Just got a 91/30. First MN what can y'all tell me about it?

[ElCid79]

I may have posted this in the wrong subforum, so here is the link.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23691

Also, I have never Deer hunted before. Partially because I did not have a proper weapon. Would this be adequate at that?

Cheers.

[Genetically Swiss]

The 7.62x54R is perfect for deer.


GS

[Junk Yard Dog]

Lot more to deer hunting than the weapon. Your skill level, how are you at stalking, reading trail, what sort of terrain is the deers habitat were you live. All these things and more come into play, here in the northeast 60 yards unobstructed by brush or close pack trees is the norm, mostly less than 60 yards. Some areas restrict hunting to shotguns and muzzle loaders. The 91/30 with or without a scope was made to hunt the most dangerous game of all, man, it's cartridge can put a 147 grain jacketed bullet in one end of the deer and out the other. You will need to learn the deer's vital areas and practice placing a shot in that area, nothing worse than dealing with a moving wounded animal, or even worse, losing such and leaving it to suffer. .30-30 Winchester can, and has taken more deer than any round I can think of, it's considerably less powerful than a military .30 round. I strongly suggest you acquire commercial hunting loads rather than use military full metal jacket surplus as such can over penetrate and fail to do enough damage on the way. Too clean a wound path. Contact the NRA, or your local authority in charge of issuing hunting licenses and get training. I had a friend of mine blown away by a trigger happy FNG " hunter" first time out and thinking my friend was a deer. You do not want to be that guy, seek out someone with real experience in hunting deer, and I do not mean Rambo, deer are not people, they think and act in a different way. Remember that you are responsible for every round fired from your weapon. Molot in Russia had to label the rifles they exported as hunting rifles to comply with Russian Federation law, but that PU is a hunting rifle like a Corvette is a commuter car. It's better suited for the range were it's long length is unlikely to be an issue in close cover. A Remington 700, Savage 110, or Winchester model 70 are typical hunting rifles, I prefer the Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 for deer myself.

[ElCid79]

That is all fantastic advice.

I have extensively hunted other types of game. Just never deer. In fact I have been licensed in several states, and countries actually. Haha

I have had a lot of training. Both official and real world. With that said, I won't ever hunt a new species alone for the first time. And never with a weapon I am not familiar with.


When I get a new weapon, I go to the range and practice practice practice.

You are correct, nothing is worse than wounding an animal.

I recognize that the 7.62x54r has a good sized projectile with a lot of powder. That lead me to believe that it would hunt well.

However, my question was really intended for these rifles. Are they accurate enough, rugged etc. (All of which I assume to be the case because of their history.)

The idea of large game hunting has never really appealed to me. So before investing in a ton of equipment I would like to try it.

Due to my desire to really know a weapon, it would be nice to use one I own as opposed to borrowing one.

Again, what you said was fantastic advice and well worth a read regardless of any personal experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WeldonHunter]

That is all fantastic advice.

I have extensively hunted other types of game. Just never deer. In fact I have been licensed in several states, and countries actually. Haha

I have had a lot of training. Both official and real world. With that said, I won't ever hunt a new species alone for the first time. And never with a weapon I am not familiar with.


When I get a new weapon, I go to the range and practice practice practice.

You are correct, nothing is worse than wounding an animal.

I recognize that the 7.62x54r has a good sized projectile with a lot of powder. That lead me to believe that it would hunt well.

However, my question was really intended for these rifles. Are they accurate enough, rugged etc. (All of which I assume to be the case because of their history.)

The idea of large game hunting has never really appealed to me. So before investing in a ton of equipment I would like to try it.

Due to my desire to really know a weapon, it would be nice to use one I own as opposed to borrowing one.

Again, what you said was fantastic advice and well worth a read regardless of any personal experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The question you need to ask yourself would be "Is my rifle accurate enough?" These rifles are capable being very accurate but these were refurbished and stored away afterwards. The accuracy can and will most likely be off. The only way to know how accurate your particular rifle is would be to learn the rifle and how to zero it in. You're already doing that. Then you'll need to take it to the range and dial it in. Keep in mind when you feel you're actually ready to hunt with it you'll need to make sure to practice with the exact ammo you'll be hunting with and dial the rifle in to that ammo. Now the other aspect is these are collector pieces and as mentioned above you'll have a much better chance of successfully taking dear with a modern hunting rifle and not have to worry about damaging the rifle from from it being dragged around the woods. I hunt from an elevated stand back behind my place. I've used a VZ24 8mm Mauser with Remington 170gr Core-Lokt and had no problems. I'm not walking around tracking them so I just sit and wait for them to walk up. I'm not into the hunt though. I just hunt to put food on the table so for me it's kind of like cutting the grass or some other chore around the place. Here's a post about my PU when I got it. It shows the target and grouping on a casual day of shooting. I was dialing the rifle in that day. http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... f=5&t=7296 here's a page showing some of the in's and outs of zeroing these. One note. You'll see one part about grinding the site mount to make a certain correction. If you feel this is the last resort to zero the rifle come here and ask before you do any grinding to see if it's truly necessary. Remember once the metal is gone it can't be put back. http://mosinnagant.net/sniper%20section ... ghting.asp

[WeldonHunter]

Cid here's the post I did about my PU when I got it a few years. http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... =36&t=6210 You'll see references to it being a Molot and that's something you can pick up on later on. It's actually covered in the Sniper links I posted. It was one of the first batch that came in so it was being scrutinized heavily at the time but that's one reason I bought it. The main point is that post might have some interesting points for you. Oh and it is a nice looking rifle too.

[ElCid79]

Thanks for all of the input,

I finally had a few minutes to clean some of the cosmoline off, recenter the optic, and do a quick field cleaning of the chamber and bolt. I am really surprised by how clean this weapon is. It honestly looks brand new, (with a few exceptions on the stock.) I think that I got pretty lucky.


One thing that makes me nervous, is the fact that I do not have any sort of scope protection. I have seen some cap type, as well as bag type covers. What is the correct authentic one? Also, where is a good place to order them from? Also, before I fire it, I want to order a set of headspace gauges. Should I purchase the 3 piece set, or just do a no-go gauge?

Thanks in advance.

[rayjd2]

From all the snipers I've seen, leather scope caps. Try the Liberty Tree link at the top of the page, they'll probably have them. If not, try Axis Arms. If not, try another! That's how crap for me has been going lately, just keep clicking!