Grabbed a new 1922 Hex

nmcqueen469 · Post by **nmcqueen469** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:08 am

Hey guys, first-time Mosin owner here!

Picked up a 1922 Hex Izhevsk. Numbers matching, not force matched, brass furniture. It has a handful of pretty interesting markings on it also. Bought it from a local guy with a bad Mosin addiction.

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but can't wait!

One question I do have is about the current scope on it. It has nowhere enough eye relief on it, I am essentially kissing the bolt right now to properly see through the scope. Anyone have any recommendations for an affordable long eye relief scope? Sorry if this is a new-guyish question, I'm new to the wonderful world of Mosins.

desdem12 · Post by **desdem12** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:16 am

I think there are some guys who can answer that. It is nice that it is a 22 ex dragoon Rifle, but it appears that they have done premanent damage to the rear sight. The 22s are fairly rare. I think you can get a Nstar? (maybe?) i think that works good but i am unsure of the eye relief number on them.

tjtM38 · Post by **tjtM38** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:02 pm

I'm hoping you didn't pay much for the gun. Unless I am seeing something that others aren't, it looks like that sight base has been milled to take that scope mount alone. If that is the case, there is little hope to restoring that rifle's rear sight base to M91/30 standard configuration. It may be good as a shooter, but only with a long eye relief scope, which you don't have. It has no value to a collector. I hate to say it, but I would never buy a gun like that.

Homer2 · Post by **Homer2** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:12 pm

I think the rear 91/30 sight base can be reinstalled and pinned into place. Former dragoon, so the 91/30 rear sight base is proper for it. Can't help with scope issues, though.

Welcome to the forum.

ponycarman · Post by **ponycarman** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:14 pm

Looks like they just took off the rear sight to use the dove tail. Sucks they removed it :(. I would get a rear sight and put it back on. As for an affordable ler scope, I have a ncstar 2x7 pistolero scope I think I payed less than $50 for. Quality isn't perfect but it isn't bad and the eye relief is just about perfect for the mosin.

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nmcqueen469 · Post by **nmcqueen469** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:35 pm

Thanks for the input guys, scope hunting is starting to make my head spin!

As far as the rear mount, the previous owner assured me that it's in perfect working condition if I want to slide the rear sight back on. I do have it, along with the mounting pins, although I haven't attempted to re-mount it since I bought the gun.

sjsevier · Post by **sjsevier** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:48 pm

Man I love those hexs

desdem12 · Post by **desdem12** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:49 pm

WEll in that case what a great piece. Show us some shank markings on it.

ponycarman · Post by **ponycarman** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:16 pm

Awesome thats great news. Sounds like the previous owner used his head haha.

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BostonMike · Post by **BostonMike** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:31 pm

There is a 3/8 dovetail under the rear sight base. He can slide the base back on and pin it and good as new.

I had an NCstar 2-7x pistolero on one of my mosins. Worked well for $50.

I used the brass stacker mount with min, which is pricey at $50 or so. It does have a long rail though, so with a bent bolt you could slide the scope back a ways.

I since took it off. Mine was on a '26 ex dragoon and I felt it was too nice to not have in original form. So now the scope and mount sit on my shelf for future use.

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Post by **bunkysdad** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:02 pm

Welcome to the forum. Glad you found us here. You should have fun with this one. I'd go with the NC Star if you want to keep the cost down. Otherwise any more expensive pistol scopes may run 200 bucks or better. Check on Ebay or Optics Planet.

nmcqueen469 · Post by **nmcqueen469** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:09 pm

I'll snap some more pics soon for you guys.

Boston Mike, thanks for the info on the scope and mount.

A couple questions: I've heard a little about bent bolts. Are they readily available? Any reliability issues with them? Can you just bend your own?

Also, what makes this an ex-Dragoon? Heard that term used a lot, what's the significance?

BostonMike · Post by **BostonMike** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:15 pm

If your bolt handle is numbered to make the rifle, don't modify it. Remove it from the bolt and get another handle to modify.

You can buy another bolt handle on eBay or other vendor like Liberty Collector. Then you can modify that handle. A few vendors on eBay offer services to modifying the handle into a bent bolt.

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tjtM38 · Post by **tjtM38** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:19 pm

An ex-Dragoon is basically a M91 Dragoon rifle that was later modified to M91/30 configuration. You can read about it here under the discussion about the M91 Dragoon:

information/russia/index.html

I wouldn't modify the bolt by bending. You may want to glance at the Preservation Forum Rules.

desdem12 · Post by **desdem12** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:24 pm

Dragoons were the shorter version of the original M1891 long rifle. They are the same length as the later 91/30s so when these went through refurbishment they upgraded the old dragoons to 91/30 specs. They added new rear sight and new front sight. These older dragoons were then given the name ex dragoon or upgraded dragoon. The 20s era dragoons have great barrel shank markings, to me anyway. Real Dragoons are few now though because of the upgrade program.

Post by **bunkysdad** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:39 pm

I know you are new here, and new to Mosins. I think Bostonmike is new here too. So, having realized that, it is very likely that you got caught up in the excitement of having a new Mosin, found the forum( that's a good thing) and jumped right in and probably didn't read the forum rules. LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT NOW. Because this is a preservation forum you won't find any support for bending ANY bolt handles. Your bolt handle is not supposed to be bent, so why would you try to change it into something it never was. To a preservationist, changing and modifying historical military firearms is a horrible thing to see, let alone try to tell someone how to do it. That is the reason in fact that some posts here about your scope mounting was practically answered so fast that little thought went into it. It's understandable because as preservasionists changing or modifying historical milita....... Wait I already said that.
Check out the rules for the forum, consider the whys behind them, get yourself a few more Mosins, and if you feel yourself saying "but it's my damn gun and I can do what I want" read all you can about the history of the Mosin Nagant before you make any decisions.
All the best, Russell

Post by **Junk Yard Dog** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:51 pm

Fifty bucks? Not a bad deal, ditch the scope, put the rear sight back on, and forget about messing with the bolt handle. You have a fine weapon that is capable of a surprising level of accuracy with iron sights alone so long as there is a decent enough bore and crown. 1922, the year Lenin and his Bolsheviks got things nailed down in Russia creating the state we would come to know as the USSR. A dark, and terrible year that would lead to decades of human misery in that state, quite a piece of history, take good care of it.

Sgt. Rob · Post by **Sgt. Rob** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:49 pm

Junk Yard Dog wrote:Fifty bucks? Not a bad deal, ditch the scope, put the rear sight back on, and forget about messing with the bolt handle. You have a fine weapon that is capable of a surprising level of accuracy with iron sights alone so long as there is a decent enough bore and crown. 1922, the year Lenin and his Bolsheviks got things nailed down in Russia creating the state we would come to know as the USSR. A dark, and terrible year that would lead to decades of human misery in that state, quite a piece of history, take good care of it.

I heartily concur with this. 1922 ex dragoons are not exactly jumping out of every retail store or distributer. Put this one back to refurb condition with a rear sight. If you absolutely have to scout scope one, get a more common year at least and use a non gunsmith system. That way when you reach our level of mosinitus, you can easily return it to original configuration!

Semper Fi, Rob

Post by **bunkysdad** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:38 pm

And you can avoid what some have done, only to regret it later. Imformation is power.

Post by **Rongo** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:50 pm

Looks like you can put it back to the way it was. Call the guy you got it from & see if he still has all the rear sight parts. If he does... Get them. The scope is already on there, the bolt should clear the scope as it is & maybe shoot it for a while to see if you like it that way. What's done is done at this point. When you get bored with the scope setup (and I'll bet you will) put it back to as it was.

Enjoy the forum & welcome aboard.

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