Hi All! How do the Mosin Nagant rifles shoot with cast? Or how do they shoot with ( gasp!) the factory stuff? That little M38 rifle feels so good in my hands! Mausers were my first love..... But these seem to be fine rifles too-If they shoot. Dale

Went to a sale that was going on word of mouth. A local machinist turned gunsmith in his golden years wound up in the nurseing home terminal so the family was selling things in his shop. I heard about it late but did get a few things including some 30 cal cast sized 308. I tried some in my 2 Mosins and the limited shooting I did with them they grouped great. I bet cast sized 311 or 12 would even be better. One thing about Mosins compared to Mausers the Mosins you can see the sights I hate Mauser sights too darn fine for older eyes they were made for 18 year olds for sure! Not sure which mag but at the news stand the other day I saw a article Mosin VS Mauser shootout. The Mosins won hand down. Again I figure the sights have something to do with that. Mosins have had a rep for shooting well though even with bores in not perfect shape. Jim

I would believe it ( Mosins winning in accuracy) as Mauser ammo is a big ?. The Mausers I have had in various .30 cals ALL shot well if not wonderful.I pulled some 8 mm stuff and the bullets were junk! Absolute garbage. My experience with the other Russian stuff (other calibers) is pretty good. Their ammo is usually pretty good. They make good barrels.

I would like to try the Finnish rifles....I hear good things about them too.

I went to the eye doctor & he helped my sight picture a little- I can see the front sight again- hurray! Dale

Dale, The Finnish Nagants, e.g., Models 28/30 (hard to find) and 39, are indeed excellent CB shooters. Should you purchase one, you'll have to slug the bore first to determine the "correct" diameter of the CB's. E.g, my 28/30's require a .311" CB while the Mod. 39 requires .312". All will shoot within 1-2 m.o.a., depending on your eyesight, shooting technique, CB design, etc. However, unless you can find a Finnish Nagant in VG-Excellent condition at no more than $150, may I suggest you look for a K-31 Swiss (7.5 x 55mm) instead? They are equally accurate, excellent CB shooters and can be had at considerably less than $150. ...Maven

hi Paul! Thank you for your swift reply. I see some 'unissued' Finnish rifles in the SHOTGUN NEWS... a little steep for me as I am cheap!.....but still, a rifle made 30-40 years ago and new might be worth it.

I think that would make a terriffic 'collection' ...the old WW2 era boltguns....Fun in more ways than one! Look at , handle, and shoot! I like the idea of cast bullets in these guns.... old guns probably shouldn't be hot rodded...and cast bullets would take a long,long time to wear the bore.

I am told that the Swiss rifles are indeed a joy to shoot! I have only handled one...never shot it. I wondered about the brass though... Thanks, Dale

As you noted Graf's does have Hornady-made brass for the 7.5x55 at reasonable prices. If you don't want that for some reason or another, .284 Winchester brass run through your 7.5x55 sizing die should work equally as well...or at least it sure does in my K-31.



As to the Nagant rifles, they are not all created equally. As far as i am concerned, I prefer the Finns' M-28/30...it not only has the heaviest barrel of the lot, it has a screw adjustable windage mechanism for the front sight. Mine (an SKY) reliably shoots both Privi Partisan 174 gr. soft-nose ammo and my own handloads with 180 gr. bullets and IMR-4064 into 1" or less for 5 shots at 100 yards with iron sights.



As to CB's, the important part of the barrel to slug is the throat of the chamber. Bullets which correctly fit the throat will both shoot accurately and greatly reduce any chance of leading problems. ("Correctly fit" means as close to full throat diameter as you can get without causing bullets to be "pulled" by sticking in the rifling if you have to unchamber a loaded round.)



AC

Dale, As Alberta Canuck said, brass for both the K-31's and 7.62 x 54R's is available both from Graf & Son, the latter from Midway too (Lapua, but labeled 7.62 x 53R). Btw, both the M28/30's and the M 39's have front sights that are [screw] adjustable for windage. ...Maven