M44 (Nagant Carbines) at Big-5

[WILD_WEASEL]

Stopped by Big-5 Sporting Goods here in Huntington Beach and spied several M44 Nagant Carbines (in Central America known as Gringo Killers) on the rack for $99.  Looked over the three they had in stock and decided to buy one, that was arsenal reconditioned VG+ to Excellent.  $130.00 out the door with $8 tax and $25 transfer fee included, not bad for California!  Need to research the markings to figure out when and where it was made, I'm pretty sure it is one of the Eastern Soviet Satellites.  Included was a bag with; ammo pouch, take down tool, oil bottle, and cleaning rod accessories -handle, jag, etc..  Winchester White box ammo was there too at $21 a box of x20, at a recent show saw surplus less than $5 x20.  Since I reload I'll buy a couple boxes of Winchester but intend to take advantage of affordable surplus ball intended for rifle 150 gr silver tip not the 180gr yellow tip intended for Maxim Machine Guns.  I'll follow up once the 10 day waiting period is up. 

[STUMPJMPR]

If you get a C&R license you can order the same guns for about $55...I'm assuming the prices are still there....

[woodchukhntr]

The local Army/Navy store (central NY) is selling them at $89.99 this week, normally $99.99 + 8% tax, so for less than $100 you walk out with the gun.  Transfer fee?  There is no transfer fee here, dealers here do not charge a fee for guns that they sell, but only for guns that they are the transfer agents for.  It would seem to me that the associated paperwork is just a part of doing business, to be absorbed in the dealer's mark-up.

[lil_hunter12]

where are you getting them for 55 dollars? cheapest i can find is 69.99 and that is anywhere on line or in store

[WILD_WEASEL]

Went buy a local gun store to look around at lunch.  If you can believe it they had M44's on the rack running from $170 to $450!  Everything else in the store is marked at MSRP.  Besides Big 5  and Turners they are one of the only games in town. 

[STUMPJMPR]

well i haven't bought one in a while....your price of 69 is probably accurate....I just new $99 was way too much....

[TribReady]

If it is Romanian or Hungarian, then $99 at a shop isn't bad at all....especially if there's no other sellers/competition in the immediate area.  Those $69 prices are typically for Russians.
I will second the idea of getting your C&R license and buying directly online, though.  It pays for itself in a purchase or two.

[WILD_WEASEL]

In California $99, $132 out the door, is not bad.  Plus, since it was slow at the time the associate was kind enough to pull all the M44's they had in stock for me to look at.  Most dealers charge an additional $10 for hand picked then however much shipping would have been say another $15, so at the end of the day I brake even at around $100.  Since I was not counting on buying a rifle last Sunday I'm not going to let $25 stand in the way of an impulse buy.  My next project is to find a couple (440 round) tins of reliable silver tip light ball to stash for a rainy day.  At some point I may get reloading dies for 7.62x54R and experiment with loads, I already load for 303 British and have a stock of .310 to .312 bullets, along with 3031, 4320, and 4350 powder.  Since shooting long guns is a hassle in Southern California, collecting surplus military guns allows me to enjoy them by finding original accessories, buying books, etc.  Like my other surplus rifles the price of these and ammo is only going to increase as time passes.  Try and find a VG+ Enfield or Swedish Mauser for under $100 or M1 Carbine for under $150 today.  Besides if there is ever a zombie apocalypse this will be one of my go to guns...

[STUMPJMPR]

One cool thing about the M44's is the built in kickstand (bayonet)...I had 3 of them and a 91-30....two of them i somewhat sporterized to make them more effective for my intended purpose....They were not in great condition....I did keep one all matching serial numbers without doing anything to it....However all of mine were ruined in a hurricane a few years back....I'm kinda wanting to get another one...

[WILD_WEASEL]

The 10 days were up so I picked up my M44 on the way home from work.  Completely tearing it down I wiped everything of with a rag soaked with a bit of Hoppes #9 to clean off all the goop. Before reassembling I scrubbed the boar as best I could till the patches came out semi clean. From other surplus rifles I own it will take a week or two of running wet patches through to remove 60 years worth of crud. While the boar in not pristine "dark" there is no major pitting and the rifling looks strong. Giving the rifle a closer inspection noting how the receiver was milled, stock configuration, and the bayoneted configuration, I'm pretty sure it is an early M44 manufactured at Izhevsk between 1943 and 1945, as all the features are early. It will be a few week before I can get out to the Angeles Shooting Range, where the folks from Guns & Ammo used to go when G&A was a real magazine, to try it out.  I bought 2 boxes of FMJ and 2 boxes of JSP manufactured by Winchester (reloadable), so I'm good to go for ammo. Ordered dies from Midway along with shell holders for the press and Lee auto prime, as soon as I make some empties I'm looking forward to working up loads with Hornady .312 150gr.  This gun comes from Century so most of the original accessories are already included.  Already used the multi-tool to check firing pin protrusion.

[WILD_WEASEL]

I could not have asked for a better day to go shooting.  Drove the 60 miles, from Orange County to the Angeles Shooting Range in the San Gabriel’s and was very impressed.  This was my first time out with my M44.  For ammo I had one box each of Winchester Metric 180gr  JSP and FMJ.  Putting a target out at 50 yards, about as far as I can see with my progressive eye glasses, I loaded the magazine.  The interrupter in the magazine well took a little getting used to , but after that I was impressed with how smooth the bolt functions and loaded.  With the rear sight set to 100 and the front sight at 6-o-clock on  red bulls eye the M44 had little trouble keeping everything inside 3 inches, with the occasional flyer, all shooting was performed with the bayonet extended.

Returning home I ran my empty cases through the tumbler and went to work reloading with my new 7.62x54R dies from RCBS (which came with both 303 and 30 cal. expander balls)  Load 1, 42gr of 3031 under a Hornady 150gr .312 SP.  Load two, 54gr of 4350 under the same 150gr SP.  Both loads using Winchester Large Rifle Primers (WLRP).  Will let you know how they shoot next week.

This gun is defiantly a shooter.

[WILD_WEASEL]

Today was my third trip to the range with my M44.  Finally getting a feel for how this particular rifle performs from a cold to sizzling hot barrel.  Last week I spent a lot of time scrubbing the bore and free floated the barrel from the rear sight to 1" from the muzzle.  Also, reloaded x50 rounds of 7.62x54R with the following load; Hornady 150gr .312 SP, 52gr of IMR4350, WLRP primer, and Winchester once fired case, crimped in groove.  Prior to starting I ran a Hoppes Bore Snake through the barrel a couple times to soak up any extra Hoppes #9 and Breakfree.  Loading I sighted in a 3" bull at 6 o'clock at 50 yards.  For the most part I kept everything in the 3" red bull, and after 50 rounds chewed a larger hole in the center.  Switching to the Winchester Metric 7.6.2x54R 180gr FMJ I put x20 rounds into a fresh target.  I was disappointed that this ammo scattered int a 6" group/pattern.  Finally I tried the Winchester metric 7.62x54R Soft Point (SP).  At fifty yards this ammo grouped nicely at around 3" and shot to point of aim, adjusting my aim to split the 3" red bull this ammo filled the bull.This was with bayonet extended and running the Bore Snake through every x5 to x10 rounds.  If I shoot this rifle with the bayonet folded all the shots scatter 8 ' to 12" inches to the left, adding weight to the tails of this rifle being designed to shoot with bayonet extended.  It will be a while before I have a chance to get back out t other range, but I intend to load up another 50 rounds of the above load, with the only changer being: trim cases to 2.105" and not crimp.  Oh, and move the target out to 100 meters.