Thread: DIY Gunsmithing mistakes

Originally Posted by timattalon

I do not know if this qualifies as a gunsmithing error but I certainly learnt from the experience....

I was at the range sighting in two rifles of the same brand and calibre....(Mosin Nagants in 7.62x54R)
I had that nagging feeling that something was not right...you know the one where you triple check EVERYTHING then check it again because something does not feel right but cannot find anything wrong.....

I checked each rifle thad its own bolt and not another one.
I checked the ammo was correctly loaded (Both were using factory Barnaul so no mixed ammo)
I lined up on the target and squeezed off the first round....

BOOM!!!!!





In a concrete walled bunker style range with a concrete roof and floor and open at the front and back I IMMEDIATELY noticed the earmuffs were ON my head but not ON my ears.....you know when you put them up to talk on the phone or to someone so you rears are clear then drop them back onto your ears after...I did not do the last bit....I stood there for about 10 seconds like a stunned mullet, I then tenderly checked if my ears were bleeding because, damn they were ringing....

At that point I learnt TWO very important things.....earmuffs are a must if I want to continue hearing....and two; that was one round. So I can only imagine what it would have been like for a soldier on the line in WW! or WW2 with that noise being continuous and ever present.....No wonder they returned deaf and numbed to life...even without the carnage they would have witnessed or been part of, the noise alone would easily be enough to destroy most snowflakes today...

was that the handloaders/deerstalkers range in CHCH
ear plugs alone wernt enough with my braked 7RM
concussive each time you pulled the trigger

Originally Posted by Bill999

was that the handloaders/deerstalkers range in CHCH
ear plugs alone wernt enough with my braked 7RM
concussive each time you pulled the trigger

@Bill999 Sure was NZHA.....

Mosins are interesting to compare. These were the 20" carbines circa mid 50s. The older 26 inch one I had was a very different beast to use. The only physical difference was the 6 inch longer barrel...for that 6 inches I got almost no muzzle flash and a rifle that shot more like a 303 with little recoil and was really quite tame. The carbines had a similar stock and were simply 6 inches shorter. For that I got a muzzle flash you could spotlight with, a boom that would wake the whole city and recoil that made you wonder if you had a recoil fetish.....That extra 6 inches meant the powder had burnt properly and the reduced noise certainly appeared to reduce the perceived recoil. (Actual push back was probably the same but with the noise reduced the brain says to itself" that was quieter so must be softer.......")