I've ordered the Brass Stacker scope mount for my Hungarian M44. I didn't want to do something permanent (or even worse something that I might wreck my gun by tooling on it) so I ended up going for the stacker. However I need major help picking a scope as I have very little experience with scope purchases. What I'm primarily looking for is something that will suffice for medium range deer hunting, I'm in the woods in Mississippi so I'm not trying to break any sniping records. However I want a good scope that will hold zero through recoil and possibly even hold up to a little bumping around. It's just a "tic" I have (or bit of prepper mentality). I want something that is "medium duty" tough or reliable. (Which is why my other rifle is a Saiga in 7.62x39).
So what are your suggestions for a scope that would do for some deer hunting as far as optics is concerned but would also be acceptable as a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI accessory for a bug out gun due to its ruggedness and ability to hold zero?
I'm looking to spend maybe between 100 to 200 bucks? The cheaper the better obviously so I don't end up counting towards the wifes bag limit for the season but I hate spending 100 bucks for subpar when 150 would have gotten me satisfaction.
Well the brass stacker actually allows you to use the iron sights. It's just high enough that they don't have to come off and you can actually use them up close if you want. But I'd prefer a scope for longer shots to try and be more accurate, especially when hunting.
I think the iron sights are just fine on my 91/30. I wanted it scoped until I took it shooting paper one day and realized I didn't need a scope. Likewise with a .44 lever action I got last year. If the milsurp was good enough for them to defend home and country as well as the men next to them I believe it'll take a deer. I did however(look around) put an ATI stock with the butt pad on it.
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
I remember hunting with my 78 Rem. the first yr. I got it, early 90's. A 6-7 inch group at 100 w/ iron sights was the best I could do, and a big 8 point about got away from me, I finally shot a back leg into and blood trailed him 2 hrs. I got a scope the next yr. The better Mosins will do 2-3 inch groups at 100 if you got good vision. I would still be comfortable hunting with a sighted one at 60 yrs. old. For a SHTF rifle you might be running and falling down some, can you count on any scope after you drop it on pavement?
" There are two kinds of people, the good people and the ones that aggravate the hell out of the good people"
Crios22 wrote:Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
Yes, buy a site tool.Don't "bang" them around. Push them like the armorers did.
Soak the front sight in good penetrating oil 24 hrs. If It's been peened with a punch, forget it. Most M-44, not all, make a big difference with the bayonet fixed. They shoot tighter groups and left/right compared to being folded.
" There are two kinds of people, the good people and the ones that aggravate the hell out of the good people"
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
You said in the OP that you would be shooting at 100 yards.....If you hit 8" targets at 120 yards with iron sights why do you need a scope.
Consistently hitting or missing 8" steel targets may have as much to do with the shooter as the rifle.
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
You said in the OP that you would be shooting at 100 yards.....If you hit 8" targets at 120 yards with iron sights why do you need a scope.
Consistently hitting or missing 8" steel targets may have as much to do with the shooter as the rifle.
That's with the Ak-47 not the mosin nagant and why I indicated that the AK is more accurate than I can shoot. I wanted to hunt with the mosin nagant to 1. actually get some use out of it, a 100 dollar gun isn't exactly a "garage queen" that you put on the wall to woo people and 2. to hunt with something that has greater effective range and especially punch than the 7.62x39 round.
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
You said in the OP that you would be shooting at 100 yards.....If you hit 8" targets at 120 yards with iron sights why do you need a scope.
Consistently hitting or missing 8" steel targets may have as much to do with the shooter as the rifle.
Because 8" at 100 yards is unacceptable accuracy for deer hunting, Steve. This is why I do not like gongs-they create and support bad shooting habits. Also a new deer hunter should be shooting at this target;
XRayDeer.jpg
to learn to superimpose the internal organs on the deer he's aiming at. The Aorta (top 1/3 of the heart) is the best target on deer; missing up to 4" in any direction ensures a kill, and only 6" or more low will result in a wounded deer. The aorta is approimately 4"x3". Aim small, miss small.
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"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." -Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Murphy was an optimist.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an
invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a
sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the
dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an
equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a
computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects - Robert A. Heinlien
Brake Weight wrote:I've got a dozen other rifles I'd rather hunt with than I would a Mosin. But that's me.
What ammo are you going to shoot with?
I was thinking the 203 grain soft point Brown Bear would probably be good for deer hunting. You have any recommendations?
I haven't looked in a long while at hunting rounds in 7.62x54r. I looked locally when I got mine years ago and nobody had any. So I didn't pursue that any further. I'll stick to my R92 lever .44m (iron sights) in the woods or my Howa (scopesd) on a powerline/pipeline. It'd be cool to bag a deer with a milsurp but I'll stick to what I know works for me.
I guess it really depends on your terrain whether to scope or not to scope. I don't have access to a shot for 45 miles of me over 100 yards and most are 50-60 yards or less.
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
You said in the OP that you would be shooting at 100 yards.....If you hit 8" targets at 120 yards with iron sights why do you need a scope.
Consistently hitting or missing 8" steel targets may have as much to do with the shooter as the rifle.
Because 8" at 100 yards is unacceptable accuracy for deer hunting, Steve. This is why I do not like gongs-they create and support bad shooting habits. Also a new deer hunter should be shooting at this target;XRayDeer.jpg
to learn to superimpose the internal organs on the deer he's aiming at. The Aorta (top 1/3 of the heart) is the best target on deer; missing up to 4" in any direction ensures a kill, and only 6" or more low will result in a wounded deer. The aorta is approimately 4"x3". Aim small, miss small.
Well said sir, that was exactly my line of thinking. I usually take a can of bright orange spray paint and paint my gong then put a black spot right in the middle and try to hit that little spot. But at 120 yards or so with iron sights on a 16 inch barrel AK I was counting my blessings just hitting the gong lol. I'm hoping to have a longer line of sight to hunt in, meaning I can see several hundred feet (up to 1000) down a clearing where they usually cross this time and wanted to scope up something with a little more punch. (my mosin)
SA1911a1 wrote:It it were me, I would scope, and hunt with the Saiga and leave the M-44 in it's natural state.
Really? My concern with the Saige would be accuracy out to scope range. I know it's more accurate than I can shoot with the iron sights out to 100 yards or so but beyond that even with a scope I'm not sure it'd be accurate enough for those longer range kill shots. I've hit an 8 inch diameter steel target at 120 yards using the iron sights and free standing. Did it like 5 times in a row. But I've also missed more times than that in a row . I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards.
Does anybody have any tips on sighting in the iron sights on a mosin m44? Banging around on that front sight scares me and was highly unfruitful last time I tried it lol.
You said in the OP that you would be shooting at 100 yards.....If you hit 8" targets at 120 yards with iron sights why do you need a scope.
Consistently hitting or missing 8" steel targets may have as much to do with the shooter as the rifle.
Because 8" at 100 yards is unacceptable accuracy for deer hunting, Steve. This is why I do not like gongs-they create and support bad shooting habits. Also a new deer hunter should be shooting at this target;XRayDeer.jpg
to learn to superimpose the internal organs on the deer he's aiming at. The Aorta (top 1/3 of the heart) is the best target on deer; missing up to 4" in any direction ensures a kill, and only 6" or more low will result in a wounded deer. The aorta is approimately 4"x3". Aim small, miss small.
If your desire is for a 4" x 3" shot then you brought the wrong gun to the deer hunt fight. There are so many better, and more economical options out there that come with a scope to accomplish what you want.
The best results happen with the right tools and preparation. It's hard to pound a square peg in a round hole, but if you get a big enough hammer it can be done. The results won't be pretty though...
Now if you just want to scope the M44 for shits and giggles, then it's your gun and life goes on. It would be more realistic (somewhat) expectation to me if a M91/30 was being proposed for this use/idea however.
Actually, I wrote that part, and I have hunted with several of my Mosins. I use them in woods where 50 yards is a long shot, and I don't have a problem putting them in 4x3 there. I use my .223 for hunting stands over the fields. Eventually I do want an '06 for that, though.
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." -Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Murphy was an optimist.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an
invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a
sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the
dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an
equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a
computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects - Robert A. Heinlien
Look at the base of the neck area on that target #15, It's almost big as the vitals, and when you shoot one there, they tumble. Uphill, downhill, quartering toward or away from you it's a good target. It makes no mess in the body cavity , makes field dressing more pleasant. That's where I've shot my last 5 or 6 deer. No meat wasted either.
" There are two kinds of people, the good people and the ones that aggravate the hell out of the good people"
I want something that is "medium duty" tough or reliable. (Which is why my other rifle is a Saiga in 7.62x39). 
. I've never scoped it and shot it out past like 120 yards. 
