Trying to decide whether or not to sporterize a M-N.

[Hammerhead6814]

All summer long I haven't had a project. I was going to refinish and rebuild a Sistema Colt, but in the hour it took me to run to the bank and get back to the shop it sold. So here I've been, twiddling my thumbs all summer long looking for a project gun and I think I may have found one.

At the MVACA gun show in KC there are a plethora of Mosins available, and even a few Finnish M39s! Yes, I'm going to tear up a perfectly good Mosin-Nagant just so I can have something to do. Don't lecture me on Bubba'ing a Nagant, I've already crossed that bridge.

But the question is, which one to sporterize?! I'm trying to decide between a M91/30 and a M39 Finn. Sporterizing a Finn makes sense in that I'll get better performance out of it. Finn Mosins are so highly sought after because they were built with accuracy in mind, unlike the Russian M91/30's. But, if I'm going to tear up a Mosin, why not just do the 91/30? Either way I'm going to improve something on the rifle, via glass bedding and using new parts, and of course a small trigger job.

Which one to cut up?

 

[Nicodemus38]

what is your idea of sporterizing/ if its to simply swap the factory stock for a sporter style synthetic, then thats fine.

If you want to do more you need to consider the actual value of the weapons you have. Few importers actually look at the weapons they sell beyond barrel condition, and type of model it is. And very few stores and clerks will be able to go through the proof marks and reciever charecteristics to figure out what they have.

For instance a friend went to the local gun store and bought a mosin nagant rifle. when he got home it was discovered that due to serial number, production year, and type of reciever, his weapons value had more then doubled on the collectibility market. so before you go chopping or drilling away on the barrel, see what you have.