Posted on 06/09/2012 11:47:25 AM PDT by mnehring
Today, I started a project I've been wanting to do for a long time. Take an original Mosin Nagant and turn it into a modern hunting rifle.
I purchased two Mosins at the first of the year. One I want to keep original, one will be my conversion. The top one is the gun I will be converting. I wanted to post this here as a step-by-step process if anyone else wants to do this.
So far, I've purchased an ATI stock and bipod.
This morning, I began the stock replacement process. (Note, this gun has been fired and shoots great).
Removal of the bolt.
Removing the barrel bands and top hand guard. The front barrel band was a challenge because I didn't want to remove the front iron sight just yet (scope is a future project). I did have to bend that but they are very cheap to replace if I ever want to take her back to the original configuration.)
Removing bottom magazine screw.
Removing top receiver screw. 
Remove barrel and magazine assembly.
The magazine assembly with the new stock. This did take a little work with the dremel to help it fit cleanly. 
Anyone who has bought an old Mosin knows there usually is a thin coat of paint on the barrel that was put on in storage. After shooting again, it starts to flake. I took the opportunity to polish a lot of this off. In a future project I will work more on finishing the barrel at which time I'll clean it up better.
Reassembled magazine and barrel assembly.
Added the bolt back.
Bipod before assembly.
Bipod after adding. The barrel is sitting a little high. I will need to go back with the dremel inside the stock and work on that. 
This is all I've accomplished so far this morning. 
Next steps are to work on tightening up the fit on the stock some more. I will then replace the rear sight with a picatinny rail specifically made for Mosin conversions and add in a LER scope. Finally, I plan to do something with the barrel, either have a new black finish (I've seen bedliner paint done awesome) or have it nickel plated.
Noce work. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing that to one of ours. I did a similar project to an Ishapore Enfiled in 7.62 NATO a few years ago. It’s a sweet littl shooter that Ishapore.
Wish I’d bought a dozen wheni had the chance.
Part of the point was to do it myself, not to get one already done. Also, I chose a Mosin simply because, while it is collectible, it isn't so valuable that modifying it would ruin a piece of history. At that, from what I've seen, due to the amount of original Mosins out there, you can increase the value a lot by converting it. (not that I plan to sell). It was more of the challenge of doing it versus just buying something.
.oh, and I have a half dozen hunting rifles so the point also wasn’t to get one for that purpose. I usually use a Kimber Montana 30-06.
The best military rifle to make into a hunting rifle if you can find one any more is the Swiss K31. Those never saw corrosive primers or warfare and were mainly used as expensive walking stocks around the Swiss Alps, normal is for the wood to be in bad shape and the metal pristine as if never used. On the ones with the walnut stocks, the wood can be fixed. The cartridge is somewhere between 308 and 300WM and looks more like a modern cartridge and the action is terribly strong and people have converted them to magnum calibers without problems. Since the thing is a straight pull rifle, what you end up with is like a gentleman's hunting rifle at a fraction of the cost.
I’ve done the same: ATI conversion to one M-N and original restoration of the second. On the ATI conversion the barrel floated high until I put in the washer on the rear receiver bolt, which fixed that problem. I also had problems feeding stripper clips and then getting the bolt to eject properly. I had to take quite a bit of material off the inside of the ATI stock, right at the ejector bar, to give enough clearance for it to work properly. Now both guns work great and the 7.62X54 is a lot of fun to shoot but I’m no longer as satisfied with the .223 AR-15 and wanted a higher caliber semi-auto, so I had to purchase a M1-A (so I ended up spending a lot more than I set out to for my inexpensive rifle).
Will it have a floating barrel? (like my Mossberg .270)
I apologise if I sounded like I was trashing you, I was just suggesting you could get a rifle that was already converted into something else instead of using an original military 91/30. BTW, you might want to think about mounting your bipod on the stock instead of the barrel for better accuracy, and free-floating the whole barrel instead of bedding it.
I’ll drop in that rear washer tonight and see how much it helps.
I just saw ATI has a bipod that mounts to the stock. I will take your advice and try that. This was just a bipod I had sitting around.
Matte black would be better for hunting; unless you are hunting polar bears, in which case white is recommended.
Tell that to all the dead Germans.
Awesome. Will you go Nitro Express .700 for your next project?
If you have a ping list for this project, please add me. I’m planning on doing something similar, but I want to built it as a scout rifle, removing barrel to get to 19 inches, no bipod.
Good one.
They’re still junk, no matter what some “expert” on the History Channel told you. Germany, 2 million dead on the Eastern Front, USSR 10 million(+)dead.
Not only are they cheap, their ammo is very very cheap compared to most of equal caliber
Thanks. I’ve been considering doing something similar. Ignore the worshipers of brand names and the like (consumerism, lack of technical experience). With enough study and tinkering, it can be a good project. I have some experience in custom machining and other related studies.
I take exception to everything Ozzy wrote. First while Mosin Nagant rifles are old and a truly historic there are millions and millions of them in circulation. If several million were converted to sportsters there would still be several million more at least for those of us who wanted an original.
There are lots of good reasons to convert one. The ammo is incredibly cheap for a full power cartridge. You can still buy a sealed metal can with 440 cartridges for less than eighty bucks. Sure they are corrosive, but it only takes a couple extra minutes to swab them down. I actually have a couple hundred reloadable cases that I put a reduced charge and smaller cast bullet in for even cheaper and quieter fun. Kids and wives like them better.
I love my Mosin Nagants. The first one I bought at Big 5 had a worn barrel from poor maintanence, but the last three I had shipped were in very good shape and are all good shooters. They kind of remind me of an old balloon tired bike as compaired to a new light weight racing bike. They will both get you from point A to B. One will take a little less effort, but as far as longevity and durability goes... my bet would be on the balloon tired bike.
So thanks for the guide.
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