The Mosin Nagant M44 Carbine is a Russian/Soviet carbine-length, bolt action rifle in 7.62x54R. It’s a shorter, carbine version to the longer Mosin M1891s and 91/30s. While the M38 was made from 1938-45, the M44 was a late WWII modification that was only produced in Russia from 1944-48. Other communist countries and Satellite soviet states also produced variants of the M44. The main difference with the M44 is that it uses a sturdy side-folding bayonet instead of the detachable style that most Mosins come with. While they used to be around $500 10 years ago, they seem to be closer to $900 now (2021). Since regular 91/30’s are around $300-400, the M44’s are quite a bit pricier.
Soviet M44 Specs
- 20.25″ barrel (51.4cm)
- 9 lbs (4 kg)
- OAL: 40″ (101cm)
Using the M44
Much of this will be the same as using any other Mosin Nagant that I’ve reviewed, but I’ll repeat here:
- The safety is tough to use
- Loading via stripper clips is not great, but there’s a trick to save it from being a complete mess
- Round interrupters don’t work on some rifles and you can get rim lock
- The triggers are usually kinda bad, but can be easily improved
- Bolts are stiff on many (but the bolt on this particular M44 is great)
In short: the experience can vary from pretty rough and crappy, to OK. For its time, the M44 was a band-aid design iteration on a rifle from the late 1800’s. If you’re patient enough to tweak your stripper clips, fix your round interrupter if it’s giving you grief, and polish up the trigger, it could be a decent shooter. Just remember that a Mosin will never be a Mauser or Lee Enfield: it’s a crude tool in comparison, but that’s why we like em.
The M44 Bayonet
As it’s the biggest difference, I thought I’d give it its own section. The side folding M44 folding bayonet mechanism is very similar to the SKS mechanism that would have been developed at the same time. Pull back on the sleeve, rotate the bayonet, and snap it on to the barrel. The bayonet hoop that goes over the barrel, combined with the rear attach point, make for a very secure attachment. The spike style of this bayonet is required to keep it trim and against the wood forend.
As trim as the bayonet is, it still pokes out the top of the receiver a bit, and on some models, it can snag clothes and be a bit annoying. It would have been nice had they designed the wood stock a bit higher or built it up a bit so that it wasn’t so easy to snag. That said, it would have been very practical in wartime: no extra bayonet + scabbard to carry on your belt, and it’s super quick to deploy.
Firing 7.62x54R in the M44
You want fireballs? You got em! Take any old 7.62x54R ammo that’s made with powder that burns nicely in a 28-32″ barrel and stick it in a rifle with a 20″ barrel, and all that extra powder gives a nice fireball at the muzzle that’s visible even in the day. You’ll lose about 200fps compared with a regular length Mosin barrel.
Thankfully, 7.62x54R has some decent selection these days. You can get cheap, corrosive, surplus ammo, or you can get new production hunting ammo, or everything in-between. If you want to reload for it, it’s a bit of an inconvenience: the bullets need to be .312″ size, not .308″ like most bullets in North America. If you cast, you could make some nice, soft shooting bullets of the right size, but I’d really just recommend buying factory ammo. Right now in Canada (as of 2021), corrosive surplus ammo goes for around 43 cents per round, while new production Barnaul (including Soft Point bullets that are OK for hunting), goes for around $0.72/ea if you buy in bulk, and Wolf, MFS, and PPU is around $1/round. That low price for factory ammo makes it hard to justify reloading.
Hunting with the M44
In one of my original Mosin Nagant articles, I made the case that it was the cheapest rifle you could go hunting with. Those prices are long gone, and the M44 is much more expensive, so it’s hardly a low cost alternative anymore. You should only really hunt with an M44 if you really like the rifle and your shots are going to be 200 yards max, depending on your skill level with irons. Hunting rounds are easy enough to find nowadays for the 7.62x54R, but the safety sucks, and there are far more capable hunting rifles you can get for $900.
Conclusion
There are a few things that make the M44 cool as a milsurp rifle in Canada:
- Both surplus and new commercial rounds are available and are fairly cheap.
- Mosins feel like crude, wartime rifles, moreso than some other milsurps, and some people like that.
- There are few extraneous features or gadgets that will fail and the stock is VERY solid.
The only downsides are the cost and what else you can buy with that kinda coin right now. It’s very easy to get a Lee Enfield jungle carbine or No 4 mk1 for M44 dough, and I’d argue the Lee has a faster action and is easier to load. But, if you’re looking for the latest Mosin to be made, something that’s trim and compact, the M44 is a very neat rifle. For lots of info on the M44 and other Mosins, check out 7.62x54R.net
The bayonet sticks out the side a bit