So, today I went out and shot the old 1926 Ex-Dragoon 91-30. I was just plinking at about 40 yards. I was using Brown Bear 203 gr. SP. It groups great, but it shoots about 2 1/2 inches high. The rear sight is at it's lowest setting. Are there any easy, cheap fixes to this problem?
Mosin Nagant Shooting High?
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Vern Humphrey
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Two:
1. Deepen the rear sight notch with a file, then file the rear sight down a bit, being careful to keep the top square and checking by firing a group every few strokes of the file.
2. Make or get a new, slightly higher front sight. Ideally, the new front sight will make the rifle shoot low and you can file it down, checking every rew strokes as before.
Remember -- when filing or adjusting the rear sight, chase the target. When filing or adjusting the front sight, chase the bullet hole.
1. Deepen the rear sight notch with a file, then file the rear sight down a bit, being careful to keep the top square and checking by firing a group every few strokes of the file.
2. Make or get a new, slightly higher front sight. Ideally, the new front sight will make the rifle shoot low and you can file it down, checking every rew strokes as before.
Remember -- when filing or adjusting the rear sight, chase the target. When filing or adjusting the front sight, chase the bullet hole.
bainter1212
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Seems to me that you should be pretty happy with those results, considering most mosins shoot over a foot high at 100 yds with their stock sights. Are you shooting at 100yds? That kind of info does make a difference. All of my mosins shoot completely above the target @ 100yds. This can be corrected by making the existing front sight post taller, or by putting in an aftermarket front sight (there are a few available).
"One Fish" Bainter
"One Fish" Bainter
bainter1212
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Sorry just saw the 40 yd thing. 
again a taller front sight post would be necessary in this instance.
"One Fish" Bainter
again a taller front sight post would be necessary in this instance."One Fish" Bainter
Cosmoline
Member
Mojos are also a quick fix.
tyeo098
Member
High at 40 means POA at 100 right?
carbine85
Member
Can you shoot it at 100 yards? Shooting at 40 yards doesn't mean much. The charts for that round and barrel should put you at 2" high @ 100 yards and 0 at 200 yards.
I removed material from my rear sight and the base to bring it down. It was shooting 10" high at 100 yards.
I removed material from my rear sight and the base to bring it down. It was shooting 10" high at 100 yards.
No. At 100, the bullet is still rising, not falling. 2-1/2" high at 40 probably means something like 6-8" high at 100yds which is typical for most 91/30s. The biggest issue I see with accurately measuring the POI vs. the POA on a mosin is that the triggers are so rough that you are never sure if it was you or the rifle that made that shot print 8" away from where you aimed. :sigh:
There are fixes to the trigger and the front sight on the net though. I just haven't had the time or inclination to do any of them to mine. too many other projects.
BCRider
Member
I seem to recall from a milsurp forum that the zero for Mosin sights are out around 200 yards. Which is why we need to extend the front sight pin for use at shorter distances.
I've made my own replacement front sight pins by using my hand drill as an impromptu lathe along with a file as the cutting tool. I "turn" a 2.5 inch bright finish finishing nail down using the file. The head is reshaped to the conical base of the stock pin and the rest is filed down to a diameter at or a hair smaller than the stock pin diameter. You'd want to use a set of dial or digital calipers for this part to ensure you don't shape it too far. The pin is then cut off about 1/16 inch longer than the stock pin, the cut end dressed square with the file and once in the hooded portion it's drifted back onto the front dovetail. Oh, and I cold blue it as a refinish.
I've made my own replacement front sight pins by using my hand drill as an impromptu lathe along with a file as the cutting tool. I "turn" a 2.5 inch bright finish finishing nail down using the file. The head is reshaped to the conical base of the stock pin and the rest is filed down to a diameter at or a hair smaller than the stock pin diameter. You'd want to use a set of dial or digital calipers for this part to ensure you don't shape it too far. The pin is then cut off about 1/16 inch longer than the stock pin, the cut end dressed square with the file and once in the hooded portion it's drifted back onto the front dovetail. Oh, and I cold blue it as a refinish.
Steel Horse Rider
Member
Or you can just slip a small chunk of insulation from a piece of #12 THHN wire over the front sight post and whittle it down until the proper zero point is found. Any electrician should be able to give you a piece, probably from his pant cuff or shirt pocket.
Cosmoline
Member
It's not so simple. Since MN's have a tangent sight, there is no "zero" as such. They're supposed to be calibrated for whatever ammo was in use at the time by that nation. The Finnish SA seems to have calibrated the sights on the M39 with the tangent at 300 meters using a special target at 100 meters. There's an example floating around on line--it's pretty nifty. But the USSR and the Imperials? Who knows. From all I can tell, most of their Mosins were never really calibrated, just very crudely adjusted with soldiers expected to give volley fire at distance, aim for the belly button as they closed and use the bayonet for everything else. They treated the actual tangent steps as rough guides. And given the wide array of ammo available it's a good idea to see what shoots most accurately for that Mosin then calibrate afresh with a new high sight or Mojos.
morcey2
Member
The russians/soviets were trained to aim for the belt-buckle of the person they were shooting. That way they would hit them anywhere from 5 - 350 yards without messing with the rear sight elevation. I believe they were actually zeroed at about 300-ish yards with the sight all the way down.
Someone on here (Joshua M. Smith, I think) makes a replacement front sight post that is adjustable and is supposed to work quite well. Haven't tried it yet. The quick and cheap fix is black shrink tubing and a sharp pair of scissors. Shrink it over the post with some hanging off the top and cut it down to adjust it POA/POI.
Matt
Someone on here (Joshua M. Smith, I think) makes a replacement front sight post that is adjustable and is supposed to work quite well. Haven't tried it yet. The quick and cheap fix is black shrink tubing and a sharp pair of scissors. Shrink it over the post with some hanging off the top and cut it down to adjust it POA/POI.
Matt
I have two different Soviet manual translations that say the guns, on issue to a unit, were zeroed at 100 meters by the best shooters in that unit before being issued to individual soldiers. Specific parameters are laid out in how to zero, and what a correct zero was.
The manuals also contain specific instructions for both volley fire and individual marksmanship, along with how to adjust aim for altitude, colder temps, and distance.
In volley fire, an officer or senior would estimate distance, tell the squad or unit what to set their sights on, when to fire, how much to fire, and when to cease fire.
On his own, the individual was apparently expected to provide accurate aimed fire with a known zero on his rifle. The manual is quite thorough in covering aimed fire and adjusting the rear for elevation in doing so.
Denis
The manuals also contain specific instructions for both volley fire and individual marksmanship, along with how to adjust aim for altitude, colder temps, and distance.
In volley fire, an officer or senior would estimate distance, tell the squad or unit what to set their sights on, when to fire, how much to fire, and when to cease fire.
On his own, the individual was apparently expected to provide accurate aimed fire with a known zero on his rifle. The manual is quite thorough in covering aimed fire and adjusting the rear for elevation in doing so.
Denis
Mine shoots to the same point as yours, about 3" high. I just sent my front sight of to Smith-Sights for a quick modification. The owner is a member here and for $18.50 (plus postage one way) I am getting an elevation adjustable sight with a green hi-viz front post as well as a finer (than stock) black one. I got both cause I am not sure if I will like the green on my otherwise traditional rifle. It was only a dollar more.
Also, on his sight you can find a ton of great information on how to make you Mosin mo' accurate for just about free. This info actually had a lot to with my purchasing the sight. Support the good ones!
Also, on his sight you can find a ton of great information on how to make you Mosin mo' accurate for just about free. This info actually had a lot to with my purchasing the sight. Support the good ones!
I think my Mosin 91 30 shoots like 4 inch high at 100 yds. It should be around 2 inch high at 150 yds and zero on 200 yds if rear setting is set at 200 yds.
Even my Swedish M 96 shoots the highest at 9 inches at 100 yds, outrageous indeed. And possibly be around 11 inches at 175 yds , then drop s from there on and zero at 333 yds. So aiming at the belt buckle is no escape for the unfortunate target.
Even my Swedish M 96 shoots the highest at 9 inches at 100 yds, outrageous indeed. And possibly be around 11 inches at 175 yds , then drop s from there on and zero at 333 yds. So aiming at the belt buckle is no escape for the unfortunate target.
What is the website that sells this one?
....
Mine shoots to the same point as yours, about 3" high. I just sent my front sight of to Smith-Sights for a quick modification. The owner is a member here and for $18.50 (plus postage one way) I am getting an elevation adjustable sight with a green hi-viz front post as well as a finer (than stock) black one. I got both cause I am not sure if I will like the green on my otherwise traditional rifle. It was only a dollar more.
Also, on his sight you can find a ton of great information on how to make you Mosin mo' accurate for just about free. This info actually had a lot to with my purchasing the sight. Support the good ones!
__________________
....
Mine shoots to the same point as yours, about 3" high. I just sent my front sight of to Smith-Sights for a quick modification. The owner is a member here and for $18.50 (plus postage one way) I am getting an elevation adjustable sight with a green hi-viz front post as well as a finer (than stock) black one. I got both cause I am not sure if I will like the green on my otherwise traditional rifle. It was only a dollar more.
Also, on his sight you can find a ton of great information on how to make you Mosin mo' accurate for just about free. This info actually had a lot to with my purchasing the sight. Support the good ones!
__________________
tyeo098
Member
I shimmed the trigger on my T53 and its more crisp than my R700's trigger was.
Shadow 7D
Member
put the bayonet on
morcey2
Member
Shooting one of mine with the bayonet on & then with it off made little difference in elevation, but it did shift POI from left of POA to right of POA.
On my two unaltered Mosins, bayonets have to be malleted on & off, something I'm not interested in doing each time I shoot them.
Denis
On my two unaltered Mosins, bayonets have to be malleted on & off, something I'm not interested in doing each time I shoot them.
Denis
Thanks for all the helpful resonces, and sorry for replying so late. I think I'll try to get some thin tubing to put over the front sight and maybe file down the rear sight just a tad. But at my home, 40 yards is the longest shots I can really take. I don't like the "local" shooting range, which is actually a long ways away... I'm working on building a bigger range on a small piece of land I own, with up to 100-150 yard shots but for now 40 yards is all I got. As I said, the groupings were actually really great. But I don't really like the sight picure, anyways. And though I respect the fact that it's not a Target Rifle, I would just like it to be a bit more accurate.
aka108
Member
I have a couple of old Mausers that shot high at 100yds (max distance at the range I use). I took a brass shell case, cut a section out of it roughly the length of the front sight. Bent it in half, pounded it with a hammer, opened the bottom of it up a bit to from a tent shape Epoxyed it over the front sight and it worked to bring me on to target.
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