7.62X54 R..?

tinman

My little brother Buddha has a new present and would like to know if making his 7.62X54 Russian rifle from military grade to a hunting rifle/sporting. He plans to invest in a new stock, bolt, scope mount/scope, and the dies to do some reloads. Any advise would be great and he will appreciate it. Thanks Tinman

catpealer111

Use a soft tip round instead of FMJ Mil surplus and head out to the woods. No modification needed.

linthicum

Make sure to only use the bolt body (handle). Use the same bolt face that came with the rifle.

heavyiron

Hi,

See below.



One of the tricks to get the 7.62x54R to shoot well in a MN rifle is to slug the bore of the rifle before handloading any ammunition. The bore size of the MN varies tremendously due to the manufacturing tolerances being loose as these rifles were mass produced and sometimes in a rush under bad conditions. I have read the bore diameter can vary from as much as 0.306 to 0.316. Consulting the reloading manuals can be confusing because recommended bullet diameters range from 0.308 to 0.311.

Once the bore size is known use an appropriately sized bullet diameter for the bore of the rifle. Example: the above M44 has a bore diameter of 0.3135. Therefore, 0.308 and 0.3105 (Wolfe) diameter bullets don't shoot well in this rifle. Handloads for the above rifle are made using Hornady 7.7 Jap/0.303 British bullets which measure 0.312 diameter. These bullet work great in the above rifle and deliver approximately 1-inch groups at 100 yards of which these rifles are capable. H414 powder makes an accurate load.

The MN is particularly suitable for a scout rifle conversion. Reliable scope mounts can be installed simply by replacement of the rear sight. Either a fixed EER or variable power EER scope significantly improves the sight picture.

Changing to a synthetic aftermarket stock makes the rifle much lighter and a pleasure to shoot. The original wood stock on the MN was very uncomfortable in my opinion and the new synthetic stock makes this a pleasurable round to shoot.

The MN's usually have crummy trigger and a simple drop-in is also available on the aftermarket and can turn the MN into a very good and accurate hunting rifle.

Here is a good link to help you decide how to configure your rifle.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/mosincarbine/index.asp

Hope this helps.

Heavyiron

tinman

Heavy Iron,
Thanks for the much needed info on the 7.62, Budda is happy to know that you guys are there to help out. That rear site with the scope mounts are kinda weird in the eye relief part of it. I would rather have a receiver mounted scope that is more comfortable. Tinman

heavyiron

Hi Tinman,

To each his own, I always say.

That weird extended eye relief is fast on target. Part of the Jeff Cooper scout rifle concept. A do-all utility rifle.

Best wishes,

Heavyiron

allen griggs

I have a very nice M39 Mosin Nagant. I bought a scout scope made by Darrel over on parallaxscurioandrelic forum.

http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums.yuku.com/forum/view/id/116

These mounts are very popular over there and as heavy iron said, you can install the mount without altering the rifle.
I bought a pistol scope and I installed it on my M39. It didn't last long. I just could not get used to that extended eye relief.
So the Darrel mount is gathering dust and my M39 has no scope.

Darrell has sold hundreds of these mounts so somebody sure likes them.

gskyhawk

I just could not get used to that extended eye relief.
So the Darrel mount is gathering dust and my M39 has no scope.

you just have to shoot them with both eyes open , just like you would a shotgun

heavyiron

Hi,

I like the extended eye relief (EER) scope. Probably the best scope to apply to a scout rifle is a scope made specifically for a rifle. These are generally low power scopes in the 2 to 3x power range and have the proper eye relief designed for use on a rifle instead of a pistol. EER pistol scopes will work though. Leupold makes an excellent EER scope which is about 2.8x. I've got one mounted on a Ruger Frontier in 7mm-08 and it is so fast to get on target it is amazing.

My eyesight is getting worse as I grow older and the scout scope really compensates for my poor vision. As gskyhawk states you keep both eyes open which really helps the sight picture. You can keep one eye on a moving target and one on the reticle.

The scout rifle concept is was for a lightweight rifle of relatively heavy caliber designed for either defense or hunting and one that could be brought into use quickly.

Here is the criteria for a scout rifle:

The full lists of features generally required for a "true" scout rifle are as follows:

1. Total weight, around 6.6-7.7pounds
2. Overall length, around 36 inches
3. Bolt action must be capable of accepting stripper clips or detachable magazine
4. Caliber must be .308 Winchester or equivalent
5. Primary sighting system consisting of forward mounted optics in the 2x to 3x range with backup iron sights
6. Sling
7. Onboard ammunition carriers
8. Bipod (not required, but recommended)
9. Must be capable of hitting "real world" targets at "realistic ranges"

Regards,

Heavyiron

SCorvers

I think I have an RCBS shell holder for that round if you need it. I'll go look. Just drop me an e-mail.

TRAP55

Rock Solid mount is what you need.
http://www.rocksolidind.com/products.html