The Mosin-Nagant is a very dependable, easy to maintain, cheap rifle. It shoots the oldest military cartridge still in production (7.62x54R) and ammo is easy to find and cheap. I am a big fan of the Mosin, which was one if not the first smokeless bolt action rifle adopted by any military. It is actually a Belgium design in part.
Be aware that the M44 carbine has a tremendous kick. You can actually see the flame shooting out of the muzzle in low light conditions.
The safety on this weapon is rudimentary, be aware of that. Safest is to keep the chamber empty until you are ready to shoot, which may be liability if you plan to hunt. They use a five round box magazine, with either stripper clips or you can load each cartridge by hand after opening the bolt.
Also, you have a permanent bayonet mounted on the weapon, with folds out. Soviet / Russian doctrine called for the bayonet in a big way. Not sure why, the Russians really loved the bayonet, though.
If you are lucky enough to find an M44 dated 1943, it is valuable as a collector’s item, so don’t alter it. The carbine was in full production from 1944 through the middle 1950s, if I recall right. Most Soviet block countries manufactured or used it, so you can find Chinese ones, Yugo ones, Bulgarian, Romanian, East German, Vietnam, etc. It is possible that one you end up buying was used by the Red Army to take Berlin, or in some of the other very savage battles between them and Fritz, as the Soviets called the Germans. In a way, too, you are honoring the forces that really were the single biggest part of defeating Hitler.
Go on ebay or do a web search and you can find a zillion scope mounts for the Nagant.
I don’t have an M44 right now, but do shoot an 1895 3-line from Tula that was converted to a Finnish home guard rifle at one point, and a 1943 M91/30 made by anther arsenal. Both are highly accurate and a lot of fun. I used to think they were really ugly, but the look grows on you, and they have a kind of brutal, simple elegance. And these old military surplus bolters are far more rugged than AKs, SKSs, M16/AR-15s, etc. No polymers, no plastics, all steel and wood construction. If you never shot one, you probably will be surprised at how authoritative the report is when you pull the trigger for the first time. They are heavy enough (the regular infantry rifles, not the carbines) that recoil is pleasantly absorbed. They also have much greater range than most shooters can possibly utilize, and you can see that if you look at the rear sight and see how many meters they can be used at.
If you get the cheap Russian surplus ammo, clean the heck out your weapon after you shoot it, as they use corrosive primers in that kind of ammo.
Be aware that the M44s are getting a bit rarer to find anymore, and you may want to just stick with a 91/30. Both round and hex receivers are perfectly fine. I paid about 90 bucks for my 91/30. Try to look for all matching serial numbers for all components (bolt, box magazine, receiver, etc), but force matched are fine too.
If you do want to tackle converting one to a “sniper”, you can find reproduction scopes and mounting hardware for about 250 dollars. The machining is very simple to perform, so you don’t necessarily have to find a smith, mostly drilling and tapping the mount into the receiver and also removing some wood on the stock. I don’t think any M44 carbines were scope mounted by the USSR, though, but for a knock around rifle, why not? If you go that route, you will have to get a replacement bolt that has a bent bolt handle instead of the straight one of the standard infantry rifle. The mounting rail method is way easier, if not historical.
Dane
PS British SMLEs are fantastic, and super fast action, but more expensive and the ammo is more expensive than that Soviet weapons. The Mauser can be pricy, but is a lovely weapon, as well. Try to avoid the Mark IV jungle carbine variant if you decide on a British bolter, as they are exceptionally unpleasant to shoot, but really cool looking too.
