[westpointranger]

I'm kinda playin with the idea of building a custom Moison M44 Scout rifle. It wouldn't cost very much and I was thinking of getting one anyway. How is the accuracy and can I get it converted to anything besides 7.62x54R? Also, I saw a flash hider for a Swedish sniper Mauser in a magazine. Could I thread the muzzel and put on a Moison?

Even if the accuracy is sorry, it's probably fine for the hunting and plinking that I'll be doing with it.

 

[Pavel]

I'm a little confused. Do you mean something such as a Mosin Nagant, or are we talking about a completely differnt rifle?

 

[westpointranger]

Yes, we are talking about the same rifle, almost. The M44 is basically a shortened Mosin Nagant rifle. Sorry for the spelling. I'll try to figure out how to get a pic on the post.

 

[CM2k]

The Mosin Nagants were mass produced to soviet quality, so don't expect very good anything. Their tolerances probably were as bad as half a millimeter, though probably better. I'd really suggest, if you were to get a Mosin Nagant, to get a gunsmith to check it out, assuming he even has a BP to work off of.

If you were to get a Mosin Nagant, I would really try to find one of the ones used for sniping. Anything else will be mass produced to cheap standards, and older then all hell to boot. Unless of course you just want to convert it for shits and giggles. Then go nuts.

 

[Jake S]

I personally like the Mosin Nagant series of rifles. I might suggest you try to find a M38 carbine, which is the same rifle as the M44, but no bayonet (useless on a hunting rifle anyway) and they tended to be a little better in quality, although as such are a tad bit harder to locate. but worth looking into. I have one of the full sized M91-30 rifles that was made in 1932 and still shoots well and looks good (for its type ) One word of advice: only buy the Winchester USA FMJ ammo, and STAY AWAY from any Albanian surplus you come across, as first of all only halfe of the shells will even chamber and the ones that you do get to fire are so corrosive that they will begin to eat your barrel immediately after firing. I also have had feeding problems with most other surplus Soviet ammo, as I do not think they held their ammo production tolerances very tight, but the Winchester stuff works. They are fun rifles, and perfectly capable big-game guns. Have fun.

Jake

 

[muzzleblast]

Hey All

I agree with Jake on this one, the nagant is a decent rifle. The M44s are not all that old, not like a 91, or maybe like Jake said, an m-38...You'd probably have to take that bayonet off to scout/customize your rifle anyway. Don't worry about those tolerances, they should be just fine...Russian gear is simple, cheap, mass produced, and effective as all hell. Not to mention tough. A lot of people slam the nagant for having "minute of barn door" accuracy, but a lot of the time it just happens to be a beat up, went through a world war and Christ knows what else, shot with corrosive ammo for 70 years kinda gun they have experience with...If they do at all. Look at the tolerances in the AK...the lil bugger works. The nagant action is strong, the bolt feels a little strange at first, but it grows on you, and I don't think you will have to use a different round. 7.62X54 is just as good as .308 win for hunting if you have good ammo. Just make sure you have it checked for headspace...most nagant cleaning kits come with a handy little tool to check your firing pin protrusion too.

I have a 1939 91/30 thats a pretty faithful old gun, shoots 3.5 to 4 inch groups in my less than capable hands, and I like it. If you find a carbine in good shape with a nice bore, I don't see why it shouldn't shoot 2.5 inch groups after you scope it. Hey, you're pretty realistic in what you want to use it for, and thats cool. I don't know if its just here in Canada, but I've been seeing a lot of arsenal refinished nagants in excellent condition...pretty cheap since they were redone.

I say go for it!

 

[westpointranger]

Ok, got a couple questions:

First, I would like to have a synthethic stock. I know Advaced Technologies makes a Mosin stock. Does anyone know how good they are and are there any better ones available at a reasonable price?

Second, I need a good (not neccesarily great) long eye relief scope. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Third, where could I get the rifle headspaced or could I just do it myself?

I've seen some MN carbines that were new in the wrapper. Would they be in adaquate condition or do I still need to check them out?

 

[muzzleblast]

I have an Advanced Technologies stock on an SMLE, and its about what can be expected for the price. It has never had any functioning problems, and it was a perfect fit. On the other hand, some machining marks are visible on it, and the checkering is a little low budget. It it were painted, it would look pretty sharp. It is a tough stock though, and I like it. It didn't break the budget. They also make bipods, if you want one...Versa-pods and Harris bipods are better though.

For the LER scope I would turn to Leupold, but if Burris makes one, that would be a good budget choice, and Burris scopes are more than worth the lower price. Where are you planning on getting the mounts?

As for the headspace, you can check out Brownells, and look for a guage set. There are three, GO, NO GO, and FIELD. Basically it looks like a round, and it should chamber the GO, but not the other two. I think in the military a NO GO is acceptable, but needs work when possible, and FIELD stands for field reject...scrap. Its still a good idea to have a smith look it over though.

New in wrapper rifles should be good quality, but new in wrapper means a lot of different things to different vendors. Make sure you get a good look at the rifle, and that it comes from a reputable vendor.

 

[westpointranger]

I think I'm going to get a B-square mount that mounts on the rear sight. It cost about $37 from Marcov.com and it reqires no alternation to the rifle.

 

[Jake S]

The B-Square mounts are good, I was going to get one for my Mauser. Advanced Technologies makes a serviceable shotgun stock, so I assume their rifle stocks would also be pretty good. Not a McMillan, but it'll work. For a scope, I would check out the Leupold M8 2.5x Scout. It is a good scope, and only about $250. Now, on the subject of Go/No Go gauges, you certainly can do it yourself if you buy a set, but unless you have experience with using them, I would suggest you let a gunsmith check it out for you. Because if you do it incorrectly, there is the possibility that upon firing, that bolt is blown through your eye. Unpleasant, to say the least... So I would have a 'smith take a look at it and adjust it as needed. And concerning your original question about threading your MN for a Swedish sniper muzzle break, thats a no-no. The Swedish Mauser rifles were chambered in 6.5x55, and the Mosin is 7.62x54. The differences in bullet widths would make that dangerous. If you find a german muzzle break for their 7.92x57 rifles, that would probably work, as the German bore is of a larger diameter than the Mosin.

Hope some of that was helpful!

Jake

 

[westpointranger]

About the flash hider, I'm glad someone is smart enough to think of stuff like that for me. That could have been pretty nasty! :shock: