Re: mosin nagant
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wannashootit</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks. Appreciate the input.
Sounds like you put a lot of thought (and time) into the fabrication.
I agree about the Rock Solid. I wish they could come up with a different type of support, maybe a heavy thick rod, that could be extended to the side of the rear receiver for support instead of the entire bulky mount with the set screw. You have to drill and tap there anyway, something less obtrusive would be an improvement.
I'm hoping it's a good enough shooter to make the effort worthwhile. Are they capable at long range?
Also, since you know your Mosin "stuff"...
If the accuracy doesn't pan out to what I want (around 2 moa) I was considering one of the new UK-59 MG barrels that are being sold. I've seen a couple of them used for conversions and if you believe what you read online they're tack drivers with those barrels, albiet very heavy beasts. Have you ever done, or considered that conversion? My smith says it's not too big a deal to fit those barrels to the action. </div></div>
MN is capable at long range, but to tell you the truth, I do not think common MN will do as good as full custom version. You would likely need to replace the barrel with something heavy, do all trigger stuff, which is not limited to just sticking Timney in it, and most likely, use barrel bedding block instead of action bedding if you REALLY want to shoot beyound 800 meters. Finns actually used barrel bedding blocks with free floating receivers to make long range MN based tackdrivers, they also think MN receiver is too weak to support free floating HEAVY barrel, which may answer your question about UK-59 barrel. I never did barrel upgrades, and always used original barreled actions in good condition. But I can tell you that removing MN barrel is a REAL pain in the butt, it's not Mauser. I also think it will be very expensive to do UK-59 based modification, so get ready to invest some serious bucks if you're using some hired help. I trust your gunsmith is a good guy, but if he never touched MN before, it will take him some time and effort to get it right. Ammo, of course, is a factor, handloads or russian "Extra" sporting ammo will do the trick, this is really no big deal.. Also, Barnaul made 203 gr. SP hunting ammo is quite accurate as is, and has very, very impressive "kill" performance on medium and large game.
<span style="text-decoration: underline">Brand new </span>UK-59 barrel may work, with some extra machining, including profiling - but be ready to carry 17-19 lbs. rifle. Not my cup of tea. My objective was to create smooth, compact and lightweight scoped rifles with refined triggers, reduced recoil and flash for use in woods or mountains, as rugged and handy as possible, and packing a good punch, which 7.62x54R provides with ease. My stuff is certainly <span style="text-decoration: underline">not</span> long range, but just a practical solution to the specific objective. Aluminum stocks and short barrels work extremely well for consistency, and muzzle brakes (my own design, with some expansion chamber inside) cut recoil to comfortable level and take good care of the flash.
In general, I would not personally use MG barrel for MN, too much work and results are not guaranteed. Instead, I would get barreled action with the best bore possible, with good chamber free of erosion, then cut length of the barrel to below 24", re-crown, free float the barrel, desirably use muzzle brake, fix original trigger by changing sear engagement angle, possibly do receiver bedding and, of course, scope the rifle. That will get you a nice .30 cal compact rifle with some "short range precision" capabilities.
Last thing - old barreled actions are mostly free of any stresses left after original machining, as 50-70 years is a good time frame for natural stress removal. Helps a bit with accuracy/consistency just because of that...
