Top and bottom : original MNs with long and short barrels ; centre : sporterised version with synthetic stock , modified bolt and synthetic stock .
Another view of the sporterised MN showing the side-mounted scope
In comparison , most modern sporting rifles have shorter barrels ( less than 600 mm ) and weigh less than 4.2 kg , including sights . I understand these rifles were sighted in with the bayonet fitted , so if you are sighting one in without the bayonet ( a more likely scenario among hunters ) you can expect a large shift in the mean point of impact – around 600 mm at 100 metres .
Ammunition
MN ammunition has seen three main variations as military doctrine changed . Like many of the contemporary rifle and cartridge combinations of the late 19th and early 20th century , military loadings featured a round-nosed bullet of about 14 grams ( 216 gn ) and a muzzle velocity of about 2,100 ft / sec . Mosin Nagant ammunition was , in 1908 , loaded with a 9.5 gram ( 148 gn ) spitzer bullet . In 1930 a heavier 12 gram ( 184 gn ) bullet was adopted for longer-range Russian machine-guns . This parallels the changes in ammunition pioneered by German development of the lighter , pointed bullet in 1905 for their military calibres , which so revolutionised downrange ballistic performance . ( The Germans probably also used captured Mosin Nagant rifles for second-line forces , just as they used captured . 303s , in World War 2 ) These innovations increased muzzle velocity to about 2,700 ft / sec , which considerably flattened the downrange trajectory , extending it by some 30 percent . In the same way , the British and Americans were able to extend the reach of their . 303 and . 30 ‘ 06 respectively ( Griffin , 2008 ). All these factory loads produce sufficient power to humanely kill any animal we hunt in New Zealand .
Ammunition by Barnaul and Tula is provided in Berdan-primed steel cases , which are technically reloadable but have twin flash holes that pose difficulties ; and perhaps more importantly , they use primers in sizes that are not readily available . Sellier & Bellot , Highland and PPU factory ammunition is available with 180 grain bullets , and Barnaul and Tula in 174 and 203 grain bullets respectively . In the latter two , FMJ , hollow-point match and soft-point options are available .
Sporting cartridges for the Mosin Nagant can , of course , be handloaded : Norma , Highland , PPU and Sellier & Bellot all offer boxer-primed cases . Reloading dies are offered by RECBS , Redding and Lyman , among others .
Test firings
The results of test firings ( three-shot groups ), which with one exception were undertaken at 100 metres from a rest , are as follows ( Table 1 ):
Four three-shot groups using . 30 calibre bullets ( diameter 0.308 ”), when compared with those of . 31 calibre ( diameter 0.311 ”) as used in . 303 British ammunition ), showed very little difference – 47 mm vs 44 mm . Similarly , four three-shot groups with factory ammunition ( bullet diameters of 0.308 ” and 0.309 ”) gave an average of 44 mm . For a hunting rifle , this is of little practical consequence at less than 300 metres , given that the vital target area of a deer is a circle of about 300 mm diameter .
Groups fired from open-sighted , standard-issue rifles and carbines average about 70 mm at 100 metres , which is normal with iron sights and a 150 mm black aiming mark on A3 paper .
NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017 43