Round 2 at the range after I cleaned my new M38 with Hoppes, Butch's Bore Shine, Break Free Bore Cleaning Foam and even a few passes with some J-B Bore Cleaning Compound.
After all that it pretty much shot the same, except that this time the rounds tended to hit at or below point of aim. Last time it was the opposite, but that could have just been from shooting off of carpeted blocks of wood.
It seems to be a little less accurate than my other Mosins, but one of these days I will have to bring two of them to the range at the same time and give them an honest comparison.
Thanks to the time change it got dark before the range closed, so I was able to get some really cool muzzle blast pictures with my digital SLR.
If anyone has any tips on shrinking the group sizes I am getting, please let me know. The first few shots of the day seem to be the best. My 91/30 is the same way, once the barrel gets even slightly warm, group size seems to go way up .
There is no contact between the barrel, ahead of the rear sight and the bottom of the stock. Would 'corking' it help or is that just a myth? I'm thinking the condition of the bore is killing the accuracy. I'm getting about 8 MOA.
Friggin sweet pics! I love my M38! As for the groups, what weight bullets you using? I know the 150gr is supposed to work better in the shorter barrel.
Friggin sweet pics! I love my M38! As for the groups, what weight bullets you using? I know the 150gr is supposed to work better in the shorter barrel.
Thanks! Yeah I probably should have specified that I was shooting Bulgarian light ball, 147 grain I think.
Well in your pic, the bore looks a little dark. But the rifling looks pretty good. It won't hurt anything to try "corking" it and then shooting it again. I sanded out the barrel channel in the stock of my 1943 M44, and corked it and wowowowow was there a night and day difference in accuracy. Maybe it worked for others, I don't know. Maybe I was just having a really really bad day at the range. But when I took it back after I did a little work on it, I was very surprised.
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Mosin Nagant evangelist on a mission to convert YOU!
At my club, Louis the Mosin Kahuna swears by clear latex sealant, the stuff you use to seal bathtubs. He says that if you sand the barrel channel to free-float it and then put a layer of the stuff into it to bed the barrel, you'll get great results. He says the barrel vibrations are absorbed and dispersed by the rubber sealant. The beauty of this stuff, Louis says, is that if you don't like it you can peel it out of the barrel channel fairly easily. Might be worth a try.
My M44 shoots consistent (MOA is far away) groups. I haven't shot my 91/30 yet. I did notice a big difference in ammo though. The M44 didn't like the Sellier and Bellot as well as the Winchester. Both Silver and Brown Bear did better then S&B.
With the S&B stuff it seemed that the group kept wandering up and to the right. I switched to Winchester and was right on.
How is the trigger pull on that rifle, that could be a factor, a heavy trigger with iron sights may be the reason for the groups. I gave my Mosins trigger jobs, about twenty minutes in the garage, a fine file, some 1200 grit sandpaper, and some abrasive polish, night and day difference. Just a thought, Good luck.
How is the trigger pull on that rifle, that could be a factor, a heavy trigger with iron sights may be the reason for the groups. I gave my Mosins trigger jobs, about twenty minutes in the garage, a fine file, some 1200 grit sandpaper, and some abrasive polish, night and day difference. Just a thought, Good luck.
Trigger pull seems higher than my other two Mosins, which part(s) do you polish to lighten up the trigger?
At my club, Louis the Mosin Kahuna swears by clear latex sealant, the stuff you use to seal bathtubs. He says that if you sand the barrel channel to free-float it and then put a layer of the stuff into it to bed the barrel, you'll get great results. He says the barrel vibrations are absorbed and dispersed by the rubber sealant. The beauty of this stuff, Louis says, is that if you don't like it you can peel it out of the barrel channel fairly easily. Might be worth a try.
That's a really interesting idea, might be too drastic for me, but it makes me think maybe a wide piece of foam weather stripping would do a similar thing, if it can take the heat.
Scroll down until you see the directions. I didnt take too much off in the way of metal but I followed the directions pretty well, I got the areas that need to be polished very, very smooth, it was a total difference.
My Rom M44 didnt need much work but my 91/30 needed alot. It worked great for me.
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