my M44 was in excellent condition when I bought it, barrel has been counterbored (indicated by the muzzle being quite a bit larger than it should be and with a smaller diameter about half an inch deep inside the barrel)
It shoots absolutely flawlessly, never had a misfire, accuracy is pretty darn decent @ 200 yards which is the farthest I've been able to shoot so far. It's durability is top notch AFAICT. I've put over 1800rds through it in a little over 2 months, and it pretty rapidly became my favorite rifle I've ever owned (including my AK, which is the first firearm I ever directly bought and purchased with my own money)
That's kinda on a scale now, though.. After trekking through the woods with my m44 strapped to my back and 100rds of x54r in various different pockets vs my AK with a folding stock, 10 loaded mags in a couple of mag pouches and one in the rifle itself, and with the oh so admirable EOTech that makes the AK even more enjoyable I'm having difficulties deciding which one is REALLY my favorite rifle.
The bayonette on the rifle kinda turned me off initially, but after doing a 2 day field test in some rather crappy conditions, it did turn out to be a nifty little gadget. I tested it's strength by stabbing a refridgerator that was dumped on my property over and over again. Poked through that like a hot nail through butter! Also picked the fridge up with the bayonette and it never showed even the slightest temptation to give up and break.
Got some "real world" use out of it too when repositioning the corpse of a coyote I shot with it. If anyone here has experience with dead coyotes.. well, I'm sure we can all agree that they stink far worse than we'd like them too, and the matted down greasy nasty fur they have leaves a very distinct and quite frankly.. repulsive odor on your hands when you try to carry them somewhere.
solution to all those problems though is a quick mounting of the bayonette, a nice jab with the rifle, then a good brace and a quick walk to the nearest creek and a rub down of the bayonette with rubbing alcohol followed by hoppes #9 for fragrance and a little oil to prevent rust =)
for 50-150$ the m44 is a very acceptable choice in a rifle. Huge punch from the round itself, lots of nifty uses for it aside from blowing holes in things, it's so simple to work on even the most novice user could master it's mechanics in little more than 10 minutes of inspection.
not to mention ammo is cheap, stripper clips are cheap and not even all that necessary, it has a comfortable weight and a unique but comfortable balance when you get used to it.
no complaints from me!
Some solid facts though -
at the range, the m44 is outstandingly more fun to shoot than the AK for extended periods of time, especially at places that don't allow steel cased ammo (as is the case at the only outdoor range within 80 miles of me)
Cheaper to shoot too, + you get that "wow what the hell was that?" look from pretty much anyone there.
Hiking in the woods... It's a toss up between my AK and my m44. They both were enjoyable to carry on my 30 mile trekk through rain and mud, up and down "mountains" (more like big hills, but they're actually recognized as mountains for whatever reason)
