My bad weather hunting rifle

Moose season is about half over as I write this. While some folks have already harvested their winter meat supply, I prefer to wait for the second half of the season. Temperatures are cooler, the bugs are gone, and the leaves have started falling, improving visibility. The downside is that the weather often is rainy and wet most days.

I have an assortment of rifles which work well for hunting moose. The problem is that these firearms are commercially made and are in good condition. Most are wooden stocked with a blue metal finish. I think a wooden stock, blued steel rifle is the best-looking gun but isn’t the easiest to maintain during a wet hunting season. I have one rifle with “water spots” all over the action and barrel because of a rainy, nasty goat hunt I was on many years ago when I couldn’t keep the gun dry or even wipe it down as often as was needed.

I was looking for a rifle I could use under those wet conditions where I wouldn’t mind the gun getting wet and possibly a little rusty from minimal field maintenance in bad weather, and which didn’t cost a small fortune to buy. About that time, the military import market was booming with Russian Mosin-Nagant rifles in 7.62x54r caliber. That caliber is equivalent to our American 30-06 in power, so I knew it would work well for my intentions.

I bought a full-length rifle, the 91/30 model, and a “carbine version” called the 91/59 model for around $100 each (those days are long gone), both in very good condition. When I took both rifles out to test fire and shoot them for accuracy, I was surprised at how accurate both were, being used military guns nearly 100 years old. If I did my part, both rifles would easily hold a 2-inch, 3-shot group at 100 yards (definitely minute of moose).

Since these were both used military rifles, the fact they had both seen arsenal refurbishing was a given. Rarely are all the serial numbered parts matched back up when the rifles are reassembled after that type of service. Similar parts are tossed into a pile during servicing and when the rifle is reassembled, a part is pulled out of the pile and installed, with no consideration for matching numbers. When I checked the numbers on my 91/59, the barrel, receiver, and magazine floor plate were all matching. That would definitely help in maintaining the original accuracy of the rifle.

Over time, I bought an after-market, drop-in synthetic stock, and scope base for the 91/59 and had the bolt handle professionally altered to look like the sniper version of the 91/30. This “bent bolt” allowed the rifle to function properly with a scope mounted over the receiver. I also found a replica scope and mounting system for the 91/30 and had the bolt altered on it too. It now looks like the 91/30 sniper rifles the Soviets used in World War II.

I was pleasantly surprised when I added up the cost of turning the 91/59 carbine, with its 24-inch barrel, into a “sporterized” rifle for bad weather hunting. I already had the scope and was able to drill, and tap the receiver, and mount the rifle scope myself. That first year, one of the local sporting goods stores had a sale on 7.62x54r ammunition loaded with soft-point bullets designed for hunting, so I stocked up. I also bought a set of reloading dies to use down the road. As I recall, the total cost of the rifle, stock, and scope mount totaled around $200. The bolt work added around $75 more to the cost.

In addition to the “don’t mind if it gets wet” aspects of this rifle, I was also looking to have a rifle I wouldn’t mind lending out if a hunting partner needed to borrow one during a hunt. I usually won’t loan firearms to anyone, but I will make an occasional exception if I am friends with the asker and I’m along on the hunt.

Something else to keep in mind with this 7.62x54r cartridge is that, while it is considered a 30-caliber, the bullets tend to be .311-.312 in diameter, as opposed to our .308 diameter bullets for, say, the 30-06 cartridge. I have fired both rifles with .308 diameter bullets and at 100-yards or less, they shot well enough to hunt with, but I would only use that diameter bullet if a .311 was not available.