I know that these after market reproduction sniper bolts are have welded on turn down handles. Is the original turned bolt handles threaded into the bolt?
Thanks MM
Question about Sniper Bolt
Moderator: Miller Tyme
I think the answer may depend on if Finnish or not
I copied a paragraph from The Mosin-Nagant Rifle by Terence Lapin.
He mentions and illustrates a Finnish Nagant sniper rifle bolt. I would think the Russian ones might be the same from his book. However, my refurbished, Russian, recent import 91/30 has a more rounded bend in the handle that looks like a straight handle that was bent down. The Finn bolt illustration in Lapin's book looks like it may have been joined to the bolt after being bent. And it should be noted that the Russian recent import does not require any stock modification to use the handle because the bend is not quite as much.
It looks like from the illustration, that the Finn sniper handle, turned down 80 degrees, could have been threaded into the bolt. Lapin doesn't say.
Here is a site I found that shows some sniper rifles, including Finn sniper rifles, that all look like bent handles and no significant stock modification are evident.
http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/RIFLES7.htm
Good question. Maybe we have an expert out there with some answers.
He mentions and illustrates a Finnish Nagant sniper rifle bolt. I would think the Russian ones might be the same from his book. However, my refurbished, Russian, recent import 91/30 has a more rounded bend in the handle that looks like a straight handle that was bent down. The Finn bolt illustration in Lapin's book looks like it may have been joined to the bolt after being bent. And it should be noted that the Russian recent import does not require any stock modification to use the handle because the bend is not quite as much.
It looks like from the illustration, that the Finn sniper handle, turned down 80 degrees, could have been threaded into the bolt. Lapin doesn't say.
Here is a site I found that shows some sniper rifles, including Finn sniper rifles, that all look like bent handles and no significant stock modification are evident.
http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/RIFLES7.htm
Good question. Maybe we have an expert out there with some answers.
- Attachments
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- Who knows what recent import.
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Last edited by Niner on Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:59 am, edited 5 times in total.
Well, not exactly
I think the Russians were all bent bolt handles, not threaded, and probably most of the Finns were as well. I wonder where Lapin got the illustration that he published in his book. Of course Lapin wrote this book and published it back in 1998 before the big increase in Mosin Nagant collectors and subsquent new information.....and misinformation...that has been produced on the internet.
I went back and rewrote the first post to try to make what I was thinking clearer. And bear in mind what I was saying is only my observation and assumption, not meant as definative at all.
I went back and rewrote the first post to try to make what I was thinking clearer. And bear in mind what I was saying is only my observation and assumption, not meant as definative at all.
Thanks NINER understood. I was looking at a few so called original snipers and seen a few russian made versions with a bolt handle that was turned down and had a threaded connection to the main bolt housing. The Russians used a thinner bolt handle on thier snipers vs the finns. I'm sure one of the Mosin Nagant wizards will let us know soon enough.
MM
MM
Another thing
Lapin wrote that the sniper bolt could not be used in a standard Mosin Nagant unless the stock had been modified ... to allow for the 80 degree handle.
I took the bent bolt "sniper" I have and put it in a standard 91/30. No difference in stock clearance and easily functional. This would square with the other somewhat contradictory thing he says that asserts that the Mosin Nagant rifle itself was no different from any other Mosin Nagant rifle other than the bolt and that it was selected for whatever seeming acuracy it may have had by chance.
I took the bent bolt "sniper" I have and put it in a standard 91/30. No difference in stock clearance and easily functional. This would square with the other somewhat contradictory thing he says that asserts that the Mosin Nagant rifle itself was no different from any other Mosin Nagant rifle other than the bolt and that it was selected for whatever seeming acuracy it may have had by chance.
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- Standard 91/30 with bent bolt as per "sniper" in place.
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oldironsights
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I would believe any sniper bolt that is threaded to the body to be a recent modification to build a sniper-type bolt suitable for use in a Mosin equipped with optics.
Being the CHEAP weasel that I am, I have taken 3/8" round stock, heated it with a torch & bent it 90 degrees, polished it to a high gloss, & attached it to the main body with 3/8"x24tpi threads.
Then I silver soldered the parts to lock them in, & re-polished the bolt body to look nice.
I have seen replicas of sniper bolts using 5/16" round stock that was threaded & welded.
I have not seen an original sniper bolt that was threaded, nor have I read about this type of attachment.
Being the CHEAP weasel that I am, I have taken 3/8" round stock, heated it with a torch & bent it 90 degrees, polished it to a high gloss, & attached it to the main body with 3/8"x24tpi threads.
Then I silver soldered the parts to lock them in, & re-polished the bolt body to look nice.
I have seen replicas of sniper bolts using 5/16" round stock that was threaded & welded.
I have not seen an original sniper bolt that was threaded, nor have I read about this type of attachment.
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Help save this retired fighting ship from the scrapyard;
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If you are trying to make a sniper that looks original then you want one of the bent bolt handles. But if you are sporterizing an MN and want just a turned down bolt handle there is a better way to go.
Get a turned down bolt handle from Midway for $9.99. Then get some high nickle welding rod from Brownells. Cut into the bolt body of the MN with a dremmel and cut off wheels. Also shape the end of the bolt handle to fit into the part you cut out. (When you have it all in your hands it's easy to see what I mean ) Then use a gas torch to weldup the bolt handle and the bolt body. Of cource you don't need to worry about over heating the locking lugs because they are not part of the bolt body. After it's all welded up nicely just file down the weld and polish. You end up with a turned down bolt that looks good. Not something that was just utiltarian for a Russian soldier to yank on while shooting German Officers.
Here is one I did. It's not a bolt handle from Midway. This one is from brownells.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc13 ... G_0066.jpg[/pic]
Gee it seems difficult to get a good picture up here. All looks good on my screen before I link it but after I see it on the forum it looks much larger and out of focus. Any ideas how to fix this probleM?? TIA
Get a turned down bolt handle from Midway for $9.99. Then get some high nickle welding rod from Brownells. Cut into the bolt body of the MN with a dremmel and cut off wheels. Also shape the end of the bolt handle to fit into the part you cut out. (When you have it all in your hands it's easy to see what I mean ) Then use a gas torch to weldup the bolt handle and the bolt body. Of cource you don't need to worry about over heating the locking lugs because they are not part of the bolt body. After it's all welded up nicely just file down the weld and polish. You end up with a turned down bolt that looks good. Not something that was just utiltarian for a Russian soldier to yank on while shooting German Officers.
Here is one I did. It's not a bolt handle from Midway. This one is from brownells.
Gee it seems difficult to get a good picture up here. All looks good on my screen before I link it but after I see it on the forum it looks much larger and out of focus. Any ideas how to fix this probleM?? TIA
Well that's a solution
Not exactly the right solution ......according to history. But to each his own. If it works for you it works for me.
The picture thing is that photos bigger than the screen will push the screen out...but we will fix it here. No extra charge.
You could also save the image as a jpg to your desktop at the same modest over size and link it as an attachment and it will resize itself. In such a case you can forget photobucket altogether.
The picture thing is that photos bigger than the screen will push the screen out...but we will fix it here. No extra charge.
You could also save the image as a jpg to your desktop at the same modest over size and link it as an attachment and it will resize itself. In such a case you can forget photobucket altogether.
Re: Question about Sniper Bolt
If one is trying to make a replia of a rifle then one wants to use what was done at the time. But I am of the opinion that if I am going to put my time and effort into something I want it to look, and shoot, better then it did before I put a hand to it. The picture of the bolt I posted is on a converted m44. It has a four power scout scope and the after market stock has had pillars and steel recoild block added. It shoots way better then it did before I worked on it and looks better also.
I have a real MN sniper that I bought many years ago and I wouldn't change anything on it. But there are a ton of these old beasts out there now. Plenty of them so I, or anyone else, can get some smithing experiance. Find out what works and what doesn't without having to start with an expensive rifle. I think I paid sixty dollars for the m44 to begin with.
I have a real MN sniper that I bought many years ago and I wouldn't change anything on it. But there are a ton of these old beasts out there now. Plenty of them so I, or anyone else, can get some smithing experiance. Find out what works and what doesn't without having to start with an expensive rifle. I think I paid sixty dollars for the m44 to begin with.