The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Curios and Relics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old February 16, 2009, 11:16 PM   #1
Wrothgar
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 28, 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 778
Mounting a PU scope on a Mosin

Do I just have to buy a bent handle bolt and a scope and rings? Or do I have to do some machining and drill holes and such?
Wrothgar is offline  
Old February 17, 2009, 12:19 PM   #2
carguychris
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2007
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 7,523
You have to make a small cutout in the stock along the LH side of the receiver. You must then drill and tap two holes into the receiver wall, assuming your rifle isn't one of the somewhat uncommon "ex-sniper" examples with the two holes already there, in which case you can just clean out the holes and bolt the mount on.

A bent-handle bolt body is required because the straight bolt handle won't clear the scope. An original Soviet bent bolt handle won't clear the factory stock, so you will have to cut a groove into the stock to accomodate the handle. OTOH you can buy aftermarket bent-handle bolt bodies that clear the stock and eliminate the need for the groove.

BTW if you didn't know this already, the bolt body, which includes the handle, doesn't affect the headspace of a Mosin-Nagant. It can normally be swapped freely with no negative consequences. For this reason, if your rifle's numbers match, I would recommend buying a second bolt body for the bent-handle swap rather than hacking or welding the original one. This way you can put the rifle back in its original configuration in seconds.
__________________
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules... MARK IT ZERO!!" - Walter Sobchak
carguychris is offline  
Old February 18, 2009, 08:02 AM   #3
Wrothgar
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 28, 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 778
Well pooper, that's more work than I know how to do :-(.
Wrothgar is offline  
Old February 18, 2009, 04:00 PM   #4
carguychris
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2007
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 7,523
FWIW if your goal is simply to have a scoped M-N and not necessarily a replica sniper rifle, there are a few companies that make "scout rifle" scope mounts that replace the factory rear sight and with a mount for a Western-style long-eye-relief (eg. pistol) scope. This is by far the least destructive way to mount a scope on these rifles.

Here's a link:
http://www.scopemounts.com/index.html?instamain.html

(FWIW I'm not necessarily endorsing S&K's products, as I've never used one of their mounts.)
__________________
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules... MARK IT ZERO!!" - Walter Sobchak
carguychris is offline  
Old February 18, 2009, 10:55 PM   #5
Wrothgar
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 28, 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 778
What about something like this?

Also, about scopes on Mosin Nagants...

I have read at multiple places that it is best to shoot it with the bayonet on. I have tried shooting with and without and have found that I tend to shoot high without it, so maybe it justifies what I've read? Anyway, what do you do about the bayonet with a scope on it? Seems kinda silly to have a bayonet AND a scope.
Wrothgar is offline  
Old February 19, 2009, 10:49 AM   #6
carguychris
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2007
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 7,523
Quote:
I have read at multiple places that it is best to shoot it with the bayonet on. I have tried shooting with and without and have found that I tend to shoot high without it, so maybe it justifies what I've read? Anyway, what do you do about the bayonet with a scope on it?
The answer depends on which version of the rifle you're talking about.

First, a little background. The POI changes with and without the bayonet because it changes the barrel harmonics. The Soviets forbade soldiers from removing or folding their bayonet (depending on the model) unless they were in barracks, cleaning the rifle, or traveling in a vehicle. Therefore, the rifles were sighted in with the bayonets deployed. This was done by drifting the front sight blade for windage and filing it for elevation.

If the rifle is an M91/30 or similar model with a detachable bayonet, these rifles are equally accurate with or without the bayonet; they just hit a different POI. (It usually moves sideways, and no, I don't know why.) Adjusting the POA with a scope is simply a matter of zeroing the scope to the correct POI without the bayonet.

If the rifle is an M44 with a folding bayonet, these rifles sometimes- albeit not always- shoot better groups with the bayonet extended. I attribute this to the fact that the bayonet flops around unpredictably when it's folded. If you want to scope an M44, I recommend removing the bayonet altogether. (You'll probably want to do this anyway to avoid getting lots of nasty scratches on your left pointer finger under recoil. ) Unfortunately, this is sometimes easier said than done; the bayonet is attached with a big screw, but Soviet armorers sometimes drove pins into the threads to keep it from shooting loose. (There was evidently no Loctite in Russia in 1944. ) As you might imagine, these pins make it really, really difficult to remove the screw; it will probably have to be drilled out.
__________________
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules... MARK IT ZERO!!" - Walter Sobchak
carguychris is offline  
Old February 19, 2009, 06:23 PM   #7
Wrothgar
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 28, 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 778
Its must an m91/30, so I guess its just me.
Wrothgar is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:03 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06340 seconds with 7 queries