Local sporting goods store in Denver has listed "M44 Russian Bolt-Action Collectible Rifle". It has 5 rnd capacity and is chambered for 7.62X54R. It's on sale for $74. I figure that if it's hunting accurate (paper plate at 100 yds) and won't blow up in my face, it's probably a good deal. I searched the archives for any posts on the M44 and didn't find any.

Can anyone offer comments on this gun?

I know that 7.62X54R is similar to .308 but not identical.

Can anyone tell me if this gun will shoot .308?

There is alot of ammo avaliable for them,and you can reload using .308
http://www.hodgdon.com/data/rifle/7.62x54r.php

they are supposed to be accurate,you can even get a sporter stock for it.

No it will not shoot 308.

My cousin bought one a while back. They were about 30-40 bucks and he shot many deer with it.

Jeff

YES it will shoot a .308 bullet (see reloading data in link above)but not a .308 round. 7.62x54r is a rimmed case

It is actually a bit closer to the .30-06 than the .308 in performance. In military use, it lasted longer than any other round for continuous service.

You can load them with a .308 bullet, but the barrel groove diameters typically run .312-.314. You might be better off using a bullet for the .303 brit which is .311" in diameter, so long as you slug the barrel and make sure the barrel is at least .311 in the grooves.

Given that the bore isn't rotted out it will probably shoot paper plate accuray at 100 yards, but not much more. It won't blow up- the mosin action is a very strong action. A lot of the mosins up for sale right now are in better shape than the ones available 2 or 3 years ago. Most on the market have been rearsenalled or even 'new in arsenal wrap' condition.

Surplus ammo is dirt cheap. Good Czech surplus ammo costs about $35 for 440 rounds, I shoot mainly albanian surplus because I can buy it locally for $50 per 340 rds. All of the surplus ammo is corrosive.

Briman is the surplus ammo FMJ? Does anyone have hunting ammo available in this caliber? I don't reload, so that isn't an option, I'd have to rely on off the shelf. I'm thinking of using this for deer and elk until I can save up for by Browning BLR in .308 and then possibly as a gun for my son (not sure how heavy the M44 is or LOP) or as a loaner/back up.

Spud

Surplus is all FMJ, but good cheap practice ammo.

S&B makes softpoint ammo for the 7.62 russian. Wolf and Remington probably do also.

The Mosin Nagant is a fine rifle. You can pick up a synthetic stock pretty cheap. I used to have one, and shot it a lot. With the stock sights, I could hit a 10" steel plate at 200 yards with boring regularity. S&B does make a soft nose bullet, and their are lots of different surplus ammo out their. It is inexpensive to buy the gun, and cheap to shoot it. Good luck.

my dad and i have got 3 of these guns ,wolf makes this ammo you can get it at ( cheeper than dirt . com ) they have fmj and soft point .