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New to me MN91/30 and K31!!

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SirPorl

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Sep 6, 2003
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I just picked up a MN 91/30 and a K31 from SOG. The MN 91/30 is a matching numbers 1940 production from the Tula Arsenal. The wood on both rifles seems a bit beat but that is ok for the price. I must say that I am really impressed with the metal quality on both rifles. A minor bit of surface rust but nothing terrible. Besides clean the living snot out of these and shoot them I was wondering if there was anything else I should know?

thanks in advance,
SirPorl
 
Don't worry, there ain't nothing you can do to the Mosin that can hurt it, except mabe with a cutting torch.

As for the K31, one of the best shooting rifles you will own. 1.5" groups at 100 with OPEN sights is normal for me with it, using the Swiss military GP11 ammo.

Do note that the surplus 7.62x54 is most always corrosive, just clean out the bore good after shooting with something water-based, then clean normally. I use hot soapy water.

The surplus 7.5x55 (GP11 is the only stuff I know about), is non corrosive and match quality. Probably the best surplus stuff out there compared to any other surplus ammo.
 
You did good there. The Tula '40 is pre-barbarossa and should have a higher quality of machining than most. For the Mosin, here's the rundown:

Remove from the stock and check the wood at the contact points with the receiver. Sometimes its so deeply pithy it doesn't make a solid base and you'd be advised to pick up a replacement sporter stock or put in some metal spacer/washers between the wood and the receiver for a more solid fit. The spacers can also be used if you find the stock is pressing too much against the barrel. AN old Finnish trick is to put specially shaped washers between the stock and the receiver to lift the barrel up off the wood out front.

Make sure when putting the stock back together to tighten the receiver screws well. A lot of inaccurate Mosins are caused by loose screws.

Check the crown for any serious damage. If the lands are crisp at the end of the bore you should have a good shooter

To maximize accuracy, slug your bore at some point. There's a lot of variability in Mosin bores. Yours should be about .311" but it may have been re-reamed at some point later in the war to freshen up the rifling.

There's a wide mix of 7.62x54R ammo available from funky old surplus ball to modern Russian production and high-end Norma and Lapua match loads. Most Ruskie 91/30's tend to prefer the big 200 grain modern production stuff from Wolf or Barnaul or the old heavy ball loads. But each Mosin is a little different so experiment around to see what it likes.

To clean the bore, I highly recommend the M-Pro cleaner and bore gel. You don't need to use very much. Just coat the bore and let it sit, then scrub per directions.

On the K-31, you should find it's still in excellent shape. Most of them, even those with badly abused stocks, are nearly mint inside. The Swiss were among the first to switch to non-corrosive primers and they took very good care of their rifles.

You will find it shoots best with standard GP-11 ball, which is fantastic but somewhat expensive surplus ammunition. Don't be surprised if you find yourself getting MOA groups with it. The Portuguese stuff isn't as good, but Hornady is now loading its own 7.5 and the supply chain for this stuff and the new production brass seems to slowly be catching up with demand. It uses standard .308" bullets and you'll proably find it likes weights from 160 to 180 rather than very heavy or very light bullets.

Check under the buttplate for a special surprise :D
 
Excellent Info

Thank you both for the information. That is pretty neat that the rifle's owner is tagged under the buttplate. I will follow the information on the cleaning. Will report back once they get a bath.

SirPorl
 
Also Wolf is now importing the Swiss 7.5*55 ammo and is supposed to import a soft point hunting round early next year:D . They also have brass cased 7.62*54 ammo coming in also. Check out www.surplusrifles.com , heck of a site with tons of info on all kinds of milsurp stuff.
 
HMMM

jefnvk said:
Care to elaborate on that? I have either a '38 or '39 Tula, can't remember right now.


I think what he means is that it is pre German Invasion. The invasion of Russia was called Operation Barbarossa. So these rifles in theory would have better productions standards due to the country not being under direct assualt.

SirPorl
 
You will find it shoots best with standard GP-11 ball, which is fantastic but somewhat expensive surplus ammunition.

depends on how you look at it. Its expensive for surplus ammo, its ultra cheap for match ammo.:)
 
jefnvk said:
Care to elaborate on that? I have either a '38 or '39 Tula, can't remember right now.

I could say "pre war," but the war had already started by '40. At that point, though, Stalin and Hitler were not yet at war with each other. The increasingly crude machining marks seem to show up from '42 on through the end of the war. Tula also seems to be the best of the Soviet arsenals at least it has been in my experience.
 
Question from the mechanically declined??

Just how does one take apart the k31? I haven't really played that much with it but was wondering if someone could help me out with bolt removal and whatnot.

thanks in advance,
SirPorl
 
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