Any of you guys hunt with this old power house?

nope but wouldnt be scared to, got more than enough horse power by a large margin....

shot an antelope once, it did a fine job but tough to find soft points

I hunt with a Mosin, but haven't been successful yet as I like to trade off different rifles throughout the short season.

Mine runs the .311 150gr TSX's at an honest 2800fps. Way more than I need for deer sized game, but can't wait to hit one with it...

not any more, last 5 years or so hunting ammo in this round has come pretty easy to find compared to years past....Hornandy has been real big on bringing out soft point ammo in all kinds of old military bolt action rounds....

Wouldn't be afraid to.

Looks like at least 308 power maybe a bit more.

I set one up for #3 son, Angus back when he was a wee one, sawed off the stock of an M44, and loaded it like a 30-30. It worked, but the load was kind of minute-of-bushel-basket.

This past season, I put it in a full stock, and sent him out with a 180 Grain Speer RN for his last season as a Yute. He came back with this:


This was a real bear to find the right load for. I went through a bunch of different bullets over the years. The 180 grain Speer was my last attempt.


Here's more on the hunt:
Shamanic Dream Team Scores . . .

I have had a couple, and would like to hunt with one or my new to me $100 truck gun in 303 British, but where I hunt quite long shots are the rule and these rifles are way out of thier element.

I have always considered the Mosin round and the similar 303 Brit to be merely rimmed versions of the 308, power wise.

Mosin Humor

If you own a mosin this is really worth reading

LOL!

Funny for sure, but only because it is TRUE! All of it!

I think that my garage/Bubbasmithed sporterized $100.00 SMLE 303 is in about the same category as the Mosin. Now "sporterized" and much lightened, plus being one with a peep sight right from momma, it works better for me as a useable toss it in the truck piece.

I've got an 8x57 that serves that role for me. The thing is, that thing has turned out to be almost my favorite rifle and I would be very upset if something happened to it.

I paid a little over a $100 for it. It was already in a Butler Creek stock and it had a barrel like a sewer pipe. I cut the barrel back to a little less than 19 inches, crowned it myself with a carriage bolt, bedded and worked on the stock some, and spray painted it. It is light, very handy, and an honest to goodness minute of angle shooter with the right ammo. It wears a 2.5x Japanese Weaver and is deadly on just about anything around here.

Myself, I have a soft spot for the 8x57 and the .303 Brit. But the 7.62x54R is a useful cartridge.

That website has a lot of truth to it!

I had originally taken the bayonet off Angus' M44 to lighten the load, but he insisted that I put it back on for his hunt. We found the folding bayonet was actually a plus in holding down the size of the groups. Folded back it threw the group about 3 extra inches to the left, but I got out a hammer and knocked the front sight over to compensate.

Shaman, I've read more than once that they even shoot better with the bayonet extended.

Good work by Angus!

An pics?

Any Pics?

ive got a SMLE i paid $70 for a few years ago thats a favorite rifle that i wont sell for 4 times what i paid.....its "minute of gallon jug" a fair ways out

Angus WAS going to go hunting with it extended, but I told him to keep it stowed. As it turned out the danged deer came up close enough, he probably could have skewered it!

CHECK OUT Double Tap ammo

There are two that are basically the same rifle, if i remember correctly. The m38 has a fingergroove stock, no attached bayonet. The m44 no fingergrovve, and attached bayonet. It is designed to be fired with the bayonet extended. Or it is exactly the reverse.
They are pretty good thumpers. Almost as much thump in your shoulder as the 91/30's which are cut down straight pulls from WWI.
A few years ago you could buy real nice mosins in the wrapper that came in as i understand it from soviet georgia. They were arsonel redone and stored away. About 69 bucks at the time.
the finnish mosins are another story, they are as good or better than the swedish mausers.

I bought one of the $90.00 Nagants at Fleet Farm. Just because. Once I got all the grease cleaned out and started playing with it, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it shot. Maybe one of these days when I get real ambitious, I'll cut it back, recrown it, chop the stock and make it a little more serviceable as a backup gun. Did anyone ever try one of those drop-in scope mounting kits that replace the rear sight? Worth the time or not?

I would not be afraid at all to hunt with my Mosin! For some odd reason I am very deadly with my M44. It fits me well and I shoot it better than some of my other rifles. Benchrest accuracy no, but killing things accuracy to pretty far out. And yes it does shoot better with the bayonet out.. I scoffed too until I tried it...

3300 fps with a 125gr

Well the finns had problem with the russians, and they used hex recievers off captured rifles, replacing just about every thing else. I have a finn mosin, with a SAKO barrel on it, free floated, ajustible sights and so on. When i first go it, i swabed out the barrel, nothing else, and loaded five rounds of russian mil/surp. gallon red folgers coffee can at 100 yards, five rounds, hit it every time, offhand.
The problem is like a lot of mil/surps, how in spec it is, they were often used hard. The other is crud mil/surp ammo. Put good ammo in it with the projectiles sized to the barrel, different story. It's somewhere between .308 and 30.06 in power.

with that axle grease they put in those rifles, a good cleaning is very important, particularly in the bolt, firing pin, areas and chambers. A lot of malfunctions can be traced to that.

carried it a few times but never seen deer.

I would take my 8X57 Mauser over any Mosin. The bolt on the one Mosin that I owned would seize after every shot. I had to open it with a hammer. It may have been the exception but it ruined Mosins for me.

First time I heard that happening to a mosin.

That seems to be due to a chamber that needs cleaning/polishing. I've had a number of Mosins and the Finns are definitely the nicest. Very smooth, at least those I've seen.

Really? Seems to me that about 1 out of 10 need a whack with a 2x4 to unlock the bolt.

2 That I've owned were that way.

Both had a couple of small burrs in the chamber that dug into the brass when fired, making rotation of the bolt difficult.

Once those small burrs were polished out with a dremel bonnet, bolt rotation was positive.

Would like to know how the burrs get in the chamber to begin with...

Best $60.00 I've ever spent. Loudest rifle I've ever fired.

+1

Has anyone tried one of the scope mounts that replaces the rear sight? Do they work or just a waste of time?

Has any of you guys tried the Winchester 180gr soft points on game?

Unless you could get some rounds loaded with ttttttsss sssxx bullets it would be usless.

http://www.mojosights.com/

I have used these sights on several of my military-surplus rifles. They work well!

Gonna try those 32 cal incerts from Sportsman guide.

I have an M38, M44 and a PU, the PU is a really PU not a century knock off. The M44 had a burr like you had and the m38 is a little tough but the PU is a fine shooting rifle, even as ugly as it is. But yes the 38 and 44 are some of the hardest kicking loadest rifles I have every shot.

I will try 32 mag in the in cert for the rifle.

Any of you guys try the 215gr Woodleigh bullet for the 7.62x54?

Got a crazy old neighbor man that shoots the chittt outta everything around here with one, IIRC he shoots Norma ammo, the rifle looks like some old military design.

Have heard him shoot down the mountain ridge, loud sombish.

Gunner

If the bore mics at .312" the 215 Woodleigh is a killing sonofagun, I shoot it in a little 303 British at 2168 fps, helluva little plow it is.

Gunner

Thanks!

Have you ever shot Norma ammo in it?

Roza Shanina was a superb shot with a Mosin. She did lots of hunting with hers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roza_Shanina

kd

Damn!!!

I put the scope mounting kit on one of mine. My old eyes like it.

I have one, works fine for the 32 cal.

Do I hunt with the mosin, no just sit at a bench and bang away for the 40 or so rounds I can stand. Of course use a shotgun pad on the shoulder for that 40 rounds.

The thing seems the have power enough for all U S game with the right bullet.

A few years ago I did some temp work for ATI to earn some extra Christmas cash. ATI bought 50K of Mosins in the big green crates from some ex-Soviet republic. Our job was to brake down the crates and package the guns up individually with a bayonet, oil can, sling and tool kit. The biggest thing I noticed about these rifles was how bad the crowns were on most of them. If you did the old bullet test on the crown, sometimes the round would drop in up to the shoulder of the case!

I could have bought my choice of rifle for less than $40 but decided to pass.

The Finnish Rebuilds are in my opinion the best of the bunch- The Russians made over 17 million of them- Mine is out of Tula 1938. They gotten a bit rougher from 1941 on. For a long time, I had no instructions for the rifle or the tool kit that is issued with them, I gotten mine in 1961. Once you figure out the little quirks- they are not bad rifles for the money. They work and if fed good ammo shoot fairly well. They are one of shooting biggest bargains.

not only humorous, but true!

I must have got lucky with my good shooting well built gun.

No, I handload the 215 Woodleighs in my 303B, crazy old mountain man down the ridge shoots Norma ammo in his 7.62x54R.

Gunner

If anyone's interested in 7.62x54R factory ammo I've discovered that my M91/30 (one of those cold war arsenal rebuilds) really likes the Prvi Partizan (Serbian) 150 gr. soft point stuff. Plus; it doesn't cost an arm & a leg. Chrono'd at an average 2797 fps out of my M91/30, ( Mil-Surp ammo averages 2887 fps). Plus it's real good quality, boxer primed brass . Bought a bunch of it so I'd have some brass to work up handloads with but this stuff is good to hunt with as is; accuracy wise, anyway. Gonna retire in a couple years and plan to have a lot more hunting time, and even take out some of the mil-surp rifles. If I haven't found a handload that keeps me happy I'll be using the Prvi Partizan ammo.

Have taken it hunting, never shot any thing but paper. I used to reload Sierra game kings in .311 for the Brit, but can't use that in California any more. W760/H414 and that game king shoot just fine with open sights out to a hundred. And yes, they are LOUD. Mine is a T44 made by Intrax of Knoxville TN. circa '51 or 2. Supposedly never got shipped to Poland, got it new in the box from Big 5 about '88 or '89 for $145.00.