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| Article by
Jamie Mangrum |
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Adobe PDF
Downloadable Version of Article |
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A couple of years ago I wrote
an article titled
Lil' Black Beauty. In the article I took a
Mosin m44 Carbine that some prior owner had
done
a really bad hack-saw job while trying to remove the bayonet
lug. I picked
her up for a song and decided since she was
already Bubba'd that I would use her for my
first and only sporterization project where I
permanently modify the original military rifle. I really
like the balance of the small Mosin carbine.
They are very simple to operate, virtually
indestructible, and chambered in a cartridge
capable of taking any dangerous game in North
America (including those of the two legged
type). In my opinion the Mosin
carbine makes for an
excellent camp carbine. |
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| Boyds' Gunstock Industries has released a
Mosin-Nagant Sporter Style stock that will fit
pretty much all of the Mosin-Nagants and
variants with some minor inletting required. The stock
I received was unfinished and had a very nice
grain to the Walnut. I decided to pull Lil'
Black Beauty out and update her with a little
more traditional and elegant look by replacing
the ATI Black Stock. |
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Boyd's Supplied Product Description |
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Part
Number:
300-158
Description:
RIA Sportsman MOSIN NAGANT MIL BC STOCK
Walnut (VIP)
Price:
$56.52 |
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Note: Before starting your project disassemble
your
Mosin-Nagant and clean it. You don’t want any
grease or oil to stain the wood. |
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Stock Prep: As can be seen in figure 2,
I needed to inlet the stock a small amount
before Beauty would fit properly. Inletting is
not a job for the impatient. You really want to
remove just the right amount of wood until the
stock fits your particular receiver and barrel
properly. Note: Remove only a little wood
at a time, you can always inlet more, but
replacing wood is difficult. It is also a good idea to perform all
of your stock inletting and modifications prior
to finishing the stock with whatever finish you
choose. |
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All I had to inlet was
a very small amount of wood right at the
point of the stock near where the bolt enters the rear
of the receiver. Once I did this I was able to
rest the receiver in the stock and align the
holes properly. It is a very snug fit around the
receiver which is very good. I also removed a small amount
of wood from within the barrel channel to allow
the barrel to float freely. To accomplish this I used a
wooden dowel
rod, wrapped with sandpaper, the size of the barrel. |
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Next I installed the trigger
guard and tightened down the screws. I made
certain to tighten the front guard screw
completely followed by the tang screw. I then
returned the bolt to the receiver and marked
where I needed to inlet on the right side of the
stock so the bolt handle would close
completely. I then removed the bolt and using a
round file, I filed the stock a small amount followed by placing the bolt in the
receiver and checking to see if the handle would close.
I continued filing and testing until the bolt closed fully without
indenting the stock. |
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Once everything fit properly I
disassembled the carbine and moved onto sanding
the exterior surface of the stock. I tried out
some new sanding pads from 3M products that I
found. I purchased them at Home Depot and they
cost only around $3 each. They are a great idea
for a rifle stock because they conform to the
shape of the stock. I started lightly sanding
with the 120 grit pad, followed by the 220 grit
pad, and then ended up finally with the 320 grit
pad. I have to say I really like these pads.
When you are finished all you do is rinse the
pads off and they are ready to go again for your
next project.
Finish: I decided to go with a hand
rubbed Tung Oil Finish. After I cleaned the
stock's surface of any dust with a clean cotton
rag I applied my first coat of Tung Oil. I chose
Tung Oil for this project because it seals
nicely and forms a semi-gloss finish that is
really easy to take care of. Also Tung Oil
darkens quite a bit so staining was pretty much
not required. After I had fully coated the stock
with an ample coat of the Tung Oil I removed any
excess and let it dry for about 20 minutes. I
followed this with a good buffing with a clean,
lint free rag. Per the Tung Oil instructions I set
the stock aside and let it dry for 24 hours. I
repeated the application, buffing, and then let
dry for 24 hours regimen, four times total. For
your project you should repeat this process
until you reach the finish
that suits you. Remember, finishing is not
something that is accomplished over night. The
nicer the finish, the longer it takes and the
more work involved. Be patient. It will pay off. |
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Once I was finished applying the Tung Oil finish I
reassembled the carbine. Figure 5 shows the
completed project. I no longer feel it is proper to
refer to her has Black Beauty, so now I just call
her -
Beauty.
The stock is very nice looking and a solid piece of
walnut furniture. Boyds' did a very good job in the
amount of pre-inletting. Final inletting was a very easy
job of moving from "out of box" to "finished fit". The
only task that was time consuming was my choice of
finish and I don't know about you but I really enjoy
applying a finish to a stock and then watching it over a
period of several applications and days as my final
finish rises to the surface. It gives me a real sense of
craftsman like accomplishment.
Thanks Boyds' for making a great product.
Stay tuned because Boyds' is coming out with a
military replacement stock for the Mosin-Nagants. Should
be as great a product as their other military
replacement stocks. |
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jlm;) |
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Adobe PDF
Downloadable Version of Article |
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