Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

So this past weekend, I bubba'd up my Mosin Nagant.

I have a 1937 M91/30 that was in really rough shape when it came to me. No front sight, warped wood on the upper leaf of the stock, laminate peeling from the wood, and surface rust on the barrel.

The first part of this project was getting it operational. I dismantled the rifle completely, stripped the bolt apart, polished the trigger, lightly sanded the stock, cleaned off the globs of cosmoline from everything, and put it back together with a new front sight and some TLC. It cleaned up nice.

Part 1: I took it to the range and ran some commie surplus 7.62x54r through it until my shoulder was sore... about 80 rounds worth. ouch. It was awesome! Loud, accurate at 100 yards, and no issues to speak of... except for the shoulder breaking metal butt plate, which I replaced with a cheapie rubber pad for now. I threw some windex down the barrel to neutralize the corrosive salts and called it a day after cleaning the gun up with some Hoppes #9.

Part 2: Adding a bent bolt. This was easy. I used Rock Solid Industry's bent bolt body. I paid more for the bolt than I did for the rifle... but it looks and works excellently. I inlet the busted stock a bit with a round file to accommodate the bolt.

Part 3: I installed a scope mount. Some of you may be familiar with the JMeck scope mount. For those that are not familiar, it's an excellent accessory for your Mosin if you want a no-fuss, no-muss quick & easy scope mount that even I couldn't bugger during installation. Again, I paid more for this part than I did for the rifle itself... but this was incredibly worth it.

Part 4: I mounted a cheap 10-40x50mm Barska scope that I don't mind abusing with the recoil of the 7.62x54R. It took me 3 shots to walk it onto target... and then I was able to put shots #4-9 of cheap commie surplus ammo through the same ragged hole at 100 yards. You can cover the group with a Nickel.



Total cost invested so far:
-$80 for the beater rifle
-$80 for the bent bolt after shipping
-$80 for the scope mount after shipping
-$50 for the 10-40x50 Barska scope
-$15 for scope rings
-$10 for a rubber butt pad
$325 total so far.

Final pieces:
-Timney trigger? The stock trigger is awful, even with the stoning & polishing I gave it.
-BG-Tactical gun stock and bedding pillars. The original stock on mine is jacked up badly, and a high cheekpiece would be great for improved accuracy & ergonomics. The bedding pillars should make modest improvement in accuracy beyond 150 yards.
-Bipod for shooting at the range, sling for shooting in the field.

I know there are purists who think I'm the scum of the earth for doing this to a classic rifle, but the fact is that this gun came to me in terrible shape, and it will soon be a very solidly put together labor of love that will be kept in my family and slinging lead for a long, long time. Also, it will be ultimately cheaper than a Remington 700 in .308 or .30-06 with similar features, and it'll cost 1/5th as much to shoot until the commie surplus ammo dries up.

Links to the bits & pieces:
JMeck Scope Mount (I used the low profile Aluminum mount, lead time of ~8 weeks on orders):
http://www.jmeckscopemounts.com/

Rock Solid Industries for bent bolts & bedding pillars
http://www.rocksolidind.com/mosin-nagant.html

BG Gun Stocks
http://www.bg-gunstocks.com/index.php?p=home

Timney Trigger:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/559350 ... teel-matte

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=1044860

Accessorize your Mosin-Nagant! Turn your military firearm into a showpiece by adding this Kit's killer goodies. No gunsmithing needed!

2-7x32mm Scout Scope:

Blue multi-coated optics deliver bright, crystal clear views.
Waterproof
Shockproof
Fogproof
8.7-10.67" long eye relief
F.O.V. @ 100 yds. is 14' at 2X, 5' at 7X
1" tube is 11"l., 9 ozs., Matte Black finish.

Pair of Weaver® Base Rings:

1" diam. med. profile
2 screws per Ring
2 1/2 ozs.

Rail:

Hard anodized T6061 aluminum mount
Picatinny mount is 6 1/2"l.

Recoil Buttpad:

Adds 1" for up to 40% recoil reduction
Use existing screws.

Sling:

Thick Khaki canvas web
Fully adjustable with leather tabs
Fits 91-30, M44, M38 and M39.

$65

no trigger or bent bolt though.

here are some more bits of use.

http://www.classicfirearms.com/accessor ... ymer-stock $70
has a raised cheek rest.

http://www.classicfirearms.com/accessor ... olt-handle $45
the bent bolt looks kinda ghetto...

http://www.classicfirearms.com/bul54rst $90 = 440 rnds of the best surplus 54 ammo. Like all surplus it is corrosive so keep up on your cleaning

at this rate might as well get another one with accessories for back up http://www.classicfirearms.com/long-gun ... -30-nagant


they used to have 7.62x54 heavy barrels for sale as well. Not sure if they are out or I just can't find them.

Wow, that's pretty good shooting from such a rifle!

Jakeiscrazy wrote:Wow, that's pretty good shooting from such a rifle!

Thanks Jake!

A GREAT website that my friend found for 7.62x54r is this one here:
http://www.dansammo.com/ammo.asp

$177 for 880 rounds of the silver-tip 7.62x54r shipped to your door... probably the best price around by at least $20-40 for that quantity. That's about 5-7 years worth of regular Mosin Nagant range time at the rate I shoot mine!

I ended up ordering a Bluegrass Tactical stock for the raised cheekpiece/eyeline and steeper grip sweep it offers... that should arrive in 3-4 weeks. I also picked up aluminum bedding pillars and an inexpensive bipod. I'm trying to squeeze as much accuracy out of this old stick as I can. I'll see what more I can do with the stock trigger before shelling out for the Timney... I intend to get nickel-sized groups out of this rifle out to 300 yards by the time I'm done with it!

I love my 91/30. I plan on buying another one and modernizing it with this.

2013 Archangel Mosin Nagant stock
http://youtu.be/oapv0tEq1kc

540usmcvet, AWESOME find on that Mosin stock! I don't regret ordering the bluegrass tactical stock one bit, but I think I'm going to need a second Mosin in this stock to go with it. lol Very cool.

jasonallen127 wrote:540usmcvet, AWESOME find on that Mosin stock! I don't regret ordering the bluegrass tactical stock one bit, but I think I'm going to need a second Mosin in this stock to go with it. lol Very cool.

It seems that I now regret writing these words... I jinxed it!

I have had quite the poor experience with Bluegrass Stock Company (BGS). Like that old adage "Impress a customer, and they'll tell their friends. Insult a customer, and they'll tell everyone they talk to", I'm strongly urging others to read 'n' heed my recommendations: AVOID THIS BUSINESS.

The saga goes something like this:

1/16: Order placed for $173.99 + $20 shipping, emailed the stock company that I want a natural Maple finished stock
1/20: BGS emails back stating delays of 3-4 weeks from date ordered.
1/20: I reply back, "No worries. Good things are worth a wait! Thanks for the heads up on the backorder - just let me know when it ships!"
2/13: 4 week follow up email sent, as I've received no update.
2/23: 5 1/2 week follow up email sent, as I've received no update.
2/26: BGS sens out a generic "We’ve made some important changes with how Bluegrass Gunstock Co provides customer service" email. Not a personal response, no update on my order, now @ 6 weeks.
3/2: I follow up again.
3/2: BGS replies: "We had a death in the family, which led to us needing to recalculate our shipment times due to funeral arrangements and services. Based on your order date, we expect to ship your stock by the end of the week of March 15th."
3/5: I reply with my condolences, and thank them for getting back to me.
3/15: No stock, no update from them.
3/19: Follow up email sent, as I've received no update.
3/21: Follow up email sent, as I've received no update.
3/22: Follow up email sent, asking for a refund if they can't deliver.
3/23: BGS replies, my stock is being worked on, but offering a full refund, partial refund of shipping.
3/23: I reply asking them to keep working on it, no shipping refund necessary. If someone does work for me, they get paid for that work. I ask when WILL it ship?
4/2: BGS replies: "Mr Allen, Your stock WILL ship by this Friday, April 2. It's taken us longer than we had expected, hoped for, but with our new hires we've gone from about 8 stocks a week, to consistently close to double that."
4/5: YAY! It finally shipped!!!!!
4/9: Stock received, fit and finish is very nice. Rifle dropped in and installed in less than 5 minutes. I cycle the bolt, and dry fire it, and *CRACK* the stock splits vertically on the top of the palm swell on both sides of the grip. Son-of-a... So I take a closer look. The majority of the stock is one solid piece, but they have seen fit to carve down the stock blank on the grip, and laminate a different wood to the sweep of the grip... This means the only solid piece of that stock is 3/4" of maple down the tang of the grip. I wouldn't fire this gun with 7.62x54R in it! No way, no how. That's just asking for a blown up rifle in your teeth.
4/9: I request a refund politely. No answer.
4/15: I demand a refund sternly.
4/15: BGS writes:
"Mr Allen,
What you have is a cross laminated grip. You have the separation at the surface of the joint, it's not a crack, it's not a split. It's not a defect. The strength of the stock has not been compromised nor it's ability to hold true in any way.
The cross laminated grip is at least 10x stronger than the original stock. We're switching all of our tactical stocks over to this method as field trials by active military shooters pointed out the advantages in doing so.

We are going to start using a v-groove highlight to better show the joint and perhaps make it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but that stock is stronger than any single piece stock.

If you are still not happy and would like your money back, I can get it processed through paypal and get the stock shipped back to us this week.

Customer Service"

None of this BS about what they're doing on their new stocks matters to me. I have a broken product in my hands that I can't use. The crack is large enough that I can fit a dime into the stock on either side of the stock. I clearly asked for a refund, and they are clearly stalling.

4/15: I email them reitterating that I will only accept a refund. No response.
4/16: I email them again.
4/16: BGS writes: "My son will get a UPS call tag tonight and send you the info. We will refund the money as soon as we get it."

Fellow shooters, avoid these knuckleheads. They're unreliable and their product is an overpriced, slow-to-deliver, absolute disappointment.

I need a Mosin.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Mosins are still great and cheap fun.


Jason, that looks like quite the nightmare.

Just ordered one from AIM. Can't wait to try her out!

got my 91/30 from Aim surplus. I am one happy camper! Can't wait to take it to the range and make some fireballs.