Took a M-44 on a fishing trip.

[AMraider]

A little woods time with a Mosin Nagant M-44. MO marked 1944/52 dated. Numbers don't all match, which is common for a refurb, but it shoots well enough. I didn't think about it at the time but I could have roasted marshmallows or franks with the bayo.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

Despite the age of the design, these still pop up in modern conflicts all over the world to this day.

 

[brasscollector]

At my initial glance at the thread title I had immediately assumed a tragic boating accident had occurred. Glad that wasn't the case .

 

[Bcwitt]

Must be some pretty big fish.

 

[EMC45]

I'm assuming it's not "catch and release"?

 

[Riomouse911]

Were bluefin tuna on the docket? They’ll kick your butt when they’re tossed on deck .

You’re not kidding about the M-44 being a marshmallow toaster! Here is a high-noon, desert sky muzzle flash image from my buddys M-44 shooting Russian surplus ammo.


I think the fireball was at least 2/3rds the length of the rifle. .

Glad you got to exercise it a bit, they’re fun guns to play with.

Stay safe.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

That reminds me.

I have no doubt someone has taken a M44 on a fishing trip, to shoot fish.

On the Clinch River in Scott County, Virginia and on Lake Champlain in Vermont, it has been traditional to shoot fish. Nowhere else. Attempts to ban the tradition have proven futile: try to ban it, they're gonna do it anyway, so may as well allow it by regulation

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) sitting on the other side of the state tried in 1988 and 2014 to ban it based on board executives imagining scenarios of bullets ricochetng off water and hitting kayakers or rod & reel fishermen, of kayakers or fishermen being too afraid of being shot to use the river, or shooters killing endangered species of fish.

This is not shooting OVER water. You'll never hit a fish that way anyway. The Clinch River fish shooters I have met in Tennessee gun shops describe using tree stands and shooting down INTO clear still water with something like .30-40 Krag (great-grandpa's Spanish American War rifle) or 7.7mm Arisaka (dad's WWII bring back) to create a shockwave next to the fish to knock it out. Last time the ban was about to be imposed, a Scott County man went to Richmond and challenged it. When the DGIF board asked the staff for Scott County reports of accidents, complaints or conflicts between fish shooters and other sportsmen, or harm to endangered species, the answer was none of the surmised scenarios to justify the ban had actually occurred.

4VAC15-320-150. Shooting certain fish in Clinch River in Scott County.
It shall be lawful for any person holding a current license to fish to shoot suckers, redhorse and carp with a rifle, during the hours of sunrise to sunset, from April 15 to May 31, both inclusive, in the waters of the Clinch River within the limits of Scott County; except, that it shall be unlawful to shoot fish on Sunday, or within the limits of any town, or from any bridge. No more than 20 such fish may be so taken during any one day. All persons engaged in the shooting or the retrieval of fish pursuant to this section shall have in their possession a current fishing license.
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title4/agency15/chapter320/section150/

 

[eastbank]

as a young 15 year old i tried to catch a large brown trout over two summers with every lure and live bait i could find to no avail. but on a late afternoon ground hog hunt i spied it in very low water, maybe 15-18" and shot it with a .244 remington rifle. not a mark on it, it just rolled over and drifted with the current. it was 24 " long. certain members of my family were not to happy with me, that was in 1958.

 

[Dr T]

When I first saw the title, I thought it was going to be about using the M44 as a backup boat paddle.

That is a very clean round receiver Mosin.

 

[dh1633pm]

I was expecting fish? Excellent Nagant and the idea of toasting a marshmallow with the fireball.

 

[Ignition Override]

My favorite bolt-action rifle of all time. Just being honest.

Unfortunately the 44 I bought from Classic (in NC) in late 2007 had a huge amount of bore wear.
The best "group" I could from a quiet bench rest, with Bulgarian ammo, at about 50 yards was at least 6".