Mind if I ask where you got it? Does one of the dealers currently carry these?
I bought one at LeBaron here in Montreal many years ago (10 maybe?)... same rifle, brand new and unissued Polish M44 still packed with grease (with the same kit) for
$99 before tax. Tip: when you clean it, remember to save all the heavy grease it came with, the bore should be packed full of it... there was so much of it in mine that I still have some around in a little container I kept my gun maintenance box!
There was one part that I didn't like about that particular purchase though: I should've bought more! These truly are the finest Mosins ever made... as they have the simlicity of a Mosin-Nagant and the workmanship of a Mauser. I remember reading an old article in Gun Digest where the author went to some South American country and met up with a General... and supposedly that General had a Polish M44 as a personal carry rifle, even though he could've had every other rifle in the world, more or less. He believed it was the best rifle to trust his life to.
Congrats on a great acquisition!