M44 Mosin Nagant

[Satanic Toaster]

I went to my local gun shop on Friday and found an M44 sitting on the used rack. I hadn't seen a decent condition one in this area for a few months.
It is a 1947 Izhevsk that looks to be in great shape except for a couple dents and dings in the stock and couple bits of the shellac missing. The metal and bore are in great shape.

I asked about the M44 and it turned out to be from the gun shop owner's personal collection. He said he decided to put it in the shop because he bought it about 10 years ago covered in cosmo and has only fired about 200 rounds through it since then. He said someone else could get more use out of it than he could.

I put it into layaway because if I had bought another gun last week my fiancee would have probably killed me since I had already bought 2 in the past 2 weeks.

UPDATE:
Pics:

[TX Hunter]

Congratulations, I plan on getting one soon myself.

[kraigwy]

I got one from cabelas a month or so ago that is in excellent shape, the barrel seems to be flawless. Shooting decent hand loads its well capable of less then 2 inches at 100 yards. Plenty good enough for Vintage Military Rifle Matches.

If you are gonna shoot the Mosin Nagant, I recommend attending and shooting the Vintage Rifle Matches. These rifles deserve a chance to show their stuff.

Not just the Mosins but all old military rifles.

[Satanic Toaster]

This will be my second M44 and fifth Mosin. I have had two 91/30's, soon to be two m44's, and a Finnish Model 28. I still have one of the 91/30's and this M44 once I pick it up on Wednesday.

[TX Hunter]

I really like my Finnish Mosin, and my Sons Mosin 91 30, but have thought about getting a M38 or M44 to carry in my truck.
I have heard they are very loud, and kick like a mule though.

[Darren007]

I have heard they are very loud, and kick like a mule though.

They are loud but the kick is a little over-exaggerated by most people IMO. I never found it to be that bad.

The fireball that is the muzzle flash is quite impressive though.

[chris in va]

Whenever I feel the need to impress a guest I take to the range, the M38 comes along. Nothing quite like 6' of flamethrower out the front.

[The Great Mahoo]

Originally Posted by Darren007

They are loud but the kick is a little over-exaggerated by most people IMO. I never found it to be that bad.

The fireball that is the muzzle flash is quite impressive though.

I found the kick to be a bit more than I am used to, and perhaps a bit more than I like, on my M44. Nothing that makes it hard to shoot well, but last time I had mine out, I went through 30 rounds and sure was feeling it in my shoulder for much of the evening.

The flash is down right amazing. I shot mine in after-noon sun and dazzeled everyone around with the muzzle-fire. I thought about taking it out this past 4th of July in lue of fireworks to light up the sky...
But on a serious note, I would like to take it out at for a shoot at dusk/dark and get some photos of the flash.

[Satanic Toaster]

Picked up the M44 today... Hopefully I will post pics later tonight.

[simonkenton]

Good deal!

The Commies make great guns.
I would like to get a M44, some day I will!

[Satanic Toaster]

So I got the pics posted in the OP... there was still cosmoline in the bolt.

[ISC]

Yeah, if you shoot 60 rounds out of one of them you'll feel it in the morning.

[M4Sherman]

The recoil is not bad at all (I am 220lb but still) but the fireball that these things unleash is enough to catch a field on fire

[bigjack59]

THese really are amazing rifles, especially considering how cheap they are. Mine is accurate, and fun to shoot. Recoil isn't too bad, and yes, the muzzle flash is the best around. I save this one for the end of the day and shoot as the sun is going down. Awesome.

[doofus47]

You will love your M44. It's quick to the shoulder and shoots true.
The kick isn't that bad at all.

Your cosmo on the bolt may be an early warning sign for "sticky bolt syndrome." I had to fix that on mine. The bolt stuck after about 15 shots. I cleaned the chamber and then it stuck again after a few rounds. Cleaned the chamber again; stuck again after 15 rounds.

I took the bolt apart and cleaned and recleaned it as many times as I went shooting, plus the original tear down/cleaning when I bought it. Everything looked clean. I was getting pretty frustrated and was even beginning to avoid taking it to the range.

I hadn't taken the firing pin out, however. I didn't remove the firing pin and spring b/c the pin length was correct according to the tool. (And I guess I am lazy a bit). Then, on a whim, I decided to lube my bolt using some wax bike chain lube called "Rock n Roll" or something like that; it was red and I appreciated the Communist-ic color. The carrier for the wax got into all the nooks an crannies of the bolt and after a few cycles out came this crappy, goopy red-brown--the lube plus cosmo that was deeply buried in the portion of the bolt which housed the firing pin and spring. I re-lubed and cycled a few more times and never had a problem since. I don't know if this will work for non-wax lubes like tri-flow, but it worked with "rock and roll."

Just an overly long, FYI. Hopefully, you never have that issue.

[Satanic Toaster]

Oh this rifle will have no problem with the sticky bolt syndrome.

It was the smoothest mosin bolt I have ever felt even before I cleaned the cosmoline out of it.

I tore the bolt completely apart and cleaned the last of it out. This is one sweet rifle. It is much nicer than my last M44.

[doofus47]

PHP Code:

Oh this rifle will have no problem with the sticky bolt syndrome.

It was the smoothest mosin bolt I have ever felt even before I cleaned the cosmoline out of it. 


You win
:-)

[kokopelli]

Hey Toaster- was it at the Oakwood?

[Satanic Toaster]

No it was in my local shop here in Morehead, KY.

[pesta2]

I wish I would have purchased more (only have one 44) when they were $70 along with a M38. I was at Cabala’s last week and they had a 44 for $275.