Finally relented and bought a Mosin M44

[The Real Hawkeye]

Saw it in a local gun shop for a buck and a quarter. It is brand spanking new, looks like it was never issued. Bore is shinning and rifling sharp. I am very impressed with the quality of this rifle for the price. As is, it would make a decent boar hunting gun. Remove the bayonet, even better. Action is super fast and smooth. Trigger is not to be believed, crisp and light, and breaks at a very clean 3.6 pounds. Function test was flawless. It fed, extracted and very positively ejected five rounds without a hitch. Sights are quite adequate, and very rugged. These guns were made to take a lot of punishment and keep working. What an amazing thing that you can get one, brand new, for so little money. Can't wait to see what kind of accuracy I can get with it. Bought one box of five dollar surplus (supposedly non-corrosive) ammo. I am going to treat it like corrosive ammo, anyway. Will try to shoot it tomorrow. Will let you know.

 

[M.E.Eldridge]

M44 and the other Mosins are great rifles. I don't personally own an M44, but do have a 91/30 and its a great rifle. Acurate for me at least and affordable to shoot. I wouldn't trust surplus ammo to be non-corrosive. I've bought corrosive and supposedly non-corrosive ammo that turned out to be corrosive. Did your Mosin come with the cleaning kit? They're very useful items to have, especially the takedown tool/firing pin protrusion tool.

 

[Chipperman]

"As is, it would make a decent boar hunting gun. Remove the bayonet, even better."

Remove the bayonet? I thought they were called pig-stickers for a reason.

You may already know this, but when the bayonet is removed, you may have to move the front sight to have it shoot point of aim.

 

[Mannlicher]

I must be about the only guy left that does NOT own a Mosin. Won't either.

 

[Andrew S]

I am still kicking myself for not getting one for $75 on Black Friday. I got my mossy 500 that day. I should have got them both.

 

[mrrev]

Post some pics Hawkeye...those mosins are tough.
I'm intrested in seeing it...

 

[longhorngunman]

Back last spring Interordnance had them for $55 shipped. I wouldn't call them unissued but mine has a great bore and the stock is nice, reblued, etc. Everybody needs at least one or two Mosins, couple of K31's, One Mauser of every major vintage, Garand, 03, Enfield, and the list goes on and on.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

M44 and the other Mosins are great rifles. I don't personally own an M44, but do have a 91/30 and its a great rifle. Acurate for me at least and affordable to shoot. I wouldn't trust surplus ammo to be non-corrosive. I've bought corrosive and supposedly non-corrosive ammo that turned out to be corrosive. Did your Mosin come with the cleaning kit? They're very useful items to have, especially the takedown tool/firing pin protrusion tool.

Nope, it didn't come with anything, not even a sling.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Post some pics Hawkeye...those mosins are tough.
I'm intrested in seeing it...

Here's a picture.

 

[cracked butt]

"As is, it would make a decent boar hunting gun. Remove the bayonet, even better."

Remove the bayonet? I thought they were called pig-stickers for a reason.

From what I understand, the Bayonet was invented by the French for the purpose of hog hunting back in the days where if the 1 shot you had didn't put the hog down, the bayonet would act as a backup.

I must be about the only guy left that does NOT own a Mosin. Won't either.

A smarter man than I am. I have a love/hate relationship with mosins, hate most of them, own a bunch of them, and only love one of them that I have. If it weren't for the history behind the rifles, I'd never own one.

 

[DMK]

That is a nice one Hawkeye. Very nice stock on it.

Leave the bayo on there. It looks real cool and the extra weight will help absorb some of the kick.

 

[Hollowdweller]

I have a laminated M38 and M44. Great guns. Love the huge jet of flame that comes out of the muzzle. My wife calls them the Howitzers, cause the windows of our house rattle when I step outside and shoot it. They kill at both ends too 30 or 40 rounds and my shoulder is fairly bruised, but what fun

I just got my M44, but with my M38 the accuracy is good on mine. I put a scope on it for hunting season and from a rest I could keep them in a baseball sized area cutting some shots together. That's at 100 yards. Can do the same with iron sights offhand at 50.

The trigger pull on both of mine are very light. My only complaint is how light. It is hard to ascertain exactly when it is going to go off cause the pull is somewhat long and light. I have found as long as I just concentrate on the target and keep pulling I do pretty good

 

[DMK]

The trigger pull on both of mine are very light. My only complaint is how light. It is hard to ascertain exactly when it is going to go off cause the pull is somewhat long and light. I have found as long as I just concentrate on the target and keep pulling I do pretty good

Wow, you are very lucky. Mosins aren't know for good triggers. I have a closet full of them and none have what I'd call a light trigger, even though the Finn M39s are smooth.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Wow, you are very lucky. Mosins aren't know for good triggers. I have a closet full of them and none have what I'd call a light trigger, even though the Finn M39s are smooth.

Mine breaks at about 3.6 pounds, and it's a clean break. And I agree with what Hollow said about it being a surprise break every time, because there is a slow build up to the break, and it is hard to know when it will actually break. That seems like it should eliminate any tendency anyone had to flinch, i.e., if you don't know when it will break, you don't know when to flinch.

 

[Matthew748]

I am glad you are happy with your rifle. The M44 is a nice little rifle and they are priced to sell. I love how they double as flamethrowers. Even in the day you can see the fire leap out of the barrel. My dad got quite a kick out of that the first time he saw me shooting my M44.

 

[Ad Astra]

Did your Mosin come with the cleaning kit? They're very useful items to have, especially the takedown tool/firing pin protrusion tool.

Classic is selling them (well, M38) with all the accessories.

I'm an inch away, can't decide M38 or M44. That bayo looks like it's on for life...

Planning to reload some watered-down range loads.

Congrats, TRH.

 

[Hollowdweller]

I am glad you are happy with your rifle. The M44 is a nice little rifle and they are priced to sell. I love how they double as flamethrowers. Even in the day you can see the fire leap out of the barrel. My dad got quite a kick out of that the first time he saw me shooting my M44.

I was having my dad shoot mine, trying to get a pic of the fireball. I never notice when I shoot it but it was causing the grass to bend in the hayfield in front of the gun even I couldn't quite take the pic at the same time the gun went off and I noticed it was really pushing him back he's 68, I said "let's try it again a few times" "You mean I gotta shoot this again?!" he said I think the whole thing was a little too hot for him, which is funny cause he hunts with a 99 Savage in .358

 

[Davo]

They are built like a brick outhouse, have a great history, and make great toys. I use my M91-30 Izzy to get that blasting bug out of my system.
They also make a good stow away rifle, for under 200 bucks you can have an ICE rifle (In Case of Emergency), and 600 rounds of decent ammo.

 

[mrrev]

damn guys, you're making me want get another one...
I think I'm stopping at Big 5 today and if they have one on sale I'm getting it, then I'm gonna blame you guys when the wife says "Another one!!!"

 

[armoredman]

Stolen pic of M-38 muzzle flash.


I want an M-44, too, someday. My M-38 is my SHTF rifle for mow, but what I hit WILL stay down!

 

[dasmi]

Welcome to the club! I'm taking my M44 out tomorrow morning.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Well, I shot it today. Just got back. I see what you guys are talking about regarding the huge flash that comes out of the muzzle. People around me kept calling it a Howitzer.

Here's how it went. First tried it with the bayonet on. Those shots were hitting about ten inches to the left at 50 yards. Then I tried it with the bayonet folded, and I was not even on the target at 50 yards. Then I took a screw driver and removed the bayonet completely. Now I was dead center, and four inches high at 50 yards, making groups just a hair over one inch with military surplus ammo. I like it.

As for the recoil, I don't mean this to suggest that I'm some kind of tough guy, but I don't know what you are all talking about when you say it kicks hard. I shot thirty rounds, and not once did I feel any pain. It seemed like about a typical .30-06 sporting rifle. Now, I am used to magnum rifles, so maybe that's why. Have to admit, after all I heard, I was expecting my shoulder to hurt. I was wearing a leather jacket, so that might have absorbed some of it.

Had one ruptured case, which was difficult to extract. Don't know the cause. Could be defective manufacture. It split lengthwise along the straight wall.

When I got it home, I flushed out the bore with hot soapy water. Got some water on the rest of the gun too, but I think I wiped it all off. Was working in the dark, which is why I got some on the rest of the rifle. Wiped out the water with a dry patch. Applied some Hoppes to the bore, and in twenty minutes or so I will wipe it out until patches are clean, and then a light coat of oil.

 

[Roudy]

M38 is OK too

Here is a work-in-progress. Over the Christmas holiday I will be glass bedding the stock and working on the trigger some more.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Nice. Where'd you get the stock and the bolt handle?

 

[Roudy]

M38 Stock

Hawkeye....got the stock from ATI. Don't recall where I got the bolt handle adapter kit from though. You do have two options, 1) bend the bolt (or install a kit) or 2) get a scope mount that fits on the fixture for the tangent rear sight and use an LER scope Scout style. Option 2 lets you return the rifle to its original configuration, if you want to.

http://www.gunaccessories.com/ati/SyntheticStocks/index.asp