m44 russian $195 at collector source
- Thread starter themouser
- Start date
Both mine are good to NO GO. I have tested lots of M91/30s, SVTs, one M38 and these two M44 and haven't seen a NO GO failure much less a Field failure.
Headspace wear only occurs when rounds are chambered and fired. If your bore does not appear heavily worn and you can see remnant machining marks on the locking face of the lugs then you are safe to assume headspace is OK. Action parts were never really "fitted" to individual rifles. Both parts are made to a dimensional standard with tolerance that guarantees interchangeability. When both parts are significantly worn, headspace is a potential concern.
The bolts and receivers of these M44 show heavy wear but the barrels are near perfect. As others have commented, it seems like the actions were worked frequently but they were rarely fired. Some have suggested they were training rifles, I suggested they might be rifles issued to logistics troops who dropped them a lot, but fired them a little.
Albania was a weirdo paranoid country in the '60s and '70s. These might have been issued to some form of "peoples militia" which would explain their heavy use without much evidence of firing.
You can buy headspace gauges for $50 but unless you have a lot of these I don't think it is worth it.
Headspace aside, these are "used" guns. They should be checked carefully and treated with lots of extra caution the first time they are fired.
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You people are so evil. The dealer is not even sponsored here. Anyways, I bought in on this deal and now I have to sell it.
Don't really understand what "...not even sponsor" has to do with it. I'm a gun owner and collector (sort of). This was an appealing deal which, to CGN's credit, I learned about from this site.
Sponsorship is no great recommendation if you look at the Swiss Arms or RPD messes. Then there is "Marstar John" - no thanks - I don't line up as a customer for a "drive by shouting".
Maybe Collectors Source will recognize they moved a ton of product thanks to this site, and join up, or maybe not.
Sponsors paid for the privilege of accessing a large pool of potential customers - their sponsorship is not quite the act of charity that some make it out to be.
Great info Marc, although headspace is a chambering issue I feel it is also a firing issue since too little of it can result in excessive gas propelling back at the operator upon ignition. Correct me if I'm wrong because I'm just exploring this issue myself.
I have recently acquired two M38s and have no plans to verify headspace before firing them. I'll just one hand fire them away from my face for both their first rounds. The issue is not a common one at all based on my research from more experienced MN owners.
I have recently acquired two M38s and have no plans to verify headspace before firing them. I'll just one hand fire them away from my face for both their first rounds. The issue is not a common one at all based on my research from more experienced MN owners.
If you have tool little head space, the bolt will not close on the cartridge. GO s used to ensure that all cartridges within the dimensional tolerance will chamber - in the case of '54, it is the maximum rim thickness. It is a "self declaring" attribute - i.e. you test GO each time you chamber a round.
NO GO and Field test whether there is too much headspace - this is not self declaring because any round will chamber if you have too much headspace. NO GO is the maximum "newly manufactured" tolerance. Field is NO GO plus a small amount that accounts for wear if a chamber was at maximum at the time of manufacturing.
If you buy one gauge, choose NO GO. If you go to the gun show, take GO to make sure rounds will chamber properly, and NO GO to check max headspace.
I should add that my description is for "nearly simple" coin type gauges. You can buy other more expensive gauges that test chamber dimensions in addition to the relationship between the bolt and chamber.
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i do the first shot safely(outstretched and eyes shielded)then just check the primer for swelling or movement.some of this russian surplus the primers are set in a bit,if they pass the cartridge rim atall ive got to believe there is slack in the chamber.my cc m44 the bolt was very weak im not sure i even want to fire it, but probbably will sucumb to the temptation.
I guess you are referring to the sloppy fit between the bolt and receiver. This will not effect safety in itself. Only you can see what you have and make a judgement but.... you would be missing out if you didn't take it to the range. Ten shots at 50 - she's old and sloppy but works just fine (also posted on M44 accuracy reports).
Long gone.
fine shooting!the spring was so weak i could almost #### the rifle by flipping it around a bit.i put a nother spring in and it tighten up the action it seems but its real worn the throat is worn and it has worn out rifleing from the cleaning rod at the muzzle for a little bit.(not cut back),its a 195 example.im ok with that it has battle worn(maybe) karisma.a wall hanger for now.
Hey guys. Finally took mine to the range only to find out there is a burr in the chamber, so rounds don't chamber.
Leaves a nice amount of scratches on my brass when I force a round in, but it's not useable.
No idea how to fix this; think they would take it back?
Leaves a nice amount of scratches on my brass when I force a round in, but it's not useable.
No idea how to fix this; think they would take it back?
Start by locating the burr or burrs. Put a mark on the cartridge base (fired from the problem gun) to identify the top (up) position. Colour the casing wall with a marker. Tap the casing fully home with a wooden dowel and hammer. Pop it out with a cleaning rod. The marker colouring will show where the burr is relative to your 12 o'clock position. The ones I have dealt with are at the chamber face and they can be fixed with some filing. You might need riffle files (Ebay has cheap ones) because some parts of the chamber face are unreachable with straight files.
Sorry about the focus but gives the general idea. This is a "fake" I made for this post but my 1938 had this issue (I always keep the cases from my first firing of any new rifle - check them for splits and chamber defects and use them for this kind of thing)
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Basically the same price as other stores are selling them for and a lot less to clean the other ones and the others come with the tool kit. These don't...
