop all that much but you want to know where it shoots out to 500 yards or so.
The thinner the front sight, the more precision you can get. Stock front sights measure about 0.080" wide; the ones I make are 0.060" wide as this is the thinnest most folks can see, but I've had requests for thinner, in the range of 0.030" to 0.040" from those eagle-eyed experts -- and the targets they send me show they make good use of that width. 10 in the 10 ring at 200 yards, people! I was impressed.
Regards,
Josh Smith
Smith-Sights.com
2 shots and 75 yards of blleding out later, he was done.
