Well, I finally got to go hunting with a military rifle, so here's my observations.
I went out with some buddies for my first deer hunt, and brought along my Mosin-Nagant 91/30.
We did a lot of walking, and after a while, it did get a bit heavy. Hunting from a stand would not have been an issue. I meant to bring a sling along, but forgot it. I'll be sure to remember to bring it in the future.
I was able to bring down a doe at a full run going perpendicular to me at 40 yards from a crouched position. Had I been using a scoped rifle, there's no way I would have been able to make that shot. Iron sights are good.
I shoot this rifle nearly every range trip, so I am quite confident in my ability to get it on target quickly. I'm quite pleased with the performance of myself and the gun. Had I not spent all those range trips popping clays off the berm, I wouldn't have had the skill to use the rifle like I did. Whatever you are shooting, be sure to practice with it.
Even the mighty 7.62x54R through the lungs didn't bring the deer down right away. In fact, she didn't even slow down after I shot her, and I was starting to doubt whether I had even hit her. I heard her stumbling right about the time she got to the tree line, almost 100 yards away, and she only made it about 20 feet past that first stumble before she dropped for good.
Here's a picture of me, my 91/30, one of my hunting buddies, and my first deer.
