Using a Mosin for hunting

Millions of deer hunters go afield every season armed with Lever Action 30-30s and do fine. If a Mosin has a good bore they are at least as accurate as an average 30-30 and a lot more powerful. The 7.62X54R is in the same league as a 308 or 30-06.
So why not use one to hunt with? It may not be as refined as a new bolt action Ruger or Winchester with a scope, but it is as good for hunting as an iron sighted 30-30 and millions of deer will prove that's good enough.
 
agtman, I don't know about Colorado, but in PA It is unlawful to hunt with a semi-auto outside of a shotgun...some states don't allow anything but shotgun.

I would love to take the Garand hunting....
 
agtman, I don't know about Colorado, but in PA It is unlawful to hunt with a semi-auto outside of a shotgun...some states don't allow anything but shotgun. I would love to take the Garand hunting....
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Well, Michigan, for example, allows semi-auto rifles for deer hunting but limits capacity to 6-rds max. I know several guys, one who hunts in the U.P, who take their M1s afield (or M1s as modified, like 18" Tankers or Shuff's 16.1" Mini-G) and load them with those 5-rd en bloc "hunting" clips.

Would work fine for the hogs too. :cool:
 
It's not really relevant to the thread, but autos are legal in Colorado for big game with a 5 round magazine limit I believe.

The 7.62x54R cartridge is fine for hunting deer and elk. I would go with the Winchester 180gr soft point load assuming it shot well in your gun.

In terms of the Mosin rifle itself, I have to say it would not be my first choice. The triggers tend to be less than ideal, the sights are iffy, the safety isn't great, accuracy can be questionable. But it's not unethical - just maybe a bit harder and you may have to get a bit closer than some other options. I would get some 6"ish paper plates, go out to the range, and try to hit them at various distances from field positions (offhand, sitting, prone). Whatever range you can get 100% hits from a given position is as far as I'd shoot in a hunting situation. You'll quickly figure out if a given setup is going to work or not.
 
I hunt with my 1943 Izhevsk 91/30 (scoped,Timey trigger) with Speer Hot-Cor bullets in both 150 and 180 grain in my handloads. Ballistics similar to .308. I have killed whitetail but would not hesitate on elk as well with the 180 grain.

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I used an M44 Mosin carbine to kill a wild boar last fall. Blew a big hole in his neck/spine from about 50 yards away. DRT. 203 gr Silver Bear soft point.

Mosins rock for hunting.
 
I picked up my hunting Mosin for $60 years ago. It was a plan jane rifle but with a great bore. I cut down the barrel, hacksaw basement job, added a Timney trigger, a ATI stock and knocked off the rear sight and used the base to mount a pistol scope. I mainly used gift cards for all the added parts. But dollar wise I have about 4 times into into the rifle then I paid for it. But I'll say it shoots great and is as accurate as my model 70 if I shoot decent ammo through it. Being a Bubba can be fun and rewarding.
 
If it's accurate enough in your hands, a Mosin shouldn't be a problem.

I have an M38 for "brush gun" duty, and it'll get the job done if I need it.
One of my brothers has an M44 that meets the same requirements.

If it's accurate enough for the intended purpose, it'll work.


But, as mentioned...
Take your safety into careful consideration.
The safeties on my M38 and my brother's M44, for example, cannot be trusted. We carry those rifles with an "open" bolt. (Generally bolt closed, but not locked, behind an empty chamber and on top of a full magazine.)
 
I've been hunting my whole life, over 50 years anyway. In all that time I've never seen the need to carry a rifle in the field with a round in the chamber.

Never missed a shot because I had to chamber a round either. Also I never heard of a rifle accidently going off when the chamber was empty.

I don't use the safety on any of my hunting rifles for that reason so I don't see the safety being a disadvantage on the Mosin.

I have found most Mosins do shoot high. I don't know, nor never studied whether it was by design or some soldier tinkering with the sights.

Mine shot 8 inches high at 100 yards with I got it. There are after market sights I guess, but I wanted to keep mine "as issued" per the CMP Vintage Rifle Rules.

If your rifle does shoot high and you don't want to go with other sighting systems, its a simple fix.

Find out how high your rifle shoots at 100 yards.

Measure your sight radius. Front sight to the rear sight. Divide that number by 3600. That will give you the number you have to lower your rear sight to drop the impact 1 inch at 100 yards (100 yards times 36 inches = 3600).

Now take off your rear sight. Simply push out the pivot pin of the sight.

You have a slider block. You can file it to remove the material needed to lower the rear sight.

For example, as said my rifle was shooting 8 inches high. I determined I had to file the bottom of the sight down .0061 to lower the impact one inch. Or .0488 to lower the sight 8 inches. I did this and my sights matches the sight numbers on the rear sight. I took the rifle to 400 yards (farest I shot it) and found at the 100 mark it was on at 100, 200, on at 200 yards, etc to 400.

Years ago, I was the Company Commander of an Alaska Native National Guard Unit along the Berring Sea. There isn't a lot of jobs on the Alaska Coast so these people hunting for most of their food.

In the old days, commanders were unofficially encourage to be liberal with the ammo used in these villages, meaning drawing extra ammo and leaving it for the natives. The would pick their rifles based on what ammo they could get from the Guard.

Now days the Army tightened up on their ammo policy, meaning less free ammo.

About the same time, cheap Mosins started flooding the market. Because of the cheap rifles with their cheap ammo, the Mosin was chosen by many to replace the US Military Ammo firing rifles for these villages.

The Mosin seems to be serving them well as hunting rifles, so I see no reason they cant be a cheap alternative hunting rifle for the rest of us peons.

Just set the sights up properly and learn to shoot the Mosin and you'll be find. I've seen enough of them shot in CMP Vintage Rifle matches to know they are accurate enough.
 
You ought to drop test it, when you get your Mosin. Some guys file the trigger spring down so much, it might be a two pound trigger pull --- That --- imho --- is to light of a trigger pull for a Mosin --- A lot of rifles will fail a drop test, if dropped far enough --- Yet I speculate...that a 1 foot drop of a unloaded/cocked, off safe Mosin on a carpet floor, will go length's to see if your Mosin is safe enough for hunting.
 
Just as a side note, I have a book written by a Russian soldier from WW2 and translated into English. He said that the bolt button (safety) was difficult to use and slow, so what they all did was to chamber the round and leave the handle up when they were carrying the rifle in their hands. The right hand keeps the bolt from sliding to the rear and it is fast and easy to close it when you see the enemy.
I have used the same technique and he is right. It works, it's fast and easy and 100% safe, in addition to being far more quiet than racking the bolt to chamber from the magazine.

Some look down on the old MN rifles, but they have been working for over 100 years and I expect that will work next year just as well. A man who can hunt is well armed with a MN and will bring home the venison as well as he would with about any other iron sighted rifle.
 
video of shooting an Antelope with a Mosin

My friend has the original barrel.

3x3%20mule%20buck%20300WinMag%20Mosin%20Nagant%20125%20gr%20NBT%20b10-29-2015.jpg


I put a Krieger 300 Win Mag barrel on this Mosin
 
well.
1. buying a mosin because it's a mosin is like buying a kia because it's a kia.
2. yes, every world war 2 collection must start somewhere and the cheaper rifles will give you an appreciation for the more expensive ones you buy down the road. :D
3. maybe but with a lot of caveats.

most mosin nagants, especially the junky WWII production izzys(I've own 2 myself and still own the nicer of the pair) suffer from several problems the most common and most extreme being accuracy. these guns were cranked out in the millions in a short amount of time with nothing even loosely resembling quality control. the russians wanted a pike that could shoot bullets and as long as it performed both functions they were happy. in addition, russian conscripts did not receive proper training in weapons maintenance, so they shot a lot of corrosive ammo and didn't properly clean it, and when given the provided steel cleaning rods they gouged the muzzles into clover leafs. as a result most of those 1940-1944 izzys shoot 4 MOA at best. that's all well and good if you intend to only shoot from sandbags at non moving targets at distances no greater than 100 yards but for moving targets that have a 6 inch humane kill zone, that does not leave you a lot of margin for error.

another issue that they suffer from is mostly just inherent to the mosin nagant design itself and that is slow follow up shots, if you intend to hunt, you better be willing to pass up any shot that doesn't offer a sure chance of a one shot drop(which is almost an oxymoron when it comes to elk hunting). another issue, the safety sucks, if you intend to hunt with the mosin, taking the safety off is A) difficult especially while wearing gloves and B) dangerous( risk of accidental discharge). your only real options are to either pack with no safety and deal with the consequences or carry in condition 3 which is a huge pain for hunting and often leads to a lot of missed chances.

lastly, I like PRVI as a source of good brass and decently accurate plinking ammo, but I don't trust the quality of their bullets for hunting. I lost a lot of deer while hunting with prvi softpoints in a 243. I'm sure their x54R stuff is more than potent enough for deer but I would never trust it on elk. if you intend to hunt with it, I suggest winchester 180 grains or lapua 185gr ammo(but that lapua stuff is expensive as hell). personally I would prefer working up a handload with a good bonded or guilded metal bullet myself.

so there's the caveats, your rifle needs to be more accurate than the average, you have to accept certain risks, be willing to pass up certain shots, and use ammo way more expensive than most people want to put in a mosin nagant, but if you meet all those criteria I say go for it, hunting with old guns is fun, exhibit A
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Why is the mosin's knob safety dangerous?
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I can't speak for all rifles.
...But mine can't be trusted, because you can bump it off. It does not lock solidly, and is not reliable.
(Similar to how one could pull the trigger on my Mossberg 800 and push that safety off with the trigger itself! Not worn parts - just a bad design! :eek:)
 
I don't know about the mossberg, but the mosin's knob safety functions pretty well to me. It is not ergonomic to operate, but it never impressed me as unsafe.

I cannot understand the necessity of having a round chembered for hunting. I don't hunt, and the answers from my hunting friends just discourage me further. If I were to hunt, I probably won't go with a mosin, if I ever have a choice. I don't go with a m1 either.

-TL
 
I cannot understand the necessity of having a round chambered for hunting
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Maybe not out west, but round here all my hunting is less than 100 yards. A whitetail can hear a rat pee on cotton, you try clanking that bolt on a Mosin and watch your prey give you the flag and BYE BYE! Heck I've had them stop and look my direction by simply bumping the safety off loudly on modern hunting rifle. Once I get in the stand, a round is chambered and safety is on with the rifle laying on the shooting rest (barrel out the window so to speak).

As far as the OP, I agree with others some of the Moist Nuggets shoot high, but there is aftermarket adjustable front sights to cure it. http://www.smith-sights.com/ My personal 1934 Laminated Izzy does not. If I were to take it hunting, I would have a round chambered and safety on. You cannot knock mine off it has to be pulled back and rotated. But OTOH mine is not hard to manupulate. As I've followed the "Make your Mosin Rock" video by Iraqveteran8888 on you tube. It made a world of difference to the rifle. If I feel the need to take a Mosin hunting it will be one of the M39's, very accurate, and that OH SO SWEET 2 stage trigger. Maybe I'll go work one of them up and take her out this year. :D Let us know if you decide to take her out and of course PICS of the harvest. GOOD HUNTING
 
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