PU Sniper

Just had a chance to give a '43 Tula (refurb) an initial test. This is one of the ones refurbished post WW2 that are not supposed to be collectable. I don't know why- a No. 4T or '03A4 that was arsenal rebuilt is still pretty desirable. Perhaps the sheer number of these is the issue? It has matching (deep stamp) bolt/ action body. Triggerguard is restamped to match. The scope number is stamped on the left side of the barrel right above the wood. The scope mount base is very nicely installed. Anyway, I bought it to shoot and finally got a chance to put a few rounds through it at the ancestral Ridolpho shooting range in Saskatchewan. Tightened the scope bracket into the mount, set everything at "zero" and it got right onto the bullseye at 100 yards shooting prone off a mat. I shot 5 but only 4 are visible- didn't have a called flyer so either had a "dud" round or 2 bullets through one hole. Rushing to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitos I backed off to 300 yards and set the range accordingly and was shocked to find 4 of 5 on the paper. I haven't shot prone much and was having a heck of a time getting a consistant chin-weld but this combo appears to have good potential and I'm anxious to get it on a proper bench rest for more testing. These rifles were obviously set up pretty well during the refurb- post is dead center in the scope and cross hair drops to center at about 600 meters setting. Fun shooting and not nearly the recoil of D-Bombs carbine!

Ridolpho

Very nice rifle, congrats. that is an original sniper with a SVT-40 scope you can tell by the bigger end of the scope . Another way o tell it's a sniper issue other than having the scope serial number stamped on the side is by having C H stamp above the Tula star. I see yours has the C . the H was probobly not struck well. The CH stamp was the stamp of approval for sniper rifles. it was picked out by there testers (sharp shooters), only the most accurate ones had the CH stamp

Nice shooting,what ammo did you use?

Warpig: I was using "prvi partizan", FMJ, 182 gr. It sells up here for pretty reasonable prices. I was interested to note that there was a bit of obvious fouling after 5 rounds but virtually none after 30. If I didn't mention in the original post, the bore on this rifle is fantastic. Trigger pull, on the other hand, was vague, if not heavy. Very different feel from the Lee Enfields I am most used to.

Ridolpho

I see, might I suggest polishing all contact points on the trigger group. It's amazing what that does to improve a MN trigger pull. I haven't used a gauge but the difference is huge.
The problem with the MN trigger is milling marks and it's crude,not much can be done for that but we can knock the milling marks down without fear of creating an unsafe trigger.

Which vendor did you get your nice TULA from?

Bigbear: The nice folks at PS Militaria in Quebec. I've bought a few nice rifles from them.

Ridolpho

I have two "43 Tulas - one just like yours and one a restored ex-sniper. Your rifle is just as collectible as any other refurb PU - don't let people run it down. These rifles command the same amount at gun stores and shows as other PU imports. Nice rifle!!

Devious6: Thank you, Sir! The comment about the limited collectability of these is made in the Lapin book but glad to hear your thoughts. It's kind of nice to still see fairly low prices on Mosins (including sniper variants) given how crazy things are getting in the world of Springfields, Lee Enfields, Garands, etc. It's also nice to buy something with minimal expectations and to be very pleasantly surprised by solid quality and functionality. I'm registered in the "Ross Rifle Shoot" here in July and may just use this rifle instead of one of my No. 4T's in the scoped class.

Ridolpho

Non-import, non-refurb PUs are like same condition M1 carbines, Garands, etc. High end collectors will pay huge $$ for them. But, the reality is that almost all WWII vintage US and Soviet rifles were re-furbed...so the vast majority of collectors collect them. Of course, they will never demand the high prices of the "correct" rifles...but they sure seem to fly out of the racks when they go up for sale.

It's interesting to hear the reactions to the quality of Soviet rifles - I hear Russian junk all the time. But, in reality they are simple and solid. They stand up to tremendous abuse but were easy and fast to produce. The optics of the PU scope are rock solid and not prone to the drifting in US, British and German scopes. And, Mosin PUs perform well against O3A4s, M1Cs and Ds, Enfields, and any other Vintage class sniper. It brings a smile to my face every time my competition partner and I compete in a VS match....and even us old retired colonels beat more than 1/2 of the field using these pieces of Russian junk. :)

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Originally Posted by Ridolpho

I'm registered in the "Ross Rifle Shoot" here in July and may just use this rifle instead of one of my No. 4T's in the scoped class.

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Do it!

And here is something to encourage you:

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....446#post262446

Ridolpho, that's great shooting and a handsome rifle you have! I know what you mean about that trigger, but I got used to mine. It's just different than any of the Western rifles out there.... I am a Mosin Nagant convert. I started seeing them on the racks and the prices for them (and ball ammo) compared to everything else helped me persuade the wife to add one to my collection. Now I love it!! I figure that any rifle that could hold up on the Eastern front and stay in service as long as they did has got a lot to say for it, and mine hasn't disappointed me yet!
I liked what you had to say Devious 6....go get em sir!!

I also bought my Mosin sniper from PS Militaria. If you bought yours from PS Mil. in Sherbrooke Qc. then these are not refurbs they are all original no refurb marks of any kind. I went to the store and hand picked mine. None of the 15 i saw had any refurb marks.
I bet yours also came with a Russian authentification booklet :thup:

Here's a pic of the guns i bought from PS Mil all exept the lee-enfield at the right

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...4d3ba5e6-1.jpg

99 bottles of wine on the steps...99 bottles wine...shoot 1 down an laugh like a clown...98 bottles of wine on the steps....:)

SVT-40: The folks at PS Militaria told me it was a refurb and it does have a re-numbered triggerguard/magazine as well as a healthy dose of shellac on the front of the stock. As I said, being a Lee Enfield collector factory refurbs don't bother me- still authentic. My next goal is to buy an SVT-40 so I should ask you- is there any point trying to find an authentic original sniper (ie with notch)? A couple of vendors have suggested I simply buy one with the rails and take a file to it but the little bit of info I've found suggests the true snipers were selected for accuracy, etc.

Ridolpho

i know the ones i saw at the store had no renumbered parts . maybe cause i asked him to show me all his snipers with WW2 stocks. He has a bunch with post war stocks but i was not interested in those. For The SVT-40 sniper i had the chance to buy one at PS Mil but the stock was cracked in two and held together with a big bolt :( I would do what you said about filing the top to fit a replica scope mount on the original rails. I would suggest finding one with the AVT-40 Stock (Naval) the stock is a lot thiker and can take more pounding. most SVT's i saw all had repairs to the stock. As far as accuracy i know mine shoots very good but has no rails :'(. I am definitely going to buy one with rails in the near future to interchange with my Mosin . that's why i picked a Mosin sniper with the SVT scope LOL .

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Originally Posted by SVT-40

i know the ones i saw at the store had no renumbered parts . maybe cause i asked him to show me all his snipers with WW2 stocks. He has a bunch with post war stocks but i was not interested in those. For The SVT-40 sniper i had the chance to buy one at PS Mil but the stock was cracked in two and held together with a big bolt :( I would do what you said about filing the top to fit a replica scope mount on the original rails. I would suggest finding one with the AVT-40 Stock (Naval) the stock is a lot thiker and can take more pounding. most SVT's i saw all had repairs to the stock. As far as accuracy i know mine shoots very good but has no rails :'(. I am definitely going to buy one with rails in the near future to interchange with my Mosin . that's why i picked a Mosin sniper with the SVT scope LOL .

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I am sure you know , but the SVT scopes on PU rifles were recalibrated for the PU rifles.

Ridolpho, I also bought one from P&S and just received it yesterday. As far as not being collectible, that's up to its new owner to decide. I know when I was cleaning mine last night before I took pics my wife was watching me like a hawk, she wouldn't even let me take the wax paper off the turrets or lens caps. They are definitely sniper's rifles, mine also has a great bore after about three hours of cleaning and at least that many patches! The trigger on mine is fairly light with a smooth let off, although it does have a fair amount of creep. The other thing to think about is that they are refurbs, these ARE the rifles that beat the Germans on the eastern front, not representative unissued rifles. These ones actually did it.

They should have name tags for us at the Ross shoot, that way we know who everyone is! I'll bring this rifle so we can compare if you want. I'll see you there...

FlyingPig: Yeah, I too was very happy with the condition of the rifle and I agree with you about the implications of it being refurbished. I believe it will be what I use in the scoped class at the Ross Rifle shoot as my No.4T is mis-behaving. Going to use a P14 in WW1 class and can simply pop the scope off the Mosin for WW2. Look forward to seeing you there.

Ridolpho

This is a Russian refurb mark if you have it on your rifle then it's refurbished if not well it's not. All my Russian guns have that mark exept my sniper

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...f2afb842-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by big bear

I am sure you know , but the SVT scopes on PU rifles were recalibrated for the PU rifles.

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Yes i know that :) . they are very easy to recalibrate all you have to do is remove one of the 2 screw's on the top of the elevation nob and loosin the other, then turning the dial with numbers to where you want it to zero

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Originally Posted by SVT-40

This is a Russian refurb mark if you have it on your rifle then it's refurbished if not well it's not. All my Russian guns have that mark exept my sniper

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...f2afb842-1.jpg

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Where on stock should I look for that stamp? Trigger on my 43 TULA PU is so light and smooth it's disconcerting after shooting most of my other rifles.

If you have a rufurb mark then you wouldn't be able to miss it . They are usually on the side of the butt stock , the refurb mark on Mosins and SVT's are not small they are about half an inch wide.

Like i said mine doesn't have one. yours probably came from the same batch as mine they are from Molot Arms

If you handload RE#15 is the powder you want or second choice IMR 4350 .I have two buddies that have snipers that will cut 1/2 3 shot groups one with 174gr SMK/RE15 and Privi brass.The other with PRC 148gr ball. I get the first two in the same hole and the third round seems to be 1/2 low.But who cares with an 70 + year old gun! I need to ventilate a moose ,elk or deer this fall with one.

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Originally Posted by SVT-40

Yes i know that :) . they are very easy to recalibrate all you have to do is remove one of the 2 screw's on the top of the elevation nob and loosin the other, then turning the dial with numbers to where you want it to zero

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Actually the ballistics of the semi-auto SVT and the PU are slightly different so the elevation cam has a slightly different cam. You can adjust the elevation knob as you mention but it will not change the cam. It will only set the rifle for 100 meters, or whatever your zero range is. SVT scopes were used on PUs, and SVT tubed scopes continued to be used on new PU production. If the scope was originally calibrated for the SVT, a cam was installed and marked CB for the PU ballistics. In the real world, the difference in ballistics is small. That is especially true if you are not using WW2 era LB ammo. Current LB is slightly different and the bullet base is different.