91/30 Problem

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C

Cactus Jack Arizona

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I have a Mosen Nagant 91/30 that I can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn with. I believe that I can throw a rock at someone 100 yards away, and get better results. I don't know what the problem would be to make it shoot so horribly inaccurate. :confused:

This is what I've come up with so far:

Bad sight placement.
Slight bend in the 26 inch barrel.
Barrel resonance not being equal along the barrel.

I even placed it on a lead sled and still wasn't able to hit the target, not even at a mere 50 yards.

Any ideas on why and how to fix the problem would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Slight bend in the 26 inch barrel.
Click to expand...
??????? Is this fact or speculation?

Pull the bolt and bore sight through at 25yds to save ammo. You can see if the bore matches up with the sights to start.
Inspect the sights for any sign of loose fit.
Check your action screws for being loose. Check the barrel bore for wear in the rifling.
Maybe slug the barrel to see it's actual bore size.
Then shoot at 25yds with a large piece of paper(newspaper) behind the target to see where it's hitting.


NCsmitty
 
Is it not grouping or can you not even get on the target? If the latter, move it closer until you can. Try 10 yards. The sights could be way off in any direction. Get close enough to see which way the sights are off and you'll know which way to go. Then try 25, 50, 100 yards.

Bore sight it like Smitty suggested. If the barrel looks oval, yeah, it's probably bent.
RT
 
Maybe some copper solvent might help? I've got to run some through my Gew 98 and see if I can do better than grouping a couple inches at 25 yards.
 
Have you placed in a shooting rest or sandbags pulled the bolt and "bore sighted" it the old fashion way...look through the bore and center on target then look at where the sights are aimed to. Should be close otherwise move the sights.
 
Not to hi jack this thread but I see Big 5 has these on sale for $99 anybody buy one? Are they okay shooters, be lazy and haven't made the trip over there yet.
 
how good can you shoot, a good mosin is better than you, but a bad one might as well be a splatter gun. So it all depends....
 
I haven't tried it yet at 25 yards. I'll be going back to the range in a week or two to give it a try.

How good can I shoot? Using the same type of targets that I used with the 91/30, I have one rifle that I can hit the target at 50 yards with and another one I can hit the target at 100 yards with, both consistently, using iron sites only. I have two others that are scoped and I can hit the targets consistently beyond 100 yards. I have no idea how well I can shoot beyond 125 yards as our range does not go any further out. :(
 
I haven't tried it yet at 25 yards.
Click to expand...

There's your problem. Chances are you are firing right over the top of your target at 100 yards. The Soviet made ones tend to shoot high, so the "100 meter" tangent may in reality be a foot or more high at that range. This is why the Finns put high front sights on them. In general, always start at 25 with a new surplus firearm. Never assume the tanget is correct or geared to your ammo (unless it's a K31 shooting GP-11)

Also bring a mix of 54R with you. Some of them will shoot much better with heavy 180 or 200 grain bullets, some with lighter bullets in the 148 grain range. And visa versa.

And also check to make sure your receiver screws are hand-tight.
 
The Type IV sight on the 91/30 starts with a lowest setting of 100 meters. At 50 yards it would be shooting quite high.

Check the barrel crown, and the muzzle for wear, as many had liberal use of a steel cleaning rod, and need to be step-crowned.
 
As previously stated, start by pulling the bolt and visually looking down the bore. My old eyes just didn't work with the iron sites so I went with an ATI mount and a Wally world scope.
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Then I went to work on the bore. Here's a shot about half way through the polishing process. You can see the shiney spots where the 50+ years of black are starting to come off.
attachment.php


Finally, I took thin slivers of cork 3 slivers, two underneath and one over top. These fit on the barrel right where the first band goes round.

Now, I'm not the most gifted shooter, but using a rest I can keep the holes inside a normal coffee cup (looking top to bottom) @ 100 yards... I do keep the bayonet on and I shoot surplus ammo. As pointed out different ammo produces a different POI but the pattern pretty much stays the same.



KKKKFL
 
Slap the pokey stick on it and have at it. Shoot at 100 yards. It will surprise you. If its less than 100 yards away, you dont need to shoot it. Thats what the pokey stick is for.

But really. The bayonet will help out drastically. As will corking by the barrell band. Also, theres some tweaking you can do of the trigger to make it more user friendly. Also, put up some paper all around your target so you can find where its shooting.

This reminds me, I've been putting off buying an M44 for too long.
 
Well, it did not come with the bayonet. :( I guess I'll just have to take a trip to my town's next gun show. I'll give it a heck of a cleaning and then have it checked out by my gunsmith.

By the way, what is the consensus about replacing the stock with the ATI stock and adding a modern scope? Would it be worth the expense? Has anyone had better luck shooting it with a modern scope, as opposed to trying to use the iron sights? :)
 
2075 RAMI - I wouldn't invest in the time for a replacement stock or a scope, if you are having problems shooting with the irons, you're gonna kick yourself in the teeth spending the money and time to convert it into a scoped rifle. Not to mention that it may actually be a bad rifle? (I don't want to say your a bad shot, I'm just saying with about 4 million, thats FOUR MILLION, made on a mass industrial scale, there is that chance you got a bad one. I'd check the one you have now, and stick with the irons, if it is something inherently wrong with it, sell it at the next gun show and buy a new one. It's cheap, easier to replace it then twiddle and stress with it. Besides for a $100 you shoulda got the bayonet, oil can, tool, ammo pouch. It's not gonna shoot up in value unless you get a premium sniper/exsniper one, which are the rare rock solid shooters. Mosin with irons you can hit a lot farther than you think with that surplus fun gun.

TomADC - I got mine from Big 5 for $75, took her out to the mountains, hit a beer can at 50 yrds FIRST shot, moved it out to about 200 yrds and was hitting roughly paper plate sized groups. I got lucky and got a good one.
 
Shoot it at 25 yards.

If it makes a nice little cluster of holes several inches high (which most milsurps do with military sights), you need a taller front sight/lower rear, combo there of. It may yet prove to be worth further investment in scope mounts, after market stocks, etc.

If it makes keyholes (non round, sideways bullets holes) or sprays bullet holes every which-where, you have a nice wall decortation, lamp post, poor excuse for a paddle, etc. DO NOT spend another penny on it.
 
If there is a bend in the barrel, then hell yes you have a problem. A serious one. Consider buying a new 91/30.
 
what type/brand of ammo are you using? I have run across some comercial ammo that had .308 diameter bullets and my Mosins slug anywhere from .312 to .315. When shooting the .308 stuff, I could not keep the rounds on the paper at 100 yards.
 
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