Has anyone ever tried this cartridge for sniping , If so what was your experience. Good , bad,,,

-- dan breadon (dan154@hotmail.com), December 06, 2003

Answers

Love the Mosin Nagant rifle. Its super accurate and ammo is REALLY cheap. If you get one, STAY AWAY FROM THE WOLF AMMO!!! That stuff will chew up your bore pretty good.

-- Rick Powell (rpowell75@hotmail.com), May 14, 2004.

BEEN SHOOTING THE M44 CARBINE SEVERAL TIMES EACH WEEK SINCE MY LAST MESSAGE.... BOUGHT SOME ALBAINIAN AMMO AT A GREAT PRICE.. HAVE BEEN PULLING THE BULLETS AND USING THE CASE TO RELOAD MY CAT'S SNEEZE ROUND. THAT IS WORKING OUT OK...THE PRIMER IS CORROSIVE SO I CLEAN UP WITH A GOOD SOLVENT... I HAVE BEEN SAVING THE POWDER, DON'T KNOW WHAT I WILL DO WITH IT... THE BULLET IS STEEL CORED AND .310 IN DIA.SUPPOSED TO BE 148 GRAIN..... TAKING A WINCHESTER CASE WITH 35 GRAINS OF HOGDENS 4895 USING THE BULLET HAS BEEN A GOOD SHOOTER AT 100 YARDS... NEED TO GO DOWN TO THE LONGER RANGE AND SEE WHAT IT WILL DO AT 200 AND 300 YARDS... LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYBODY WITH ANY THOUGHTS.. GEORGE NICHOLSON... VAMPIRE1288@AOL.COM

-- GEORGE NICHOLSON (VAMPIRE1288@AOL.COM), May 12, 2004.

Hey, i bought a Mosin Nagant 91/30 some months ago. I find it a cool first rifle. Right now i am about to scope it since its power makes it a good sniper rifle. I shoot inexpensive Czech Silver Tip ammo which runs around 10cents a round.

Have fun reloading, i will some day start doing it!

PS: if you think the Mosin Nagant is not good enough for you send me an email, I would pay for the shipping of your rifle to my house!

-- Daniel (robotizing@yahoo.com), April 26, 2004.

There are too many problems to mention in using the old russian round for that kind of work! The 308 is the far better choice. But if you own one of the cheap Mosin's out there and you absolutely have to shoot and hunt with it then try one of the following! Find a good lot of the "Russian" sniper grade ammo. This stuff is .311 diameter and fills the old bores like it should! It's all FMJ so if you have to hunt with it- go for head shots! The aftermarket scope mounts (sidemounts) take alot of stock work to accomodate their use! Good luck there...the receivers on these old beasts don't lend themselves to tapping and drilling (And I would very much like to hear from anyone who has done this successfully!) finally, the triggers and bolt design for this 1800's cartridge is totally archaic and by todays standards- useless! I own and still shoot 2 moisins- one a 1939 Finnish model and the other a 1891 (nickel plated no less) built in 1899- I enjoy shooting both of them for fun! But if real work needs to be done- they would never come out of the cabinet!

-- MIKE HINDE (mike@jrharchitecture.com), April 23, 2004.

I have been reloading for my M91/30 for a couple of months now. I am not an expert by any means, but I will post what has worked for me. I am loading a .30 cal 150 grn Honady soft point bullet and using IMR 4320. I have found that the factory brass from non-military surplus sorces works great. It can also be purchased brand new from Cabelas, but it is a little expensive. My reloading manual shows a powder range for multiple powders better suited for rifle catridges. I wouldn't suggest using Bullseye.

-- dp (dpowell@nmsu.edu), April 05, 2004.

Here is a thought..... buy some of the cheap Czech silver tip ammo and pull the bullets and dump the powder, then replace the powder charge with a more accurately weighted charge and a new commercial bullet. It might work if the bullets are not too hard to pull.

B.J.

-- B. J. Fields (teddy@cts.com), April 02, 2004.

I SHOOT THE MOSIN NAGANT M44 AND HAVE GOOD LUCK WITH IT AT 100 YDS SHOOTING AT A FIXED CLAY PIEGON... I AM STARTING TO RELOAD FOR IT AND HAVE PURCHASED A FEW BOXES OF WINCHESTER FMJ WHICH WILL BE A GOOD BRASS TO WORK UP A LOAD WITH... I AM INTERESTED IF ANYONE HAS DEVELOPED A LIGHT LOAD USING A IOO GR BULLET AND A SMALL POWDER CHARGE SUCH AS 5GR OF BULLSEYE... WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE ON ANY LOAD THAT THEY HAVE USED....

-- GEORGE NICHOLSON (VAMPIRE1288@AOL.COM), March 25, 2004.

Anyone who thinks this round is inferior to 308 factory loads hasn't really used it to it's full potential. It can be ballistically identical to 308. That's good enough for police and military snipers. It has a little extra case capacity than 308, though so can be beefed up some.

Factory hunting rounds from Barnaul and others may not be ideal, though. They are heavy (200gr) and usually a copper-washed steel bullet with a semi-soft (not lead) core. They penetrate too much and aren't great for expansion.

-- John-Paul Townsend (john-paul@gami.com), February 03, 2004.

I shoot 200gr Mosin Nagant rounds. I cant find shells for realoding that arent berdan or steel casing. Excellent hunting and sniping gun with alot of kick and power.

-- Joe (joeturner52388@yahoo.com), January 16, 2004.

While I have never used it for "sniping" I have used it for hunting (I own a couple of Moisin Nagants and reload for myself and a couple of friends). With my particular weapons, I have had outstanding results (5 shots in 1 inch at 200 yds.= 1/2 m.o.a.)with my reloads. Commercially available ammo has been scarce in the states except for old Comm-Block military ammo(which you CANNOT use for hunting), so if you want accuracy I recommend reloading or buying reloads from a reputable supplier in your area.

-- John Smith (o3shooter@yahoo.com), January 07, 2004.

ahh its not to good of a sharpshooting round but i guees it could suffice.

-- josh (trunks_1010@hotmail.com), December 07, 2003.