need info on buying M-44 Mosin Nagant

[tercel89]

well i finally found one and actually there are 4 there and i saw two of them .One has 1944 on it and the other had 1946 on it .What do i need to look for or are all of the M-44's pretty well built good. The inside of the barrels looked good too.I did look at the link to "shooting the military surplus rife" and read about the M-44's but after a while it was like reading a history book at school. I only had limited time to look at them while at the shop so i didnt get to really examine them very very good. I want one real bad , kinda like my last "toy" before my baby girl is born (3 weeks from now) cause after she gets here its diapers and baby formula!!!!!:upeyes:

[sam3]

i would look at the end of barrel at tht muzzle end an see if it looks ok or has damage .see if the bolt cycles smoothly and look at the chamber to see if it has any buid up in it. if possible see if you can load the magazine with dummy round and see how they function when cycled thru.

[Russ in PA]

Originally posted by sam3
i would look at the end of barrel at tht muzzle end an see if it looks ok or has damage .see if the bolt cycles smoothly and look at the chamber to see if it has any buid up in it. if possible see if you can load the magazine with dummy round and see how they function when cycled thru.

+1 on checking the muzzle. Most M44's are counter-bored, to remove the last few inches of rifling (careless use of cleaning rods chewed-up the end of the barrel as the story goes). If you could buy one that's not counter-bored, that would be a big plus.

[tercel89]

so when ya'll are saying "counter-bored" you mean past soldiers that had it would jam the cleaning rod in and out of the end of the barrel and allow the rod to scrap the ends and inner part of the barrel causing it to be scratched? And possibly gouging the rifleing and messing it up?

[brentwal]

Originally posted by tercel89
so when ya'll are saying "counter-bored" you mean past soldiers that had it would jam the cleaning rod in and out of the end of the barrel and allow the rod to scrap the ends and inner part of the barrel causing it to be scratched? And possibly gouging the rifleing and messing it up?

yes

[NYGunman]

If you search around you can find some that are like new. The first one I bought I did not know what to look for. The wood and bluing was good but the rifling was bad and the numbers did not match. I believe that was a 1939 Russian. I did a little research and bought another one. I ended up with a 1954 (Romanian?) with great rifling and bluing and all the numbers matched. The wood is a bit ruff butt I plan to steam and stain it.

I paid $49 for each of the rifles a few years ago from a gun store. If you search you still might be able to find some still in the paper and unissued for under $150. Prices keep going up on these darn things. I wish I bought a few of the unissued ones when I found them for $99.

In my opinion the best bargains currently out there (besides the M44) appear to be the unissued Yugo SKS for less then $150, and the Swiss K-30 For $130. Other people should have different opinions as to the good bargains out there.

[tyesai]

Originally posted by tercel89
well i finally found one and actually there are 4 there and i saw two of them .One has 1944 on it and the other had 1946 on it .What do i need to look for or are all of the M-44's pretty well built good. The inside of the barrels looked good too.I did look at the link to "shooting the military surplus rife" and read about the M-44's but after a while it was like reading a history book at school. I only had limited time to look at them while at the shop so i didnt get to really examine them very very good. I want one real bad , kinda like my last "toy" before my baby girl is born (3 weeks from now) cause after she gets here its diapers and baby formula!!!!!:upeyes:

Ah ha, the new baby syndrome. Life doesn't end my friend. One isn't to bad at all. My life didn't end till the second one came along.:animlol: Know I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old. I could have an armory suitable for a third world country in the amount I pay in formula, milk, and diapers.:supergrin:

Congrats and good luck with the little one.

Oh yeah, get an M44, they are a hoot to shoot, louder than the devil with recoil to match. Always take the slip on recoil off before going out to shoot with your buddies and hand them the rifle with the original metal butt plate only.