One more Mosin Nagant Question

[Aaryq]

Howdy folks. I'm buying a Mosin Nagant M44 at Big 5 when I get off work tonight (darn 10 day waiting period) and I'm real excited. I've wanted a MN for quite some time and I finally have the $$ to get it. I actually wanted a 91/30 but the M44's on sale and when I get back from Iraq, I'll get my 91/30. My question for you is threefold:

1. What is the maximum effective range of this rifle?
2. When I take a look at them, what will I need to look for and how do I look for it?
3. Does anyone here own an M44 that they have a compensator installed on? Does the bayonet still attach with it on? Does it throw off the accuracy at all?

 

[fletcher]

#1 - Not sure.
#2 - Make sure the action moves semi-well (it will be rough, but should not require excessive effort to move). Check the bore for rust/wear. Check the chamber for dried cosmoline (this will lock up the bolt after a few shots - it can be cleaned out, but if you have the option to get one without, do it).
#3 - Not I.

 

[Ash]

1 - Max effective is really 300 yards or closer. The round remains potent beyond that, but accuracy won't allow the rifle to be combat effective beyond lucky hits.

2 - If you can get one made by Tula (Star with arrow inside) or made in 1943 or with a 1 inside a triangle, you will have one more collectible than others. Check the crown. Many of these are counter-bored, which is not a problem. It may actually be better. For shooters, look for one made post-war.

3 - Don't waste your time as most of them don't hold on very long and end up being shot down range.

Ash

 

[Mr White]

#1 - 300 yds with the short barrel. A good 91/30 or one of the Finn models would put you accurate out to 600+ yards.

#2 - Check the bore and the bolt face for corrosion. Take a small flashlight with you. Remove the bolt, shine it in one end and look in the other. The dirt and grease are normal, but look closely for pitting in the bore and on the bolt face. Also check the muzzle. Take a round of 7.62x54 ammo along if you have some. Stick the bullet tip into the muzzle to see how worn it is. The bullet should stick out about 1/4 - 3/8" or more between the muzzle and the case mouth. If the bullet slides in and bottomes out on the case mouth, that's a bad sign. Let someone else buy that gun. If it stops at the ogive, you've got a keeper.

#3 - The bayo attaches over the muzzle. A compensator would be in the way. These guns were designed to be fired with the bayonet extended. Firing it with the bayo folded back is said to affect accuracy to some extent. The yoyo who owned my M44 before I did had the infinite wisdom to cut off the bayonet lug, so I can't say for sure, just going off what I heard.

 

[kungfuhippie]

1. 300+ yards (the plus is because mine is capable of more but it was unfired/in the original paper/never touch cosmoline)
2. That's been covered well. Be sure to ask the person at the counter to check for others in the back and pick the best one.
3. No, don't bother. IT will kick hard and make a good loud bang, but that's the fun of it.

 

[fireflyfather]

Big 5's Mosins are all from Century Arms, and have had 95%+ of the cosmoline removed. Almost all have been counter-bored, so the bullet in the muzzle trick may not be an accurate judge of the rifle's actual crown. Also, Big 5's sales tend to shift back and forth between mauser, 91/30, and M44 about every month. Usually it's been 91/30 and M44 every other week in the San Diego stores. The last couple weeks it hasn't been in the circular, but they had an M44 on sale in the store. If you are willing to wait a couple weeks, the 91/30 WILL be on sale. Mine waited for me for several months before I bit the bullet, so to speak. The rifle had EXCELLENT rifling, a clean bore, a relatively smooth bolt, and shot 2.5 inch groups at 25 yards with my crappy shooting skills, crappy ammo, off of a very crappy half-standing/half-kneeling rest. Firing from prone with a decent hand on the trigger it should do at least that well at 100 yards.

If you really want the 91/30, wait a week or two. Otherwise, enjoy that M44. (There seem to be a lot more M44s on the market than 91/30s these days...so if you see a good 91/30, that might be the better bet. I found a fabulous one and snagged it before someone else did...though it took me some time to get together the cash).

Another thing to watch for are crappily fit handguards or VERY flaky finish. I saw 2 rifles (M38 &91/30) at the Vista store that I wouldn't touch with a 10 meter pole.

 

[SigfanUSAF]

3. No, don't bother. IT will kick hard and make a good loud bang, but that's the fun of it.

Agreed.
The seldom recognized but very important feature that comes with M38s, M44s, No 5 mk 1s, and M95 Carbines is the ability to conserve your treasured stockpile of milsurp ammo. Your shoulder knows what I mean.

 

[cracked butt]

1. anywhere from 20 yards* to the much quoted 300 yards.

*I might be the most unlucky mosin carbine buyer in the world- out of the 3 that I have, I cannot reliably hit a soda can 20 yards away with any of them. (it has nothing to do with the shooter in this case either- I shoot my swedish M94 with a shorter sight radius very well, as well as my Steyr M95 which is about the same size as a M38 but recoils much harder) I've had nothing but good luck with 91/30s though- all 4 of them that I have will group inside a fist sized group at 100 yards.

 

[Cosmoline]

1. What is the maximum effective range of this rifle?

Effective? It's lethal at over a mile, but in practice most people shoot them inside 300 meters.

2. When I take a look at them, what will I need to look for and how do I look for it?

The best M-44's are Polish. If you get a Soviet look for a loose bolt, matching original numbers, a sharp crown, good stock fit and no counterbore.

3. Does anyone here own an M44 that they have a compensator installed on? Does the bayonet still attach with it on? Does it throw off the accuracy at all?

I've heard of some compensators getting shot down range. I'm not sure why you'd need one.

 

[KiltedClaymore]

1. its effective at around 300 yards. the 91/30 will do 500.
2. look for a m38. or if you can, a finnish m39. straitest shooting mosin ive seen.
3. no it wont, and it doesnt help that much. just flys downrange.



i personaly dont like the m44. i have a m38 and a 91/30. i like the m38 for shakin dust outta the ceiling tiles at the range. no bayonet to throw aim off if ya dont extend it. takes some weight off to if you want to hike or hunt 'yotes with it.

 

[Aaryq]

I just looked at it. BEAUTIFUL. Crown looks good, rifling sound, bore clean, no corrosion, VERY VERY minimal damage to the stock, made in 1944, sound action, and very very nice. I don't know where to look for the serial numbers, but I don't care *ETA: The bolt and reciever have matching SN's and I don't know where to look on the stock**. For the condition it's in, 89.99 is a steal. The only reason I don't have it yet is because of the 10 day waiting period and the fact that I forgot my orders when I went to the store. It's a beaut.