Cosmoline
Member
I stumbled across what appeared to be a standard Soviet 91/30 recently, but on closer examination I noticed a Czarist era hexagonal receiver attached to a Tikka plumb patina barrel. It's from 1943--the first year Tikka started putting assembling 91/30 pattern rifles to take advantage of the massive surplus of 91/30 parts. It's got a Soviet stock, but a surprisingly good one with a good shellac-like finish still in place that has a neat dark tint to it.
Overall, though, it's not a real looker. I've seen prettier Mosins by far. But man, can it shoot! I took it to the range and fired an array of ammo from the bench. With Winchester 180 grain FMJ it shoots dead center at 100 meters right on the bullseye! I got three out of five in the ten with two just outside with iron post & globe sights and a terrible stiff trigger! Even more amazing was the inch and a half group I got with the unspeakably poor Albanian ammo I use for goofing around. This is the same ammo that will routinely group five inches even with my good shooters and looks like it was made by apes with ballpeen hammers. Its accuracy was excellent with S&B 180 fmj and sp as well, though the group opened up a bit with Barnaul 203 grainers. I suspect this rifle will shine with 180 grain spitzer match loads and I'll start working up some handloads to bring out its full potential. It's already MOA with the Winchester, which is far from the best ammunition out there. With Lapua brass and some good boattail bullets this pup can really rip the black spot.
I opened the rifle up tonight and it appears to have been bedded (!) by the Finns using a black tar/glue/something substance very similar to the black stuff I've seen inside top-of-the-line 28/30's. The ultra-thin handguard and front arm of the stock appear loose and flimsy, but the advantage is they put no pressure whatsoever on the barrel as it heats up. I swapped out my match trigger from another Mosin and will take "Aquilonia" as I've dubbed it to the range again tomorrow with a good smooth trigger. This pup has the potential to be a real sleeper rifle in matches. It shoots as good as a K-31 with ammo that would make other rifles choke.
Like the perfect storm, you can live your whole life and never find a Mosin that shoots *this* good with a wide range of ammo. Sweeeeet
Overall, though, it's not a real looker. I've seen prettier Mosins by far. But man, can it shoot! I took it to the range and fired an array of ammo from the bench. With Winchester 180 grain FMJ it shoots dead center at 100 meters right on the bullseye! I got three out of five in the ten with two just outside with iron post & globe sights and a terrible stiff trigger! Even more amazing was the inch and a half group I got with the unspeakably poor Albanian ammo I use for goofing around. This is the same ammo that will routinely group five inches even with my good shooters and looks like it was made by apes with ballpeen hammers. Its accuracy was excellent with S&B 180 fmj and sp as well, though the group opened up a bit with Barnaul 203 grainers. I suspect this rifle will shine with 180 grain spitzer match loads and I'll start working up some handloads to bring out its full potential. It's already MOA with the Winchester, which is far from the best ammunition out there. With Lapua brass and some good boattail bullets this pup can really rip the black spot.
I opened the rifle up tonight and it appears to have been bedded (!) by the Finns using a black tar/glue/something substance very similar to the black stuff I've seen inside top-of-the-line 28/30's. The ultra-thin handguard and front arm of the stock appear loose and flimsy, but the advantage is they put no pressure whatsoever on the barrel as it heats up. I swapped out my match trigger from another Mosin and will take "Aquilonia" as I've dubbed it to the range again tomorrow with a good smooth trigger. This pup has the potential to be a real sleeper rifle in matches. It shoots as good as a K-31 with ammo that would make other rifles choke.
Like the perfect storm, you can live your whole life and never find a Mosin that shoots *this* good with a wide range of ammo. Sweeeeet
