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Mosin-Nagant M44 Carbine
- moderate
- Shop tier 1
- medium confidence
- Rifle
- surplus
- milsurp
- corrosive ammo
- historic
- carbine
- folding bayonet
- service rifle
field strip ~3 min · reassembly ~4 min · detail strip ~35 min
Specifications
- Manufacturer
- Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Category
- Rifle
- Action
- Bolt action
- Calibers
- 7.62x54mmR
- Capacity
- 5 rounds in the internal magazine
- Production
- 1944–1948 (surplus)
- Also known as
- M1944 carbine, M44
Model-specific safety
- These rifles are decades old and most have been arsenal rebuilt with mixed parts. Have headspace checked by a gunsmith before firing any rifle of unknown history.
- Surplus ammunition of this era is frequently corrosively primed. Clean with a water-based solvent the same day you shoot.
- Newly imported rifles are often packed in cosmoline throughout, including the bolt and firing pin channel. Clean it out before firing — a firing pin held forward by congealed grease causes slam fires.
- The M44 has a permanently attached folding side bayonet. It folds out to the right and latches. The rifle was zeroed at the factory with the bayonet EXTENDED, so point of impact shifts noticeably between bayonet folded and extended. Know which way yours was zeroed.
- Keep fingers clear of the bayonet when folding and unfolding it — it is spring-loaded and sharp.
- The bolt is removed by pressing the trigger while withdrawing it. Confirm the chamber and magazine are empty before doing that.
- Firing pin protrusion on a Mosin is adjustable and must be set correctly with the gauge on the combination tool. Too much causes pierced primers and slam fires; too little causes misfires.
- The short barrel and full-power 7.62x54mmR make for a substantial muzzle blast and flash. That is normal for this carbine.
Under spring tension
- Mainspring inside the bolt
- Magazine follower spring
Easily lost parts
Bolt connector bar · Bolt head · Firing pin · Interrupter/ejector
Tools
| Tool | Required | Used for | Substitute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bore guide | Yes | Cleaning from the breech without wearing the throat or the crown. On a surplus rifle the crown is often the difference between accuracy and none. |
Shop difficulty
Shop tier 1 Tier 1 — easy among rifles and carbines, for the full job: strip to the parts that get coated and put it back together working. Same simple Mosin action and about the same part count. The extra job is the folding bayonet: its staked screw and the pinned bayonet/front-sight base trap the barrel bands. That makes it upper Tier 1, but nothing is timed or held under tension.
Parts: 34 numbered parts (stand-in: American Rifleman 'Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Family' exploded-view legend (keys 1-34), drawn on the long rifle; the article says the instructions 'apply universally to all patterns of Mosin ri), from Exploded View: Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Family Of Rifles (American Rifleman, July 2016, p. 73), by Ian McCollum — NRA / American Rifleman, p. 73 (single-page PDF linked from https americanrifleman.org [5].
Bench time: about 40 min to strip, 55 min to rebuild (estimate). As for the 91/30 plus the staked bayonet screw and bayonet mount. Bands come off only if the pinned front sight/bayonet base is removed.
Small parts: 3 pins, 5 springs, 0 detents or plungers (counted by name in the same (stand-in) legend, line items. Pins: 19 trigger hinge pin, 26 follower hinge pin, 32 follower hinge pin (upper). Springs: 3 firing pin spring, 11 ejector spring and feed in)
What comes off for coating
- Stock: barrel bands, handguard, tang screws, buttplate
- Bayonet: bayonet mounting screw (staked), bayonet and spring
- Bolt: cocking piece, firing pin and spring, bolt head, guide bar, extractor
- Magazine / trigger guard: floorplate and latch, follower and springs, trigger and pin
Special tools
- firing pin protrusion gauge — Bolt reassembly
- hollow-ground screwdrivers — Staked bayonet screw
- brass drift — Front sight / bayonet base pins (if removed)
Known pain points
- The attached bayonet's screw is staked and hard to loosen, and the barrel bands cannot come off until the pinned bayonet/front-sight base is removed, which the reference advises against. (both)
Source: Mosin Nagant Rifle Exploded Views and Disassembly (Model Specifics: M44) — 7.62x54r.net (hosted by thinlineweapons.com) thinlineweapons.com [3] — “The screw is staked on the opposite end and can be difficult to loosen. The bayonet lug and front sight base are integral and held on by two pins. Removal is not recommended. The barrel bands cannot be removed without removing the bayonet/sight base.” - Bolt reassembly needs the parts aligned in one orientation, with the firing pin returned to its witness line (shared Mosin bolt). (reassembly)
Source: Exploded View: Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Family Of Rifles — American Rifleman (NRA) americanrifleman.org [4] — “To reassemble the bolt, you must align all bolt components properly.” - Firing-pin protrusion must be gauged after bolt reassembly. (reassembly)
Source: Mosin Nagant Rifle Exploded Views and Disassembly (Model Specifics: M44) — 7.62x54r.net (hosted by thinlineweapons.com) thinlineweapons.com [3] — “After fully assembling the bolt, decock it, make sure the bolt head is tight against the connector bar and check the firing pin protrusion with a gauge.”
Fit or check on rebuild
- Firing-pin protrusion — Same Mosin bolt.
Source: Mosin Nagant Rifle Exploded Views and Disassembly (Model Specifics: M44) — 7.62x54r.net (hosted by thinlineweapons.com) thinlineweapons.com [3] — “check the firing pin protrusion with a gauge” - Bayonet lock-up — The folding bayonet must latch in both positions. Well-known check, no source found.
- Re-zero sights or scope — Sights and optics come off for coating, and point of impact must be re-confirmed. This is a standard check, so no source.
This is Pew-Takedown's rating, not the manufacturer's. How tiers are rated. Forum reports are owners' experience, not specifications.
Procedures
Clear and Make Safe
Clear & Make Safe- Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger.
- Lift the bolt handle and pull the bolt fully rearward to extract and eject any chambered round.
- Press the magazine floorplate latch ahead of the trigger guard and swing the floorplate open to release rounds in the magazine, or cycle the bolt repeatedly.Removed at this step:
Rounds in the magazine - Inspect the chamber and magazine well with a light and physically confirm the chamber is empty.
- Close the floorplate and remove all live ammunition from the work area.
Field Strip — Bolt Removal
Field StripBolt removal is the whole of routine maintenance. The bore cleans from the breech with the bolt out.
- Complete the Clear and Make Safe procedure.
- Lift the bolt handle and draw the bolt fully to the rear.
- Press and hold the trigger while continuing to pull the bolt rearward out of the receiver.WarningYou are pressing the trigger. The chamber and magazine must already be verified empty and the muzzle in a safe direction.Removed at this step:
Bolt assembly - Clean the bore from the breech using a bore guide, and clean the bolt face, lugs, and chamber.WarningAlways use a bore guide on a surplus rifle. Cleaning rod wear at the crown is a permanent accuracy loss and is very common on milsurp.
- Stop here for routine maintenance. Bolt disassembly is a separate procedure and is not part of normal cleaning.
Reassembly
Reassembly- Confirm firing pin protrusion has been set correctly if the bolt was disassembled.
- Align the bolt with the receiver raceway, connector bar in its groove.
- Slide the bolt forward into the receiver and close the bolt handle.
- Cycle the bolt several times and perform the function check.
Torque specifications
No sourced torque values from the manufacturer are recorded for this firearm. Where a fastener has a specified torque — action screws, scope bases, muzzle devices, barrel nuts — get it from the manufacturer or a gunsmith rather than estimating it.
Function check
- Verify the rifle is unloaded — chamber and magazine — before each check.
- Cycle the bolt and confirm it cocks and closes fully into battery.
- With the action cocked, engage the safety and press the trigger. The striker must not release.
- Disengage the safety without touching the trigger. The striker must not release.
- Press the trigger and confirm the striker releases with a firm snap.
- Load dummy rounds and confirm they feed and eject cleanly.
- If you have any doubt about the rifle’s history, have headspace gauged by a gunsmith before firing live ammunition.
- Confirm the bayonet latches securely in both the folded and extended positions.
- Confirm firing pin protrusion with the gauge if the bolt was apart.
Maintenance
Lubrication points
- Bolt lugs and raceways
- Cocking cam surfaces
- Extractor
- Trigger and sear contact
Cleaning notes
Surplus ammunition of this era is frequently corrosively primed. After shooting it, flush the bore, bolt face, and gas system with hot soapy water or a water-based solvent the same day, dry completely, then oil. Keep the firing pin channel clean and dry — a pin held forward by congealed cosmoline causes slam fires.
Suggested inspection interval: roughly every 300 rounds. This is a general guideline, not a manufacturer specification.
Wear parts to inspect
Firing pin and its protrusion · Extractor · Bolt lugs · Crown (inspect for cleaning rod wear) · Magazine follower and spring
Common issues
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Light strikes or misfires | Cosmoline-packed firing pin channel or a weak mainspring | Strip the bolt, clean the firing pin channel completely, and reassemble dry. |
| Sticky bolt lift after firing | Dirty chamber, lacquered surplus ammunition, or excessive headspace | Clean the chamber thoroughly. If it persists, have headspace checked. see a gunsmith |
| Rust appearing days after shooting | Corrosive primer residue | Clean with a water-based solvent the same day, dry, and oil. |
| Point of impact differs from expectation | The M44 was zeroed with the bayonet extended | Determine how your rifle was zeroed and shoot it consistently in that configuration. |
| Pierced or cratered primers | Excessive firing pin protrusion | Stop firing and reset protrusion with the gauge. see a gunsmith |
Also covers
The procedures above are reported to apply to: Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, and Chinese M44 pattern carbines · Chinese Type 53. Verify against the manual for your specific model.
Similar manual of arms
Sourcing
- Confidence
- medium — Drawn from reliable secondary sources and consistent across references, but not confirmed against a primary source.
- Verification
- Community reviewed only
- Last updated
- 2026-10-29
References
Every source this page draws on, with its web address so you can read it yourself. Numbers in brackets elsewhere on the page point here.
- [1] 7.62mm Mosin-Nagant Carbine Model 1944 Manual — USSR Ministry of Defence military technical manual primary source
- [2] Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide — Eurasian Communist Countries — U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency military technical manual secondary source
- [3] Mosin Nagant Rifle Exploded Views and Disassembly (Model Specifics: M44) — 7.62x54r.net (hosted by thinlineweapons.com) website secondary source
https://thinlineweapons.com/7.62x54r/7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinDisassembly.html (checked 2026-10-29) - [4] Exploded View: Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Family Of Rifles — American Rifleman (NRA) website secondary source
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/exploded-view-mosin-nagant-model-1891-family-of-rifles (checked 2026-10-29) - [5] Exploded View: Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 Family Of Rifles (American Rifleman, July 2016, p. 73), by Ian McCollum — NRA / American Rifleman periodical secondary source
https://www.americanrifleman.org/media/ofijod0q/r1607_ev.pdf (checked 2026-10-29)
Notes: Mechanically the M44 is a shortened 91/30 with a permanently attached folding bayonet; the bolt, firing pin protrusion requirement, and maintenance are identical. The bayonet-extended zero is the practical difference that matters at the range.