Rifle of the Day, HI-style

Ad Astra

Ad Astra

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
3,833
Classic Arms, bless 'em, has a regular feature where they take an unusual collectible rifle and offer it up, HI-style.

First come, first serve, just like our own shark tank.

http://www.classicarms.us/

Scroll to check out this Dragoon-marked Mosin-Nagant 91/30, laminate stock with hex reciever, matching factory serial numbers and excellent bore.

He mentions the lucky dog that snagged it. Hmm, 8 minutes. Pretty long time, as time is measured here.

It's worth checking out, if you have a Curio & Relic license like I do, and even if you don't theres lots of neat stuff.

Mike

later that day: Ah, dangit, they took my name off the web site and put up a new ROTD. Hope you guys saw the Dragoon.
 
Those P64's turn into wonderful, graceful and very accurate shooters for anyone with any gunsmith training. The springs are easily replaced and a few moments with emory or stones and proper lubrication slick them right up.

*Way* slimmer than any J frame or Det Special and as powerful to boot.

Yeah...
 
hollowdweller said:
Those P64's have an ungodly rough, gritty double action pull.
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Heard that, and got a Manurhin PP instead.

Classic hard-chromes M44's and M38's, along with other stuff.

WISH I had got one of their hard-chrome CZ52's- they're great shooters. All gone now.

Gotta love the milsurps.


Mike
 
Springs in a self-loader have to balance. They traded spring power in the recoil spring in favor for power to the hammer to compensate for hard primers in military ammo designed for sub machine guns. If you are only going to shoot handgun ammo, you can reverse the power curve by swapping those two springs for different rates.

A trimmed recoil spring from a ruger P7 will provide about 25 pounds of pressure on the slide and Wolff offers a PPK hammer spring in weights from 14 to 20 pounds (get the 16 pounder).

Weight off one, onto the other keeps the recoil forces in balance and drops the double action trigger weight from more than 25 pounds (yes...honestly) to around 10...entirely doable for a trained shooter.

Total cost for the springs...about $12.

BTW, they often have excellent 3 pound single action triggers...and will group out of a trained hand at about 2" at 25 yards.
 
I've long since learned to resist the call of the Khukuri, and I've gotten much better with the Scandinavian knives.

But yer absolutely killin' me with these surplus rifles!!!:mad: ;)

I'm trying to thin out my gun and knife collection, and at the same time I'm looking at those K-31's saying "hmmm...maybe just one more....I can find a use for it....":rolleyes:
 
Runs With Scissors said:
...I'm looking at those K-31's saying "hmmm...maybe just one more....I can find a use for it....":rolleyes:
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RWS, you mean you DON'T have a K31!?! The slickest, fastest-shooting, most accurate milsurp out there? :eek: :foot:

Goodgawd, man. Don't you know they're all gonna be gone soon. Ones that are left will fetch $300-$500. :eek: :foot: <ahem> I hope.

You'd better move quickly, especially with Wolf now making Swiss 7.5 ammo for $10-12 a box, and you can reload the brass with any old .308 bullet.


Concerned for you,
Mike
 
I just called one of the local shops and found out they have 'em for $150-$195....

If we weren't lookin' at the leanest times we've had since we were kids I'd have my beat up old Dodge truck haulin' butt into Anchorage instead of typing this and gritting my teeth....:D
 
RWS, I forgot you live in Alaska, where everything's $.

K31's will go up in value (I believe) slowly, and only when they're gone- which won't be for a while. You have time.

Everybody who shoots K31's like them, but if you don't reload, the factory ammo (GP-11) is a tad pricey at $18-25/60 rounds down here. Prvi Partizan and Wolf make reloadable for $10-12/20. I'm not reloading yet but saving my brass.

But if you can afford, pick a nice one. They really are quality rifles. Walnut's prettier than the beech (the 2 in the middle are beech) - here's both:



Prices here are less than you mention, but that's true of most stuff in Alaska, I think. Good luck.


Mike
 
Geez...I thought I woulda been gettin' a steal at $150!:eek:

Oh well...my time will come. I'll also have more time to consider whether I want the K-31 or one of the Finnish M-39's you'd also mentioned...:D
 
Depends on the particular K31 if $150 is a steal or a deal... but I'm no expert, just an enthusiast.

M39's? :D
http://www.gunsnammo.com/

These guys JUST posted their latest an hour ago...

not that I'm encouraging/enabling anybody... but for the price of a decent automatic pistol (say $595), you can get 5 decent milsurps:

A K31, ($150) an M39 ($200), a M38 ($85) , a M44 ($75- why not) and a M-N 91/30 ($85).

Another $32 gets you 440 rounds of 7.62x54r. Go shootin'.


Mike
 
Mike knows what topics draw me out of the woodwork.

M-N triggers are actually very easy to improve if you're careful -- no spring mods necessary.

1. Purchase a new trigger or two. (Trust me on this. Better safe than sorry and they're cheap.)
2. Remove your existing trigger.
3. Locate the sear on top. It's wedge shaped and is probably missing the finish on top. *Carefully* grind on the top with a file. Don't use power tools, they remove metal too quickly. You want to remove just a tiny bit of metal. You may also want to reduce the angle slightly but be very careful with that.
4. Reinstall. Verify that it still works. You should be able to rap the butt of the rifle hard on the ground and not have the striker fall. You should also be able to work the bolt as hard as you can without the striker falling. If it falls, you took too much off -- put a new trigger in.
5. If it still works, polish it. Go all the way down to chromium oxide and a polishing bob. Make it shine. Hit the corresponding notch on the bolt body (it's easy enough to find, and you may wish to hit the other wear marks on the bolt to slick up bolt operation at the same time) and test the trigger again. It should still work properly.
6. Marvel at how much better it feels now. The stock triggers are so bad, any improvement at all normally translates to a better group.

If you want to lighten it you can play with the trigger spring but I don't like modifying leaf springs like that personally and it's very easy to induce some play in the trigger pull like this. A simple polishing job makes it good enough.

As for the K31's, I scoped one of mine with a spare Springfield Armory scope and the St. Marie no-gunsmith mount. I had my misgivings about the mount; the rings aren't stabilized against recoil so I torqued the hell out of the mounting screws. It was range tested recently. Not only was it within inches of the iron sights as mounted (prior to any adjustment), but it held zero.

Funny thing about that...I kind of lost the urge to shoot that rifle now. It's too easy to hit things with this setup. :)

Got dies for 7.5mm. Wolf (err, Partizan) 7.5mm ammunition is less expensive than new 7.5mm brass at most locations so I went with that. I haven't shot any of it yet but I'll report on it when I do. I just wanted the brass anyway.

By the way, Mike...when you wear out those 7.5mm stripper clips, try some 7.62x54Rmm clips instead. They work surprisingly well and don't wear out. You lose a round, but hey...for that price?
 
Dave, if you have a source for decent 7.62x54r stripper clips, please share it!

I sent away to Marstar in Canada trying to get good ones. The brass ones that come on some old commie ammo are supposed to be the best.

Alas, the Canadian ones don't have the sought-after sharp corners, and work so-so. I'm not loading my M-N's in a hurry at the range anyways; the barrel gets *hot*.

At THR, it's an-ongoing search for the best stripper clips, and those guys know a lot.

That about the trigger work is appreciated: some of mine are great, others make me flinch, they're so bad.

The Swiss paper-and-metal strippers work great but wear out fast; Layne at Tennesee gun parts has them at $20 for 12, I think.

Some great tips- thanks. Again. :p


Mike
 
I bought my clips years ago when people like Tapco would just throw extras in with an unrelated order. Even the original sharp-cornered ones were fairly common. I haven't needed any since. I wasn't aware that they were finally getting scarce...I didn't believe that that could actually happen.

You have mail.
 
What are the regulations Re: purchasing a gun or ammo from classic arms? Do you have to have a dealers license?
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
What are the regulations Re: purchasing a gun or ammo from classic arms? Do you have to have a dealers license?
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Not sure about Classic specifically, but in general:
Ammo: over 21, usually have to fax driver's license.
Curio & Relic firearms: Class 03 FFL (C&R license)
Reg. firearms: Class 01 FFL (usually another gun dealer)


Mike
 
Both of my Mohseen Noggins have excellent triggers. The only downside is it they are so light it's hard to tell exactly WHEN they are gonna go off. I just hold steady and pull evenly till I see a large fireball and feel a mule kick me:eek: :D

I'll pass on the P64. I know they can be improved but my CZ 82 and Makarov are both 9X18 and shoot great. I love the 82. Not as thin as the Mak but awesome sights and ergonomics.
 
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Specials.html

AIM has K31's for $69.95. I just ordered one.

They are stock blems, with dings/and or a crack. The girl told me there are some walnut mixed in with the beech, but are going fast- they were posted last nite with only 50 or so to sell.

Seems to me you could fill any stock repair with putty, sand and texture-paint it black (or camo, or any other color). Don't do that to a pretty walnut one, of course- I mean do it to an ugly-a@@ beech one.

I once got to look over pallets and pallets of K31's, and some had "faded" blue, worn a little on one side. These might be like that.

Some paint + bluing = $69 K31.


Mike
 
Ad Astra said:
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Specials.html

AIM has K31's for $69.95. I just ordered one.

They are stock blems, with dings/and or a crack. The girl told me there are some walnut mixed in with the beech, but are going fast- they were posted last nite with only 50 or so to sell.

Seems to me you could fill any stock repair with putty, sand and texture-paint it black (or camo, or any other color). Don't do that to a pretty walnut one, of course- I mean do it to an ugly-a@@ beech one.

I once got to look over pallets and pallets of K31's, and some had "faded" blue, worn a little on one side. These might be like that.

Some paint + bluing = $69 K31.


Mike
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Oh, no.

AA your link doesn't work.

What do you think is available for so low a price?
 
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