First NICE day of the year . . . VERY FRUITFUL

[fn111557]

It was a beautiful day, 60+ degrees, light wind, and almost empty range. Just finished cleaning up my ’43 Tula sniper, so I thought let’s see what it can do. WELL it can do a lot better than I can. At 50 yards I was only about 3 inches to the right and low, with both wheels set to 0. I turned the elevation up to 1, and about 2.5 marks to the -. Next 3 shots were close enough to center for me, so I tried it out on a 8” shoot-N-see at 100yards. A little playing here and there and I think I found the SWEET SPOT.
AMMO;
I have a can of the Bulgarian circle 10 “Silver Tipped” in a sardine can that I have not used yet. I did open and use a zinc soldered can that had 22 wrap packs (of 20 rounds) in it. The markings on that can were rubbed off, but the guy at the (LGS) local gun store said it was 147 grain steal surplus? From the information I found on the below link, I believe I have Russian surplus 147gr lead core with “17” / “??” stamped on rim of copper washed steel case. From the pictures on the link it appears to be Russian (has “17” stamped on rim), but there is no “RED seal around bullet-case junction”. I have seen the “Silver Tipped” that I have and it has the RED seal. Does the fact that the ammo I am using NOT have the RED seal, mean it is actually “lead core” vise “steal core” like I was told? I know the case is copper washed steel because I picked up the spent cases with a magnet. I’ll get some pictures later when I open the Bulgarian to show a comparison of the two.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmoID.htm

Like I said it shoots better than I can. I did manage to get this respectful 5 shot group. Let me know what you think.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/91_30_Sniper/WP_000083.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/91_30_Sniper/WP_000085.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/91_30_Sniper/WP_000086.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/91_30_Sniper/MNsniper_130310.jpg

[joem]

Nice looking firearm. It's still cold here and I'm waiting for the weather to warm up with NO RAIN!

[fn111557]

*** UPDATE ***
After my first outing I have been chomping at the bit to get out again. The biggest question I wondered about was, How well will the PU scope hold zero after being removed and returned to that funny mount? Well the following pictures should show that.
Went to the range Saturday to get my FINAL trigger time, with my STOCK” Ruger 10/22. It was a beautiful day, 72 degrees, sunny, but a few wind gusts blew in later in the day. It just so happened by the time I got around to shooting my sniper, some of the gusts were flapping my target almost straight out horizontal. I also opened my can of Bulgarian silver tip so decided to run two tests at the same time. I had removed the scope after my first range trip and gave the gun a complete take down and cleaning. At the range I put the scope back on and made sure ALL screws were tightened. The two types of ammo I have are both 147gr. One is Russian lead core with a head stamp of 17 over 49. The other is Bulgarian circle 10 silver tip steel core, with a head stamp of 10 over 71.
With two targets at 100yds, I fired 25 rounds of each type ammo in the following order; I fired 10 rounds of Russian at target “A”, then 10 rounds of Bulgarian at target “B”. Then I fired 5 rounds of Bulgarian at target “B”, followed by 5 rounds of Russian at target “A”, and reversed this process for 5 more rounds each. The last 5 rounds of each type I loaded alternately and fired at its designated target.
Judging from the pictures, I think the results are clear (other than my shooting leaves a lot to be desired). The steel core silver tip Bulgarian, although it has a larger group spread, seems to have a higher point of impact. Compared to my original target picture in this thread (shot with Russian ammo), after removal of the scope not much adjustment is needed to get it back to zero.
So if you are still interested here is the skinny and pictures;
Russian 147gr lead core, copper washed steel case, head stamp 17 / 49
Max spread – 6.3 inches
Average to Center – 1.890 inches
Group Size WxH – 5.5x6.1 inches
Group Center Offset from POA – V -2.026, H -0.058
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/Target/130413scan49a.jpg

Bulgarian 147gr steel core, copper washed steel case, head stamp 10 / 71
Max spread – 8.7 inches
Average to Center – 2.038 inches
Group Size WxH – 4.7x7.9 inches
Group Center Offset from POA – V -1.596, H +0.931
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/Target/130413scan50a.jpg

[collectorm1ca]

If you really want to see which ammo is more accurate and the one your rifle shoots best, avoid mixing the Russian and Bulgarian ammo. Each should be shot in groups by themselves. The reason is that different powders and metal jackets leave deposits in the barrel and can cause inconsistencies and flyers until the residue from the previous ammo is out of the barrel. When switching from one type to the other, you should clean the barrel and fire a couple of fouling shots, or if you can't clean, fire several shots with the new ammo before testing it.

Your rifle is very nice. I'd like to see what it would do with about 46 grains of 4064 and a Sierra 168 SMK.

[Steven Martin]

I also have a Mosin sniper. I have never been very happy with it's accuracy (4"-6" or bigger at 100 yds) no matter what I shot in it; surplus ammo or reloads. This winter I decided to slug the barrel and found it measured .314". There's the problem I said to myself. Well I loaded up some rounds with some .312 Herters 150 gr sp's in front of 43 gr 2520 and off to the range I went. Now I'm getting 6" - 8" at 100. Any ideas guys? The bore is a little dark but not bad and the rifling is very pronounced. I would say it's just me but that same day I was shooting 1" groups with my Model 70 30gov't06. Are these rifles picky as to screw torque or anything? I'm stymied.

[fn111557]

I picked up some HEAVY 7.62x54r ammo for my PU Sniper. I was told by many people that the heavier ammo gets better results. I am FAR from being a rifleman, but I could almost get better groups at 100 yards from my .30 carbines as I was getting from the PU Sniper with 149gr surplus. Long story short, everyone was right! Here is my latest results using the 182gr PPU bullets. That flyer was my FIRST shot and would love to have it back! That is a standard 3” sticky circle on a silhouette target, 10 shot at 100 yards!

TARGET 10shots at 100yds
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/fn111557/91_30_Sniper/WP_000189.jpg

[Nate]

Mine was the Hungarian version, all matching including the scope, and all parts were marked 02. It shot very well, and the ammo that came with it was supposed to be "sniper" with a silver colored bullet. My sniper collection is gone but I remember liking this one the best, even with the long barrel.

[usmc69]

You folks ought to post some of this over on GUNBOARDS. http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?7-The-Sniper-Rifle-Forum