I'd suggest there needs to be some kind of category between "plinker" and a "go-to" rifle.
I have used mine for both plinking and in target matches (Finns, with quite good results). I would certainly consider one for hunting purposes, though I personally am not much of a hunter.
But as "go-to" ... not for home defense, or a more serious target match. Nor for other shooting events, like SASS (hmmm,
although ... going to an SASS match in a Russian cowboy persona might raise some eyebrows, with a 1891 vintage Mosin, Baikal 12 ga SxS, S&W Model 3 .44 Russian revolver, and 1895 Nagant revolver.
As a WW1/WWII historical item, yes, absolutely.
So somewhere in between a plinker and a go-to rifle. Rifles are tools. Different tools for different jobs. The Mosin is no different - fits some users, fits some jobs, not others. Haters might like them more if they were a bit more tacticool (disclaimer: random pic found on the net):