Convert a Mosin Nagant Carbine to a Hunting Rifle for Less Than $200
Mosin Nagant rifles are one of the most collectible and commonly available military surplus rifles obtainable on the market today. This article will address how to convert one of these rifles for hunting purposes.
Purchase a Mosin Nagant M44.
Due to the historical significance of these rifles and in order to control gunsmithing costs, this article will focus only on no drill, reversible modifications to the rifle.
Bore condition is the best, easily identified, an indicator of future accuracy. Rifles with mismatched serial numbers on various parts, while less collectible, will be cheaper and just as functional. Rifles such as this are available for $80 from a number of sources at the writing of this article.
Purchase a high-end scope mount that replaces the rear sight.
You can find mounts on Ebay for $15. However, most of these will not maintain zero after the bumps and jostling associated with hunting.
It is better to spend more here than to miss a shot, or worse, in the field due to inferior equipment. See the links below for some reputable manufacturers. Cost: around $70.
Purchase an inexpensive long eye relief telescopic sight.
I am a firm believer that the mount matters more than the scope. There are those who will disagree. However, if money is an object, this is where I would shop around to save.
It is necessary to use a long eye relief scope due to the forward location of the scope mount. You will find shooting with this configuration to be fairly intuitive and natural.
These types of scopes can be obtained for around $40 from a number of sources.
Follow the instructions for your mount and scope.
The next step is to put it all together. Your mount will require you tap out the drift pin that holds the leaf portion of the rear sight in place. You will then remove the leaf and the leaf spring underneath.
Next you will mount the scope mount and bore sight the elevation of the mount before affixing the scope. This step is important and outlined in another of my articles.
You then mount the scope and bore sight it per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Head for the range.
Assuming you’ve cleaned and otherwise made sure your rifle is safe to shoot. Now it’s time to really see what you’ve got. Please read my article on how to initially sight in your rifle if you are unsure here.
Don’t forget to take all of the tools you used to install your scope and mount, just in case you need to make further adjustments. Also, check your action screws for tightness as these are often loose on Mosin Nagant rifles when they are first purchased.
Enjoy your new hunting rig.
Total cost with rifle, mounts, and optics: $190