Which is the best Sniper?

[Chris7171]

Lee Enfield ‘T’ or PU Mosin Nagant..... Two very famous Allied snipers..... But before I get a million answers to this question (I can guess the answer on this forum).

I aim to do an unconventional comparison between the two and not on the rifle range!!
But in a hunting/stalking environment I plan to take both rifles on a weeklong deer stalking trip to the central north island of New Zealand hiking and hunting, I will try to find both rifles strong & weak points and come out with an overall preferred rifle and also see what could if any have been done better. I am trying to see just how these rifles were like to live with and use back in the day, and if I’m lucky a big red stag to boot.

Is anyone interested in such a comparison?

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[Badger]

Here's another thread on this subject which you might find interesting ...

Myth Meets Fact (World War II Sniper Rifles - how good were they?)

I'm not sure I agree with their conclusions, but it attempts to address your question.

Regards,
Doug

[Chris7171]

I'm not sure I agree with their conclusions, but it attempts to address your question

Thanks but this is just another range test/report

I am not really interested in going to a range and shooting off a bench to see which rifle is the most accurate (I already know that), I am attempting to simulate there usability under field conditions by deer hunting with them for days on end.
The trip will consist on hiking in (20km) and camping in a bevy and hunting from dawn till dusk, there will be two of us and each will alternate rifles so as to evaluate their use under field conditions & not just shooting at another target.

Chris

[Cruisey]

Sounds like a very interesting experiment, I look forward to your write up Chris

[olskool]

you tote a gun a lot more than you shoot it, i would think in that aspect the nagant would come out on top. but give me the british i love it!

[jmoore]

Do some photos during the hunts if you get a chance. Not just dead critters, but the terrain and other influencing factors that might cause you to favor one system over the other. olskool makes a very good point- it's how the rifle (and in this case, probably scope as well) perform BEFORE the trigger is pulled. Ballistically, they're pretty much equivalent and certainly powerful enough.

[Badger]

Is anyone interested in such a comparison?

Although I personally don't hunt with them, I do think all our members would really enjoy reading a well documented article on your experience with them ...

Perhaps we could make it into a permanent MKL article when complete....

Thanks for offering to do this ...

Regards,
Doug

[jmoore]

Here's something that was done along the "hunting impressions" line for 2010:

Hunting With Milsurp Weapons- 2010 Edition


And general hunting w/ milsurps over the past couple of years:

Just got back from deer hunting (warning - dead deer pics)


I'm sure you can do better than my feeble efforts, Chris7171!

[Rumpelhardt]

I have never fired ether with a scope but from the looks the one big thing that I think I would have trouble with the Nagant would be the scope mounting. Way to high for me. the one I shot with open sights was a little awkward as compared to my enfield as well.

[bearhunter]

Between the two of them, IMHO the two best sniper rifles of WWII, there isn't a lot of practical difference. The raised, add on, cheek piece makes the No4 T more ergonomically appealing but they are both similar in accuracy, repeatability and reliability. The No4 Ts were selected for accuracy first and then built into sniper rifles. The later war time production Mosins were just taken off the line and made into snipers before testing for accuracy. An interview I read of one of the Russian producers of the Mosin sniper rifles said there just wasn't enough time for such luxuries and that they were confident in the Mosins accuracy right off the line. That speaks volumes. The Russians fielded more snipers than any other nation during WWII.
To show how highly the axis forces regarded the M91/30 sniper rifles, all that were captured in serviceable condition were reissued or stripped for parts to keep their existing rifles operational. They liked the PU scope so much that they used its design for the basis of their ZF4 scopes, bases and mounts.

As far as the scopes on the Mosins being to high, that was pretty much standard practise for European sniper rifles. Even the No 4 T scope is to high without the cheek piece.

Personally, I would think that in trained hands it would be a toss up of which would be the winner.