Cosmoline
Member
The last Mosin I did some thorough field testing on was a 1928 Izhevsk 91/30. As I posted here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=500781&highlight="wolf+light+ball"
the results were a good case in point of why you should always try an array of ammo choices in any new Mosin. You never can tell. In that case, Wolf Light Ball was the standout.
I just got back from testing a different Mosin, this time a 1970 M39. Initial tests had been inconclusive, with no real standouts. I was getting between 3" and 4" at fifty yards, which is not really acceptable for a Finn. The sweet spot load was still eluding me. Even the D166 loads using actual Lapua match bullets were not doing all that great. This was a surprise, since most M39's love them.
So I worked up a batch of handloads and tested the rifle a second time. One thing I love about Mosins is no matter how many hundreds you've shot and how many years you've messed around with them, they will always surprise you. This is another case in point. The rifle likes, strangely enough, Barnes TSX .308's and Woodleigh 215 grain 312's for the .303 British! The .308" doesn't totally surprise me, as I was beginning to think this rifle was just tuned to the narrower bullets. But I'm glad I tried the big Woodleigh crossbow bolts, because this is how they did at fifty:
Keep in mind, this load of Woodleighs, one I've been working up for years and years, is not an easy load for most Mosins. It's not even a bullet for Mosins, but for the .303. Yet here's a batch nearly touching out of a barrel that is quite tight. With some additional tweaking this can be a truly devastating bear load out to 150 yards. You just never know with these old rifles! So if you have one you've tossed aside as hopelessly inaccurate, tighten the receiver screws up and give it another whirl.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=500781&highlight="wolf+light+ball"
the results were a good case in point of why you should always try an array of ammo choices in any new Mosin. You never can tell. In that case, Wolf Light Ball was the standout.
I just got back from testing a different Mosin, this time a 1970 M39. Initial tests had been inconclusive, with no real standouts. I was getting between 3" and 4" at fifty yards, which is not really acceptable for a Finn. The sweet spot load was still eluding me. Even the D166 loads using actual Lapua match bullets were not doing all that great. This was a surprise, since most M39's love them.
So I worked up a batch of handloads and tested the rifle a second time. One thing I love about Mosins is no matter how many hundreds you've shot and how many years you've messed around with them, they will always surprise you. This is another case in point. The rifle likes, strangely enough, Barnes TSX .308's and Woodleigh 215 grain 312's for the .303 British! The .308" doesn't totally surprise me, as I was beginning to think this rifle was just tuned to the narrower bullets. But I'm glad I tried the big Woodleigh crossbow bolts, because this is how they did at fifty:
Keep in mind, this load of Woodleighs, one I've been working up for years and years, is not an easy load for most Mosins. It's not even a bullet for Mosins, but for the .303. Yet here's a batch nearly touching out of a barrel that is quite tight. With some additional tweaking this can be a truly devastating bear load out to 150 yards. You just never know with these old rifles! So if you have one you've tossed aside as hopelessly inaccurate, tighten the receiver screws up and give it another whirl.
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