7,62x54R...

[Rusty O'Toole]

Here is a suggestion that may help in picking a Mosin Nagant. I have used an M1 Garand muzzle erosion gauge to provide a rifle to rifle comparison at the gun store. My four Finnish 28-76 rifles are 0 on the gauge, .300" bores. I recently purchased a 1934 Tula that measured 3 on the gauge, .303" bore. I have a 1917 Remington that was probably used in WWI, captured by the Finns in the winter war, recaptured by the Russians, and finally imported to the US. The muzzle has been counter-bored 5/8". After accounting for the counter-bore, it appears to gauge at 1, a .301" bore. After a good cleaning, the lands and grooves appear bright and shinny. Even this sad looking rifle may be a good candidate for cast bullets.

[WRideout]

I bought one from J&G in Arizona a couple of years ago, just because I couln't pass up a center fire rifle that was well under $100.00. It is an arsenal refurb (apparently) and is clean in all respects, however it has a trigger problem; it won't pass the bump test when I bounce the butt off the floor. It will release the trigger with a rather slight jar. Other than that, It is a fine rifle, and I like the balance and feel of it. I plan to have it apart soon, and check the condition of the trigger and sear.

I have not shot cast in it yet, but my kids actually bought me a batch of brass for the 7.62X54R for Christmas. I have dies, but just need a shell holder for the press. The anticipation is killing me.

Wayne

[leebuilder]

Hey BCB. Get it! It may or not shoot jacket or cast. I have been lucky all of the ten i have are good shooters, some realy like cast. They are a neat piece of history. And once they are gone they are gone.

[truckjohn]

The guy who owns the gun store is a gunsmith—a schooled one so I assume he would have put the better ones out for sale—don’t know this though…

Believe the gun - not the story.

I thought it might be a good project, but as I read the comments, maybe not. I really don’t need to have to purchase several molds to get boolits the correct diameter etc…

I love these rifles and own several. Don't fool yourself on the cost of this sort of project... They can end up being *very* expensive projects... You can easily drop $1,000 scoping one....

Thanks.

[Ken in Iowa]

I bought one from J&G in Arizona a couple of years ago, just because I couln't pass up a center fire rifle that was well under $100.00. It is an arsenal refurb (apparently) and is clean in all respects, however it has a trigger problem; it won't pass the bump test when I bounce the butt off the floor. It will release the trigger with a rather slight jar. Other than that, It is a fine rifle, and I like the balance and feel of it. I plan to have it apart soon, and check the condition of the trigger and sear.

I have not shot cast in it yet, but my kids actually bought me a batch of brass for the 7.62X54R for Christmas. I have dies, but just need a shell holder for the press. The anticipation is killing me.

Wayne

Hopefully you just have a loose sear screw. It's an easy fix.

I have tweaked triggers on numerous Mosins. The sear and cocking piece relationship is key. I usually settle on pulls in the 4-6# range. You can do better with a weakened sear, but that is for the advanced class.

[jrap]

My first mosin was $125 from Cabelas and since then I've bought 4 or 5 more the highest being $250 for an east german marked hex receiver. You can find them for cheaper on Classic arms

[Remiel]

Here is a suggestion that may help in picking a Mosin Nagant. I have used an M1 Garand muzzle erosion gauge to provide a rifle to rifle comparison at the gun store. My four Finnish 28-76 rifles are 0 on the gauge, .300" bores. I recently purchased a 1934 Tula that measured 3 on the gauge, .303" bore. I have a 1917 Remington that was probably used in WWI, captured by the Finns in the winter war, recaptured by the Russians, and finally imported to the US. The muzzle has been counter-bored 5/8". After accounting for the counter-bore, it appears to gauge at 1, a .301" bore. After a good cleaning, the lands and grooves appear bright and shinny. Even this sad looking rifle may be a good candidate for cast bullets.

Where pray tell did you get such an interesting little tool?

[JeffHolt]

Fulton Armory has them for $35.00.

I don't get the .301, .302, .303 ect. readings. A Finn (D barrel) or Russian projectile typically measures .310 dia.
I wonder what for instance, a .301 reading actually measures since 30 caliber really equals .308.
If a .303 reading actually meant .313 dia that might make some sense.

Or does this tool simply measure on the lands?

[Jtarm]

Quit looking, and call Tood here: http://www.familyfirearmsandfinishes.com/
He cherry picks the guns and sells the best.

He sold me a 1943 Tula ex-sniper for the same price as your looking at for grab-bag.

BTW, Todd is a wealth of information and will take great care of you. Everyone over at the Surplus Rifle Forums give him nothing but five-star reviews.

[CHeatermk3]

Jeff, the tool is a gauge that gives an indication of the Bore--that is the land-to-land dimension of diametrically opposed lands in a barrel having an even number of lands.

The nominal .308 for a 30 caliber barrel is the groove diameter.

When you push a slug through your "bore" from end-to-end the high spots (the "peaks")are the groove diameter and the low spots(valleys) are the impressions of the lands which gives you an approximation of the bore's inner diameter at the lands.

The gauge is graduated and will give an indication of wear at the muzzle. There is also one for the throat.

A 0(zero) on the gauge indicates a bore of 0.300" . A 1=.301; 2=.302", approximately. So for a bore of nominal spec of .300" a 1 reading indicates approx. .0005" wear per side. This would be a near-new spec barrel.

[Patrick56]

It is a nice rifle to play with but the brass can be a problem, as most military cartridges uses the Berdan primer. Some manufacturers use Boxer as Lapua commercial cartridges. 7,62x54 = 7,62x53R ( Finnish designation). Check the actual barrel diameter before purchasing molds. There is also lots of Russian cartridges on the surplus market that uses steel cases (copper gilded).

[Patrick56]

Here is a suggestion that may help in picking a Mosin Nagant. I have used an M1 Garand muzzle erosion gauge to provide a rifle to rifle comparison at the gun store. My four Finnish 28-76 rifles are 0 on the gauge, .300" bores. I recently purchased a 1934 Tula that measured 3 on the gauge, .303" bore. I have a 1917 Remington that was probably used in WWI, captured by the Finns in the winter war, recaptured by the Russians, and finally imported to the US. The muzzle has been counter-bored 5/8". After accounting for the counter-bore, it appears to gauge at 1, a .301" bore. After a good cleaning, the lands and grooves appear bright and shinny. Even this sad looking rifle may be a good candidate for cast bullets.

In 1917 when Finland got it´s independence, there was about 40,000 Russian soldiers in the country. A big part of the guns was taken then by the Finns. Both sides used them during the Independence War. Most of the 1891 are from this period, as the Winchester 1895 rifles ordered by the Tsar.

[DevilDog83]

Just picked one up, will be trying some cast loads, my old "go to" load for older bolt guns is 7 grs. Unique with a 170-200 grain lead pill, no recoil, no noise, real cheap, pretty accurate to plinking distance and FUN!!

[nicholst55]

The gauge is graduated and will give an indication of wear at the muzzle. There is also one for the throat.

A 0(zero) on the gauge indicates a bore of 0.300" . A 1=.301; 2=.302", approximately. So for a bore of nominal spec of .300" a 1 reading indicates approx. .0005" wear per side. This would be a near-new spec barrel.

You must understand that these gages are not that exact. Many brand new out-of-the-wrapper military barrels do NOT gage at zero. They are mostly useful for the hobbyist to track muzzle (or breech, depending on the gage) wear as he shoots his rifle. The throat erosion gage allows you to track throat wear, while the muzzle gage allows you to track corresponding wear at that end. Simply because a barrel reads a '1' on the gage does not necessarily make it .301". I've been using these gages for 40 years now, and I've only fairly recently come to understand these facts.

[Geezer in NH]

Fulton Armory has them for $35.00.

I don't get the .301, .302, .303 ect. readings. A Finn (D barrel) or Russian projectile typically measures .310 dia.
I wonder what for instance, a .301 reading actually measures since 30 caliber really equals .308.
If a .303 reading actually meant .313 dia that might make some sense.

Or does this tool simply measure on the lands?

They can only measure the lands. Think about it how do you drive a steel pin in to measure the groves. It will tell muzzle damage due to cleaning however.

[Geronimo505]

You get what you pay for in many cases .......but sometimes there is luck involved.

[dogmower]

been playing with cast loads for my mosin. yesterday hit the jackpot. lyman 314299, sized .314, powder coated over 32 h4895, seated as long as would fit in the magazine. shooting orange sized groups at 200 meters. with iron sights and these tired 48 year old eyes, that's about as good as it gets!

[opos]

Turners....chain in So Cal has them at $149..up from $129 not so long ago...decent condition...nothing special.

[Geezer in NH]

I am the OP on this thread and I am glad I asked the questions…

Seems there may be more to these rifles than just a pretty face, so to speak…

I thought the price might be high although the bore looks clean as a whistle…

The guy who owns the gun store is a gunsmith—a schooled one so I assume he would have put the better ones out for sale—don’t know this though… all…BCB

Do NOT believe a GUNSHOP who is SELLING the item, You have learned I hope.

[Windwalker 45acp]

Gone are the days of < $100 Mosins I am afraid. The last two I bought were a 91/30 43 Izzy for $79 bucks, un-crowned and un-refurbed, beauty with a clean bore. She was a wonderful shooter. MY brother has that one now.
And a M44 that I use as truck gun/brush gun that I got for $50. Now, it was in rough shape cosmetically (looked like someone beat the stock against a tree) and someone put a Type 53 bolt on it. After slicking up the action and doing a trigger job on it, it's turned into a handy little thumper. While it's not as accurate as the 91/30 I gave to my brother, it's still more accurate than I am.
I've cast for it, but i've yet to shoot any boolits in it. The Lee 160 boolits i've cast for it seem to keep finding their way into my old Sino-Soviet SKS instead.