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Slater
08-08-08, 18:00
Picked this up at the local Big 5 sporting goods store (one of their $99 specials). Has a 1944 manufacture date and was refurbed after the war, when the laminated stock was possibly added.

What do they say about Mosin-Nagants - they need cleaning once every war? :D

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/pb57/HPIM0791.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/pb57/HPIM0789.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/pb57/HPIM0785.jpg

MassMark
08-08-08, 18:32
I'll start by stating that I have walked past more milsurp bolt guns than I can count through the years. I never had much use for them - it was black rifles for me. Even bolt guns in general never really appealed to me on any level.

Then one day last winter, I was at a small local dealer out here in The Berkshires, (Pat's) and he had a wall full of M-44's that he'd gotten in. One in particular was purchased by a guy and returned the next day after he spent hours cleaning it and de-cosmoing the entire rifle - decided it wasn't his thing. Being a guy who likes a shortcut every now and then - I bought that one, (a Tula). It was $75.00, ($99.00 is a bit steep, but still good). I figured: "What the heck - it looks neat and it's under a hundred clams - sold". I bought 100-rounds of ammo for it and went to the range and had an absolute ball. These things are more fun than a barrel of monkeys, (if those are even fun)....

This thing is an absolute beast. I read threads reporting 9" high at 100-yards, or unable to get on the paper at all. This rifle is snot on - especially with the bayonet out. I like it so much, that I'm in on a group buy for a 91/30. We're buying 3 crates at $63.60 cents per rifle! I just filled out my C&R paperwork today, so I can get stuff like this shipped to my door. If you have not seen a 91/30, they are something to behold. With the bayonet attached, it's literally a pike when the ammo runs out... :)

I did get a corrosive ammo lesson today when I checked my safe...I didn't do a good job cleaning it after my last range trip and I'm paying the piper - it's soaking in CLP right now. For the short money, it's hard to beat those little M-44 boomsticks - enjoy yours!

Slater
08-08-08, 18:53
The above M44 is a laminate. Seems they always (locally, at least) charge a bit more for those. The regular birch-stocked examples are around $89 or so.

MassMark
08-08-08, 19:04
Yeah, I don't think you got a bad deal at all - there's just some dealers who sell at a lower mark-up. I like the standard stock, but have seen some really pretty laminates, (yours being one) and the laminate stocks are apparently tougher. I can't wait to get both the 91/30 and my C&R. Will be nice to find a rifle like the M-44 or a Mauser, Yugo SKS, M1 Carbine etc and say: "Yeah, I want that" and have it arrive at my door...I never thought I would be a Milsurp guy until I picked up that darned $75.00 rifle... ;)

PS: have you shot it yet?

Slater
08-08-08, 19:59
Nope, might be a while before I get to the range.

MassMark
08-08-08, 21:18
Nope, might be a while before I get to the range.

If you like big booms - you'll love it... [wink]

Bushytale
08-09-08, 00:52
MassMark, use a bore cleaner that is made for corrosive ammo like the military stuff from WWII if you can find it or cleaner for black powder. The deal is the corrosive salts need to be neutralized. Soap and water will work to. Have fun!!!!!

Bigun
08-09-08, 03:04
Just run a couple of windex soaked patches down the barrel then clean normaly.

MassMark
08-09-08, 07:50
Thanks for the tips - I'm a Windex guy, but obviously failed to do it after my last range session and paid the price. Live and learn. Just scrubbed my overnight BreakFree soak off and it looks great. Going to run a box of ammo through it this afternoon - nothing says I'm sorry to your mistreated gun better than some lunch... :)

Deadcenter45
08-13-08, 01:08
I bought in when they were on sale for $50 at the Big 5 :D - back in '00
I picked up a pristine Romanian M44 with matching numbers, and a M91/30 made in Russia in 1933 - they are awesome!

TOrrock
08-13-08, 07:53
That little carbine might have been taking Berlin in 1945.

MassMark
08-13-08, 09:40
That little carbine might have been taking Berlin in 1945.

True enough - like I said earlier - I never got caught up in the whole Milsurp thing until now. I wondered the same thing as I fired this at the range the other day. Where has this rifle been? We just ordered 3 crates of 91/30's and are picking them up in a couple of weeks. I'm helping to unload one of the crates and will likely have that same feeling again...All this for under $70.00 - not too shabby.

LOKNLOD
08-13-08, 09:47
Now THAT is a "trunk gun" :D Some active killer would really know he's been put down, when you get him with that!

A-Bear680
08-13-08, 09:47
MassMark, use a bore cleaner that is made for corrosive ammo like the military stuff from WWII if you can find it or cleaner for black powder. The deal is the corrosive salts need to be neutralized. Soap and water will work to. Have fun!!!!!

+1

Nice little rifle.

German Ballistol is widely available in the US . Midway and Brownell's both sell it.

Ballistol was standard German issue CLP during the days of corrosive ammo: some sources say starting before WW1 , others before WW2. It has a very unusual smell for a CLP , which IMO (based on experience) adds to the head-turner factor when used on a Euro rifle.

Hope this helps.

mattjmcd
08-13-08, 11:13
Now THAT is a "trunk gun" :D Some active killer would really know he's been put down, when you get him with that!

M44= get shot, STAY shot:D

MassMark- do yourself a favor and DO NOT get into Swedes. They are like crack. IMO they are the best WWII guns aside from the Garands.

MassMark
08-13-08, 11:52
M44= get shot, STAY shot:D

MassMark- do yourself a favor and DO NOT get into Swedes. They are like crack. IMO they are the best WWII guns aside from the Garands.

I hear you there - the 7.62x54R is a beast! Thanks for the warning...I have been pondering getting both a Swede and a Swiss rifle when my C&R comes in. I just sent out my payment for the 91/30 - came out to $67.50 for the whole kit - awesome. We ended up ordering 3 crates of them! I saw a pic recently of one with the bayonet mounted - it really is a pike... :)

Gbear48 - thanks for the tip! Will seem a natural for use when I get a Mauser! :) For a guy who always disliked bolt guns - suddenly I'm in love with them - could it be my age? (42)

cz7
08-15-08, 20:55
great weapon -use light 150 grains like silver like polish ,cz ammo -its also easier on the arm too!

HighSpeedDreams
08-16-08, 02:23
I have both the M44 and the 91/30 off my C&R. The fun is endless with these two.

I actually love stripping the cosmoline off these types of rifles. The stick and I share a moment. Louder than hell, accurate (considering their age and price), and super fun.

+1 for Nagants.

white spaniard
08-17-08, 17:27
I hear you there - the 7.62x54R is a beast! Thanks for the warning...I have been pondering getting both a Swede and a Swiss rifle when my C&R comes in. I just sent out my payment for the 91/30 - came out to $67.50 for the whole kit - awesome. We ended up ordering 3 crates of them! I saw a pic recently of one with the bayonet mounted - it really is a pike... :)

Gbear48 - thanks for the tip! Will seem a natural for use when I get a Mauser! :) For a guy who always disliked bolt guns - suddenly I'm in love with them - could it be my age? (42)

How much recoil does the Mosin have? My neighbor/ renter gave me one M44 and two spam cans of ammo.

Slater
08-17-08, 18:44
Between the Mosin-Nagant M91/30, the Mauser 98, and the .303 Lee-Enfields, I always thought the Enfield had the heaviest recoil.

Avenger29
08-18-08, 22:49
Limbsaver Slip on Recoil Pad, size small.

Light ball ammo.

No problem with recoil.

I get good groups with my 91/30 at the range. Try to pick out a prewar receiver in good condition for whatever you buy, if possible. I prefer Tula receivers with the hex shape...

ARs are fun, but they don't set off car alarms like the M44 can.

Finnish Mosins are very accurate...the Finns captured and made Mosins, and tuned them for accuracy...those Finns are some tough people...they kicked the Russian's asses during the Winter War...

monsterking138
08-21-08, 22:44
I got my M44 about a month ago and liked it so much that now I am wanting to get the 91/30.

krm375
03-17-14, 06:32
Alright, I did a search and this seemed to be the one of the only threads on the m44 that was not a "FS" thread. I have a Vietnam War Trophy M44 carbine with paperwork from my dad, the metal is decent, used and dropped a few times, the stock is cracked at the butt but held together by the metal butt plate. Its a Russian M44 with the bayonet. Could anyone tell me a basic value? I know the guns are not worth that much 50 to 100 bucks at the local gun shop but how does the paperwork and war trophy affect the value?

MAUSER202
03-17-14, 08:51
Values on refurbed m44 have went up a bit, some nice ones surpassing $300. A VN bring back with papers, I would estimate $600-$800 based on condition. On a GB it could easily pass $1000, if all the stars line up.

brickboy240
03-17-14, 11:04
I have a Russian WWII M-44 and a Korean War issued Chinese Type 53. Fairly accurate and quite a kicker! Fire it as dusk and enjoy the huge muzzle flash! LOL

Yes...although it is fun and cheap to shoot...the Mosins do not hold a candle to a nice Swedish Mauser or Swiss K-31 rifle. The 96 Swede Mauser and K-31 will gladly out-group most 03 Springifelds and K-98 Mausers. Well..at least mine sure do!

-brickboy240

krm375
03-17-14, 11:19
Values on refurbed m44 have went up a bit, some nice ones surpassing $300. A VN bring back with papers, I would estimate $600-$800 based on condition. On a GB it could easily pass $1000, if all the stars line up.

thanks for the info, Ill keep an eye out on the auctions.

brickboy240
03-17-14, 11:30
Be advised that a wartime bringback without papers is not worth as much as one WITH capture papers.

How I know this is because my uncle brought back an SKS (in pieces...in his duffel bags) from Vietnam. Since he basically hid it...he had no papers with the rifle. It is a fairly nice but well used early 60s Chinese SKS with blade bayonet and milled receiver. However...with no capture papers...it is just a good story.

However I know he brought it back in 1968...

-brickboy240

BTW, even though the SKS looks pretty ratty...the thing shoots very well.

p22shooter30
03-17-14, 12:26
24457

mine is a 1952 polish. I love this rifle. and you don't need windex or soapy water to clean corrosive ammo. regular solvents work fine. why pour water on your rifel, when rust is what you are trying to avoid.

MAUSER202
03-17-14, 20:38
24457

mine is a 1952 polish. I love this rifle. and you don't need windex or soapy water to clean corrosive ammo. regular solvents work fine. why pour water on your rifel, when rust is what you are trying to avoid.
Not accurate, water helps neutralize salts from mercuric primers. They bind to metal especially if it's porous and are not dissolved with completely with solvents, ask anyone who regularly shoots black powder. Nice deer by the way.

TacticalSledgehammer
03-17-14, 23:42
I've probably had over 60 of these damn mosins over the years. For me it was these before I got into black rifles. I was a broke young kid starting out in 2002 (when I was 18). Back then you could buy these m44s from Cole's at gun shows for $39 in good condition, caked in cosmolene. The best one I got was a 1943 m44 (trials rifle). Beware, they tend to multiply. If you enjoy collectibility and history try gunboards.com or 7.62x54r.net. There's a lot of versions of mosins out there. Enjoy your new little boom stick.

brickboy240
03-18-14, 09:53
The Finnish re-work Mosins that were done in the Tikka and Sako factories are actually the best of the Mosin type rifles.

I have a 1937 Tikka re-built Finnish M-27 that is an exceptional shooter. Will easily keep up with any 03 or K-98 I have ever owned or shot.

-brickboy240

p22shooter30
03-18-14, 10:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U1W-kTL2rU

I used to use windex until I stumbled upon this vid. This guy actual calls hoppes and ballistol and discusses corrosive ammo. I really like hunting with my m44 since it is more of a challenge. My semi auto .308 with a 3x9 scope was too easy. I am thinking of getting a timmney trigger on my m44 just to have the trigger safety. The ballistol guy actually touches on black powder at the end of the video. I have shot my rifle a ton since I stopped using the windex and I have no rust issues as long as I clean my rifle with hoppes within a few days of shooting.

p22shooter30
03-18-14, 10:53
another fun thing I noticed with my m44, is that the sights are dead on with surplus 147 grain ammo, but when I use 203 grain soft point brown bear ammo for deer hunting, I have to slide my rear sight up to 400 meters to hit the bullseye at 100 yards. when I was trying the 203 grain ammo for the first time, I was missing an 12" target and it took me 10 shots to find out I was shooting below it. I didn't think the bullet would drop that much, but it is actually a big difference in bullet weight.

The funny thing is with all the long distance practice I have done with my m44, the two deer I have shot with it so far were less than 10 feet away. the first was running right at me while I was sitting in tall grass and he was chasing a doe, then second deer I stepped on in the cattails and hip shot it at point blank range. if I had the bayonet folded out, I could have stuck it.

SurplusShooter
03-18-14, 12:49
you don't need windex or soapy water to clean corrosive ammo. regular solvents work fine. why pour water on your rifel, when rust is what you are trying to avoid.


Not accurate, water helps neutralize salts from mercuric primers. They bind to metal especially if it's porous and are not dissolved with completely with solvents,

I also shoot alot of corrosive mil-surp ammo and I have experimented with the idea of "you don't need to flush with water/windex, just use Hoppes and oil it".
The result: 3 days later to run a patch thru the bore and it is brown/red with crud. I Learned the heard way, you must scrub with water or windex to flush-out the corrosive salts, then clean & oil. The corrosive effects happen after a few days even when bore has a coating of oil on it. I Wouldn't have believed it except it happened to me for sure.
I might try Ballistol next, looks like a good option.

Back on-topic:
I had a M44 but I trade for an M38 which I like better. I'm never going to use that spike bayonet, I'd rather have just the rifle. Both m44 & m38 make great fireballs and they are really loud, gotta have good earplugs.

Slater
03-18-14, 13:17
I use boiling hot water. Seems to evaporate off a bit faster.

p22shooter30
03-18-14, 14:45
an m38 would be awesome, but I have yet to find one cheap enough to buy, and I don't like the idea of buying milsurps online unless the pics they post are of the actual rifle I would be buying, and not just pics of one "out of the pile". have fun with your m44, mine goes with me to the range almost everytime I go since it is so cheap to shoot. I would buy a few spam cans and leave them unopened, eventually they are going to stop coming into the country for one reason or another and the price will go up.

SurplusShooter
03-18-14, 14:49
I use boiling hot water. Seems to evaporate off a bit faster.

On SurplusRifleForums, one guy rigged-up an old coffee maker with some tubing connected to an empty cartridge (which acted as a chamber adapter). It put the hot water into the bore without dripping down into the rest of the action.

RazorBurn
03-18-14, 22:28
On SurplusRifleForums, one guy rigged-up an old coffee maker with some tubing connected to an empty cartridge (which acted as a chamber adapter). It put the hot water into the bore without dripping down into the rest of the action.

Now that's a damn good idea. I wonder if my wife would miss her Keurig coffee maker...

SurplusShooter
03-19-14, 07:55
Now that's a damn good idea. I wonder if my wife would miss her Keurig coffee maker...

Keurig won't make a sustained hot water output. Just get a cheap coffee maker from WalMart. Better yet, usually people break the glass or the lid but the percolator system still works; ask around if someone you know has a broken one laying-around.
Here's the link:

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=124192

RHINOWSO
04-03-14, 08:29
an m38 would be awesome.
Yup - I was fortunate to find a 1945 M38 locally.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx113/rhinowso/Moson%20Nagant%20M38/17B29771-6553-41C3-8E5A-96FDBD85B1C1-5541-000005B7DD93FAF6_zpse8bdc7a4.jpg

Thinking about adding another, probably an M44 this time.

bluejackets92fs
04-03-14, 08:35
I've probably had over 60 of these damn mosins over the years. For me it was these before I got into black rifles. I was a broke young kid starting out in 2002 (when I was 18). Back then you could buy these m44s from Cole's at gun shows for $39 in good condition, caked in cosmolene. The best one I got was a 1943 m44 (trials rifle). Beware, they tend to multiply. If you enjoy collectibility and history try gunboards.com or 7.62x54r.net. There's a lot of versions of mosins out there. Enjoy your new little boom stick.


This post brought me back. My buddies and I would go to the gun show and buy a Mosin and a case of ammo. We would shoot it up and sell the rifle at the next gun show only to buy another one and a case of ammo. We did this probably 20 times. We would play lawn darts with the M44 too. I miss the days of $50 Mosin's and $300 Wasr 10/63's.

newyork
04-03-14, 08:48
How are the ones on Aim Surplus' site? Worth it? How is the recoil on these bad boys? Brutal?

bluejackets92fs
04-03-14, 09:02
How are the ones on Aim Surplus' site? Worth it? How is the recoil on these bad boys? Brutal?

The M44 is not too bad at first but it will let you know very quickly that you've gone too far. The 91/30 isn't as bad but still is not one of the most pleasant shooting experiences I've had either.

RHINOWSO
04-03-14, 18:57
M38 lets you know you are shooting a manly rifle... And it keeps you from shooting triple digit amounts of ammo in a range session, sometimes even double is hard to get too... ;)

But it's a great rifle just to have - cheap ammo, great utility rifle to have if you have land or need pest control for hogs / yotes / etc. Not much is going to walk off a hit from x54R.