Finally shot my Mosin M44...

[Protege]

Iron sights on WWII rifles...ha ha! Mike Venturino penned an article within the last year or two in which he makes mention of the sights found on the bolt guns of that conflict. Simply put, he humourously figured armies of the time didn't want to hurt each other, given how hard it was to use the sights. But, to get back to your rifle, it's quite the flame thrower with the right ammo. Enjoy.

Oddly enough the flash didn't bother me. After a while, the weight of the rifle started to get annoying. I had difficulty holding the sights on target standing up. If you look at my pic, the flyers are the ones when I was standing up. The tight groupings are when I was bench resting.

 

[Protege]

The sights were good enough to hit targets at 300+ yards. What more could you ask? The main defining factor in how well you use irons is how much your life depends on a hit. Guys in ww2 actually bothered to learn how to use them and they where accurate enough.

I'll shoot more and waste the ammo that I bought before making a decision. After a good nights rest, my right bicep and shoulder are slightly sore - so next weekend I'll try 200 rounds at 100m.

 

[Jorkapp]

Ok... I'm newer to this so can someone explain to me in simple terms (You might be well suited to draw a picture with crayons) how shooting with the bayonet changes things? The barrel remains the same, the sights are unmoved. The only thing I can envision is a weight-ier front end pulling your groupings downwards?

If you look up close at the front sight, you'll see the sight post is slightly offset to the right in the sight hood. Coincidentally, the bayonet attaches on the right side.

Russian military doctrine around that time dictated that dismounted forces shall have bayonets fixed at all times. When the round is fired with the bayonet attached, some of the gasses deflect off the bayonet and force the bullet's trajectory slightly leftward. In order to compensate for this, the sights were made with the post slightly offset. If you take the bayonet off without drifting the sight, you'll find shots landing to the right of POA.

The M44 was for mounted forces, who were not required to have baoynets fixed, thus the sight post is centered on those.

 

[EL34/6L6]

I'll shoot more and waste the ammo that I bought before making a decision. After a good nights rest, my right bicep and shoulder are slightly sore - so next weekend I'll try 200 rounds at 100m.

Shooting seated off a rest can be a real b!+ch on the shoulder with these. Which is why I never do it. Offhand only. I also like to shoot a box or two of shells through one of my short barrel shotguns beforehand. That makes the Mosin recoil shrink in comparison.

 

[tokguy]

I shot mine; seated on the ground, elbows on the knees and a tight sling wrap. Allowed me to roll with the recoil a bit.
Recoil is stout; felt worse though.

 

[Chuckbuster]

Oddly enough the flash didn't bother me. After a while, the weight of the rifle started to get annoying. I had difficulty holding the sights on target standing up. If you look at my pic, the flyers are the ones when I was standing up. The tight groupings are when I was bench resting.

I meant the flash is really big...as in Hollywood big, with the right ammo...and quite the sight! That stuff is a real hoot to shoot.

 

[TheArmyMan204]

I just picked this up on Saturday

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, the front site post it self is bent slightly to the left, but I'll shoot it this weekend before making any adjustments. Other than that the metal and bore on this rifle is superb. Might redo the wood, not sure yet

 

[DiMP]

...the front site post it self is bent slightly to the left, but I'll shoot it this weekend before making any adjustments.

If you look up close at the front sight, you'll see the sight post is slightly offset to the right in the sight hood. Coincidentally, the bayonet attaches on the right side.

Russian military doctrine around that time dictated that dismounted forces shall have bayonets fixed at all times. When the round is fired with the bayonet attached, some of the gasses deflect off the bayonet and force the bullet's trajectory slightly leftward. In order to compensate for this, the sights were made with the post slightly offset. If you take the bayonet off without drifting the sight, you'll find shots landing to the right of POA.

The M44 was for mounted forces, who were not required to have baoynets fixed, thus the sight post is centered on those.

Might be like that on purpose...

 

[TheArmyMan204]

Could be lol that's why I'll leave it alone till I shoot it haha