Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle

Article Contributed by: Ernie Burdick

After seeing the movie "Enemy at the Gates" I decided that I wanted to get a Mosin-Nagant rifle. I started checking the papers for ads and found several at my local Big-5 sporting good store. After looking over the M1891/30 rifle, I felt it was just too long for my intended use. I then looked at an M44 carbine, the length was correct but the bayonet on the right side felt kind of weird to me so I passed it up as well.

Then I found an M38 carbine which has no bayonet but is the same dimensions as the M44. The M38 was just what I was looking for so, I bought it.

My M38 was manufactured in 1943 at the Tula arsenal. It is in really good condition with about 85% of the original blueing. The stock has only a few dings and no cracks. After I disassembled the carbine, which has got to be the easiest I've ever taken down, I cleaned it up. The stock has a really nice dark tone to it with bright and shiny sling hardware. The bolt is bright and also was very easy to disassemble and clean.

After I reassembled the carbine and checked the head space I was ready to go to the range. After a few boxes of ammo I found that this carbine really kicks.

I wanted this to be my chance to try some of my new gunsmithing skills.

First, a list of what I wanted:

muzzle brake (to help cut the kick down a notch or two).
Bent bolt (A must have with any scope mounted over the bore).
Recoil pad (Beartooth Neoprene slip-on with multiple foam pads).
Improved open sights (Mojo aperture sight is the ticket here).
Scope mounting system (I wanted one which at least looks like the original PU type mounting system).
Scope, a PO 4x24 short tube if possible
Improved trigger (The new Huber Concepts Mosin Nagant trigger).

The muzzle brake was easy to install, however it wasn't the easiest to find. After much searching I went to Numrich Gun Parts Corp (www.e-gunparts.com). Numrich has one of the greatest parts catalog ever published and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs parts or just love to look at the exploded view drawings of your favorite gun. I found that they had a muzzle brake patterned after the AK-74 design. It slips over the front sight and twists behind it. A set screw on the bottom of it helps keep it in place. Cost was $32.10. I replaced the set screw with a shorter stainless steel screw that is flush when tightened down. I was amazed at the performance of this break at the range. It keeps the muzzle down and really does help reduce the "felt" recoil. I say "felt" because some believe this to be psychological rather than real. For me, it is "real". When combined with the Beartooth recoil pad, I can shoot factory ammo all day and not feel beat up at the end.

While looking for the muzzle brake at Numrich Gun Parts Corp, I found that they had bent handle bolts for the M1938 for only $21.30. For this price, I ordered one. I had wanted to order a bent bolt from "Jim the Boltman" (see "Odds and Ends: lil black beauty" article) and wrote him. He has been busy and his bolt orders were back logged from 3 to 4 months. His are exactly like the original bolts and are the best price in the business. I'll still order one, but in the mean time, this one works.

The Beartooth recoil pad was found at The Sportsman's Guide (www.sportsmanguide.com) for $14.97. I have several of these and they are great. It comes with 4 pads varying in thickness fro 1/4" to 1/2". The pads can also be trimmed down to fit any size butt plate.

Next, I ordered from Mojo Sighting Systems their aperture sight for the Mosin Nagant (www.mojosights.com/mosin_nagant.html). It will fit the M38, M44, M91/30, and M91/59 rifles. The cost was $43.95. This is a quality made sight which simply replaces the existing rear sight. It has an aperture which is adjustable in both elevation AND windage using allen screws. The peep sight is an easier way of sighting, the eye naturally tries to center the front sight in the aperture. This also allows for easier target acquisition, especially for older eyes like mine. Now the trick here is to NOT lose the tiny allen wrench which they also provide.

Try looking for scope mounts for Mosin Nagants and you will more than likely find only two types, a scout mount (B-Square, S&K, or the ATI scope mount) . I really wanted a more authentic scope mount for this rifle so I looked high and low. I found one from Inter-Ordnance of America (www.interordnance.com), an M-91/30 Style Scope Mount for $59.95. This scope mount is a replica of the original Soviet "PU" scope mount except that they added a standard Weaver scope rail. The mount comes is in two parts, the base and the bracket which has the rail attached. No mounting instructions came with it so I had to figure it for myself. After doing research on the rifle at www.mosin-nagant.net, I was ready to mount it.

First, I removed the barreled receiver from the stock. I set the action up in my padded vice rotated 90 degrees clockwise so the left side of the action was facing up. I had already marked the receiver where I wanted the mounting bracket to be located. I made sure that the bracket was not interfering with the ejector/spring. The mount can't be touching or make any contact with the ejector during operation. I held the mount in place with rubber bands and marked the center of the mounting holes with a center punch. The screws included are HUGE and I couldn't match them with any tap I had so I had to make a trip to my local hardware store for replacements. I found a standard drill and tap set with a large drill and tap. I found two hex drive screws to match and used them. I started out with small drills and worked my way up to the right size drill bit. I found that the larger the drill, the slower the speed should be, otherwise you'll burn up the bits. I also used lots of machine oil on the bits. Once this was done, I tapped the two holes and tested the screws in each. Next I attached the mount. Even though I was being careful with the location of the mount, the mount still managed to touch the ejector once I mounted it to the receiver. Off came the mount and I went back to the bench with a file. After much filing and testing, it was finally clear of the ejector.

After mounting the base, I set the action in the stock to see where the mount bracket was going to contact the stock. I marked the stock, removed the action and got out my rotary tool. I marked on the stock with a pencil how far down and across I would have to cut. I used a cutting bit and started going at it. finally I had removed a large rectangular chunk from my stock and test fitted the action for fit. The fit was good so next I sanded it down and sealed it. Next I removed the mount base and reblued it along with the mount bracket. When this was done I oiled both parts and then wiped them down.

I reattached the mount base and bracket and then tested the setup with my new bent bolt. Aghh! The bent bolt smacked right into the Weaver rail.

This new dilemma left me with three options:

Wait for a new bolt (3-4 months),
Move the scope rings forward of where the bolt handle strikes the rail,
Move the rail.

I tried my second option but the bolt handle was still striking the rail and made bolt operation very difficult. I took the mount bracket off the rifle and went back to my work bench. I proceeded to cut the two arms off of the rail. I then filed and smoothed the edges and repositioned the rail to the left on the remaining arms. I tested this with the bolt and it now cleared the rail easily. So back to the drill press to drill holes in the rail and the two arms. I tapped the holes in the arms and remounted the rail. I made the rear hole in the rail a slot, this way the front hole acts as a pivot point and the rear can be shifted left or right to compensate for being off-bore to the rifle now.

I wanted a PO 3.5x17 scope for this project but couldn't find one available. I went back to my friends at Kalinkaoptics (www.kalinkaoptics.com) and found a PO 4x24 S w/ 400 m Illuminated Rangefinding Reticule Scope. This is a nice small, range finding scope out to 400 m. and goes very well with the rifle. The fact that it is also made in Russia is something that I find most appropriate. This scope has a red illuminated reticule for poor light conditions. It has 6 settings (1-5 and OFF). I discovered that the lowest setting is 5 and 1 is the brightest setting. At first I thought that it was broken, this opposite of most of my red dot scopes. Did I mention that it comes with lens covers and a scope cover which is waterproof. Lastly, it came with a manual, which is entirely in Russian! no English except for the web address on the back. I mounted it and it is a great setup, I'm very happy with it.

The last thing I did was to order the Huber trigger for Mosin Nagant rifles. Suffice it to say, that this is one of the easiest triggers to install, ever. The final result is a trigger, though it still has the usual amount of military creep, that breaks cleanly and very crisp.

Well, my project is finished, except for getting a new bolt from Jim and someday finding a PO 3.5x17 scope. This has been a real learning experience for me and I always appreciate the great articles found on this website. In fact, just last night I slugged this barrel to see what it really measured. The article was straight forward and easy to follow. My barrel has lands at .311 and grooves at .313 in.

Thanks guys!

Ernie Burdick