Amateur Gun Smithing
by CmdrFenix on Apr.29, 2009, under General
A new mod for my Mosin Nagant finally arrived. I got the replacement for the rear sight that installs a standard rail. While I was at it, I also got a new scope for her too. 
I’ll post some pictures of the finished projected once the final parts I ordered have come in. What are the final parts you ask? I’ll just save those for my todo section of this post. 
Issues that I ran into:
It’s going to be different for every rifle, but mine being from 1943 meant those pins holding the sight in there for 63 yrs haven’t budged and might they might even have rusted a little. I spoke to a gun smith about this and he suggested that I just soak the sight in good penetrating oil, get a good set of push pins, and proceed to beat it with a hammer. So I removed the barrel and put it under a 2×4 I got from the Home Depot and soaked the pins/sight in WD40 for about 20 hrs.
Well last night I took another stab at it (the first night not going so well), and voila… each of the pins came out with some force. I packaged and sealed the old parts for the sight so I can return this rifle to mint condition later if I choose. I really didn’t want to tap the wood to put this rail/scope on. Also, before screwing in the rail, I made sure to use a good thread locking compound to help with vibration as recommended by the manufacturer. Everything is nice and snug and I’m optimistic it should hold.
Thoughts on the finished rifle:
I might get a higher power scope for this, but I haven’t decided and won’t know until I get her to the range Fri night. I’ve got the docs and stuff I need to sight her in and I’m going to give it a shot (pun intended) before making a decision. I have to admit though, the old girl looks pretty sexy!
Things remaining to be done for this rifle:
I’m waiting for them to arrive, but I ordered a bipod for end of this, and (your going to laugh), a laser mount as well. *shifty eyes* I know, I’m a geek, but when I’m done I plan on making all those guys with tricked out AR-15s jealous with my 63 yr old cougar of a rifle!
