mosin m-44's, what to look for?

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pokey074

New member
having seen Enemy at the Gates one too many times, and, M-44's being so cheap, i have to have one. beyond the obvious (mutilated wood, bore that looks like a moldy shotgun barrel) what do i look for? do i REALLY need to have the headspace checked by a gunsmith, etc?
 
Come on, like gunsmith knows anything about checking MN headspace. Just buy Russian or Polish M44 in excellent condition
and feel good...I bought 14 MNs in 5 years, all were just fine.
Of course, the first shot was always "hiding under the table", usual procedure...
 
having seen Enemy at the Gates one too many times, and, M-44's being so cheap, i have to have one. beyond the obvious (mutilated wood, bore that looks like a moldy shotgun barrel) what do i look for? do i REALLY need to have the headspace checked by a gunsmith, etc?
Click to expand...

First let me say, yes, absolutely have any surplus firearm checked by a gunsmith. You don't want to have a cartridge blow up in an out-of-spec chamber right next to your face.

As for the M44, I have been quite happy with my 1946 Russian (Izshevsk). I imagine the Romanian, Poles, and Hungarians are good too. Aside from the obvious I don't know if there is anything in particular you should look for unless you want something with more collector value. I believe the rifles made at Tula are a bit rare compared to other arsenals.

I suggest this site for information about the MN:

http://www.mosin-nagant.net/
 
Another option is to order in a MN of one stripe or another from one of the better surplus dealers; some already check headspace and are reliable enough to trust. Also, if you're on an Enemy at the Gates kick, the regular old full-size 91/30s are available inexpensively as well. I've paid <$50 each for mine.

Personally, I've never worried about it on a MN; I load it, set it under cover, and pull the trigger from behind the berm. No problems, no split cases, etc.

I've got more than a few now, and not a problem on any of them, even the first one I bought when I was an idiot.
 
I know a lot of the guys over at Tuco's (and his new forum http://www.gunboards.com/) buy no-go headspace gauges from Brownell's. They're not terribly expensive, but I always figured that Century or whoever has already checked them when they were imported. But maybe I have more faith in this country's tort law than I should. Anyway, I've never checked headspace on any of the dozen or so MNs I've bought, and I've never had any problems. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't go to http://www.brownells.com/Index.html and get yourself some headspace gauges to make sure you're 100% safe. Your call.
 
I'm with reverendbob

I tie a string to the trigger, set them off at a distance and then check for damage.

Two shots per. Gives you feedback a headspace guage can't.
 
Majority of the guys at Tuco who are in MNs never use headspace gauges, because they know MN action is not going to kill you if headspace is of a bit off. Most of them, me included, can tell if headspace is RELATIVELY O.K. by just loading a round and closing the action. No firing is needed. At the same time, we do fire our first shots behind the cover, because while it's easy to say if headspace is generally O.K., you never know if there are any tiny cracks and stuff in that old rifle which can be really dangerous.
 
I'm with you, Oris

Remember those tests someone posted about blocking the bbl and firing a round in an MN? It took a lot to blow that thing up!
 
I just shot mine.

Mayube I am a risk taker or maybe I just assumed it was safe, but I just took my M44 out and shot it. This gigantic flame came shooting out the barrel and there was a loud noise. I shot it again and the same effect. 100's of rounds later the flame and noise is still there. Now I need to get a 91/30 and the full size version too and it is only a matter of sending that C&R in one of these days. Actually a gun show is coming up in two weeks! Let me know if I really should use the string trick on my next couple of guns.
 
Tiny cracks.........

Frank DeHaas said a good way to check for hair-line cracks in actions is to dip the action in gasoline......the action would dry almost instantly, except if there were cracks. From the cracks the gas would continue to seep for hours afterwards.
You guys prolly already knew that trick, but just thot I' d remind everybody.........
 
I'd never heard that gasoline trick. I have a few M44s and a 91/30, along with some old Mausers, etc. I haen't had them checked by gunsmiths. I do usually fire the first few shots holding them at arms length with a big post or some other barrier between me and the rifle. This looks pretty odd, but makes me feel better. I figure if there is no sign of damage after a couple of shots, they are probably okay. So far so good. I'm not recommending this as the best or a safe way to do this - maybe I've just been lucky so far.

Doug
 
I've never heard of this gasoline trick. I think it's too dangerous
to play with gasoline. Besides all, people have fun test firing their MNs in some odd ways. My favorite method is to hide the bulk of my body, including my silly head, of course, behind cement block trap house (place to launch clays from), put the rifle on the roof of the trap house, protrude my right hand so I can reach the trigger and pull it... Then just examine spent case, which tells just about absolutely everything about the rifle, except when/where it was made. This missing data can be found on top of the receiver...
 
Yes, that's right, also burned powder residue, if present on the surface of the spent case, and its pattern tells how much the rifle is worn out, erosion of the chamber, anyway, bunch of useful info. No gauge can do that. By the way, this is one of the way to select rifle for a "sniper project" besides just testing it for an accuracy.
 
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