Mosin Scout.......sort of

K

kraigwy

New member
I was working our range's sight in days at the end of Sept when a guy shows up with a modified Mosin rifle set up like a scout type. He had a scope where the Mosin's rear sight goes, black polymer stock, cut down barrel.

I shot three rounds at it at 300 and had no problem quickly hitting the gong 3 out of 3 times.

Now I'm a purest when it comes to vintage military rifles. I like to keep them "as issued" per the CMP Rules. I like the idea a scope on them if I don't have to modify the rifle. This mount does that. You push our the pen that holds the rear sight on and install the mount using the pin holes on the sight base. The mount has a couple of set screws that lock down the mount to keep it from teetering. Makes it pretty solid.

I ordered one and installed/bore sighted it last night, I zero it when it gets daylight.

Here is the set up on my Mosin:

Mosin%20Scout.JPG


The whole system, mount, scope (AIM 2X7), plus a add on but plate (which uses the existing but screws, again without modifying the gun) plus a new sling.

I kept the sling that came with the rifle. The butt pad is suppose to soak up a lot of recoil but I don't find the recoil objectionable so I didn't install it.

The Sportsman's Guide sells the whole kit for $60. Not bad, keeping the rifle set up cheap (I paid $99 for the rifle). Should be fun to play with. If the cheap scope doesn't work out it would be nothing to replace it.

Here is the link to the Sportsman's Guide showing the Mosin Scout Set Up.

The Sportsman's Guide - Hunting & Outdoor Gear, Shooting Supplies, Military Surplus, Survival Gear and More!

Just thought I'd pass it on to those who want to add a scope without screwing up the gun.
 
that's pretty interesting... thanks for the link

when I was younger... I scoped as many of my milsurp rifles as I could ( I mostly used B Square mounts ) I did that back then, as I started with rifles later in life, & it was much easier to hit what I was aiming at, than to put in the practice time needed right away...

then as I got older, I learned to, & got better at hitting using the iron sights, & removed a good share of my clunky old mounts... however now I find my aging eyes can see better using a scope... so if I can get by using a mount that doesn't destroy the rifle, & not look too clunky, I find I'm starting to scope a few that are longer range guns...

sucks getting old :o
 
I agree with Magnum.... the older you get, the more difficult it is to focus on the sights and target. Your eyes just lose that flexibility. :(
Plus, with the power of the cartridge, the Mosin will really benefit from mounting a relatively low power scope on it, especially if it will be used for hunting. If you're just ringing gongs, it's not quite as important... unless you get upset when you miss, of course. :rolleyes:
I'm in the process of semi-permanently mounting a base on mine, where the rear sight used to be. My project got interrupted by, well, life I guess, but I plan to finish it out no later than this winter. My Mosin carbine is just too accurate and fun to shoot to leave it waiting.
 
Thanks for the link. I've been looking at the brass stacker setup. Looks nice, but the mount is $60 by itself.. They also offer an ncstar scout scope for $79 I think. I was planning on buying it soon, but now I'll look at the good old' sportsman's guide first. Thanks
 
Here's a little secret one should really know if you intend to mount a scope on a Mosin... Those scope adapters that drop into the rear sight lower to replace the leaf and slide are junk. BUT, the rear sight assembly is mounted on an 11mm Dovetail. Knock out the two lower retaining pin first. Then you'll need to heat the sight assembly with a propane torch carefully if you intend to salvage the original sight (they were usually soldered to prevent any movement, so you have to "un-stick" it), then tap the entire rear sight assembly off with a wood block. What's left is an 11mm dovetail to which you can mount a scope base and rings for a LER scope that is true to the barrel, solid, AND the right height. When finished, it looks something like this:

DSCF6848_zpsa1b98d53.jpg


DSCF6850_zps93e1e9d6.jpg


MUCH more solid than the drop-in style, and it snaps up with the correct cheek-to-stock rather than being an extra inch too high for comfort. When I mounted this scope, I pulled the bolt to get a rough bore-sight on a stump about 200 yards off from my back porch only to find it needed no adjustment--dead on with the bore. Took me about 5 clicks of elevation to tighten my 100 yard zeroing after mounting. If you're mounting a LER scope on a Mosin, there IS no other way to do it right. ;)
 
Did a similar thing myself, but had to change the approach a tiny bit. Ordered the wrong mount, 1 inch rings, so I got a 3/8 dove rail to Weaver adapter. Result is of course the scope sits higher than I wanted originally, but it's there lol
 
WHAT??? you mean the rear sight is sweated onto dovetail grooves like those on a .22 rifle? Or is it a cross-slot dovetail?
 
Every one I've seen were both sweated and cross-pinned. I've heard of some that were JUST pinned, but if you assume that and try to beat the sight off without heating and is IS sweated--well, you can imagine things aren't going to work out so well. You only have to heat to about 650 degrees max to break the sweat bond--nothing that will do any damage to the action or barrel, and a small plumber's torch will handle that easily without excess heat that could cause problems.
 
Yeah... I've "un-sweated" a Springfield rear sight, and my Swede's.... I just wasn't aware they were sweated on.... in dovetails. Man, that makes this a whole lot simpler. :D
 
I'll say one thing with authority and experience--once you do this little process and mount tight to the barrel rather than a sight step add-on, this beast turns into a whole different animal. I had one of those drop-in adapters for a while and absolutely hated the results--which is what led me to look closely and find that darn dovetail. Since then it's gotten scary for a mil-surp, especially a Mosin 91/30.
 
I believe it, Rangefinder.... mine has been so accurate with open sights, I just had to try it with a scope. I finally got a Burris handgun scope, and am anxious to try it out. I was going to glass bed the drop in mount where the rear sight went, but using the dovetails will be infinitely better.
I can't wait to see what this rifle will do when it isn't hampered by my almost 60yr old eyesight. It should be a hog/deer gun of the first order. And, it shoots cast bullets very nicely, as a bonus.

It shoots the S&B 180gr softpoints into an inch at 50yds with open sights... I'm thinking it's going to do that at 100yds with glass on it.
 
UTG makes those, they sell for $15-20 on amazon, pretty sure.

I ended up buying the Brass Stacker mount and scope, if I end up hating it, I'll definitely sell it and get that utg mount.
 
It still appears a bit higher than the original irons' sight line, but definitely the lowest for any scope I've seen, conventional or scout, on a Mosin. I like it.
 
i found brass stacker with a red dot scope worked well, but i had to cut the front rail part off to lower it for correct eye to cheek sighting
 
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