Signed all the papers for a M44 7.62*54R rifle from Big 5 Sporting Goods.  He has really no knowledge on firearms, so he is relying on me. However, I don't own any 7.62*54R rifles. So my question is, will .30 cal. cleaning equiptment work on his rifle? And, when he gets it on the 22nd, what will I have to do to make it ready to shoot. We went to sign all the papers today and look at it, there was some rust, is this normal? Would it be worth it to break it in? Thanks, Mike S.

Yes, .30 Cal cleaning equipment will work just fine.

Thanks, two more questions. When he gets it, what will I have to do to make it ready to shoot. How should I go about getting the rust off?

I don't know much about solving rust issues, but my M44 needed a normal cleaning before shooting, bolt and magazine had a bit of grease on them, more than just normal lube. Some paper towels took car of that then a patch or two with Hoppes #9 down the barrel and it was ready to go

If it is just surface rust you can take some light oil and #0000 steel wool and remove it. Apply the oil and gently scrub with the steel wool. The light oil will fill any small pitting and protect it from more rust.
You need to verify that the headspace is correct before firing.
You need to check that the safety is in working condition before loading.
You should disassemble the bolt and clean it thouroughly before firing.
Clean the barrel and use some copper solvent. This will improve accuracy.
If the rifle is covered in cosmolene it will need to be completely disassembled and cleaned. The stock will need to be cleaned also.
If enough bluing is worn away you may need to think about re-bluing to protect the metal.
Good luck,
Jim

These are all great cleaning tips in the above posts.

What I did since I am a gun cleaning whore I broke it down as much as possible and went over the gun with "Gun Scrubber" and really made it nice and clean before the first shoot.

Pepperbelly, I have no idea how to check the headspace. I have no idea how to disassemble the bolt because I don't own any old "relic" rifles like the M44. What is cosmolene and how do I remove it. I know these are REALLY noobie questions, but I am a guy with little to no experience with the M44 type rifles. Thanks.

There are guages to check the headspace but I would recommend that after you clean it to take it to a good gunsmith and have him check it for you as well as making sure the rest of the rifle is in good working order. cosmoline is the greasy looking stuff thats is used to protect the rifle from the elements in storage. There are a many ways to remove it, I'm like M4_Aiming_at_U when it comes it cleaning. I also found out the "Gun Scrubber" works very well. As to how to disassemble the bolt, I'm not to sure because I don't have a M44 yet.

Edit to add: If most of the finish is gone make sure you put a on some lubricating oil to protect it from rust or you might want to try to re-blue it and their is a good step-by step article about how to do that on surplusrifle.com. And remember don't worry if your questions sound Newbie, were here to help each other out in anyway we can.

You might want to try this website it has a lot of good info and taking care of C&R rifles
www.surplusrifle.com