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November 18, 2011, 12:18 PM | #1 |
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Which mosin fits my hunting style?
So, being a soon-to-be poor college student, I figured I dump a whole lot of money into a deer rifle, nor will I want to spend my life savings on ammo these days. As a result, I've recently fallen for the mosin nagant. I figure it is more than powerful enough to deer hunt with, and milsurplus ammo is cheap enough to plink around with and get accustomed to shooting it. Usually when I'm hunting, it's hiking through the woods, sitting for an hour or two, and hiking to a new spot. All and all, typically involves a good bit of walking in the mountains and hollows. So, on to the point of this thread: Would the M44 or 91/30 be a better choice for hunting in this type of environment? I would like to scope the gun, and as far as I've read, it's equally difficult with both guns, and does require drilling/tapping unless your comfortable with a clamp on scope. Also, just out of curiousity, anyone care to back up the stories I've heard of the mosin with open sights? Heard it's pretty deadly even out to a hundred yards...
Thanks! Schuyler EDIT: Oh, and just to throw one more thing in the mix: I'm left eye dominant and right handed, but I've always used a right handed bolt gun. Any new issues with the mosin I should be weary of? Hopefully I just don't need a quick follow up shot lol Last edited by Schuyler; November 18, 2011 at 12:26 PM. |
November 18, 2011, 12:40 PM | #2 | |
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The problem being, past 300 wind gets you and there is no windage adjustments other then moving the front sight. If you can favor then they will shoot 600+ easily. Mine is a 91/30, completely stock. I only shoot reloads. 100 yards isnt very far, dern near any rifle would work, pretty much all Mosins unless its pure junk. Don't know what or where you are hunting, but to 300 w/iron sights the Mosin will serve you fine. I don't normally put scopes on my Mil Spec Rifles.
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Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071 |
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November 18, 2011, 12:48 PM | #3 | ||
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How would the 91/30 do as far as carrying it through the mountains? Would it be anymore cumbersome than the m44? |
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November 18, 2011, 06:58 PM | #4 |
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The Mosin will certainly handle 100 yards if you can As far as model goes, and you certainly sound like you'll be hunting 100 yards or less, I'd go with the M44. No reason to carry a longer, heavier rifle than the M44.
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November 18, 2011, 08:01 PM | #5 | |
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November 18, 2011, 11:23 PM | #6 |
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Either one. I own both & used the 91/30 this fall. Even though it's heavier than the 44 it carries well & I felt more confident with it at ranges around 100 yds. Open sights, 75 yd shot, dropped a doe in her tracks. Even with my 67 year old eyes I would fill confident out to 150 with a good rest.
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November 19, 2011, 12:24 PM | #7 |
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I think what it is important to know is that the 7.62x54r you're shooting in the Mosin-Nagant is a full-power rifle cartridge similar in performance to a 30-06. This means that the effective range on whitetail is not so much limited by the power of the gun but by its accuracy and, most importantly, your ability to shoot it. Even at 300 yards, even the worst Mosin will have the energy to take a deer with a well-placed shot. But the placement is the thing. I would submit that even if the rifle is capable of accuracy which will allow a responsible 300 yard shot on a whitetail, most people are incapable of making such a shot with iron sights, particularly in the field. If long shots are your thing, I really advise you to scope the rifle. However, under 200 yards and certainly out to 100 yards, the irons will be fine, even with the short sight radius of the m44. Which brings me to another point - the bayonet matters. Many m44s will not shoot to point-of-aim without the bayonet extended. Just something to consider.
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November 19, 2011, 01:53 PM | #8 | ||
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November 19, 2011, 02:17 PM | #9 |
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You're young with good eyes. Iron sights are fine and weight shouldn't be a big problem.
The 91/30 will have a bit less recoil and the longer barrel makes it a bit easier to aim. The M-44 will be a bit easier to bring to bear on target. Flip a coin. |
November 20, 2011, 02:27 AM | #10 |
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Get the M44 and add a recoil pad. They make one that fits it and it is inexpensive and well worth installing.
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November 20, 2011, 06:22 PM | #11 | |
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November 21, 2011, 07:16 PM | #12 | |
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November 21, 2011, 11:18 PM | #13 |
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try mojo sights on it.
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November 21, 2011, 11:32 PM | #14 |
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I had an M44. I took the bayonet off first thing and the accuracy never suffered. I could hit milk jugs at 100 yards pretty easily. When I missed, I was always close enough to scare them. Take off the bayonet.
It's a bit heavy, but the heaviness absorbs the .308-style recoil that you will be dealing with. 7.62x54 is closer to a .308 than a .30-06 in my opinion. Total disclosure: I've never had a .308, but my .30-06 shoves me noticeably more than the MN did. They are stone reliable rifles. An M44 is short and quick. The front sight hood is almost like a ghost ring. You don't need the extra barrel length of the 91/30 unless you're planning on lobbing out more than 200 yards (which is pretty silly if you're using iron sights in my humble old-eyed opinion). Deer aren't elk-sized and you might very well not have all of their target area to look at in a forested environment. 2 cons I can think of: 1. the bolt sometimes rattles and clatters. It's the price of loose tolerances. It sounds acceptable in a store, but it would suck if you were sneaking up on bambi and your rattling rifle were tattling on you. 2. The safety is a little suspect in my opinion, but if you train yourself to pay attention, it's passable. To be honest, I also feel that the safety on my Ted Williams/Win70 is also easy to inadvertently release. Good luck hunting. Good luck in school. |
November 22, 2011, 01:37 AM | #15 |
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I'd go with the M44, if you have the option. I bought mine about 15 years ago. It's a Romanian, made in 1954, and appeared to be unfired. Seeing how it was an $89 milsurp, it didn't bother me a bit to take the bayonet off, and whack off some of the forend wood.
Mine is way more accurate than I am. I bought several boxes of S&B 180gr softpoint ammo back when I got the rifle, and it's plenty accurate for me out to at least 100yds. If my vision was better, I'd go further with no qualms.. the gun is fully capable. Group at 50yds Group at 100yds |
November 24, 2011, 05:22 AM | #16 |
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I killed the biggest doe of my life with a M-44 and S&B 174gr. Match ammo. It was almost 300yrds. give or take. I know now that match ammo wasnt intended for hunting ammo but when I killed her I didnt know that. I dont really know why because that bullet made a massive exit wound on that doe. I actually still use them when I hunt with one of my mosin's.
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