newbie help question on m38

[Neomentat]

Hi everyone , I'm new to the board and new to guns in general. I have a few question regarding the Mosin M38, I'm looking into hunting boars.

Just bought a M38 from big5 for $80 bucks, clean rifle, no cosmoline, clean bore, but none matching serial number. The serial number is actually weird, at first look it looks like matching, however the last digit on the barrel is a 7 where the last digit everywhere else is a 1, but you can't really tell unless you inspect it closely. The bolt is "very" tight on closing, this rifle seems to be in very good condition, but I've never bought a used rifle before, much less a milsurp, will this rifle be safe to shoot from?

I also have another question on ammo, basically I've found 2 types of soft point ammo , the Igman 150 gr SP and the Brownbear 203gr SP, there's no price difference between them. Which one would be better for big game hunting? What's the difference between a lower grain and a higher grain ammo?

Thank you all in advance for helping me out.

[DWARREN123]

The correct answer is have a gunsmith check it out before firing, having said that I never have. As for ammo buy both and see which the rifle likes best, both should be good for deer size animals.
Good luck and have fun with your new to you gun!:flame:

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by Neomentat

Hi everyone , I'm new to the board and new to guns in general. I have a few question regarding the Mosin M38, I'm looking into hunting boars.

Just bought a M38 from big5 for $80 bucks, clean rifle, no cosmoline, clean bore, but none matching serial number. The serial number is actually weird, at first look it looks like matching, however the last digit on the barrel is a 7 where the last digit everywhere else is a 1, but you can't really tell unless you inspect it closely. The bolt is "very" tight on closing, this rifle seems to be in very good condition, but I've never bought a used rifle before, much less a milsurp, will this rifle be safe to shoot from?

I also have another question on ammo, basically I've found 2 types of soft point ammo , the Igman 150 gr SP and the Brownbear 203gr SP, there's no price difference between them. Which one would be better for big game hunting? What's the difference between a lower grain and a higher grain ammo?

Thank you all in advance for helping me out.

Go with the Igman as it will take down pretty much anything at 100 yards...and it is brass with boxer primers (relaodable).

Some light reading:

7.62x54r Ammunition Evaluations

[MosinDave]

To answer your question about ammo, a lower grain bullet generally travels at a higher velocity, so you get a flatter trajectory as opposed to a higher grain bullet, which carries a bigger punch but moves a bit slower and drops a bit sooner. All grain represents is the weight of the projectile.

[toolman]

From personal experience, I would stay away from the Igman\Hotshot brands as they are notoriously inconsistent in all areas. The brass is atrocious ie: off-center\incomplete flash holes, inconsistent neck thickness, etc. I fired a few rounds and broke down the rest for components. i measured the powder charges and was amazed to find a .7 grain difference between the high and low ends of the scale. The Brown Bear is much more consistent. I would suggest looking for Wolf or S&B\Win.

[Neomentat]

thank you all for your replies, for some reason everywhere i look the wolf brand is sold out, what gives? i will try a bit of both types of ammo, does the brown bear stuff kick more?

[killer]

Can't comment on the kick since I just got my first Nagant this week but what is Big5 you guys all comment on? I googled up a strictly southwestern chain store. Must be a pretty cool place if your buying Nagant's there?

Last night when I was in Walmart I was horrified to fine the gun display gone. The old guy said only 600 Walmarts nationwide will stock/sell firearms. I bought my Ruger 10/22 stainless from them and eventually a mini-14 because of their display. They would speical order firearms for you too.

The day of 911 they removed all of their firearms from the retail floor. The rumor had floated around they had sold out all firearms but not true.

They will still be selling ammo though the old guy said.

[toolman]

killer, Big 5 is similar to Dunhams. It is mostly shoes and sporting goods but they carry a small selection of commercial guns and mil-surps., but no handguns. You are right, it is primarily a southwest chain. Sometimes their prices are a bit high but they have some good sales-they have some sort of mil-surp on sale just about every week. I've seen M-44's as low as $49.95 and I bought a VZ-24 Mauser from them for $79.95 a few years ago. My biggest regret was passing up a gorgeous mint cond. 91\59 because I was too cheap. I just couldn't bring myself to pay $129.95 for a M\N and now they are really hard to find.

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by toolman

From personal experience, I would stay away from the Igman\Hotshot brands as they are notoriously inconsistent in all areas. The brass is atrocious ie: off-center\incomplete flash holes, inconsistent neck thickness, etc. I fired a few rounds and broke down the rest for components. i measured the powder charges and was amazed to find a .7 grain difference between the high and low ends of the scale. The Brown Bear is much more consistent. I would suggest looking for Wolf or S&B\Win.

200 rounds of Igman and never a problem with the M44. But I have not reloaded them yet. Pattern at 100 yards is as good or better than Bear (which I really liked) , and equal to Winchester (at $17 a box). Which Mosin are your shooting? Maybe that is the difference.

[toolman]

Originally Posted by Geo M44

200 rounds of Igman and never a problem with the M44. But I have not reloaded them yet. Pattern at 100 yards is as good or better than Bear (which I really liked) , and equal to Winchester (at $17 a box). Which Mosin are your shooting? Maybe that is the difference.

The pattern wasn't that much of an issue as I was just plinking at cans. I had a couple of rounds that just didn't feel right so i inspected the brass and spotted the off-center flash holes and necks. In all fairness, it may have been just a bad lot but I just didn't like the looks of the brass. All rounds were fired in a 1943 Sako M-39 that shoots wonderfully ie: one hole groups @ 50 yds.

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by toolman

The pattern wasn't that much of an issue as I was just plinking at cans. I had a couple of rounds that just didn't feel right so i inspected the brass and spotted the off-center flash holes and necks. In all fairness, it may have been just a bad lot but I just didn't like the looks of the brass. All rounds were fired in a 1943 Sako M-39 that shoots wonderfully ie: one hole groups @ 50 yds.

Thanks for the input Toolman. I will check the Igman when I reload next week. I have to admit the brass is not quite as pretty as the Winchester, but for $6.95 a box...

.... like I said the proof will be in the reloads (180 Grain Speer round nose). I'll post the results in a couple of weeks.

[OldShooter]

I only shoot military surplus in my Mosins and never had a problem. They are corrosive so I have do a good job of cleaning.

[Neomentat]

just picked up my M38 today, !!!! it's a beauty. The action is smooth, the bore is bright and shinny, the wooden stock is in almost perfect condition except for a few scratches. And the serial turned out to be all matching, man i'm addicted to these mosins.

I hope this will be good for hunting, not too sure on how to check for headspace though. And I want to buy a M91/30 laminated stock one now from classic, they look so nice. Any commends?

[PaulTBarton]

I've purchased my first M38 about 2 weeks ago.
Bore is shiny, stock has 4 fingerprints of the person who touched (handled) the stock while the finish was still wet! Trigger is really light and pulls smoothly. I tested another MN-M38 at GI Joes and it's trigger was really tough.

It has what looks like a M44 stock (bayonet notch). The rear band has a star stamped into it while the front band has the triangle. The barrel has a different number underneath (hidden by the stock) that the number on top.

I have a crate of silver-tip ammo (Czech), 100 rds of yellow-band, 2 boxes of Winchester ammo and 2 boxes of GI Joes (black box) ammo. Wanted to try different kinds, obviously.

Also, I wanted to use a bore brush and couldn't figure out how to connect it to the M38 cleaning rod. So, I went to Ace Hardware and picked up an aluminum sleeve (threaded spacer) that has the correct threads. It fits the M38 cleaning rod and any of the commercial bore brushes, same thread!

First shooting; went to "English Pit" in Vancouver, WA. I hope that they re-open soon. Will have to go to "Clarks" as the shooting places in Oregon cost way too much for public shooting. The rifle shoots about 8 inches high at 50yds. I noticed that the underside of the rear sight has file marks all over it, is this arsenal re-sighting? If so, can I just file it a bit more to lower the sight picture or raise the front pin sight?

Paul T Barton

[toolman]

Originally Posted by PaulTBarton

I've purchased my first M38 about 2 weeks ago.
Bore is shiny, stock has 4 fingerprints of the person who touched (handled) the stock while the finish was still wet! Trigger is really light and pulls smoothly. I tested another MN-M38 at GI Joes and it's trigger was really tough.

It has what looks like a M44 stock (bayonet notch). The rear band has a star stamped into it while the front band has the triangle. The barrel has a different number underneath (hidden by the stock) that the number on top.

I have a crate of silver-tip ammo (Czech), 100 rds of yellow-band, 2 boxes of Winchester ammo and 2 boxes of GI Joes (black box) ammo. Wanted to try different kinds, obviously.

Also, I wanted to use a bore brush and couldn't figure out how to connect it to the M38 cleaning rod. So, I went to Ace Hardware and picked up an aluminum sleeve (threaded spacer) that has the correct threads. It fits the M38 cleaning rod and any of the commercial bore brushes, same thread!

The rifle shoots about 8 inches high at 50yds. I noticed that the underside of the rear sight has file marks all over it, is this arsenal re-sighting? If so, can I just file it a bit more to lower the sight picture or raise the front pin sight?

Paul T Barton

Welcome to G&G Paul. The easiest way is to slip a piece of heat-shrink tubing over the pin and then trim it a little at a time until you get to the right point-of-aim. I prefer to take the ft. sight off and replace the pin with a roll pin installed a bit high and then tap or file the pin downward until it's right.

[ninwnc]

Originally Posted by Neomentat

just picked up my M38 today, !!!! it's a beauty. The action is smooth, the bore is bright and shinny, the wooden stock is in almost perfect condition except for a few scratches. And the serial turned out to be all matching, man i'm addicted to these mosins.

MOSINITAS STRIKES AGAIN ! Once you smell that russian cosmoline, you're hooked for life. <G>

I hope this will be good for hunting, not too sure on how to check for headspace though. And I want to buy a M91/30 laminated stock one now from classic, they look so nice. Any commends?

............
I have bought 3 rifles from Classic Arms in the last few months. They are honest in their representation of the rifles, and honest people to deal with.

I also want a laminated M 91/30, BUT, I want a CHROMED, laminated, M91/30. They are plumb purdy. LOL

Welcome to G&G.

Nick

[alex12/7]

Thx toolman for your frt sight tips; much appreciated

[toolman]

Any time bro. I've thought about drilling\tapping one to use an adjustable SKS sight pin but haven't tried it yet.

[PaulTBarton]

Originally Posted by toolman

Welcome to G&G Paul. The easiest way is to slip a piece of heat-shrink tubing over the pin and then trim it a little at a time until you get to the right point-of-aim. I prefer to take the ft. sight off and replace the pin with a roll pin installed a bit high and then tap or file the pin downward until it's right.

Went to another shooting place Saturday. One of the guys there
suggested that I use a different sight picture, one where the front
sight pinis put to the bottom of the notch. We did and got target black.
I have been using this new sight pictureand it seemsto work great.

Paul

[PaulTBarton]

That's "Sight Pin" --- Argh!