I just received a Mossberg Model 44 US from CMP. No magazine and the trigger guard was busted as they said. Also, mine was missing the hood for the front sight. Wood had a few dings but cleaned up nice with Murphy's soap and boiled linseed oil. Metal had some scratches. The bore looks pristine, but one of the extractors seems to be worn, one is angled and the other is kind of rounded over!!??
I decided to order a more expensive aluminum trigger guard from Brownell's instead of another plastic one from Numrich or The Mossberg owners group. The latter run about $14 or $15 plus postage and the aluminum I got for $36 or $37 (have to check the invoice) but that included shipping by US priority mail. It arrived in no time and fit in real nice. (Also gets me a Brownell's catalog and the order taker was real nice to deal with.)
The aluminum version doesn't have the finger grooves like the original Mossberg ones, but that doesn't bother me.
The problem with the original guards is that the screw holes in the guard don't marry up with the screw holes in the stock, so the guard is always under tension and it's no wonder they break. I extened the slot in the front of the guard back to the screw hole by grinding away some of the plastic with my Dremmel. I may try to fix the old plastic guard with some epoxy.
I ordered a hood for the sight and a magazine from Numrich. Expect they'll arrive in a few days. More when they do.
I really had to look around for this stuff and put off getting the M44 cuz I was afraid of having to scrounge for parts, but, all in all, this looks like a nice rifle for $75 plus the handling (heavy son-of-a-gun) and wasn't all that much of a hassle.
Just thought you all would like to know.
I'm thinking about putting a scope on it and I'm wondering if anybody has any suggestions or experience with scoping a M44US?
I decided to order a more expensive aluminum trigger guard from Brownell's instead of another plastic one from Numrich or The Mossberg owners group. The latter run about $14 or $15 plus postage and the aluminum I got for $36 or $37 (have to check the invoice) but that included shipping by US priority mail. It arrived in no time and fit in real nice. (Also gets me a Brownell's catalog and the order taker was real nice to deal with.)
The aluminum version doesn't have the finger grooves like the original Mossberg ones, but that doesn't bother me.
The problem with the original guards is that the screw holes in the guard don't marry up with the screw holes in the stock, so the guard is always under tension and it's no wonder they break. I extened the slot in the front of the guard back to the screw hole by grinding away some of the plastic with my Dremmel. I may try to fix the old plastic guard with some epoxy.
I ordered a hood for the sight and a magazine from Numrich. Expect they'll arrive in a few days. More when they do.
I really had to look around for this stuff and put off getting the M44 cuz I was afraid of having to scrounge for parts, but, all in all, this looks like a nice rifle for $75 plus the handling (heavy son-of-a-gun) and wasn't all that much of a hassle.
Just thought you all would like to know.
I'm thinking about putting a scope on it and I'm wondering if anybody has any suggestions or experience with scoping a M44US?