I went out and fired my new 91/30 today and was sadly dissapointed.  My first shot at 50yds hit 1/2" to the right of aim-not bad.  The rest, didn't even hit the paper plate.  I moved in to 25yds.  Could hit the plate, but all over.  I was shooting reloads that I use in my MN91, and also in my MN44.  They use .308 bullets and have decent accuracy.  I measured the bore of my 91/30, it measured .314 and about .308from land to land.  I checked the bore; not bad, plenty of rifling left.  Dark, but not too bad compared to others that I have that have outstanding accuracy.  The muzzle looks decent with no noticeable gouges, dings, or dents.

My questions are these:
Could the reload be the problem?  I just can't see it making that huge of a difference at 25yds?

Is my rifle a piece of junk?  

Anybody else have accuracy problems with thier 91/30?
I have plenty of .311 bullets for my .303's.  I think I will try to load up some and try them out.  I also have some corrosive factory ammo on hand that I will probably try tomarrow.  
Thanks for the help.
guns762

7.62x54R really uses .311 bullets. Try using bullets pulled form 303 MkVII Ammo loaded onto a 7.62x54R case.

Measure the Throat length and seat the bullet out just far enough where it isn't going to touch the lands.

Clean out your bore really well.

A lot of times inaccuracy is due to a fouled bore.

If this doesn't work, try bedding the barrel and action.

my fiance' was just tinkering with his 91/30 with the same problem.  even using russian .311 diameter 7.62x54 ammo.  it has decent rifling with a slightly frosted bore.  he realized that the crown of the barrel was excessively worn when he tried the bullet test (dropping bullet into muzzle to see whether it fits tightly or loosely).  it was quite loose which explains the inaccuracy of the weapon.  however, his unissued M44 seems to group about a 1/2"-1" at 50 yds (before the bruise sets in  ).  

you may want to check the crown in your rifle.  most 91/30s have seen decades of abuse and we have seen very few in good to excellent condition. most just barely make the good category.

hey, enjoy it for it's historical value.  it was probably just as inaccurate for the poor russion SOB that had to carry it in battle.  my fiance takes more pride in looking at a rifle dated from the '30s, wondering what it has seen, than in actually shooting it.

Thanks for the responses,
ARLady,  I'm not that broken up over it.  I did buy it just for the history, and enjoy it for xactly what you are talking about, but had heard all the stories about it's accuracy and was kinda looking forward to seeing what it could do.  I shoulda quit with the first shot..lol.  I did buy some factory ammo today and will try it out and see what it can do.  

I will also try to clean out the bore a little more, like bostonterrier97 said.
Thanks again, to both of you.
guns762

I went out and shot my rifle again yesterday.  I cleaned the bore as well as could be done, and used factory ammo, that I micrometered at .312.  

Well, it must have worked, because the accuracy was what I would have expected from the 91/30, or maybe just a little less.  It shot 1 1/2" goups at 50yds; nothing outstanding, but at least I can keep them all on one target now!  I think it might have been better if I had not gotten the barrel so warm.  I noticed the last few shots starting to walk just slightly to the right.  My first 3 shots went into a 3/4" group at 50yds.  I was going to shoot at 100, but didn't have time and the wind came up.  Thanks again to all who had advice!

good to hear!  it's always a warm fuzzy feeling when things start going as planned.

and fiance is jealous!