Getting my first surplus rifle

[Buzzard]

I was thinking about getting my first surplus rifle. The store here has a Russian m44 and a mauser of some kind. I was thinking about the m44. Can anyone tell me what it common gets for groups? And does 762 by 54 have a lot of recoil? Eric

[REDSTAR]

There can be a wide variance in groups on the M44's depending on how good the barrel is. The best shooters I have get around 3" on average. Yes they have a big recoil.

I'd recommend getting the arsenal refinished M44 from AIM, the bore is pretty nice on these. $69.99 plus shiping.

[NC_Rebel]

REDSTAR is right on the money about the M44. Recoil is crisp and boy is that little rifle ever loud! When you pull the trigger on that M44, you and everybody else at the range will know it! It is a relatively inexpensive rifle and the ammo is not expensive either. That makes it a good gun to start your C&R collection, just don't let your black and blue shoulder discourage you from buying more. :D

[Schuetzenman]

M44's recoil . . . . . heck a .22 magnum has more recoil. Don't let these guys snow you! :p ;)











But seriously the 7.62 X 54 round is every bit the ballistic and energy equivalent of .30-06 rounds. They have a muzzle flash that is blinding on a high noon blue sky day. Recoil offhand shouldn't be to bad but off of a benchrest it's punishing. The experience is too much like work for me to really get interested in the 44's.

On groups they like many Mosin Nagant rifles respond to different brands of ammo quite differently. A while back AKDUDE asked me to try his 44 to see what I could do with it for accuracy. With his Russian ammo it shot 8 to 12 inch groups at 100 yards. With some Albanian brass cased ammo it shot 2.5 to 3 inch groups at 100. :cool:

This is an extreme case of good vs. bad grouping IMO not typical to this degree. Usually it's more a matter of 5 inch groups vs. 2.5 inch or less but this observation comes from shooting 91/30's or 39 Finnish Mosin Nagant rifles. They have about 5 inch longer barrels.

[zouavexx]

Buzzard,

Try to find out what kind of Mauser that is for sale, it might be a better buy.

[8dDUCE]

How about a good ol Enfield, .303? Great shooters, smooth action and cheap ammo. 8dDUCE.