sporterizing my mosin nagant

[corey012778]

I saw where a gun shop had a nagant that some one turned into a sporting rifle. I decided I wanted to do that my self. looked around saw all kinds of stocks but did not want to pay the price for them or did not want to mod my own stock to do it. I order another nagant stock. cut and starting the on an end cap.

before shorting the stock.
142290

used an hacksaw with a metal blade for a good smooth cut. leaving a inch and half of the front of the stock.
142291

using aluminum to make the endcap. have a little more work to do, not really happy on the first try, but doing it all by hand no metal working tools other then snips.

142292

plans are to strip the finish, reshape the butt stock, and thinking of a few more things.

[303carbine]

I wouldn't have sportered it, but it's your rifle and you can do what you want to it.
I wouldn't chop any of my Enfields into sporters either, but that's me.

[khmer6]

If you have time and money go for it. But I would make damn sure it shot worth a damn first. And always have a couple extra mosins laying around from the cheap days. Sporterized mosins aren't really my thing though but if done right they can look pretty good

[Rustyleee]

All I know is what I read on these but I have heard that putting a Timney trigger in a MN will transform it into a whole new rifle.

[303Guy]

I wouldn't have sportered it, but it's your rifle and you can do what you want to it.
I wouldn't chop any of my Enfields into sporters either, but that's me.He's kept the original stock and bought another for the project. The gun is still being preserved.

[Tackleberry41]

I considered buying a stock, but got a deal not long ago for 2 mosins that included an ATI stock. Their not the greatest, but a little better than the wood ones. ATI stocks are not drop in, it had to be modded so a standard barrel would fit, and so the plate that keeps the sheels in the mag would work, as it was, you could not load the magazine, took quite a bit of wallowing things out to get it to work. And would think ATI would set them up for use with a timney trigger, but don't.

The timney does make a world of difference. Its really really hard to mod the existing trigger and get it consistent.

[leebuilder]

I have noticed the timmney trigger require a "fatter" stock in order to have the clearence for the safety and not compremize the strenght of the stock, Boyds sells both. The odd issue stock is "Fat" enough. You can recycle the old end cap or use a No 4 end cap.
Set a few mosins in new Boyds stocks and cut down a few others, any question just ask, they make a handy hunting rifle with plenty of punch.
Be safe

[303carbine]

He's kept the original stock and bought another for the project. The gun is still being preserved.


That's right Pete, as soon as I read "sporterize", I tend not to read further..... I think cut barrels, cut stocks, drilling and tapping, and other abominations.
Glad to see I was wrong here.......:cool:

[corey012778]

Leaving 90 to 95% as is, only thing I am doing to the rifle it self is adding a scout scope set up but have trouble with that the pins won't move. Going to try oil next. If that work, don't want to apply heat, really hate applying heat to a gun. May have to cut one barrel band, that is if I can't get a friend to help remove it

[corey012778]

to put everyones mind at ease, here's the stock that came with the gun. safe and sound.

142329

[kens]

I saw one with the Boyds Tactical synthetic stock, the scout scope mount that replaces the rear ramp sight leaf, scout scope, and a bipod.
It was just way too cool.

[LAGS]

You are going to find that the rifle with the stock shortened and the barrel left long is out of ballance for offhand shooting.
And where the bypod will sit still makes it awkward to hold on target with the Mosin's short length of pull.
I have sporterized or Customized at least 50 Mosins over the years.
Anything from shortening the original stock and barrel, to modifying the stock to a Monte carly style.
I also have the ATI plastic stocks which I dont use.
And I have made custom Pistol Grip stocks for both the long barrel and the shorter versions or cut down barrels.
I cant wait to see how yours turns out.

[lefty o]

i own a few of them, and will honestly say that you cant make a mosin much uglier than they already are. lol as long as you dont butcher an oddball/rare variant, have fun with it.

[Artful]

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. First time I saw an HK91/G3 I thought I was going to hurl. :shock:

[303Guy]

Nothing is uglier than the SMLE. It looks like a bulldog!:shock: Well actually, there is an uglier gun - a shortened SMLEI :mrgreen:

I need to get the furniture to restore one of my SMLE's but I want a Mosin to sit beside it. Thinking about it, I'd like a sporterized Mosin to sit beside a sporterized SMLE. But Mosin's are quite pricey in my parts though and I don't recall ever seeing reloadable brass for them. Pity.

On the balance point, I have a MkI Lee Enfield with MkIII barrel and a lightweight sporter stock that is beautifully balanced. The butt stock is short too. (I'm betting it would kick like a mule with full power loads).

[Artful]

No 4
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLE303.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/FAL/SMLE303.jpg.html)
chopped #4
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/SMLE45SIAConversion_zpsd36e4ef1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/FAL/SMLE45SIAConversion_zpsd36e4ef1.jpg.html)
I'd call handsome

then there is
My Mosin Scout
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Misc/0612112302.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Misc/0612112302.jpg.html)

Marlin Tacticool
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Marlin_Tactical_Cowboy189545-70.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Marlin_Tactical_Cowboy189545-70.jpg.html)

AR15
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/301.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/301.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/278.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/278.jpg.html)

there are some "unclassic" rifles out there.

[303Guy]

Those are interesting - very interesting. That No4 is handsome. I wouldn't call the Mosin handsome but it is interesting and even appealing. Yup, one of those would be great to have.

[Eddie2002]

Hey at least you aren't spray painting them black with truck bed liner. Still like the looks of wood over a synthetic stock but sometimes sporterizing a milsurp comes out real nice, just respect the piece.

[corey012778]

Hey at least you aren't spray painting them black with truck bed liner. Still like the looks of wood over a synthetic stock but sometimes sporterizing a milsurp comes out real nice, just respect the piece.

how you know I was going to do that? :kidding:

have not got that far on color, going to test it first then if it does well. then figure out what finish I'll do,

[snoopy]

The marlin ISUGLY!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have only seen a couple of MN Sporters that I thought looked good. Both were made out of Finn Rifles and done by Finns.

Both had cut down stocks with handguards similar to what I did on my #4 Mk1 to make it look like an L42/L39.

The biggest problem with MN stocks is the Butt end has a ugly downward curved comb. They are hard to get to look acceptable,, At least for me.

The gun itself is a very serviceable weapon and the cartridge is close to a .30-06 in performance, and they are still using it in their Sniper Rifles.

As far as defiling an ex military weapon, that decision has to be made by the owner and what condition the gun is in when you start.

If the barrel has been cut off then the gun is a sporter/shooter as there are very few Ex Mil guns that are worth rebarreling unless you can get a good barrel really cheap. The Criterion Barrels for #4 Enfields at $350 pretty much void that idea for me. I am not going to spend $350 on a gun I bought for $200 only to spend another $300 on new wood for it just so I can say I have restored a gun to full Mil status, and end up with a restored gun that has mismatched numbers and is worth 1/3 of what I've got into it. It's pointless. They made 17 million Enfields. They made 117 million MN's and are probably still making them somewhere.

Plenty more where they came from!

I have seen MN's as cheap as $69.95! and at that price point you could just about use them for tent stakes, so ANY other firearms related usage would be OK with me.

Sometimes it's better to have fun than try to preserve history. Especially when that history is currently happening and means nothing. In a hundred years, if they still lest us have guns, then maybe we should preserve them as they were. Until that happens I say do what you want as long as you don't destroy something with true Collector Value. everything else is fair game.

I might add that none of us will be around in 100 years,,, or even 50! so why bother sweating it?

My .02

Randy

[roverboy]

The marlin ISUGLY!

That Marlin looks like refried dog ****!

[bedbugbilly]

If you're having problems with the aluminum nose cap - you could "pour" a nose cap on it. Not that hard to do and especially if you cast your own boolits.

[corey012778]

I have only seen a couple of MN Sporters that I thought looked good. Both were made out of Finn Rifles and done by Finns.

Both had cut down stocks with handguards similar to what I did on my #4 Mk1 to make it look like an L42/L39.

The biggest problem with MN stocks is the Butt end has a ugly downward curved comb. They are hard to get to look acceptable,, At least for me.

The gun itself is a very serviceable weapon and the cartridge is close to a .30-06 in performance, and they are still using it in their Sniper Rifles.

As far as defiling an ex military weapon, that decision has to be made by the owner and what condition the gun is in when you start.

If the barrel has been cut off then the gun is a sporter/shooter as there are very few Ex Mil guns that are worth rebarreling unless you can get a good barrel really cheap. The Criterion Barrels for #4 Enfields at $350 pretty much void that idea for me. I am not going to spend $350 on a gun I bought for $200 only to spend another $300 on new wood for it just so I can say I have restored a gun to full Mil status, and end up with a restored gun that has mismatched numbers and is worth 1/3 of what I've got into it. It's pointless. They made 17 million Enfields. They made 117 million MN's and are probably still making them somewhere.

Plenty more where they came from!

I have seen MN's as cheap as $69.95! and at that price point you could just about use them for tent stakes, so ANY other firearms related usage would be OK with me.

Sometimes it's better to have fun than try to preserve history. Especially when that history is currently happening and means nothing. In a hundred years, if they still lest us have guns, then maybe we should preserve them as they were. Until that happens I say do what you want as long as you don't destroy something with true Collector Value. everything else is fair game.

I might add that none of us will be around in 100 years,,, or even 50! so why bother sweating it?

My .02

Randy
wow that's deep.

small win, I got one pin out of the rear site. failed getting the other out. fouled up the one side of the pin, broke on nail set punch, mushroomed two other punches. may break down and take it to an gun smith and see if he can get it out. I feels like failure on my part, may pick up another set punch and try again

[LAGS]

I can tell that you dont have much experience in firearms of this type.
That is OK, We are here to help.
The rear sight pins are soldered in and you have to disassemble the sight then heat up the rear sight base and barrel with a Propane torch to get them out.
On most of the stocks I shortened, I cut the stock off square, then glued on a wood Nose cap using the cleaning rod hole to dowel it in place.
I used all different kinds of wood for the nose caps, from Ebony to peices of 3/4" maple glued together to make a 2x2 x3" block.
Once set and dry, you can shape it to fit your stock and barrel.
That is somewhat what I do to modify the original stocke to a Monte Carlo stock.
I shave the bottom of the Buttstock and the top of the buttstock flat, and glue something like peices of Maple or Birch to build up the stock in layers then reshape it.
If you PM me an E Mail, I can send you some pictures of a couple that I still have as well a the pistol grip stock .
I think there is a picture of My pistol grip stock in the special projects thread under , CZ 527 in .357.
My computer wont let me post pic's on these sights. Nt enough power, I have Dial Up and don't know how ro work a computer for nothing.
That is why I have Armoredman post pictures for me.

[corey012778]

these is the most I have done to a center fire. I have done a number of builds on muzzleloaders, a simple conversion on an mossberg 500, free floated a stock on a ruger 96/22, and a few stock refinishng jobs.

did apply heat to how the first pin came out, these one is just being pain.

[corey012778]

victory is mine. both pins are out ramp is off, 3 good taps with a large punch. placed the barrel muzzle down, gravity is my friend on that one. scope mount on. letting the metal cool, and place it in the new stock for pics.

just had to calm down and take my time.

142462

142463

[LAGS]

My first centerfire Build was also a Mosin Nagant back in 1976.
Back when they were $35.00 and no one knew what they were .
I cut the stock off just ahead if the barrel band, filled the cleaning rod hole with a Dowel, and shaped the end of the stock like a Springfield Trap Door Carbine leaving the barrel band on.
I cut the barrel with a Hack saw, and crowned it with a Rosehead countersink in my hand held cordless drill.
A friend of a friend still has that rifle and shoots it every so once in a while.
That rifle was also my first Glass bedding job, with just plain old Epoxy, and I made my first Dog leg bolt handle on that one as well as a side mounted scope mount.
I learned a lot from that one rifle when I was first starting out.
I had very little knowledge, no place to work, and litterally no tools except for a cordless drill and a drill press vise clamped to a table in a spare bedroom.
The way I figured, For $35.00 if I screwed it up, I wasnt out much.
But it printed 1.5 inch groups with a 20" barrel and hand loaded ammo using a Lee Classic Reloader, ( Wack A Mole )

[leebuilder]

Hi coreyO12778, glad you got the pin out they can be frustrating. Some time you have to walk away. Like Lags i started with next to nothing and with knowlage and experience i got my projects done.
like most i prefer not to modify milsurps,,, but there are so many mosins around and long as it is not a historical example i say "give er"., be sides it is fun. I have saved a few examples for my collection and the one i did bubba was a wall hanger and at least now i can use it or sell/donate them to someone. The rest i bubbaed were prebubbaed or parts in a bag.
Like i said ask if you want advice, and they make a nice shooter and ammo is still cheap and plentyfull, and realy fun to handload for. I will convert one to 410 when i find a barrel with enough shank diameter. Have lenghtened and bent bolt handles on many too.
i bubbaed my first mosin about 7 years ago, i shortened the barrel by 5 inches and then shortened the stock and handguard to match the original configuration as close as i could
and put the original frontsight back on. The improvment in accuracy was amazing, just had
to get past the bad section of barrel. I bedded the stock, relieved the rest of the stock and
honed and tuned the original trigger. I have since done 8 others like that for other shooters
all turned out well except for one, the barrel is to far gone but i tryed. Put a No 4 forestock cap on one after shortening the barrel, gave it a unique look.
Be well

[corey012778]

I have the one band to get off. think I will try to get the front sight off first. may order one of the adjustment tools and take it as far as I can then tap it out the rest of the way.

[LAGS]

On the 91/30 you should be able to drift the front hooded sight out with a Brass punch or brass rod.
No need to spend money on a special tool if you dont have too.
I think thet go in from the right side, so try drifting it out from the left to right.

[corey012778]

the one reason I need to take the front sight off is to get the smaller front barrel band off. not really wanting to cut it off.

went river tubing yesterday and messed up my shoulder. so I have to take it easy a few days

[corey012778]

got the barrel band off by scratching it enough to slip off the barrel. just have to press it back together I beleave it is very use able. did a dry fit once I come up with something for a cap it would look better.

now it feels like I am in a spot where I do my best work. stock refinishing

just going to edit these one and not do another post to add the pics of the new stock and rifle

142589

does feel like I cut the stock too short for the length of barrel. think I am going to work on something to add length and stream line the stock. lot of wood work there. may just add some type of wood cap to end that takes the up that space, maybe total of 3in total length.

142592

[LAGS]

The length of the forend of the stock should be 1/2 the length of the barrel measured from the front of the receiver to the tip of the forend +/- 1"
That is a standard for sporter rifles.
But to each his own.
But you can see just looking at your rifle that it is Barrel Heavy

[corey012778]

when I hold the gun, it does not seem barrel heavy. held right near the middle. more top heavy because of the scope.
may come up with something for a nose cap.

[LAGS]

Like I said, I have pictures I can send you for Ideas

[LAGS]

If you had a shorter barred action and your longer barreled action and tried each on the same stock, you would see the differance.

[armoredman]

And a couple of pictures, as promised.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/LAGS/M-27%20custom%20001_zpsgsk2pqrw.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/LAGS/M-27%20custom%20001_zpsgsk2pqrw.jpg.html)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/LAGS/Nagant%20stock%20001_zpso9hbn5li.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/LAGS/Nagant%20stock%20001_zpso9hbn5li.jpg.html)

[LAGS]

Thank you. Armoredman.
The top pic is my Finn M-27 and that is the original stock that I modified with Maple I got at Home Depot.
The bottom one is another spare stock I picked up in a trade when A guy wanted a ATI stock fitted on his MN
It too is just laminated with 1x3 maple from Home Depot and a What I call a Horses hoof Grip cap that I made out of some hardwood I had laying around.

I am going to slap the bottom stock on my Finnish 1891, and change the bolt body to one that I already modified the bolt handle so I can keep the Finn original later.
That would be the rifle and scope mount in my thread about Mauser Scout scope mounts .

[corey012778]

I got some, ideas little more now. I get it some time. done sometime.

[LAGS]

These stocks were built back when no one was shooting Mosin Nagants.
There were no aftermarket parts, and the rifles were cheap.
They were also built by hand and a cordless drill was about the only power tool that I had.
All the extra parts like the scope mount and bolt handle were made by me and by hand.
I am not bragging, Just trying to let others know, that you dont have to have a full on shop to do decent work.

[303Guy]

That overly long barrel and short fore-end can be made to look and feel good.

I would taper the fore-end up toward the barrel more and add a Schnabel to it. But that's just me. Try just adding just a Schnabel to the barrel band rebate and see how it looks and feels then go from there. My natural fore-end hold is right in front of the magazine so your fore-end would do me just fine, even with that very long barrel. It'll be more like a shotgun fore-end.

[corey012778]

these does not fit these category but it is my most recent build. I have a few things I want to do with the stock. do a recoil pad, maybe a few other small things. an oak ramrod for shot with polished steel, or nickel tips just for show, silver scope and scope rings.

have to refresh the urthan on the stock, it soaked up more then I thought. tc renegade from parts, green mountain fast twist 45cal barrel.
142743

[LAGS]

Is the barrel on the ML Stainless ?

[corey012778]

Yes, kinda of why I went with the dark finish on the wood, liked the contrast

[LAGS]

Did you inlet a patch box in the side of the stock ?
If not, one in Nickel or Pewter would be in order.
I ordered lots of parts for mine off Track of the Wolf
I am getting around to building my Lyman Plains rifle soon as it cools down in the garage. It's 114+ this time of year.
That is going to look great with a silver scope.
Question ?
Have you ever fitted a Recoil pad on a rifle ?
If not, then try doing one on the MN stock first.
Hone your skills on a Project gun, Bank the Knowledge and make your other rifles look even better.
And Yes, the pic's of the ML are related to this thread.
They show your skill level and desire to build something nice as well as functional.

[corey012778]

I do a lot of ordering off track of the wolf. I am needing something else silver. I am not a big fan of the patch box on the side of rifles. Never thought of a mn recoil pad for that gun.

[corey012778]

little update, have not do anything with the stock. waiting till I shoot it to see what else I want to do. but did put a return spring on the trigger. bought the parts to do it, started thinking about as I was putting it together. I could of found the spring and used the washer that I had been using for less. did not pay much for it to start.

[LAGS]

I made trigger return springs out of Piano wire.
It is a coil torsion spring that has two legs and goes right on the trigger pivor pin.
The first one I made years ago was made out of the coil end of a Safety Pin.

Just cut it off and bent the legs so one hit the bottom of the receiver and the other was hooked on the trigger.

[corey012778]

went digging thru some sprigs i use for small projects. I think I could of made these spring work

143022

[LAGS]

Exactly.
That looks like it is a little bit too large of a hole but it is the right comfiguration

[Multigunner]

I've seen a mosin nagant action with bolt handle moved behind the open bridge area.
It was done to allow mounting of a long Unertal scope.
A section of the rear receiver was cut away and a bolt handle welded to the bolt body.

[LAGS]

I did a Hex receiver that way once.
I cut off the bolt handle and then the top of the right side of the receiver just above the line where to top of the bolt lug was in the closed bolt position.
The bolt handle was welded to the bottom similar to the was a 28/76 is done.
Then a rear bridge cross pver was added to the left side of the stripper guide for mounting the rear of the scope.
The bolt handle when opening slid under the rear bridge.
But the OP wants to keep this rifle Stock so he can return it to full battle dress someday.
But I would make a suggestion that he picks up a Spare Bolt body and make a different Bolt handle on that one, for installing when his rifle is in the Sporter Mode.

[LAGS]

For the return spring if I remember correctly.
I took a Large Safety pin that had a loop that was close to the correct size as the trigger pivot pin.
I used a pin or a drill bit that was around the size of the trigger pin or just a tick larger.
Then clipped off the catch part of the safety pin.
I placed the loop over the pin clamped straight up in a vise, and then Wound one more loop onto the spring and stopped at the angle needed to make the torsion tails on the spring.
That way I had Two Coils instead of the One that was originally on the safety pin or on most Torsion springs.
It made it more stable when installed on the trigger pin and didnt rock side to side as much.

[corey012778]

got the mn to the range. put a new butt pad on the gun. love the trigger now. pretty smooth. did polish a few areas help some.

what I figured I am going to do
monte carlo conversion to the stock.
the scope mount has issues I have to work on. the mount how it should be put on will slide to front of the dove tail after 3 shots. took way to many rounds to figure that out. the make shift solution was to flip the mount around where the locking screw will rest in the are where the pin for the original front sight. thinking about mounting the mount the way I think it should be, taking out the set screw, taking a center punch marking the spot I want the screw then with a drill bit the size of the screw or a little larger, making a indentation where the set screw can rest.

an nose cap is still in my mind for the gun. still trying to figure that out.

[Char-Gar]

Back in the post-war gun filled 50s and 60s we sporterized military rifles for only one reason and that was because it was a far cheaper way to get a rifle to shoot than buying a Winchester or Remington.

I can see no utter reason to do so in 2015. I enjoy shooting these pieces of history and leave it at that.

[LAGS]

I never was a Fan of the scout mounts that used the rear sight dovetail for mounting , or required removal of the rear sight base.
But like you are doing, they can be modified to work well if you have the skills.
That is why I made mine to replace the rear sight Leaf, and it mounts in the original rear sight base.
The mount for the 1891 was a no brainer that I had to custom make the leaf for that style sight for that base.
It still uses a weaver rail that can be interchanged to make it adapt for different scope positions fore and aft or different lengths.
It also can be adjusted for elevation for seting the scope closer to Zero on the elevation dials.

[corey012778]

I am not a fan of the leaf style myself.

The only true to the sight. But it can be hidden if/when I decide to battle spec

[Hang Fire]

Scouted Mauser and Mosin, pics and how did.
http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/early.html#

[LAGS]

@ Hang fire
Nice Sporters.
Very inovative and practical.
The chopped off stocks do work with the shorter barrels well, and like you said, make nice Truck Guns.
You seem like me,
Why Buy, when you can build.

[pretzelxx]

When I pick up a second I'm going to jewel the bolt. I think the look is nice and gives it a different look. I don't see it all too often so it's something cool. I like short and all, but I don't have the tooling for it yet.

[LAGS]

Got a drill press, or a drill motor, and a woden dowel with some 600 grit wet and dry sandpaper.
That is all you need for the basics.
That is the way I use to do it, then I bought the tools.
Well I am back doing it Bubba style and getting the same results.
Just get something to practice on first like and old peice of pipe.

[pretzelxx]

I've got a bunch of old metal parts that can get scrapped so I'll use that to test on aluminum steel and titanium. See if anything requires extra work. Thanks for the idea of not using the tool, I would have just got that haha

[LAGS]

Yea, I do my trial and error testing on scrap parts.
But then they usually look so good, I end up putting them back on a gun.
Beat up Mauser floorplates are the most common, and I usually have extras from the rifles I convert to a Hinged Floorplate Magazine box myself.
Dont Buy, Build

[leebuilder]

Build more than you buy any way, reclaim and recycle too. Some pencil erasers shaped will do a fine jeweling. As will dowels and valve grinding compound. If you can scrounge a couple of the abrasive blocks/cylinders electical techs use for resurfacing contacts and copper motor parts. I clamp a ruler to the drill press table as a means of getting a proper spacing and it acts like a "fence" for a strait line.
be safe

[corey012778]

getting set to start on the stock for the gun. run into a problem. I went to clean the barrel and had some type of build up. it was so bad, I could not get an cleaning rod down and ended up breaking it. fixed it. took a dowel rod just under the size of the bore. the wad of stuff that came out of it was the hard and did not really break apart that easily. stupid Russian ammo. going to polish out the bore really well and do another slugging to confirm the diameter.

really hate slugging bores, that includes inline muzzleloader. [smilie=b:

[leebuilder]

Try boiling hot water, a tea pot full. Realy loosens the nasty stuff. Then Eds red. Then oil.
had that happen to me too, no blockage but lots of these "pills" boiled and oiled, went away.
Be.well

[LAGS]

Try Casting your Bore.
I use a 1/4" aluminum rod longer than the bore.
I put it in from the Breach end with a patch over the end that makes it snug, but not super tight.
I run it down the bore to about 3" from the end of the barrel and then cast the bore with Cerosafe.
When hard and cooled in a half hour, pound the rod out from the breech end.
The single patch over the end of the rod doesnt Over Rag and cause a cushion.
Now you can do something similar with JB Weld.
But you need to coat the inside of your bore with something like Johnsons Paste wax first for a release agent.
Just a Thin coat is all that is needed.
I have also plugged waxed barrels with the rod and patch about 2' from the end of the bore, then put a old Bore Brush into the the muzzle Coated Libberally with JB Weld and leave the threaded end sticking out of the muzzle.
When Hardened overnight, you tap it out from the Breech end, then trim off any Finning like at where the epoxy flowed into the crown area.
Now you have a plug you can measure, and a Tip for your cleaning rod that can be used to Lap your Bore with polishing compound or JB Bore Bright.
It fits that Bore Perfectly, and you will see it probably only goes in one direction because the grooves are not all equal.

[corey012778]

I have jb bore paste and flizt (sorry 4th party). Been thinking about cerosafe.

[LAGS]

Now, He who drinks a Fifth , on the fourth, May not go Forth on the fifth

[corey012778]

oh trust me, I am hurting not, wait till morning.

[Clark]

Over the last 15 years I have converted Mosin Nagants to single shot 45/70, 30-30, and 223. I have converted to repeater 7mmRemMag and 300WinMag. I don't know it it will get done in 2015, but I have the parts and the tools to make a repeater in 250 Krag Ackley.

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx220/ClarkM/Mosin%20Nagant%20223%20100yards%2033grVmax%202.17i n15grBD%200.87in%205%20shot2-26-2014.jpg

The 223 shoots ok at 100 yards

[corey012778]

have the stock setting with the finally attack on the old finish, should be ready in a couple days to finish. made a slug to do the barrel with, drilled a hole just larger then the bore in some wood, poured some soft lead for the job. used a step drill bit to do it. with I did not . had to drill another hole to pound it out.
143928

endoscoped the bore to see what it looked like. seems much better then the mauser. I when I shot milsurp ammo , I cleaned the gun with the cleaners I use on muzzleloaders.

143929 143930 143931 143932
chamber shot.
143933

[LAGS]

If you have to make your own Bore slugs again, Drill a hole all the way thru a peice of wood, Sand the inside of the hole a bit, and them make a plug for one side out of a larger peice of wooden dowel sanded to a snug fit in your Poor Mans Lathe.
The Plug can then be pulled out to remove your casting, ot driven thru to push out your casting..
I am sure this wont be your last slug you ever cast.
For a .312 or larger bore I used a 5/16 drill and when the hole was sanded on the inside it cast a .316 slug.
A 3/8 dowel sanded to fit the hole worked great for a plug.

[Multigunner]

The MN rifles converted to .30-06 and the potential problem of the mass of the barrel reinforce being reduced when the barrel is set back and rechambered with the .30-06 shoulder length got me wondering if it would be easier and safer to do a similar conversion in .308 winchester.
The barrel would still have to be set back but the shorter length to shoulder of the .308 chamber would leave more steel in the reinforce area.
Also the .30-06 conversions required straightening of the magazine box sides to accomodate the longer to shoulder 06 cases. The shorter .308 case shouldn't need any mag alterations.

Not that theres really much need for such a conversion these days, with reloadable 7.62x54r cases available, and a .308 bullet in the commonly over sized 7.62X54r bore would be problematic.
The Finn MN barrels with tighter bores, some .310 and some .309 would work okay with .3085 bullets, but the Finn rifles are really too nice as is to mess with. Still if one found a pre bubba'ed Finn MN then it might be an option.
I've read that at least some Remington made MN barrels had .308-309 bores.
The wide variation in bore sizes were why Lapua developed a .309 matchgrade bullet intended for use in a wide array of MN bore sizes and for use in .308 rifles as well.

[LAGS]

The MN was not designed for higher pressure cartridges like the .308 and -06, but if Rebarrel will handle most loads safely.
But the problem comes when you set back a barrel and cut the chamber deeper into the thick part of the chamber.
Then there is the Bore size and bolt head, plus like you mentioned the magazine.
But if you ordered a Blank Barrel in .308 bore, you could, with a lot of work , have it threaded and chamber it in .308 Win.
It is best to just keep them in 7.62x54 .
The best conversion I have seen and had was a single shot in 45/70.
Minimum modification to the bolt face, you didnt use the magazine, and it started off with a new barrel.
.303 Brit and .444 marlin are other good options because of the rimmed cases.
But you would have to set back the barrel also to use the original barrel in .303, but it is a similar pressure cartridge, so less chance of over pressuring the barrel. But if the barrel is good enough to spend the money to rechamber it even to .303 then why mess with it.
McGowen makes Pre threaded barrels for the MN in both .310 and .312 if you have a barrel that isnt worth saving.
They woll also make them in any Contour you want from a Bull Barrel to a light weight sporter.

[corey012778]

I think I will stick with these barrel. think it will be a little more work. and may have a lot more life to it still.

[35 Whelen]

Several years ago I messed around with Mosin's and found a simple, cheap way to profoundly improve the Mosin trigger pull. The instructions are posted as a sticky here:

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=186&t=50969

Good luck,

35W

[nicholst55]

Take a look at the 7.62X54R Improved, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/54rIMPROVED/

PTG makes the reamer; cases are formed by firing standard X54R in the Improved chamber. I'm debating building one; I just can't decide if I want to invest that much money in a Mosin.

[LAGS]

I may consider the 7.62x54R Improved , if I ever get around to building a P-14 action in 7.62x54R
That action can take anything you can dish out, and I will be using either a Heavy Bull barrel like from McGowens in .310 ,or a Russian Chrome Lined Machine gun barrel turned down and rethreaded.
Original rifles were built in the 80's by a Col. J Umar.

[corey012778]

I have decide just to do a check riser. my wood working skills lack a little right now. just ask the stock blank that is setting in my shop right now that I been out lining for have not got the never to do the first cut on for 2 or 3 years

[LAGS]

You saw the pictures of the two that I still have.
It isnt that hard to Modify the stock, but it takes some skill to Fit , Shape and add a removable riser to your stock.
I am more than willing to give you pointers if needed.

[corey012778]

squiring up is my problem.
the idea i have is to take a dowel rod cut about 3 to 4 ins off. flatten one side to lay on the butt stock. cut an angle as a start for a rounding off the ends.

may find a block of wood that may work for the monte carlo, been looking hard, have enough stocks that have them that I can get a template.

[LAGS]

You said you have a Lowe's near by.
They sell 1x3 or 1x3 Maple or Birch.
That is what I use.
I file a flat on top of the stock down to where it is as wide as the fattest part of the stock with on the buttstock or a reasonable width for you to blend in the new Monte carlo cheek piece, then glue in layers 3/4" high, until I get the height I want.
Then rasp it to shape, and then start sanding to make the contours you want.

BTW
I put the spare modified stock on my Finnish M1891 and shot it today.
The stock works great.
I bet you can Use that picture for angles and heights for your stock.
You can clearly see the top of the buttstock where I flatened it out, and to what depth I had to go, then laminated two peices of maple to it for 1 1/2 " height, then rasped it down to where I wanted it.

[LAGS]

Quick Question ?
Do you Handload ?

[LAGS]

You can print out the pictures of my stocks, Enlarge them, and then Draw Lines for refferance points.
Like the top of the Forend, running back along or over the buttstock, and use the recoil crossbolt for a fore and aft datum point.
I have stole many a stock design by doing it from just a picture.

[corey012778]

yes, I do handload. have everything but primers and some powder for the 7.62x54, have the mold waiting on a 311 lee sizer (going to open to .312). been hunting and buying the pistol powders I been needing. lots of rifle powder.

my printer is dead. been wanting to get a new one just have not yet.

[LAGS]

Send the picture to a friend like I do.
Now for the sizer ?
If your barrel is .312, and you are shooting Cast Bullets, you should really size them to .313 or even .314
.001 larger than the bore diameter for cast bullets.
Are you going to Powder coat your Bullets ? or just Lube them ?

[corey012778]

.314 sizer. now.
the mold I have right now drops right at .312
I am going to try powder coat .I only use lee push thru sizer, they don't make a .312 or .313 either one of those sizes guess what I would have to do. wanting to try gas checks too. need to set them right

shooting pc out of my hi point c9 right now and it loves them, shot lubed same boolit, all over the place

[LAGS]

Lee makes the push thru sizer in .311 and .314
I have both, and I bought an extra .314 and honed it out to .316.
The .311 works for my three Finnish MN's, and the .314 works for the other MN's and one British.
The .316 is for my AKMN and one two groove Long branch L E

If you cast at .312, then powder coat the bullet, you can size it to .314 for a .312 bore and be Perfect.

[corey012778]

once I get my pc area set back up see where what they come out too. rearranging my shop. just realizing how small it really is.

started the cheek piece, filed, dont have a band saw to do trim the piece of wood to the right start size. can't find the blades for half the saws I do have. order a strap on cheek rest. that should hold until I find everything.

[LAGS]

Most of my rifles have gone thru several modifications thru their life.
I built them with what I had at the time , or when I first started, what I could afford.
But those rifles gave me the skills and Ideas to build my Dream Rifles somewhere down the line.
Dont be shy,
Build it the way you can or want to now.
With the skills you learn, you can always change it later.
Like the Frankinmauser I gave to Armoredman.
It has been in in 4 calibers so far, and three stock designs.
I gave it away, because I have too many other rifles to dink with now.

[corey012778]

I got working on the nose piece and finally worked on my home made removable cheek rest

first the nose piece.
glued and nailed three small pieces of wood to the end of the cut area of the stock
144905 144906 144907

I cheated, I used a hand sander (has a pressure gauge) and 60grit, and carefully shaped the three pieces. added two more to the end of the whole thing, cut a barrel channel (:shock:) only a inch but looks good.

144908 144909 144910

start of the cheek piece. lot of shaping to go on it.
144911

I am going to use wood putty on the whole nose pieces and doing a little more shaping too. going to try my handed at laminating the stock. either could not find wait I wanted or find something that I wanted to use locally so I ordered some.

[LAGS]

Hello Corey.
I dont mean to be critical of your work, and I see what you are trying to do, but I think you are creating more work then you have to.
IE, you could have used rubber bands to hold the peices of wood in place, rather than Nailing them while the glue dried.
Plus you are scabbing wood onto the sides of the front part of the stock to build it up to reshape the nose.
I think it would nave been easier to replace the whole Nose sedtion with a 2x2x3" long peice of wood.
Now, If you dont like the way your nose cap turns out, then you can always, cut your nose cap off and make it the way I described.
Please, understand, I am trying to Teach you other options, and not say you are doing things wrong.
Now , If you are going to Paint your stock. You can build up or Fill in areas with Bondo Body Putty.
It is cheaper or more durable than Wood Putty when applied in any thickness.
Wood putty wont match the wood either.

[LAGS]

Hello Corey.
I dont mean to be critical of your work, and I see what you are trying to do, but I think you are creating more work then you have to.
IE, you could have used rubber bands to hold the peices of wood in place, rather than Nailing them while the glue dried.
Plus you are scabbing wood onto the sides of the front part of the stock to build it up to reshape the nose.
I think it would have been easier to replace the whole Nose sedtion with a 2"x2"x3" long peice of wood.
That would Extend the nose cap, and make it easier to shape new countours rather than just following the lines of the stock, that Now do not apply because it is shorter.
Now, If you dont like the way your nose cap turns out, then you can always, cut your nose cap off and make it the way I described.
Please, understand, I am trying to Teach you other options, and not say you are doing things wrong.
Now , If you are going to Paint your stock. You can build up or Fill in areas with Bondo Body Putty.
It is cheaper or more durable than Wood Putty when applied in any thickness.
Wood putty wont match the wood either.

[Motor]

.314 sizer. now.
the mold I have right now drops right at .312
I am going to try powder coat .I only use lee push thru sizer, they don't make a .312 or .313 either one of those sizes guess what I would have to do. wanting to try gas checks too. need to set them right

shooting pc out of my hi point c9 right now and it loves them, shot lubed same boolit, all over the place

I shoot the Lee 160gr 2R TL. I don't size it for my Mosin Nagants and when using a gas check I install it with the .314" push through size die.

My 91-30 slugged just over .313" and the un-sized boolits work good. But it depends on what diameter your boolits are coming out at.

Although I haven't tried it "they" say you can put a M39 Finnish type trigger in a 91-30. If I was going to be using an original stock the Finn trigger is what I'd use.

Motor

[corey012778]

I see what you are saying, almost did that. I was thinking about adding more to the very front. Was not sure I could do the barrel channel. I think I still can with what have already done.

Talking about bondo, seen where they make a wood putty. Uses the hardner like the body filler.

one idea I have for the nose is to paint it black to mimic a ebony cap.

Before do any finishing work, I will take it out and shot it again see where I stand on it

[LAGS]

The Wood 2x2x3 nose cap I was talking about is installed the same way you install a Ebony Nose Cap, which you can still do later if you want.
Now, to cut the Barrel channel into a new Nose cap ?
All you do is use a wood dowel or even a peice of pipe or electrical EMT conduit wrapped with sandpaper.
I made one out a 12" long peice of 1/2" EMT Conduit that a glued a strip off an Belt sander belt to make a round sanding pole.
The round pole sander shape makes doing the curves of a stock much easier than a flat block ot just holding the sandpaper in your hand.

[corey012778]

Had a curved file and worked the channel with that.

[LAGS]

When I built my first nose caps for the Sporterized rifles I built. ( that was back just after me and Noah Built that big boat )
I made the nose cap out of three pieces of 1x3 x3" hardwood that I glued them together to form a Block.
But the three were not glued in a square block. The center slab of wood was held lower than the other two slabs to partially form a barrel channel.
Once the nose cap was glued onto the squared off end of the stock, using the cleaning rod hole and a 1/4" dowel to locate it and hold it on better, then all I had to do was the final barrel channel shaping, and then the Outside shaping of the nose cap.
You cut the Barrel Channel First, then shape the outside to meet up to the barrel channel.
The barrel channel at the nosecap could also if needed or if you wanted to , Glass bedded to fit with perfect shape, or with clearance between the barrel and nose cap by using tape on the barrel the thickness of the clearance you wanted when glass bedded.

[corey012778]

I did not finish shaping really. I got tired and stopped for the night. took some pics and called it a night.

[corey012778]

ugh, need to finish these stock. life gets in the way. my wife needs to stop making plans to I can get some stuff done. lol

[LAGS]

You just need to go out and shoot the rifle the way it is When You Can.
Then when you have time, get back to finishing it the way you want.
I do wish I still had a Wife, but it is also great not having one right now
But my Ex also enjoyed shooting and loved to watch me work on or build guns.
She gave me all the free time to enjoy my hobby.
But her hobby was spending money that I didn't have, so she is gone.

[corey012778]

waited 2 weeks or so just for 30mins of finish shaping work on the nose of the stock. finished shaping out the short barrel channel. filled the finger grooves for the rear barrel band with bondo. the wood glue I first used, expanded and filled the gaps in the nose. hoping next week to get out to the range and see how it fills before I go to the next step. that would be either bedding the action or "finishing" the stock. if I am going to bed the stock I would like to do that first then finish that way I can clean off the over flow.

[LAGS]

You are right.
Bed, then Finish unless it is a Pre Finished stock.
Same as, Bed, Finish then BLUE.

[corey012778]

not a pre finished stock. stripped it. was going to refinish it from the start.

got the rifle back together. from what I can see now I am going to have to bed even with out shooting it. picked up some jb weld 4 to 6 hour cure. thinking I just should get some accu glass.

[LAGS]

OK, Lets look at the Big Picture.
It is a Sporterized Mosin Nagant , with a Temporary Project stock.
If I were you, I would go ahead and use the JB weld to bed your stock.
Why spend the money on a stock you are just going to install to Shoot, and then put the rifle back to Military Dress someday.
The JB weld will do what you want to do, plus give you the experiance , and it is a material that you have at hand.
And Yes, Bed it, Shoot it, and Blue the metal Later.
It will let you try it out and you can still make changes if you dont like it.
When you have built 10 of these or other rifles, and you know exactly what You want, and what works, then you can do a build Start to Finish.
Use that Stock as a Learning Tool for now.
You are trying to build a shooter. So Shoot It. and if you dont like it, change it.
I have done some rifles 5 times over trying different things.
Bed it, Shoot it, then work on the stock Shape like your Cheek weld or Monte Carlo grip or recoil pad.

[corey012778]

thinking my over all goal with these gun is to place it in an stock blank I have. everything is done for other then the inletting of the action and barrel channel. even have an idea to do most the work with power tools the final finish work the traditional way. going to come up with a game plan it is going to be a while.

[LAGS]

I dont follow you ?
You said you have a Blank , that everything is done except the Inletting for the action and barrel ?
The Inletting is the Second Step in building a stock from a Blank.
Just Cutting it to rough shape is the first step, even when you are roughing one out on a duplicator.
And the duplicator can rough in your inletting.
You inlet the rough cut stock, then bring the Outside in to flow to the metal.
IE, the Tang of the action to the Wrist , or the Grip to the Trigger guard and magazine.

[corey012778]

I bought a preshaped blank a few years ago for a muzzleloader project. Never got around to do it. Just been setting around waiting for the right project


I should know better then post anything right after waking up

[LAGS]

Ok, that makes more sense.
Then the stock is not Finished Shaped, it is just roughed in from a blank.
When I hear blank, I think of a Slab of wood before you shape any of the contours on the outside.
But, I have taken display stocks that had the outside totally finished and were never inletted for any action, then inletted them to fit an action.
They were from a stockmaker that would show customers what type of checkering or shaping he offered.
I have also inletted the stocks that your LGS uses to mount scopes in a rubber block so you can look thru the scope and compare optics.
Like I said, I am a Firearms Recycler, and I let nothing go to waste.
I am also a Cheap SOB and am always on the lookout for a Bargan, or material that I can get for next to nothing.

[corey012778]

I will find time to finish the stock. may not get a chance to do test fire. running out of time for hunting season. if I get everything dialed in. I will try to get some time at the range with these gun

[gunauthor]

I sporterized a pretty beat up looking Mosin-Nagant and used a "Tupperware" (plastic) stock. Used it to get my first deer, a nice 8 point buck.