Mosin Nagant for Angus

I was at the Bill Goodman Gun and Nut Show in Sharonville, OH this weekend with #2 son, Mooseboy. I got to handle some K31's and some 31's and M44 Mosin Nagants. The M44's impressed me.

It then hit me that:
1) I could buy an M44 for under $70.
2) I could cut the stock to fit #3 son, Angus. He's nearing 8 and needs a deer rifle. I could add a slip-on butt pad to help.
3) I could load a 130 - 150 grain bullet behind some H4895 and develop a load that was easy on a young shoulder and still lethal on a deer out to 75 yards. My guess is that I can do a light (30-30 to 300 Savage) load that will be just right.

Everyone says the M44 is a shoulder-buster, but my calculations tell me that a bottom-end 300 Savage-type load would have about a third less recoil of a standard 30-06. With a buttpad, that should be just fine.

As I was researching yesterday, I found out that there are scout-type scope rails available for under $20 for the M44. If the irons don't work out for him. I could add one without a gunsmith.

Grafs has 7.62X54R brass for under $30/100count.

It's going to be a boogered stock anyway, so if I want to epoxy on a cheek rest for him, or add back an inch of rubber or paint it in camo, it isn't going to hurt the "value" of the gun.

Boyd's has a walnut RIA Sportsman stock for under $60 for after he gets big enough to have an adult-sized stock.

. . . or I could just buy a $15 M44 stock off E-bay and a $12 can of bed-liner spray and turn this into a bargain-basement all-weather scout-riflethat gets left at deer camp as a spare when Angus moves on to the adult-section of my collection.

While I was at the show, I also picked up some 150grain cast lead RNGC bullets that I can load up over 10 grains of Unique and give him something to pop cans with all summer.

I called Angus from work today and told him to go to www.aimsurplus.com and check out the M44. Then I asked him if he wanted to go with me over lunch to pick one up. In the silence that followed, I could hear the change in heartbeat, and the breathing becoming shallow. I could hear the plot of "Enemy at the Gates" and "Monster Bucks I thru Infinity" flash through his mind when I told him of my plan. Then the little Scotsman showed his true spirit.

"How much?" he asked.

"$70."

"A hundred and seventy?"

"$70."

"WOW! That's terrific."

. . . I think he was more impressed with the fact that it was a deer rifle even he could afford than anything else.

That's my Angus.