Ill add a few coals into the fire here
My first centerfire Long Gun was the Mosin m44. Everything that has already been mentioned about the noise, the recoil on the shoulder etc... is very true.
Ton of fun though. When you see that big ol ball of flame out the front end and people walk over to ask what the hell is that
its a good feeling. I assure you as you have probably read elsewhere, this is the start of an obsession as you wind up with more than just this one. You are warned, you will want more. Mosins are inexpensive and can multiply. They do. I also now have a 91/59 which is basically the 91/30 that has been cut down to carbine length. Its very similar to the m38 without the bayo which is the same as the m44 with the bayo. Personally the m44 with the bayo is a pain in the ass. You have to extend it to shoot it as the Russians sighted them in with it extended, it adds some weight to it. Just food for thought, I would say try and find a m38 or a 91/59, even going with an m44 would be good. Now these are the Carbines. Theres nothing wrong with finding an 91/30, or one of the Finn m39 as already mentioned. IMHO which ever one you choose, make sure the crown is pretty decent, the bore has some life left in it and with a little TLC you can fine tune a Mosin into a very decent firearm.
I also have a Chinese SKS, tons of fun, ammo just dissappears with it, you can get quite happy on the trigger. Yes, its sucks :banghead: :banghead: ammo has just vanished as of late, curses too because I have not had much chance to go shoot it lately. It also would be a fine choice for a first timer. I would honestly say stick to the stock configuration. When people start putting these stupid stocks and other add on crap, it just makes it look stupid. My opinion though, YMMV.
I do have or well I gave it away but can have access to it any time a nice Stevens/Savage Model 60 .22 that I got for 35 bucks in a pawnshop. My best find ever. Accurate. It just flat works. Not pretty, not fancy, just works. They are out there, pawnshops full of sleepers. You just have to be paitent and look for them. Pawnshops are also full of things to stay far away from, sometimes you just inherit someone elses headaches. It pays off to do your homework and know the gig ahead of time.
Finally, why not consider the Yugo m48 or if you can find one, a YC or RC k98. This is the German Model 98 Carbine Mauser of WWII Im referring too. These use the 8mm Mauser round, unless they are just in complete neglected shape, very good shooters and can be had for not much either if you look around. I have a Yugo m48 and its a blast.
So there you have it, doesnt help much does it? Watch the old surplus ammo. If you do go with the SKS and you wind up buying old surplus ammo that is corrosive, you can really get into trouble with the clean up if you dont clean out the gas tube and everything correctly. I honestly dont trust when they say non corrosive especially on the modern day Russian made stuff. I still assume it is and clean it as such. The bolt guns will be a lot easier to deal with if you do shoot corrosive stuff. Do your homework and start searching for corrosive cleanup info on the web. Trust us on this, you dont want your first long gun to be a dissapointment if it gets messed up. The only good thing about a .22 as yes they are dirty, but you wont have to worry about corrosive clean up. Just food for thought.
I assure you that you will not go wrong with whatever you decide. They are all fine choices. You will probably wind up owning one of each flavor anyways if your like me and everyone else around here. Good luck.
