Cheap mods to an old rifle

This Mosin Nagant 91/30, produced by a Soviet factory in 1939, can ping away dependably at 100 yards or more using 65 year old Russian surplus ammo.

The Mosin was purchased and scope equipped for just over $150. The rifle was picked up some years ago for around a C-note (Expect to pay a little more now). The AIM scope rail came from Amazon for $8.80 (Yes, it seems to work fine if you put it on right). The scope itself is a cheap NcStar that was priced around $35 including shipping. It was the rubber butt pad that put me over the $150 mark.

The scope mount sits in place with the same pin that held the original rear sight. And the original sight can be swapped back in place in a matter of minutes.

The replacement butt pad's holes were drilled out to reduce the recoil. Even so, the rifle still packs a shoulder punch.

But I found something that might help tame that recoil even more. Diet food for the Mosin's chamber. Back in the Iron Curtain era, the Czechs made a low recoil training round in 7.62x54R. The bullet itself weights only 46 grains.

A limited supply of the Czech ammo recently made its way to a few online U.S. retailers. I ordered a bit from SGAmmo.com. Too bad I was already at the range when it arrived. My shoulder would probably be a little less sore today. I'll try to give the low recoil stuff a try one day next month.