Should I bed my M44?

[Saint77]

Ive seen various discussions about bedding rifles, and am curious for input form the users on this great forum.

I'm looking to improve the performance of my Mosin Nagant M44. The trigger feels ok, not rough, gritty, or hard to use or anything, so I think I'm ok there, but I'm curious about bedding the rifle. will it make it more stable? is cracking the stock a risk by solidifying with bedding? educate me folks!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pgrass101]

I would not think that bedding would be worth it on an M44.

To improve it you would almost have to strip it down to the action and add a new barrel, stock and trigger.

I like the M44, but it is a mass produced service gun, of lower general quailty than M1's ,Enfields and Mausers

[HotGuns]

I agree with the new moderator.

I dont think you'd realize enough improvement over stock to justify the effort.

[itschuck]

You would do better to reload your own ammo and find out what shoots best out of your mosin. You can get replacement stocks at Richards Micro Fit go here

Richards Microfit Gunstocks

But remember what you have wasnt built as a tack driver and the money you would spend on it would be better spent on a new rifle.

[Sergeant Mac]

I just read the title of the thread and immediately thought:

You know, I love guns, too, but that might be going just a bit TOO far.....

:o)

[allenruger]

I just read the title of the thread and immediately thought:

You know, I love guns, too, but that might be going just a bit TOO far.....

:o)

Don't worry, you weren't the only one that thought that.

[cphilip]

Don't worry, you weren't the only one that thought that.

Me too. Just sorry I was not the first one to get to post a clever retort!

No bedding of guns before marriage. Thats my motto.

[raevan]

I bought my M44 as a collector piece. I have plenty of other rifles to shoot so I see no reason to mess with the M44. as a matter a fact I haven't even bothered to clean off the Cosmoline yet.

[aus71383]

I would think that bedding the stock would make it more stable, and that it would not increase the risk of cracking the stock. If the weight/recoil is more evenly distributed, it would seem logical to conclude that it would decrease the risk of cracking the stock. That being said - I doubt it would be worth it. Consistency is the main component for achieving accuracy, and chances are your ammunition (unless you reload) will limit your accuracy potential. How accurate do you want it to be?

Austin

[morintp]

I just read the title of the thread and immediately thought:

You know, I love guns, too, but that might be going just a bit TOO far.....

:o)

Thank you. Now I don't feel so bad for having the same thoughts. I've been looking at this thread title all afternoon and the bad jokes won't get out of my head.

I like to keep my relationship with guns strictly platonic.
101 interesting new uses for a breach.
This is my rifle, this is my gun. This one's for shooting....

And it all went downhill from there.

[Saint77]

Thanks for the input and links everyone.

I just read the title of the thread and immediately thought:

You know, I love guns, too, but that might be going just a bit TOO far.....

:o)

First time I ever saw that question being asked about any rifle, I had the same though, it is kind of an odd question for sure.

I would think that bedding the stock would make it more stable, and that it would not increase the risk of cracking the stock. If the weight/recoil is more evenly distributed, it would seem logical to conclude that it would decrease the risk of cracking the stock. That being said - I doubt it would be worth it. Consistency is the main component for achieving accuracy, and chances are your ammunition (unless you reload) will limit your accuracy potential. How accurate do you want it to be?

Austin

I use Winchester soft point rounds, mainly because my local range wont let me shoot the surplus. When it warms up some, im gonna hit an outdoor range and try out the surplus. It does good with winchester rounds. I was just looking for a cheap project to do that might stabilize it some more. I bought this thing fairly cheap as you can imagine, its one of my "fun guns" (well, that and id like to start collecting some ), and is a blast to shoot.

[raevan]

After reading all the responses I think a lot of people on this sight have other things on their mind then guns. You just may be on the wrong site.

[aus71383]

If it doesn't shoot well, you spend the time you would have spent bedding the gun doing a little overtime, and with the money buy a new M44. Aren't they going for about $120 or so? Maybe the next one will shoot better. If not....buy another one. You can save all the ones that don't shoot well for OMFGWTF TEOTWAWKI SHTF for the neighbors. Just an idea.

Another option would be to recrown the barrel and bed it. The crown is the most important part, as you may very well know. If its dinged up your accuracy will suck. I've heard a golf ball and some polishing compound can be used to fix this....never tried it myself. Anything to improve consistency will help - the barrel not being free floating prevents the "whipping" motion, and turns it into sort of a wobble.

Austin

[atctimmy]

For the price of a bedding kit (about 18 bucks) I'd do it. It will be good practice for you. If you mess up your gun, just get a new one they are cheap. It's a fun way to work on and learn more about your rifle. I like the acraglass Gel kit it is way easier to work with than the original formula. Have fun!

[bmcgilvray]

Be sure to properly apply the release agent. If not you'll be sorryyyyyyy...

I'd go the handloading route first. I intend to acquire a Mosin Nagant, likely an M44 just for the purpose of playing with it with handloads.