Hunting ammo for Mosin-nagant

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Tinker

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Hello,

Santa Claus brought me a Mosin Nagant. From what I can gather, it's Russian made. I basically didn't even know what it was till after an internet search. It's a big, long rifle. It's actually 4' long and surprizingly light for such a big critter. Of what I've learned so far, the info states that the 7.62 by 54 is close to a .308 in power. It will be fun giving this rifle a go to see what I can do with it.

I'd like to sight it in and try it on whitetails but don't know who makes a hunting ammo for this gun. The local Wal-mart had nothing is this caliber. The box of cartridges that were part of the gift are labeled "Wolf" brand and are not hollow points. Santa (my brother) told me that the Wolf shells were only $4 / box. They appear to be either copper jacket or copper coated. Do any of you hunt with your MN's and, if so, what shells do you use? Thanks.
 
You will have to poke around a bit, but Barnaul Arsenal (another Russian ammo maker) also has a 200-gr SP round in 7.62x54. Found some at my local Dunham's Sporting Gooods...around $8/20.
 
I bought 100 rounds of Barnaul 7.62x54R 203 gr. SP from Midway USA for $25. Cabelas also has Wolf 7.62x54R 200 gr. SP.
 
...and just to plant the bug for later on...if you handload you'll have access to a wide variety of bullets and loads for everything from light plinking loads to elk-hunting loads.
 
The best is Norma, followed by Sako and S&B. S&B is the most affordable on the A-list. The Ruskie stuff from Wolf, Barnaul, etc. is OK, but don't expect great bullet performance. The surplus FMJ is cheap, but of course not OK for hunting anything but varmints or fur bearers. I've used it for ptarmigan, too.

This stuff hits hard! It's more like .30'06 than .308, and favors big freight train bullets. The 203 grain Russian SP's and the A-list 180 grainers will drop a moose or black bear no problem. You might want to look for 160 grainers if you can find them for deer.
 
A few websites for you.....
http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/
http://7.62x54r.net/
http://www.mosinnagant.net/
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/surplusrifle?forum=4871

The second one can help you use the markings to ID your new Russian friend. Remember to clean thoroughly! Use a drill, chuck a cleaning rod, and drill the chamber with an oversize brush to get rid of leftover 60 year old cosmo - the Russian version wears like iron! If you don't you can end up with the dreaded sticky bolt problem...Use plenty of solvent, or whatever gunk remover you want.
Lost of cheap ammo - remember the surplus stuff is corrosive, and you must use water/ammonia to clean the barrel and bolt face after firing that day, to get rid of the corrosive salts from the primers. The Wolf ammo is bimetal cased, with 147gr fmj bullet - I get 3.5 inch at 100 yards with my Mosin M38. The Czech Silvertip surplus is supposed to be more accurate, while many people have problems with the brass cased Albanian ammo - has a 3 stamped in the headstamp.
Read on - lots of good info and good people on these sites!
 
Thanks for all the info. You guys have fattened up my bookmarks. Going to the range sometime this weekend to give it a go.

Ran some bore cleaner in the chamber and barrel last night. There was a lot of gunk in there. The chamber was real dirty. The bore looks real good. At least no pits. As far as the corrosiive ammo goes, it's no big deal. I shoot muzzleloaders anyway and they are the same way as far as care after shooting.

It will be fun to see what if I can shoot it well. If I end up liking the rifle I'll give a name. A Russian chicky name like "Tall Natasha", "Sweet Shootin' Svetlana" or something. :)
 
Amoredman,

That second link helped me figure out that mine is a M91/30 that was made in Tula. That is a real good info page. Also found out that this same rifle was what the commies in probably shot my Pops with (through the ankle) during the Korean war. I guess it would be right to let him runs some rounds through it, too. :)
 
try AIMSURPLUS

one last link for cheap ammo. Try

aimsurplus.com

You can even order a friend (M44, M38) to keep your new toy company at a bargain price. Aim is the best.
 
A Tula 91/30 is a great find!! What year is stamped on the receiver? Hex or round shaped?

the M-N Forum URL changed last week. It's now http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forums.com Just follow the page links to the fourm. The guys over there are very much into the history of the M-N's and they do not like any discussion of sporterizing or bubba-ing the rifles, so if you intend to customize it into a hunting rifle, you may want to lurk rather than join and ask about how to do custom work.

Check the muzzle carefully. If you don't get decent accuracy, you should consider having a counter-bore done and a muzzle re-crown. And buy a recoil pad!! After 50 rounds at the range, you may have problems lifting your beer bottle later that evening :eek:

I have a 1931 Izhevsk 91/30 and I usually get 8" groups at 200yds with it using milsurp 148gr Czech silvertip ammo. S&B soft point should work for hunting and I believe that Winchester makes a 7.62x54R soft point. There is also commercial 7.62x54R brass available so you could make your own loads if you want.
 
George,

It has a hex receiver that's stamped 1933. Saw that forum linked in from a previous poster above. Looks like I'll get in lots of reading on the subject.

On the modifying aspect......well, if this thing groups well I'm thinking of at least adding a scope and reworking the bolt to accept one......so I better lurk. :)
 
Please do not hack up a Tula hex from '33. There are millions of round receiver Ishies out there, but far fewer of the model you have.
 
A 1933 Tula with a hex receiver is definitely a collector!! Guess I think of them as something a poor Russian peasant carried with him to defend Stalingrad and the Motherland from the Nazi hordes. :D The 91/30 design is over a hundred years old and some of these rifles are still in use today. You have a piece of history that goes back to days when the world was a far different place. IMHO, clean it and keep it in it's wartime condition. Listen carefully and they will speak to you... :D

As mentioned, there are lots of Izzy round receiver 91/30's that you can find for anywhere from $50 to $80. MY Izzy came from Big 5 Sporting Goods for all of $74.95. With a bit of work even those rifles would be great shooters and you can do the same counter-bore and crown to them.

Unfortunately, the Mosin's will begin to take all of your money. You'll find that you need a M44, then a M38, a Finn M91, the madness goes on and on. :banghead: And they all shoot the same round!!

In any event, enjoy your rifle. They are a whole lot of fun to shoot and you will get people coming up to you and asking about it when you hit the range.
 
Well, if you guys (obviously more up on MN's than I) say to leave it alone then I'll let "Svetlana" wear her original uniform..... :)
 
Santa wasn't too bad to you!

My 1938 Tula is a pretty nice shooter. Had a couple of three-shot touching groups at 50 yards one day with iron sights.

My friend decided to use his for hunting this year. He got some Silver Bear SP, 204 gr IIRC (somewhere in that area). We were getting about 3" groups at 70 yards. Good enough for hunting where we were. It cost like $5/box.

I'd second the scout scope mount, and keeping it original. I realize that it is your gun, and you can do whatever you want and I won't stop you. But there are lots of other choice to chop up into a sporter that will have less historical value.

And if oyu are looking for cheap practice ammo, I use the Czech silver tip light ball. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=97122 $27 for 300 rds. Just know that it is corrosive, which is not a big deal, just clean appropriately.

Happy shoting!
 
Well, found one box of Sellier and Bellot ammo at a local sporting goods. Took that and the box of Wolf to the range the other day. Used all 20 of the Wolf and 10 of the S&B.

Recoil was not as bad as I thought it'd be. After some practice with the Wolf we wanted to see what the S&B hunting loads would do to a pumpkin we brought. We set it out at 75 yards. That first shot made the back of the pumpkin disapear. Guess that'll do for hunting. :) Really though, it might be too much of whitetails. Will have to stay away from shoulders if I want to maximize meat salvage.

I need to move the front sight because it's grouping to the right. Is this a big ordeal? Looks like a tap with a punch might be in order. Have any of you moved the front sight?
 
Recoil was not as bad as I thought it'd be. After some practice with the Wolf we wanted to see what the S&B hunting loads would do to a pumpkin we brought. We set it out at 75 yards. That first shot made the back of the pumpkin disapear. Guess that'll do for hunting. Really though, it might be too much of whitetails. Will have to stay away from shoulders if I want to maximize meat salvage.

I need to move the front sight because it's grouping to the right. Is this a big ordeal? Looks like a tap with a punch might be in order. Have any of you moved the front sight?
Click to expand...

It isnt too much for whitetails, It is less powerful than .30-06 but more than .308. As far as adjusting the front sight remember if its hitting right move the front sight to the right. Yuo move it in the direction that it is hitting.

Mosin Nagant are one of my favorite rifles. And what other posters have said about dont permanently mod you rifle are true. You can mount a scout scope and mount on her and achieve excellent groups. I have this set-up on an M-38 carbine, and have shot 5 shot groups under 1.5 inches. As a moderator for the Russian-mosin-nagant forum, I welcome you over there, there are alot of friendly people there just like here. But again if you plan on sporterizing dont mention it there.

If you do any reloading you may want to start for 7.62X54R. You can really tailor your ammo to your rifle and what type of use you need the ammo for. I have plinking loads, hunting loads, SHTF loads. And it is not hard to reload. This is the caliber that got me into reloading. I have some rifles that only fire .308 sized bullets(my M-38) and others that only like .311 sized bullets.
 
Noonanda,

I don't reload (yet) but one of my brother does for his pistols. Maybe I can go halves in on the Mosin stuff and talk him into getting a MN too. :)

I took a digital caliper the other day and mic'd the bore at the muzzle. Groove OD was .310 and the lands were .299. With your MN reloading experience and all, which size bullet sounds right for those dimensions?
 
your best bet would be to "slug your bore". All this entails is taking a shotgun OO buck pellet and using a wooden dowel or plastic rod and tap it in either from the muzzle to the chamber or vice versa. This will give you your average bore measurements. I have tried the caliper muzzle check, slugging the bore is better. From your measurements you could probable go either way. It all depends on the rifle. My M-38 has a .310 bore, but for some reason just likes .308 sized bullets better.

You can pick up a set of lee dies for around 20-25 dollars, and if your brother reloads already, he probably has manuals that list 7.62X54R. The next thing would be to buy brass, powder, bullets and primers. you may want to get him a mosin to give him an excuse to reload for it LOL
 
Thanks on the "slugging" idea. I've read of it, but didn't exactly know how is was done.

My (reloading) brother has gone hog hunting for a few days. I'll bend his ear about the reloading.
 
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