Building The Ultimate Mosin Nagant

     

     Most firearms enthusiasts are acquainted with the Mosin Nagant rifle.  Rugged, simple, and inexpensive, it can be found among the racks of almost any gun shop or show across America.  Most of these old warhorses come caked in a heavy layer of cosmoline, sporting a finish made of a mixture of varnish and Olga's toenails.  I have a special place in my heart for these old guns, however, as the Mosin Nagant was the first of my expanding collection.  Ordered online for $75, the Mosin was definitely affordable, and I saw great potential for some neat upgrades.  Just how comfortable, smooth, and accurate could I make it?  I was going to find out!  

     Upon a trip to the range, I discovered that, using old surplus ammo, the rifle produced 5-inch groups at roughly 100 yards.  This was simply unacceptable.  The iron sights didn't do much for me either, so a scope was now in order.  I had seen, on many occasions, Mosins fitted with pistol scopes placed on mounts that affixed to the rear sight base.  The quality of these mounts was rather cheap so I began searching for an alternative that would still not require that I drill and tap the receiver or screw to the side of the stock.  The solution came in the form of the Jmeck Scope Mount.  

     Made of high strength anodized aluminum or steel (your choice), the Jmeck Scope Mount attaches to the rifle via a metal band that wraps securely around the receiver.  It can fasten to both the hex and round receiver models of the Mosin Nagant, and is fitted with a Weaver rail.  The scope mount was super easy to install and even after 200 rounds or so my old Weaver K2.5 scope never lost zero.  The one major change this mount requires, however, is the addition of a turned down bolt handle.  These can easily be ordered online and can often be customized to your specifications.

     Next on my list of changes was a new stock to alleviate some of the accuracy issues.  The original military stocks often allow movement of the action when the rifle is shot, and the fore end can sometimes apply uneven pressure in spots along the barrel, opening up groupings considerably.  There are several schools of thought when it comes to fixing this issue.  Some consider it best to bed the barrel and action, while others choose to free float the barrel and simply bed the action alone.  I chose to free float and proceeded to order a Featherweight Thumbhole stock from Boyd's Gunstocks in Royal Jacaranda finish.  These stocks do require a good amount of work to fit properly but the end result is well worth it.  The resulting range test showed that my groupings had shrunk from 5" at nearly 100 yards to 1".  I was very pleased and decided to test the rifle at longer distances, still using the same surplus ammo.  A 12" steel plate at 545 yards was an easy target with this new setup and I was able to ring it with every shot.  

     So there you have it!  Next time you are at a gun shop or show pick up one of these old beauties!  With a little bit of work it may just surprise you!  Happy hunting!             

       

Shotgun Adapters: Where a 12 Gauge meets a .22

     We all know that, in the firearms world, the shotgun is pretty much the Swiss Army knife of the bunch.   Whether you are hunting small game, fowl, or deer, a good shotty will pretty much cover all the bases.  Why not take it a step further?  This is where shotgun adapters come into play.  They allow you to convert that boomstick into a plethora of calibers from 12 gauge to .22 and all in between.

     I recently ordered one of these adapters from shotgunadapter.com for my little 12 gauge Belgian side by side.  I carry it while backpacking in the Georgia wilderness, so having the option to shoot multiple calibers out of the same gun just made sense.  I decided to go with the 12 gauge to .22 model as I can carry quite a few .22's without adding much extra weight to my pack.  It can handle both .22 LR and .22 shorts, allowing me to carry whatever I might have on hand.

Made of very nice quality steel, the 2 3/4" adapter slides easily into the chamber of my shotgun.

  Now, even though this is a handy gadget to have, I wouldn't go getting rid of your trusty .22 rifle.  A range test showed that accuracy is something to be desired with this product.  Void of any rifling, its short barrel reduces your range to around 7 yards.  I didn't, however, have any difficulty removing the spent casings from the adapter, so reloading was a breeze.  For $23.95 it's a neat little gizmo to have, and I think every shotgun owner would enjoy keeping a couple in their range bag. I hope to add a few more calibers to my collection as well.  Happy hunting!

Removing Rust & Bluing With... Molasses!?!

     Yes, you read the title correctly.  I don't know who came up with this idea, perhaps grandma found her shotgun more suited to stirring her famous cookie mix.  However it came about, this solution works like a charm!  I had recently come home from a quiet little gun show in Rome, GA with a sweet little Belgian beater side by side.  It was rusted from end to end, and the stock looked like it had been left in a tub of salt water.  It had character though, and since I'm a sucker for that, I just had to have it.  Once I got it home I decided to try a new trick for removing all that rust and the sad remainder of the bluing.  I grabbed my trusty five gallon bucket and filled it with water and three quarts of molasses from my local supermarket. In went the barrel and all the metal parts.

 I let it all sit for around four days, mixing it occasionally.  After I removed it from the solution, I rinsed off all of the parts with warm water and gave each of them a good polishing with 0000 steel wool.  To my surprise the bluing and rust seemed to have melted right off, leaving a bright and shiny finish on all of the metal.  A quick and easy bluing job was now in order, so I purchased a favorite bluing kit of "Van's Instant Gun Blue".  The wood was then restored using "Arrow Wood Finish".  (You can read about and order these products by viewing the "Great Products" page).  I left the sideplates and hammers untouched.  It has a rustic quality that I love and shoots black powder handloads like a dream.  Happy hunting!