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!