Here is what I have noticed...the ¿ast majority of the respondents say it is " an interesting piece of history and a plinker at best"...yet if if you respond to this thread with anything less than a glowing endorsement your called a "hater".there should be a sub-forum for Mosin guys. I appretiate the passion and the gun but I don't own one..don't want one and that's that. I can appretiate their place historically and am glad that they bring a lot of pleasure to a great many, but the fact that I don't own or want one doesn't make me a hater...just happily ambivilent. ( Sorry for spelling etc...blackberry on a boat in 25 knt winds)
I love mosins, but I know that they aren't for everyone. It's like mid-80's beater chevy/gmc pickups. I love them, but lots of people don't.
The only thing that irritates me is when people portray them as totally unsafe and inaccurate useless pieces of ... metal-and-wood. I've seen some that you couldn't pay me enough to shoot, but most of them are extremely strong and relatively accurate. I'm a history buff and that's why I originally started getting them and it was only after I got the first one that I started to love how they shoot. (Especially the M44's at twilight. big fireballs.) They're styled more like an early 19th century musket than a modern rifle and don't have the greatest gas-venting abilities in the case of a pierced primer/ruptured case, but it has a ginormous 3rd lug for safety. The safety itself is a little weird, but it's fun watching people try to operate it the first time.
They're not as good looking as Mausers or Springfields, but I think they look better than Carcanos.
The 7.62x54R is a good round for lots of different things. I have an M44 that will most likely turn into a hunting rifle since the stock had the bejeezus sanded out of it. I fall firmly in the camp of "It's your rifle, do what you want" when it comes to these.
I'm kind of just rambling. I don't hold mosins as sacrosanct, but they are often criticized unfairly.
BTW, 25 knot winds make it really hard to fish. Why are you still on a boat? <ducks> <runs>
Matt