After months of owning it (I am The Great Procrastinator), I finally brought my Mossberg 44 U.S. (a) to the range for a test drive shoot. To get right down to it, I am happy with the results or in other words I LIKE IT! Along with it, I also took my older (for my collection) Mossberg 44 .S., also marked U.S. Property and my Henry U.S. Survival rifle to the range for some shooty goodness this afternoon.
Now, for some photos, bearing in mind I was firing at an indoor range, longest distance 30 yards, standing bent over and supporting my elbows on the bench (weird height bench, to high for the chairs they have or for kneeling and just low enough to be a pain in the neck, back or both if you bend over to use it for support). Here are the pics of my targets:
While shooting both the new Mossberg 44 (a) U.S. and the Mossberg 44 U.S. - U.S. Property marked rifles, I was using the same ammunition in each. That was Federal Value Pack 22LR, high velocity, copper plated, 36 grain, hollow point ammo. It is 1993 vintage, I got two boxes of that last year in an excellent deal. I did not fire fouling shots, just started shooting. As for the ammo, it shot just fine even though it is 23 years old. I am sure had I tried different brands of ammo, I would have gotten different results across the brands.
When I fired the newer of my two Mossbergs, the 44 (a), I fired four 7 round volleys from 30 yards and had to adjust the sights twice, since it had been shooting high and to the right at that distance. The result of the adjustments was getting it to shoot where it did on its two 30 yard targets shown in the pics above.
There was one disappointment, maybe a major one or maybe a minor one. The trigger guard came loose at the rear screw and it would not hold well when screwed in again. Examination of it later showed the wood in the screw hole is stripped away (maybe even a good sized chip missing), probably from someone screwing and unscrewing the screw way too many times. I think I can fix that with a fairly easy fix but time will tell and it may be a long time before I get it done. Did I mention that I am 'The Great Procrastinator'?
Anyhow, I like how it shoots. I certainly fired well enough out of the newer (newer in my collection) of my two Mossbergs to convince me it is good enough for plinking and or small game hunting, at least with the Federal ammo I used on this range trip. When I have more time than the hour I spent at the range with it today, I will try various other brands and types of 22LR ammo through it to see if I can better what it did today.
Oh, as for my shooting with the Henry U.S. Survival Rifle, it did not like the Federal ammo; it shot it pretty widely dispersed. You need to realize it does not have the inherent accuracy of either of the Mossbergs but all I will say is that I know I have shot much, much, better groups with it using different ammo. In fact, after firing some of the Federal 22LR through it, I fired some CCI Mini Mags down range with it. It did much better with the CCI ammo, probably good enough to think of it as a survival gun for rabbit sized game within 15 to 25 yards and certainly good enough to put down a whitetail deer within that distance (in an emergency survival situation as 22LR is usually if not always illegal for deer hunting).
All in all, it was a short but fun range trip.
All the best,
Glenn B
Now, for some photos, bearing in mind I was firing at an indoor range, longest distance 30 yards, standing bent over and supporting my elbows on the bench (weird height bench, to high for the chairs they have or for kneeling and just low enough to be a pain in the neck, back or both if you bend over to use it for support). Here are the pics of my targets:
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| I fired the first seven shots from 50 feet, not so great but not so bad either. |
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| After seeing what it could do at 50 ft., I moved the target to 30 yards. I was not very impressed but certainly not disappointed by the group. |
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| Somewhat better than the first one shown at 30 yards but the group is spread left to right too much. Was it me or was it the rifle or was it the ammo or a combination of any of that? |
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| I fired only one magazine full, seven rounds, from my Mossberg 44 U.S., U.S. Property marked, also at 30 yards. Without that flyer, I almost would have been impressed. |
While shooting both the new Mossberg 44 (a) U.S. and the Mossberg 44 U.S. - U.S. Property marked rifles, I was using the same ammunition in each. That was Federal Value Pack 22LR, high velocity, copper plated, 36 grain, hollow point ammo. It is 1993 vintage, I got two boxes of that last year in an excellent deal. I did not fire fouling shots, just started shooting. As for the ammo, it shot just fine even though it is 23 years old. I am sure had I tried different brands of ammo, I would have gotten different results across the brands.
When I fired the newer of my two Mossbergs, the 44 (a), I fired four 7 round volleys from 30 yards and had to adjust the sights twice, since it had been shooting high and to the right at that distance. The result of the adjustments was getting it to shoot where it did on its two 30 yard targets shown in the pics above.
There was one disappointment, maybe a major one or maybe a minor one. The trigger guard came loose at the rear screw and it would not hold well when screwed in again. Examination of it later showed the wood in the screw hole is stripped away (maybe even a good sized chip missing), probably from someone screwing and unscrewing the screw way too many times. I think I can fix that with a fairly easy fix but time will tell and it may be a long time before I get it done. Did I mention that I am 'The Great Procrastinator'?
Anyhow, I like how it shoots. I certainly fired well enough out of the newer (newer in my collection) of my two Mossbergs to convince me it is good enough for plinking and or small game hunting, at least with the Federal ammo I used on this range trip. When I have more time than the hour I spent at the range with it today, I will try various other brands and types of 22LR ammo through it to see if I can better what it did today.
Oh, as for my shooting with the Henry U.S. Survival Rifle, it did not like the Federal ammo; it shot it pretty widely dispersed. You need to realize it does not have the inherent accuracy of either of the Mossbergs but all I will say is that I know I have shot much, much, better groups with it using different ammo. In fact, after firing some of the Federal 22LR through it, I fired some CCI Mini Mags down range with it. It did much better with the CCI ammo, probably good enough to think of it as a survival gun for rabbit sized game within 15 to 25 yards and certainly good enough to put down a whitetail deer within that distance (in an emergency survival situation as 22LR is usually if not always illegal for deer hunting).
All in all, it was a short but fun range trip.
All the best,
Glenn B
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