Maybe buying a used Mosin-Nagant M44

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jlangton

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What should I be looking for in a used or "refinished" M44? I saw a few of them at a gun show and they all looked great externally,but I'm unsure of what to look for on the mechanicals to make sure I get a good, reliable, useable unit.
Thanks,
JL
 
Used Mosin. That's kinda redundant. :D

The big thing is to check the bore for the condition of the rifling. Check the muzzle. Many have been counterborde because of the cleaning methods employed by those who carried them. Counterbored is OK. Check bolt function. Normally no problems here, as the mechanism is simple and robust.

Even if all that is good, you won't know how she shoots until you try. Some are accurate and look like poo. Others look nice but puke bullets all over the paper. You may need to try several kinds of ammo to see what she likes. Some like heavy ball. Others prefer light. Some like Bulgarian, while others need Hungarian.

I'd wager that just about any M44 you pick up will be mechanically reliable. The design is inherently reliable. We're talking an $80 to $100 rifle, so even if the one you picked up isn't quite as accurate as you hope, you can always get another.

Welcome to the world of MN!
 
Used Mosin. That's kinda redundant.
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Hehehe..I guess it is huh?
I'm seeing around $125 for most of them I've ran across,and they all seem to be if fairly good condition considering their age.
Thanks,
JL
 
The ones that seam to be the best shooters are the ugly black banged unrefurbished M44s there is a reason they weren't refurbished and the post war 1946 and 1948s that are in like new condishtion.

Mike
 
I look for sharp rifle'ing. Just remove the bolt and look from the Muzzle down. Put a piece of white paper on the floor. Examine the crown to see if the lands exit. My guess is that very few exist that have good rifle'ing right to the very end. (I've yet to find one. If you find one with rifle'ing to the last 32nd you'll be lucky). Next work the action. What your are looking for is easy operation but not sloppy overworn. After you have tested a few you will start to recognize the good the bad and the ugly.
BTW They've all been used... hehehe I'm still chuckling over that one.
KKKKFL
 
don't know if they still have them, but centerfire systems was selling them for $49 recently, or $39 each if you bought 5.
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nope sold out. these were battlefield pickups and kinda beat. i believe they were counterbored. id spend the few extra bucks and try to get a good first mosin.
 
Not to Hi-Jack this but I saw at a local gunstore in Vineland NJ a Mosin with scope and all that junk on it for 500 not original but someone took the time to make it look pretty cool. I'd like to do that to a mosin. But I think 500 is pretty insane markup
 
Bright shinny bore with sharp rifling and uniform crown and no cracks in the stock is the most important. If the rifling looks square like this ] and have no pitting and or dings your good to go.
 
They are extremely durable pieces and should be good to shoot as long as no obvious defects are observed. Just give it a once-over like you would any rifle.
 
If it does give you fits, just bash it with a rock or a hammer.

Occasionally my bolt sticks with some mil-surp. A nice whack with a hammer is all it needs. Headspace is OK - it passed the go and field gages.
 
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Thanks for the info guys..Local shop has a few 91-30's and M44's to choose from. I'm gonna go have a look at them in the next few days.
JL
 
Just make sure that the barrel doesn't look like a sewer pipe. Riflings are everything when it comes to accuracy. I like to have a numbers matching gun. The M44 is common and cheap so there is no reason to buy a junk throw together. Just my opinion.
 
I just picked up one of each this year and couldnt be happier. As a matter of fact I bought enough ammo to last 3 years. My 44 likes Bulgarian light ball and my 91/30 likes Yugo heavyball. Remember to get a good set of elctronic noise reducing ears. I can afford to shoot my Mossin more than I can afford to shoot my .223. For deals on ammo I pururse here, http://www.gun-deals.com/ . Also you want to look for stars on the barrel, evidently they are worth more.
 
^^^
Thanks, I get it. My M44 is not couterbored, but my 91/30 seems to be, but the bore is pretty deep in there....are they all like that or does a "fresh" bore has rifling all the way to the end in 91/30??

One more Q's...my M44's bolt looks more well-used, but I don't know what I did to the barrel, but it's as shiny as a brand-new barrel :D

However...:( My 91/30 that I just bought last week has a Spanking CLEAN bolt that seems to be hardly fired/used, but I just cannot get that long barrel shiny clean like my M44, and I just can't remember WHAT I did to M44 to get it so clean. I did Hopp's, Shooter's choice, multiple patches with them, brushed, but I still have cosmoline or gunk in my barrel :banghead: WHAT CAN I DO???
 
I picked up one of the $49.99 M44 at Centerfire. The muzzle was not counterbored. Bore looks good. Metal Parts are in really good shape. Stock is the weak point. Has a couple of repairs in it. Other then that a pretty good M44.


Brion
 
Ivcat,
To remove the cosmoline, take the rifle apart and soak it in mineral spirits. For the barrel, I used a cheap plastic wall paper tray from Lowe's or Home Depot. Its used to soak wallpaper rolls in water before hanging. Works great. Just a matter of using the right solvent. Good luck.
 
flyboy73 i have put together a lot of M44 cracked stock specials a M44 with a repaired stock is a badge of Honer. A lot of the unrefinished Mosins still have the original shims in them and are nicely tuned and are very good shooters.

Mike
 
most mosins will have a little "slop" in the bolt, just find one that moves freely but not excessivly. also when you pull the bolt, look inside the reciever, if you see what appears to be 2 screws on the left side that dont hold anything, it most likely is a sniper, also the refurb snipers seem to have an easier trigger pull.
 
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