Can anyone tell me what the ammo that was used in the mosin sniper rifles where? Bullet weight, fps and any other information about the ammo.

They used plain old fashioned issue ammo, nothing special.

It's the Indian, not the arrow.

Keep in mind the distances they sniped were not like today's sniper distance. Their optic was only a 3x.

Makes you realize how awesome they were.

Don't forget the best sniper in the world with a Mosin was a Finn using only irons. Seriously.

They where using the silver tip rounds we find so easy (for now)

The common light ball ammo of WW2 era (which the scopes are calibrated for) was actually a different bullet design than the later stuff (what we get as surplus, now). The BC was lower and it's trajectory not quite as flat. However, if you load a modern 174gr match bullet to 2550-2600fps, you'll find that they match the elevation drums quite well. Using the usual 1960s-1980s light ball, you will normally see your shots hitting much higher than they should be, if you're using the numbers on the elevation turret for a specific range.

EDIT: Sent you an IM with some additional info, as well.

I think the Russians used whatever ammo they could get their hands on.

On the commercial market there is all kind and even on the surplus market there is a good selection.

I buy the different kinds when I find it.

Here is some I have



The first crate contains 450 rounds of target ("?") 182gr lead core, copper Match bullet with brass case ("??") ammo - the red inscription also translates as "target"  

The second crate holds 880 rounds of light steel core ("???") bullet with iron case ("??") ammo. Same with the fourth crate.

The third crate contains 600 rounds of light ("?") bullet (material not specified) with iron case ("??") ammo on stripper clips - the second line means "airtight packaging", the first two words in the third line in front of "600" mean "on stripper clips".

147gn Light ball is what the scopes are graduated for. The common surplus 147gn LSP will work just fine it is essentially the same as the light ball just with a steel penetration. Only issue with most of  post 50s surplus is that it was made for MGs so they don't tend to hold as tight of tolerances on the bullet diameters, so it is pretty common to get surplus with .309-.310 bullet which will hurt your accuracy. Especially if your mosin bore is a little over sized which is common with war time mosins. Pretty much it is just trial and error until you find some surplus that matches your mosin.

I thought Russians made special sniper ammo.  Didn't Snipers use this?:

I think that is 7N1 developed for the SVD well post WWII.

ETA: I have a crate or so for my PSL.

Yep, that is definitely 7N1.  The  Cyrillic word printed in the center  of the can is pronounced "Sniperskyi", which means "for snipers".  7N1 is getting pretty rare these days and that can is worth more than most Mosins are.

It wasn't made to be more accurate, per se, but to give heavier penetration against what you're shooting at.  It's steel tip with a lead core knocker, which acts like a hammer and nail.

Ah, I didn't realize that was post WW2 Druganov ammo.  Learn something new everyday!