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So last weekend I was shooting a newly acquired Mosin 91/30 that looked fairly clean, but wouldn't shoot right. Shots grouped poorly with huge vertical strings.
The barrel in a Mosin Nagant is not supported in any particular place, really. at the rear end it's screwed securely into the receiver, and it sits in a wood sandwich between the stock fore-end and an upper forend/barrel-cover piece. The wooden parts are held in place with 2 barrel bands, but the fit is such that the barrel could be touching wood just about any old place.
In the case of this old rifle, the muzzle had about a 1/16" of vertical wiggle room inside the wood-sandwich with the forend and upper cap pulled completely together. Floated barrels are no good unless they're free floated (in Soviet Russia, barrel floats you?) So I endeavored to alter the forend so that the barrel was only held at the receiver and the 2 barrel bands.
In order to perform sneaky Russian high speed barrel bedding job, you will be needink:
1) Some scraps of thin leather or bootlace, about 1/16" thick.
2) Something a bit thinner, such as cotton cleaning patches.
3) Bayonet.
STEP ONE: Remove barrel bands by tapping/prying and sliding them forward, off the stock.
STEP TWO: Remove the two machine screws holding the barreled receiver to the stock. One is located underneath, just in front of the magazine. The second is on the receiver tang, aft of the bolt. Bolt need not be removed.
STEP THREE: Lift the barreled receiver free of the stock. Pull the magazine well out of the bottom of the stock, similarly.
STEP FOUR: Place 2 small shims of boot lace or cleaning patch inside the barrel channel at the places where the barrel bands go around. Use bootlace if you need something thicker; use patch if you need thinner.
STEP FIVE: Replace barrel in stock. Apply 2 more small shims to the top of the barrel, where the bands will go.
STEP SIX: Replace shoulder-thing-that-goes-up (AKA glorious people's wooden barrel shroud). Slide barrel bands back over the assembly. If it's too tight, shim less. If the two wooden pieces still come together completely, you're not bedded tight enough; add thicker shims.
STEP SEVEN: Replace mag well and 2 machine screws. Did I mention that the bayonet doubles as a flathead screwdriver? When you're done, put the screwdriver back on the muzzle. RKKA regulations state that screwdrivers shall be mounted at all times, unless traveling by wagon or motor-carriage.
STEP EIGHT: There is no step eight. Enjoy tighter groups when shooting fascists and deserters.
The barrel in a Mosin Nagant is not supported in any particular place, really. at the rear end it's screwed securely into the receiver, and it sits in a wood sandwich between the stock fore-end and an upper forend/barrel-cover piece. The wooden parts are held in place with 2 barrel bands, but the fit is such that the barrel could be touching wood just about any old place.
In the case of this old rifle, the muzzle had about a 1/16" of vertical wiggle room inside the wood-sandwich with the forend and upper cap pulled completely together. Floated barrels are no good unless they're free floated (in Soviet Russia, barrel floats you?) So I endeavored to alter the forend so that the barrel was only held at the receiver and the 2 barrel bands.
In order to perform sneaky Russian high speed barrel bedding job, you will be needink:
1) Some scraps of thin leather or bootlace, about 1/16" thick.
2) Something a bit thinner, such as cotton cleaning patches.
3) Bayonet.
STEP ONE: Remove barrel bands by tapping/prying and sliding them forward, off the stock.
STEP TWO: Remove the two machine screws holding the barreled receiver to the stock. One is located underneath, just in front of the magazine. The second is on the receiver tang, aft of the bolt. Bolt need not be removed.
STEP THREE: Lift the barreled receiver free of the stock. Pull the magazine well out of the bottom of the stock, similarly.
STEP FOUR: Place 2 small shims of boot lace or cleaning patch inside the barrel channel at the places where the barrel bands go around. Use bootlace if you need something thicker; use patch if you need thinner.
STEP FIVE: Replace barrel in stock. Apply 2 more small shims to the top of the barrel, where the bands will go.
STEP SIX: Replace shoulder-thing-that-goes-up (AKA glorious people's wooden barrel shroud). Slide barrel bands back over the assembly. If it's too tight, shim less. If the two wooden pieces still come together completely, you're not bedded tight enough; add thicker shims.
STEP SEVEN: Replace mag well and 2 machine screws. Did I mention that the bayonet doubles as a flathead screwdriver? When you're done, put the screwdriver back on the muzzle. RKKA regulations state that screwdrivers shall be mounted at all times, unless traveling by wagon or motor-carriage.
STEP EIGHT: There is no step eight. Enjoy tighter groups when shooting fascists and deserters.
