Musings about the Mossberg 702 Plinkster,,,

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
Recently I've read a few threads here and on other forums about the Mossberg 702 Plinkster,,,
The general consensus, minus the obligatory haters,,,
Is that it's a very nice little sport rifle.

And suddenly it dawned on me,,,
I own one.

240301-Mossberg702_Cased_Accessories.jpg


I hadn't actually forgotten about this rifle,,,
I just haven't fired it in several years.

The last time it was shot was when I let a friend use it at an Appleseed event,,,
He didn't qualify for the Rifleman patch but he did come pretty close.

While I was still a poor-but-honest graduate student,,,
This rifle fit my meager budget perfectly,,,
$109.95 plus tax at Walmart.

Mags were $9.95 apiece so I bought four of them,,,
Then I tried my best to wear it out,,,
But it just kept on shooting.

I eventually got to where I could hit Coke cans at 50 yards,,,
That was the benchmark of marksmanship when I was growing up.

Then my eyes started to go south on me,,,
Nothing serious, just general getting old stuff,,,
My prescription glasses changed a bit every year for a while.

So I dug into my mad money and purchased a set of Tech Sights for it,,,
The factory sights are actually quite nice but the Tech Sights have a longer sight radius.

About that time I decided that I wanted to put a sling on it,,,
That's what the Appleseed guys said was best,,,
So I got some studs and attached them.

It spoiled the looks of that spiffy Schnabel forend,,,
But it did exactly what the Appleseed people said it would.

Once I got used to using a peep sight,,,
I was slaughtering tin cans again.

On a whim I later used my Cabela Bucks,,,
And got a very serviceable 4X Cabela's brand scope for it.

Now I was getting a bit more accuracy from my old eyes,,,
I graduated from 12-ounce Coke cans to the little 7.5-ounce cans.

Then something happened to my lifestyle,,,
I graduated with my MS and got a nice paying job,,,
All of a sudden my Mad Money allowance grew six-fold.

No longer was I limited to the entry level rifles,,,
I dove headfirst into the CZ rabbit hole,,,
And let the Mossie gather some dust.

Anyhow, the threads on the venerable Plinkster got me to thinking,,,
Yesterday I went "spelunking" deep into my junk room,,,
And found the tech Sights I had let get buried.

Today's project is to dial up a sit-com series on Netflix for background noise,,,
And strip the rifle down to give it a thorough cleaning,,,
Then lube it up and get it ready for an outing.

My current shooting project is to fine tune my meager shooting skills with my CZ-457 Pro Varmint AT-One,,,
My ultimate goal is to shoot paper silhouette targets at 50, 100, 150, & 200 yards,,,
And eventually to ring an 8-10" steel plate at 300 yards.

I always take two guns when I go to the range,,,
The CZ is for serious practice,,,
The other just for fun.

I think the Mossie will be my "fun gun" for several trips,,,
I do have a bit of the OCD gene in me,,,
So here's my plan for it.

First I'm going to get the factory sight dialed in at 50 yards,,,
When I've accomplished that I'll shoot 50 rounds into a paper target and see how we do.

Next trip I'll install the Tech Sights and get them dialed in at 50 yards,,,
When I've accomplished that I'll shoot 50 rounds into a paper target and see how we do.

Finally I'll remount the 4X scope and get it dialed in at 50 yards,,,
When I've accomplished that I'll shoot 50 rounds into a paper target and see how we do.

I'm going to do all of the shooting from a bench with bags,,,
I want to see how well the rifle (and I) can perform,,,
With all the off-hand variables eliminated

The ammo I'll use is the same stuff I've always shot when plinking with it,,,
Federal Bulk Pack 36 grain Copper HV from Walmart,,,
Not match quality by any means,,,
But adequate to the task.

It's not something I ever planned on,,,
But I have a rifle with three different aiming modes,,,
I think it will be a fun project to do a comparison and post the results.

After that I have no idea what to do with this rifle,,,
I have a much higher quality CZ-512 semi-auto rifle that's a joy to shoot,,,
So I just can't imagine the Mossie getting a lot of range time after this experiment.

I might put it up for sale as a complete "proofed package",,,
Or find a deserving youth who would appreciate a gift.

Problem there is I've already armed all of my friends children,,,
In the past two years I've gifted away six rimfire rifles and three pistols.

I'm running out of friends who like fiery-arms.

Oh well, I'll stop rambling now,,,
Time for some Brooklyn 99 and Hoppe's #9.

Aarond

.
 

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
I still have, and still love my 702.

It's my truck gun.
5 full mags on it at all times. High rings so the iron sights are still usable in case the scope gets knocked off kilter.

View attachment 458084

Hello Catt57,,,

It looks like you mounted your sling studs the same way I did mine,,,
Two great minds coming up with the same solution.

Is that mag holder an elastic slip-on?

I wouldn't mind accessorizing my rifle the same way.

Thanks for posting that pic.

Aarond

.
 

Catt57

Gill-Gun Guru
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Aug 1, 2014
Messages
8,270
Reaction score
17,086
Location
OKC / Bristow
Is that mag holder an elastic slip-on?

Yes. It was actually made to hold 9 rds of larger caliber rifle ammo (like 762x51 / 308). I carefully removed every other stitch and it fit 4 of the 702 mags perfectly. I then made a small hole for the sling stud to go through and that keeps it from slipping off or moving around.

If you look close, you can see the 9th loop closest to the butt still intact and unused.

Oh, also I didn't mention, I filled the buttstock with spray foam. Made it much more solid without adding hardly any weight.
 
Last edited:

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
Weird. I have one in my safe, and for the life of me can't remember where it came from. I don't even remember shooting it. This inspires me to go plinking.

You'll enjoy shooting that rifle,,,
The factory sights are so much nicer than most.

They remind me of the old "buck and ball" sights,,,
Much nicer than those that have square blade and notches..

Back when I first bought it,,,
I shot with a lot of people who had 10/22's,,,
They all (well almost all) preferred my sights to theirs.

Dust yours off, lube it up,,,
And shoot it like you stole it.

Aarond

.
 

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
Oh, also I didn't mention, I filled the buttstock with spray foam.

I've read about doing that,,,
Seems like a sensible alteration to me.

About that mag holder,,,
I sew and also do leatherwork,,,
I should probably just stitch one up,,,
But I'm finding my "lazy gene" in retirement.

Aarond

.
 

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
Well, the CZ-457 and the Mossie 702 are all scrubbed out and lubed up,,,
Ready for a range trip tomorrow if the weather is as predicted.

I'm going to shoot 50 to 100 rounds from the CZ at 50 yards,,,
Just practicing to get my group size down.

Then shoot enough through the Mossie to get it sighted in at 50 yards,,,
Then 50 rounds of careful shooting to see what groups I can get.

Hopefully it will be a nice relaxing several hours.

Aarond

.
 

aarondhgraham

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
2,720
Reaction score
4,750
Location
Stillwater
Well Pooh!

I was going to meet a friend at the range,,,
I was just about to step out to load my stuff in the car,,,
When he texted me that he was at the range but wasn't going to stay.

It rained a couple of days ago,,,
And the range is too muddy to walk out on.

He said he walked about 15 yards into it,,,
And had many pounds of red clay stuck to his boots.

Oh well,,,
I can always do laundry today.

The rifles are all cleaned and lubed,,,
Sitting by the front door waiting for the range to dry out.

I've recuperated from my surgery,,,
I have plenty of ammo in stock,,,
And all the time in the world.

Why won't the weather cooperate with me. :cry11:

Okay,,,
Stop whining Aarond.

Aarond

.
 

RockHopper

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Oct 16, 2021
Messages
685
Reaction score
1,821
Location
Tulsa, OK
My 2nd favorite suppressor host. Not a model 702, but rather a 715t taken out of that ungodly AR clamshell stock, and mounted in a 702 stock. If you're unfamiliar, the 715t is a 702 minus the iron sights, and a threaded 16" barrel.

From what you guys are saying, I may well have missed out on those iron sights. I am loving the ideas you guys have come up with for your plinksters though. The placement of the stud swivel, and filling the hollow stock....yeah, I'm stealing those right away. Lol
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20240315_111440620.jpg
    IMG_20240315_111440620.jpg
    1.7 MB

Latest posts

Top Bottom