I have seen this rifle at a local sporting goods store for 59.00. It is a eastern block 7.62 X 52R caliper. Mainly I was thinking of this as a spare should someone show up for whitetailed deer hunting w/o a rifle. For example if someone shows up from out of state and wants to go out for a weekend, but came unprepared.

The unit I saw was fair/good, used, but not as a club. They are bolt action and packed in lots of a waxy substance.

-- Mark (toymeister@hotmail.com), December 04, 2001

Answers

Backwoods Home magazine has a few articles which are more or less relevant. I've listed a few of them below: the last talks directly about the 7.62x54R calibre cartridge used by the M44, although they are talking about earlier model rifles. The 7.62x54R is a very useful cartridge, up there with the .303 British, in the same class as the 30/06, just ahead of the .308; and way ahead of the 7.62x39 or the 30/30 (which are quite useful cartridges in themselves). Since the M44 is generally a carbine, you lose a tiny bit of velocity, but gain the benefit of a short, handy gun. Note that the military surplus ammunition is generally Berdan-primed, so not really a good candidate for reloading; and corrosive, so if using it (and you should - it's so inexpensive you can afford to practice, and you need to, and that's expensive otherwise) you'll need to make sure you know how to AND DO clean after use.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/maxwell21.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob62.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hooker47.html

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 04, 2001.

my brother has one,,uses it for rough deer hunting,, nice gun,, takes alot of abuse,, you will have to clean it extremely well before you use it,, and get some ammo at the same time

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 04, 2001.

Sounds similar to the Chinese SKS available in many gun shops. I bought mine with a plastic storage case and 100 rounds for right at $100. Use it for a varmit gun. The loud blam is probably about as effective as actually hitting it. Last time I bought ammo for it the boxes are marked "Make in Russia." Russian ammo for a Chinese gun.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 04, 2001.

Try www.milsurpshooter.net. Lots of info and links to more info.

-- Steve - TX (steve.beckman@compaq.com), December 04, 2001.

The magazine The Backwoodsman I believe did an article in the past on the rifle. From what I remember, they are pretty impressed with what they got for their money. The caliber will be hard to get in backcountry groceries, so stock up a small supply, just to be sure you have it to work with.

A $60.00 dollar deer rifle? Bring it one. Just check out the condition of the bore. As stated earlier, corrosive ammo can have some bad results if left uncleaned for long periods of time.

The waxy substance I believe is Cosmoline, or the eastern bloks equivalent. This takes some work to clean off, but does a very good job of keeping metal surfaces rust free for long periods of time in storage. I hope this helps you.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), December 04, 2001.

Oh my goodness! I am intimately familiar with these. The 7.62x54R cartridge is a fine round. It was used first in the very fine Moisin- Nagant rifles, of which the Russian, Czech, Romanian, and Polish M- 44s are nearly identical. However the 91 was the original, and the best (in my opinion) of the Moisin-Nagants is the Finnish M-39. Unfortunately, it has a 29" (I think) barrel, and is a bit cumbersome for hunting. The M-44s are a carbine, very handy, but the surplus rifles, available for as little as 50 bucks, almost always have a side-folding bayonet. Very handy if you decide to quit hunting for a while and go stick frogs. Good cartridge, cheap to shoot, but virtually all of the very available surplus military ammo is corrosive. Non corrosive "hunting" ammo is also readily available. I have a formula for homemade borecleaner that is cheap and will clean the rifle if you use corrosive ammo. Let me know if you want the formula. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), December 04, 2001.

Brad, Would you care to put your homemade cleaner formula on here??

Mark; double check that size.....before you take it out the door....Is it7.62x 52--OR--54......I sure like my M.N.

-- Jim-mi (hartalteng@ voyager.net), December 04, 2001.

Bore cleaner: 4 parts rubbing alcohol, 2 parts ammonia, 2 parts water, 1 part WD-40. Also works for black powder. Good shooting!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), December 05, 2001.

Thank you Brad; I have a sporter firearm chambered for the 7.62X39 round, and have a tin or two of the cheap chinese corrosive rounds meant for the SKS / AK rifles which are available. Sure didn't want to put corrosive rounds through a bore of a rifle costing $500 plus. Thanks for the recipe; now I can use those rounds for practicing. Already have commercial soft point ammo for the serious hunting.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), December 05, 2001.

if you can find them, the Russian hollow point non-corrosive 7.62x39 is nice quality for the price. Steel cased, Berdan primers. Not all the chinese is corrosive but I think they banned the Norinco steel core. Used to be able to buy a 1200count case for less than $100.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 05, 2001.

JR - I'm guessing you have a mini-30. I have one as well, and it is a lot of fun. There is a lot of non-corrosive stuff out there, but the corrosive is even cheaper. A word of warning: The "corrosive" element can get into the "gas-operated" parts of this rifle, since it is essentially an M-1 Garand in a Ruger suit. If you use corrosive ammo in this rifle, you must disassemble and clean the operating rod and housing as well. In the bolt rifles (M-44, M-39, M-91, K-98, Turk-38, Yugo M-48 and 48-A and a bunch of others), cleaning with my formula will do the job. But with a gas operated semi-auro, a portion of the gas is diverted to operate the action. The mini-30 is among these. If that's what you have, disassemble and clean the "guts" if you use corrosive ammo. I don't want a fellow gun-nut to do less than what is necesary to keep his (OK- politically correct - her) armament in top condition. And for those of you who think I am sexually challenged. Time out - that has never been a problem. For those of you who think I may be challenged about gender. Still not right! Anyway, our deer hunting season put Christine (she's female, and a foxy chick!) in the lead for most and best deer "harvested"! I digress! Anyway, in our group, guys and gals are considered as equals in all respects, and everyone has a good time. I m ust admit, however, that I find the "girls" much more attractive to me. To each his own, and GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), December 07, 2001.

Well, shucks, I should have looked here again a bit sooner. . .

Actually, I do have a Mini-30 and it is some fun; just not as accurate as I would have preferred. Still going to keep it; having a Mini-14, Mini-30 and M-1 Garand is fun; they all have the same charging handle location, same peep sight configuration, same safety location, and similar magazine release (none on M-1).

The firearm I was referring to was a 7.62x39 bolt action by CZ Arms. The CZ-572(?) is a carbine sized, box magazine rifle, carbines which I seem to carry a lot. With cheap ammo, should be lots of practice, now all I have to do is find the time to get out there.

The rifle has a trigger almost like a Canjar set type - standard trigger pull as is. Push the trigger forward, and a loud fly fart will set it off. Just the ticket for really pushing for maximum accuracy. Just don't carry it around in that condition; just too sensitive for hiking and such. Not a cheap rifle, compared to the original rifle mentioned earlier; about $500 retail, though you can get a deal if you look.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), December 21, 2001.

Sorry to not answer the following questions or give insite. I'm planning on buying the m-44 from a local gun shop. I was hoping that someone could tell me what to look for condition wise so that I will have a well-shooting rifle that will last. My swedish mauser turned out to be completely shot-out, even after a good cleaning. It now serves as a conversation piece in my "war room". Can anyone help me out?

-- Nick (Woolz03@aol.com), January 18, 2002.

Nick, I understand the M-44 is roughly like firing a short-barreled cannon - a LOT of noise. While it apparently works well, there may be better options. Have you priced getting your Mauser re-barrelled? Those Mausers are just about the most versatile firearm there is. Long slim bullet retains energy forever, and they'll kill just about anything you can shoot well enough to hit - Karamojo Bell killed thousands of elephants with them almost a century ago.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), January 19, 2002.

I have just recently purchased a (non-issued) 1946 Mosin Nagant M-44. I did not aquire it for $59.00, but will explain later. After a lot of cleaning and elbow grease to remove the cosmoline, I finally got a chance to take it out today. I was impressed! Small cannon...maybe...but a definate game killer. I shot newly manufactured non-corrosive Russian 203 grain ammunition (approx $6.00 for 20) with great accuracy for an open sight rifle. I had the whole shooting range watching at one point :) Let several others shoot it too, which resulted in great compliments. Later today, my hunting partner calls and tells me he also purchased one. His was cheaper from another source, but keep this in mind when deciding on one. What is your purpose for it? He just wants to plink, maybe hunt. I want to hunt and save it as close to original condition as possible. < Softy at heart! I totally stripped the rifle, and lightly restained the stock and finished it in a satin gloss to best match the original before being mummified. He now wants me to redo his...Go figure! In my opinion, and only mine...when purchasing one, make sure all serial numbers match! My buddy now owns a pieced together rifle, mine is not. I have all my accessories, he does not! Get the picture? You will pay a little more for a better rifle, or less for one that has been used. Resale will be greater for an original. All in all...they shoot great!!! Currently I am surfing for the cheapest loads to shoot. Corrosive, semi-corrosive, non-corrosive...it's all the same to me. If you appreciate your firearms as I do, you will take care of them regardless at all times. I even gave mine a quick clean at the range before bringing it home, next will be a thorough cleaning! I may even take it out again tomorrow, if my shoulder feels better... NICE KICK! So, if anyone is interested in purchasing one....I would say go for it! Just beware about what you get. A great site to visit is http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com Tells a lot about history, identifying rifles and a whole lot more. Tonight, I have found several sites that have replacement parts. I do want to thank (I forgot his name), for the recipe for cleaning solution after firing corrosive rounds. I must try that! Take care...and happy shooting :)

-- gordon macleay (flash@fidnet.com), January 27, 2002.

Well it would be a good backup rifle for deer hunting. But the hunting rounds can be purchased at gun shows W/ 20 rounds for $4.00 to $8.00. Add get either the Russian or Finnish MN their the highest quality out there.

-- chip (cvgame@aol.com), May 07, 2002.