Rock Solid vs Jmeck

Which scope mount

  • Rock Solid

    Votes: 2 66.7%
  • Jmeck

    Votes: 1 33.3%

  • Total voters
    3
  • Poll closed .
Okay I am looking at scoping my Mosin and have narrowed it down to two different mounts.

First things first I plan on using this scope: http://www.opticsplanet.com/nikon-4-12x40mm-prostaff-matte-riflescopes-6324-6325.html

Okay now down to the main question, which scope mount would you go with, Jmeck or Rock Solid.

Rock Solid:
PROS- Very good reviews and is "Rock Solid".
CONS- The receiver has to be drilled and tapped and since I do not have a drill press or the taps I would have to have a gunsmith do it which I have heard can be another $25 per hole (that seems ridiculous to me but that is what I have heard) So that comes out to about $175-$200 Just for the mount.

Jmeck:
PROS- Good reviews and requires no drilling and tapping. They also have one that allows the Iron sights to be used as well. This only costs about $90.
CONS- It is held in place by a steel band and although reviews say it is good I am skeptical.

Both mounts require a bent bolt and do not allow the use of stripper clips. Which one would you guys go with?

***On an unrelated note for you guys with mosins, where do you find SP 7.62x54r rounds other than online. I do not want to pay for shipping and the dangerous fee so that a $10 box becomes a $30-$40 box.
 
Well I don't have direct experience with Jmech, I've tried several mounds that did not involve drilling and tapping. I've yet to find one that didn't wiggle or develop a wiggle
after a few hundred rounds. This wiggle was enough to double my group size at 100 yards.

If you're comfortable with your mechanical skills you can find a drill press at Harbor Freight for $39.99. I bought one to have in my reloading room so I didn't have to go out to the shop.

As for finding SP ammo for cheap... good luck. If you have a Cabela's near by they keep it in stock but its not cheap. 19.99 a box for PMC and 24.99 for Hornedy custom match ballistic tip( SST ). The PMC is brass cased the Hornady is Steel cased.

Boomer
 
Really? I never even thought to look at harbor freight. Do you think that it would be cost effective to do that and by the taps and other tools or have a professional do it?

Yeah that is what I have been hearing about the ammo. Oh well.
 
Well I can't remember if that was the sale price of the drill press, but I bought 2. The way I look at it is once you buy it you always have it. This comes down to if you feel comfortable doing it yourself. After buying the press, Drill and taps you're probably only saving a few bucks. But in return you're gaining knowledge, experience and now you have a drill press.

If you do try to do it yourself I'd find a good piece of steel plate and drill and tap a few practice / test holes. If you have a round receiver maybe try drilling and tapping a piece of heavy wall steel pipe. It worked for me anyway.

You may also need a hacksaw and file to shorten the bolts in case they are too long and stick in the receiver.

The first time I did this I was very nervous but if you take your time and do a few practice holes its not that bad.

Before you decide check out YouTube there are about two dozen videos on scoping the Mosin negant.

Good luck Boomer
 
Yeah I would really love to learn because I would like to be able to work on guns in the future. My concern was just about cost because That would mean I would have spent another $200 just to be able to mount the scope.
 
Well if you're going to spend 200 bucks I do it myself, that way next time you want to do it it's free.

I always recommend people to do it themselfs as long as they feel comfortable. You can't have too many skills or too many tools. Think of it as an investment in your future.

Good luck post back if you have any further questions.


Boomer
 
I won't try and stop you from sporterizing your Mosin, but you might want to take a step back a minute. I'm guessing you bought the Mosin because it was cheap, and ammunition was cheap? What you are talking about doing takes it out of the cheap category.

$200 for a scope mount and bent bolt body(especially if a GS installs it), and then another $200 for a scope with a set of rings. Now you're within $150 what an new Savage Trophy Hunter XP package with Nikon scope will cost you. Buy the proper tools to DIY and now you're over the cost of that new Savage. While the drill press is only $40 then you have to buy everything to go with it as far as bits and taps go.

My take on it is keep the Mosin a cheap shooter and then save your pennies and buy a rifle that is already set up for a scope.
 
Bit and tap cost me less than $40. They pay for themselves the first time you use them the next time you need one there free.

The Mosin negant is the cheapest battle rifle on earth and they made millions of them. Worrying about damaging there resell value seems a bit silly to me.

Again if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself don't.


Boomer
 
$200 for a scope mount and bent bolt body(especially if a GS installs it), and then another $200 for a scope with a set of rings. Now you're within $150 what an new Savage Trophy Hunter XP package with Nikon scope will cost you. Buy the proper tools to DIY and now you're over the cost of that new Savage. While the drill press is only $40 then you have to buy everything to go with it as far as bits and taps go.

Not to mention the potential for screwing it up. Ever screw something up when doing it for the first time? I know I have.

Also, I am a fan of Mosin Nagants, but the Savage Trophy Hunter will be much more accurate out of the box. Manufacturing and gun design has come a long way in the past 70 years, (really 122 years the design didn't change much since it was introduced in 1891).
 
Boomer58cal said:
Bit and tap cost me less than $40.

You just proved my point even more, now with closing in on $80 in tools he is within $70 of a brand new rifle. Scoping a Mosin just isn't worth $500 IMO.
 
You just proved my point even more, now with closing in on $80 in tools he is within $70 of a brand new rifle. Scoping a Mosin just isn't worth $500 IMO.

I don't remember anyone asking about a new rifle. I believe he was asking about putting a scope mount on his mosin. :confused:

That extra money isn't going into this rifle its going into his toolbox. A tool box that will have tools in it next time he needs them. You can't have too many tools. IMO

I have a pretty decent machine shop. I didn't just decide one day "hey I need a machine shop." Those tools were bought one at a time. It took me many years but I will have them the rest of my life.

I guess maybe some people think you can only use a tool once. :rolleyes:

Boomer
 
I guess maybe some people think you can only use a tool once

No, some people simply think it is false economy to try and modify a Mosin Nagant into something that it really isn't well suited for. For roughly the same money you can get something that you don't have to monkey with, that will perform better in just about every way.

The trigger will be better, the barrel will be better, the ergonomics will be better, it will be lighter, and considerably more accurate.

The only advantage to the Mosin is that surplus ammo is available, but if you want an accurate rifle, you probably don't want to waste your time with that stuff. Bulgarian and Soviet ammo factories aren't exactly known for stellar accuracy. Some rifles shoot some batches decently, but Lapua they ain't.

He is asking about soft point, so I assume he wants a hunting rifle, and that adds another advantage to a modern rifle. Availability of good ammo over the counter. The only place I have seen 7.62X54R hunting ammo on the shelf is Cabelas, but generally it is an online order.

By the way, loaded ammo is not considered Hazmat, (it is ORM-D) and there is no hazmat fee. Be aware of the size of the bullets in the loaded ammo you buy, depending on your bore size (which can vary considerably in Mosin Nagants, it may shoot some diameters better than others, and probably won't shoot .308 diameter well. There are instructions on slugging your bore here: http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm Something else you don't have to worry about with a modern rifle.

You didn't post your location, but if it was me, I would be hitting pawn shops and the used racks of gun stores, and checking local classifieds Armslist, and Wal-Mart to try and find something that is ready to go off the shelf. IIRC the Ruger American is only about $350.

I just saw your other thread, and saw this is a M38 you are planning on doing this too. Even in a M44 stock, that is not a particularly common rifle, a 1941 Izhevsk is a 5 on the 10 scale of rarity. Not sure who told you it wasn't collectable, but they were wrong. Is it a WW2 or Post war stock?

Consider selling it, and putting the money toward a modern hunting rifle. I bet you would be able to get $250 for it without much effort. None of the C&R distributors have any, and the last time they did, they were $220 wholesale, and sold out ~1000 rifles in about 2 days.

What type of hunting are you planning on doing, and at what ranges? Have you shot it yet? Have you considered a scout mount, like the S&K? http://www.scopemounts.com/insta_files/M44M38.html#top

Brownells has it for $56, with rings.
http://www.brownells.com/optics-mou.../mount-sets/mosin-nagant-mount-prod26104.aspx

I have the same thing on a K98, and it seems to work fine, and has held zero so far. No permanent modifications to the rifle, and it works with the original straight bolt and stripper clip guide.

Oh, and another note on "collectable". Only a few years ago, Soviet capture German K98 Mausers were not considered collectable, and you could pick one up for about $200. The last time a wholesaler had some they were north of $400 and they sold out fast.

"Collectable" is a sliding scale.

It is your rifle, and you can certainly do whatever you want with it, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. And it is a piece of history, an artifact that was witness to (and part of) the greatest struggle in the history of mankind. It was certainly used to help drive the fascist invaders from the Motherland, It would be a shame to drill holes in it.
 
I've been down the OP's road trying to sporterize a military rifle and it is never really a good idea. I didn't ever take a rifle that wasn't already bubbaed and start to drill and tap scope mounts and cut off bolt handles. However in the end I could have bought something cheaper than what I invested having a rifle built.

The OP has another thread as well wanting to buy a scope, and said he wasn't against a scout scope. I suggested Leupold and Burris for a scout scope. I'm assuming they either weren't in his power range or priced too high. However for the price he is willing to pay to mount a $150 Nikon, he can pick up a no drill scout mount that replaces the rear sight and a Burris 2-7 scout scope for less total money.

Sure he doesn't have the tools he'd get doing it your way. However, at least it wouldn't be any permanent modification that couldn't be reversed on his rifle. Plus the scope would probably work better with his military stock since it is designed for sights and not a scope, allowing him to make better shots.
 
From looking at the other threads, I am now a little confused as to what the desired end result of this project is.

You mentioned soft point ammo, so that makes me think it will be a hunting rifle, but then in your "scope help" thread, You at first mention a fixed 10X "tactical" scope which isn't all that well suited for hunting.

You also mentioned Nikon 3x9 in one thread, and a 4x12 in this one, but frankly for the accuracy a M38 is generally capable of (3-4 MOA if you are lucky), both would be overkill. A fixed 4 power would probably be better, with the accuracy of a M38, you are probably looking at a 150 yard rifle, maybe 200 if you get really lucky and find an ammo the rifle likes.

For hunting limited to those ranges, I would probably stick with iron sights. A scope doesn't help you shoot, it helps you see, and at those ranges, game animals are not that hard to see, even with my less than perfect eyes.

What is your goal?

If you are trying to make a hunting rifle, I am afraid you are going to spend ~$400 turning a $250 rifle into a $80 rifle, that you probably won't be all that happy with.
 
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I thought he ask our opinion on scope mounts?

Boomer

The OP basically has three threads on the same topic, about this rifle and about mounting a scope or what scope to buy. So if you combine all three threads and offer a suggestion that might be a little outside what one thread asked, it shouldn't be a big deal. Don't get a little heart burn because people dissent with your opinion after all it is only one opinion and judging from the OP's posts, he'll choose yours even if myself and others don't think it is a good idea.
 
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