Mosin Nagant hunting question

[killchain]

So I have a question.

I'm not a hunter, but I've been meaning to learn. Mostly deer and elk is what I'm thinking.

Would a Mosin Nagant fill this niche to start out? In particular, the M44 carbine?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, as long as you use proper expanding point hunting ammo in it.

Surplus FMJ military ammo is not suitable for hunting anything.

rc

 

[redbullitt]

never shot an elk with one, but deer go down quite well

 

[toivo]

Sellier and Bellot makes a 7.62x54R 180-grain softpoint. Reviews here:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM917-5.html#Reviews

Available here:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...lot-180gr-soft-point-ammo/manufacturers_id/14

 

[Kleanbore]

If you have a choice consider something with a better safety.

 

[teirst]

If you are looking for a hunting rifle for as cheap as you can pick up check out the savage edge. you can find them for under $300 with a scope and are available in .308. Ammunition will be much more expensive but if your main concern is hunting .308 will serve you much better then 7.62x54r simply because of the amounts of ammo that are available.

 

[Cosmoline]

Get a Polish M44, load with Winchester/S&B 180 soft points or handloads, verify your sights and you're set.

Do a search for Caribou's threads on this. He's hunted things a lot bigger and meaner than a mere Elk with the Mosin.

If you have a choice consider something with a better safety.

It's an excellent safety, but some find it too difficult to engage.

 

[cleardiddion]

The safety on the mosin is fine really, it's just something you need to get used to.
There's good advice on here but one thing that I would is to get a 91/30 or an M38.
Why?
Because with the bayonet attached the M-44 is actually heavier than the full length rifle.

Now, it's not much of a problem if you're doing stand hunting for deer but if you're wandering up and down hills in the back country for elk, the extra weight really does make a difference.

I've taken out my 91/30 for hog and a few other things before, loaded up with the Romanian Hotshot brand hunting ammo. I dunno about where you live and your rifle but I got that for 10 dollars a box and my rifle ate it up just fine with more than acceptable accuracy.

 

[killchain]

Sorry, I mislabeled the rifle.

I actually have an M38, the one without the bayonet attached.

And thanks for the advice everyone. Sounds like it can be done as long as I have the proper ammunition.

This is good news; I love this little M38, it's so light. Haha.

 

[caribou]

Yes, yes, yes.

I use an M-39 version with Czek surp and I make a living with it, all year round.

I use FMJs to great effect, but then again ,I'm a full time subsitance Hunter/fisher/gatherer, so I dont know the science, just that when you hit an animal in the proper spot, they die, that I see myself.
Now the legalitys may get you on that,as teh state your in might notlike 'em, but FMJ's are Alaska's "Solids" and are quite legal and very effective.
If FMJs are illegal to hunt with, where you are, they sure are fun to shoot at 'stuff' with.

As for the safety, its a great one, very positive. Place the butt in the crook of your right elbow and use your right hand to grasp the safty knob, quite easily manipulated that way, and was a part of Russian training on he Mosin.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Oh yes, oh my yes. 7.62 x 54R is quite capable of knocking down anything that walks in North America ... and most other places as well. Several suppliers of soft point ammo in that cartridge ... or you can "roll your own".

You can pick up a fine 91/30 for $100 or so. Solid, reliable, cheap. A little heavy by modern standards ... but if the Ruskies could haul them around every day for the years of WWII, you can probably manage a weekend in the woods with one.

 

[Cap'n Jack Burntbeard]

Prvi Partizan makes brass cased non corrosive soft point in 150gr and also 200gr

Also a set of mojo sights might be a good idea

 

[lefteyedom]

The Mosin with proper hunting loads will get the job down. Just use the Coffee can rule. What ever range you can reliably hit a coffee can at is your range limit. Use the irons sights, set it up for 4" high at 100 yard.

Gun scribes make their living try to convince hunters that 700 yard shots at sunset on the last day of the season are the norm. Truth be told most game is shot 25 to 150 yards most under 100 yards.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

As has been mentioned already, just make sure you use the right ammo for the job and you'll be fine. No mil surp fmjs for hunting.

 

[nathan]

Plus one on the Seller and Belliot 180 gr SP. They are very accurate in my Sako M 39.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Oh ... and buy yourself a good slip on recoil pad ... you'll thank me later.

 

[Chris95]

A mosin nagant should kill an elk before it hits the ground with the right hunting bullet and a hit to the vitals. The safety on the rifle should be beside the point a gun should always be treated as if loaded and that there is no safety because any safety WILL fail you.

 

[Teapot]

I just ordered a Mosin Nagant with a repro mount and scope. The rifles are actually former sniper rifles put away in war stock. The mounts are repro as are the scopes but made by the same firm that made the original scopes. Moreover the rifle was mounted in this factory. I have also ordered three cases of Czech 143gr surplus ammunition which is 2,400 rounds. If I go up to northern Canada to live for a while, these fmj's will become my solids too, as Caribou pointed out.

 

[Frozen North]

I hunt with an M44 with the bayonet removed. It seems to do just about anything that a 30-06 will do for around $75. It has to be about the most bang for your buck on the whole planet!