[shoey]

Ok, you all seem like pretty knowledgeable folks from what I've read thus far, and I know some of you really know your stuff...so what do ya'll think of gettin an old mosin carbine to restock and stuff for a deer rifle...from what I've read it'd be an economical and relatively accurate deer rifle.....just tryin to gather more opinions...

shoey

[Rabbi]

Shoey,

First :welcome: :welcome: :welcome:

There are a lot of us M/N fans here. I started with Hungarian M-44s and have added Russian, Polish and then went back to the source for my beautiful 91-30. Wow, what a rifle! The carbines belch four feet of white fire and a cannon roar but they are manageable to shoot, albeit a bit heavy in the recoil. The longer, heavier 91-30s kick like a .30-30 but hit like a .30-06 and are superlative in accuracy providing you get one with a nice shiny bore. They make a great deer rifle and ammo is both inexpensive and easy to find. The 7.62x54R is also a handloader's dream and well worth the effort.

Good luck in your quest to get in the Mosin Family.

Rabbi

[matthewdanger]

Hopefully Cheekser will see this thread. He sporterized a Mosin that turned out very nicely. I am not sure it has been out for deer yet, but he could be a good resource for you.

[armoredman]

I found a love for Mosins quite accidentally, when a friend gave me a pristine 1942 M38. A vertitable "blast" to shoot, all puns intended!
http://www.hunt101.com/img/209916.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=209916&c=500&z=1)
http://www.hunt101.com/img/233057.JPG (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=233057&c=500&z=1)
Then I found an individual willing to sell a nice 91/30, anothe WWI make, a 1942 Izzy....pictured here with my M38....
http://www.hunt101.com/img/234861.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=234861&c=500&z=1)

Belive you me - the slip on recoil pad is a GOOD idea! I also get 3.5 inch groups at 100 yards from the M38 with Wolf 148gr ammo. Will try her with the 147gr Czech Silvertip when the weather clears up!
All in all, they are cheap, grand fun, and a wonderful way to turn heads at the range....the thunder and fire from a Mosin carbine ALWAYS gets thier attention! I had a guy next to me shooting a 338....he moved...
One more 91/30 has come into my life, a 1920 hex reciever Izzy, but it hasn't been headspaced so she waits to shoot.
Lots of sporterization stuff available, even though I don't believe in sporterizing. Surplusrifle.com has a few articles on what guys have done to Mosin rifles and carbines, into ersatz scouts.

[cheekser]

well, one cannot go wrong with a Mosin. I'm sure a few folks read your line about "sporterizing" (uh-oh, I said a dirty word) and cringed, but frankly, if you start out with a not-particularly collectible example, go for it.

as Matt pointed out, i did some work to an M/N 44 (NON-MATCHING #s). she won't win any beauty contests, but for me, a rifle with a short barrel (cut mine down to 16 1/2" added a brake) that groups ~2" @100yds. is a great deer gun. oh, added a scout-style scope mount and 2.5x EER scope.

there is a distinct lack of aftermarket stocks for the M/Ns. ATI makes a synthetic one (what I have). The stock is solid, but a bit heavy, and i had to do some rasping to get a proper barrel channel.

Richard's Microfit will make you a wood or laminate stock in a variety of styles for the M/N. they will add an upcharge to their prices for the rifle (not an often-used action for sporters) and 8 week lead-time, but the examples of their stocks I've seen are very nice. many options and grades offered.

as for mounting optics, IMO a scout set-up is nice, because you can ditch the bayo and front sight from an M44 (cheapest gun to start with) and really cut the weight down. B-square makes a mount, CDNN sells one, and a fellow named Darrel (http://p077.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm85.showMessage?topicID=133.topic) makes some really trick units that a lot of mil-surp shooters rave about. they won't mar the finish of the gun, so a return to "original" is easily accomplished.

[cheekser]

figure I'd add a pic of mine. she isn't in finished stage as of the pic. i cut down the forestock a few inches (looked better IMO) and added a camo pattern to it. deffinitely a fun gun. the brake spews fire, and there is absolutely NO recoil. i love it.

http://www.fototime.com/74960F5FEEAC6B4/standard.jpg


....oh, and make sure you get one to keep original to go with ;)

[combat effective]

I found an all matching Polish M44 for $60. I see them in catalogs for $50.

[shoey]

The low cost and decent accuracy is what has drawn my attention to these guns. I know, sporterizing can be a dirty word....my biggest problem is I'm not much of a fan of synthetic stocks.....so what I might end up doin is reshaping and refinishing the original stock if and when I pick one of these guys up.....plus the fact that the ballistics seem to be very good on the round, and the carbines are nice and short which makes em quick handling...I like walking popples but also like to sit in blinds over a couple open spots, so it'd be nice to have a rifle that can handle in the brush but still reach out a little ways and poke em....a scope is definitly going on, whether it'd be a scout set-up or one of the traditional mounts with a bent bolt handle...but hey, it would be an awful good little project to compliment the 10/22 that I am FINALLY going to be able to start doin a little work on....got a standard takeoff stock on the way to reshape for that, too....cant wait to start it all....the Mosin wouldnt happen till this summer, but I like to do my homework and check out the options....looked at one at the local Fleet Farm the other day for 100 bucks, and it had no bayonet, not sure if it was a newer M-44 or an M-38, but it had a good colored, darker stock on it that looked pretty nice....

shoey

[armoredman]

If there was no bayonet, nor mounting, then it is most likely an M38. Some later war models like mine, or during rearsenal, were outfitted with M44 stocks, with the bayonet groove on the right side.
M44s are available all over for cheap - even Big 5 has them on sale for $69 or so every three weeks. Great rifles, and history soaked, to boot.

[GAU-2]

Dang Armoredman, All this time I thought I was scraping COSMOLINE outta these damn things, turns out it's history!? :P -------------> Ignore GAU-2, he's driven 600 miles and is very, very worn out................... Esp after welcome he received...... :D :D

Anyway.... Do a search for my nagant SuperScout :P There should be a couple pics with it :).

Sincerely,
GAU-2

[Redrum]

M44's and M38's are great dragon shooters!!!! Belch fire and kick like a government mule!!!! Yep...to some "sporterizing" is a baaaaad word. But there are some of them that are beyond help and require it to be functional. I got lucky...My Polish is pristene and the Russian is good. A recoil pad is a must if your going to be pulling that trigger more than once!!! It packs a whallop!! and like AM said..it will clear out people to either side of you at the range. Try it in an indoor range sometime!!! :lool: Just make sure that you DOUBLE plug for it!!! Good luck and have fun..Let us know and SEE how it turned out!!!

http://members.cox.net/kjgj13/Weapons/M44_Polish_Mosin_Nagant_Carbine_762x54R_R.JPG

http://members.cox.net/kjgj13/Weapons/Russian_MN_WIP.JPG

[armoredman]

Hey, it's historical cosmo! Trust me - I know!!! :psycho:
Some websites to check out
http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/ - do NOT mention sporterizing here! ;)
http://7.62x54r.net/
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/surplusrifle
Surplus rifles is the one with the detailed sporterization stuff, if that's what you want. there are all kinds of things available, like bent bolt kits for your existing bolt, or Numrich has prebent bolts, all for you scope mount, unless you use the one that replaces the rear sight, and does the "scout" thing. Have fun!

[shoey]

Ok, since these seem to be a very viable route to go for a pretty good deer gun, how does everyone go about cleaning out the cosmoline? Do the Century Arms guns come packed is cosmo? I'm pretty sure the guns sold at Fleet Farm and Dunhams (local stores) are Century Arms guns....

[Popeye]

#2 diesel (kerosene, white or red), a stiff brush and a worn out tooth brush. Cheap but labor intensive.

http://surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp

Look for the links on the right of the page.

[matthewdanger]

Also, you must resign to the fact that you will never get it all out of the stock. I once saw a picture of a cross-sectioned stock and you could clearly see that the cosmo had soaked in to the wood nearly to the core.

[cheekser]

i find that Laquer Thinner will work well. maybe a little longer to work, but a bit less fumes than the Kero. AND FOR THE LOVE OF JEFF DO THE CLEANING OUTSIDE! a fume headache is not cool.

for what it's worth, my M44 came through Dunhams, and there wasn't much Cosmo at all.

[Redrum]

The sun is your friend in getting most of the cosmo out of a stock. After you clean the outer stuff off, the cosmo will leech out, depending on the heat that is applied. It's not a fast process...but I guess deer season is over with now anyway. Spring and summer are great for this. After cleaning as much as you can, put the stock in a black plastic bag (I double bagged mine.) and put a few paper towels in the bottom of the bags to absorb alot of the cosmo. Then when you go to work hang it in your car. No one will know what it is, other than a black plastic bag hanging there...Close all your windows. The heat that is built up in the car will slowly force the cosmo out of the stock.

A faster way , but your wife won't like it (it smells up the house), put is in the oven a a low temp (100-150). Every 1/2 hr to 45 mins, take it out and wipe it down and put it back in....

Like popeye said...kerosene works great, but only use it on the metal parts. Go to Wal-Mart and get Purple Power engine degreaser. It's cheap and it;s in the automotive section. Do NOT soak the stock in it. It will raise the grain of the wood, but you can use it to disolve some of the cosmo. If the stock looks like hell anyway, then go ahead and use alot...You will more than likely need to surface sand the stock anyway. It's up to you and the condition of the stock.

Although I like the look of the sporterized MN's, the fiber stocks are lighter than the wood stocks...To me the heavier the stock is, the less perceived recoil will be...to each his/her own...

Above all...have fun with it!!!

[armoredman]

All three of my Mosins came decosmoed....he he he.....but my wife's yugo came drenched in the stuff. The Purple Power worked on the stock too, but took what little finish was there, so I get to refinish the wood later. Mineral spirits/paint thinner worked well on the metal. Get a couple of packs of shop towels...or a bunch of shirts you hate.
I need an M44 to round out my Mosin collection, and another Yugo, so I will need to keep the cosmo cleaning supplies....

[matthewdanger]

Orange Glow works pretty well to decosmo mil-surps. The orange oil that it contains seems to condition the wood and leaves it smelling citrus fresh.

[shoey]

sounds like its time consuming, but not too tough...If I clean the stock and sand and refinish, is there a way to seal the stock so the cosmo wont leech out after its refinished?

[matthewdanger]

Here is one that is already sporterized on GunBroker.

http://nas2.gbhinc.com/GB/028926000/28926414/pix1061440032.jpg

Scout Mosin (http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=28926414)

[BigBlue]

I bought two MN's last year. They are the best value to be found anywhere on the gun market. I plan to use my M38 as a rainy day deer gun. It came with matching numbers, and a laminated stock, probably a cleaned up rearsenaled rifle. It's a Russian Izzy. The sights on these rifles can't be beat, you don't see iron sights like these anymore. I cleaned mine with mineral spirits, then stripped the stock with Citri-strip, and used a tung oil product. It looks like a million, but only cost $60. If they made these today, you'd be paying $1000 for it.
Don

[armoredman]

Poor M44. $200 for a butcher bubba job, and Aztec still has them for $55, mostly decosmoed too, I believe. Big 5 runs thier $79.95 specials on both M44s and 91/30 every three weeks, too.
Just need one M44 to round out the basic collection....better make sure it's an Izzy to keep them all from the same arsenal, or I might have to start over....

[VonAlt]

Try the following link:

http://www.makarov.com/mosmount/index.htm

Our friends at makarov.com have a whole new sections on toys for mosins.

I have a 1944 Tula M38 that I have kept original and I can get 1.5" groups with it at 100 yds.

VonAlt

[dipodomys]

Doggonne it you guys going to get me talked into starting on M/Ns again and the next thing I know I'll have a whole crate of them. They sure are fun to play with and you can almost afford to shoot them. Hey now you've got me talking me into it.

[shoey]

thanks for the link...very interesting....and it has a good lookin wood sporter stock....hmmm, a little more expensive, but synthetic just doesnt look good in my eyes....ah well, this will be a summer project...should be fun...keep any info comin, its all very interesting...

shoey

[armoredman]

Doggonne it you guys going to get me talked into starting on M/Ns again and the next thing I know I'll have a whole crate of them. They sure are fun to play with and you can almost afford to shoot them. Hey now you've got me talking me into it.
Aha, the evil plan is working...... :psycho:

[BigBlue]

Doggonne it you guys going to get me talked into starting on M/Ns again and the next thing I know I'll have a whole crate of them.
A whole crate is the way to go. Take your pick and sell off the rest to pay for those you kept.
Don

[armoredman]

Hey, now you're talkin'!

[soulpony]

Got hooked on them my self, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and a 91/30 for good measure. Fun to shoot, a little heavy on the recoil, like the idea of a slip on recoil pad for these.

[Ice]

Cheekser, that is a NICE looking MN. Where did you get the muzzle brake? I'm planning on reworking a M43 and would like to add one.

Thanks

Ice

[matthewdanger]

Soulpony,

Nice looking collection! Can I live inside that room that the photo was taken in?

[soulpony]

Sorry Matthewdanger, only room for 1 person in my recliner in that room.

[matthewdanger]

WHAT!?!?! There's a recliner?!! Sounds like a dream.

[Redrum]

sounds like its time consuming, but not too tough...If I clean the stock and sand and refinish, is there a way to seal the stock so the cosmo wont leech out after its refinished? Short answer...No....Cosmo will be one of the three things that will be perpetual after armageddon....after cockroaches, and twinkies.....

When the stock heats up again, the cosmo will rise to the surface and bubble up whatever finish you have put on it...but to clarify...if you have most of it out, then there will not be enough to create that bubbling effect. So, take your time before sealing it and make sure that most of it is out. Remember, these have been soaking in it for many many years!!!

[Redrum]

Soulpony,

Nice looking collection! Can I live inside that room that the photo was taken in? Matthew...that's nothing in that pic....He showed us a pic of the inside of the safe!!! Now THAT's the place to wallow!!!:up::up::up:

ps. He wouldn't let me roll around in the safe either....:down::lol: