mosin nagant not releasing well after firing

[JasonS]

This thing is cheery and the bolt was tight when I first got it a few months ago, loosened up great after a days of shooting, never jammed, never missfires, perfect gun.

That was all using silver bear ammo.

4 days shooting it.

Yesterday I shot it a few 20 times with a guy from the ranges ammo cuz Im out but it was something different, I cant remember but I will call him.

After each shot, the bolt would only rais about half way up or more and not want to move further. Sometimes pulling the safety thing back would help, it was grabbing the spent shells and would eject them great.

Whats with the bolt, haven't got to run my silver bear again but I feel like it was his ammo.

A friend of mine said his cop buddy said it could blow up in my face, I find this hard to grasp but anyways, cant wait to try the silver bear again, this gun is clean and never had an issue, what do you guys think?

[Jim K]

Evidently it doesn't like that other ammo for what reason I can't tell long distance. As to the cop's comment, some folks think that any gun that looks odd or any gun not made in the U.S.A. is dangerous and will blow up. The M-N is a strong rifle I doubt very much it will do that unless the ammo was handloaded by someone who didn't know what he was doing.

Jim

[Iron Eagle]

Jason, I have heard that using the laquer coated cases will cause a sticky bolt. Out of curiousity, did you disassemble the bolt and clean it really good? It will have cosmoline in it. It isn't hard to do, and looking at youtube could show you the wrong way to do it. American gunsmithing institute has videos for the Mosin nagant. It is well worth getting. look them up and order it over the phone. It is video #7154

[kermit]

go to www.smith-sights.com he has videos on doing all kinds of things to Mosin Nagant M1891/30 rifles including "sticky bolt"

[mogunner]

Or a quick visit to a forum that I'm one of the sponsors at, you'll find loads of information there.

http://russian-mosin-nagant-forum.com/index.php

That being said, it's a common enough problem with these. First off, your cop friend obviously doesn't know much about the Mosin's, they've been around since 1891 and there are literally millions of them that were produced over the years. Many countries outfitted their military with them and some still use them. Our soldiers have found them in buried weapons stashes in both Iraq and Afghanistan, they were used all over the globe. People talk them down because when the market was first flooded with them you could buy them for $50 so many figured they must be junk at that price, they are now around $100 or more depending on what model they are.

Crusted on cosmoline has been known to cause sticky bolt, most people clean the chamber the first time by sticking a 20 gauge brush on a section of cleaning rod and chucking it into a cordless drill and using either boiling water, mineral spirits or carb cleaner along with the brush to make sure all the old cosmo is removed. This can melt after a few rounds, and really make it difficult to open the bolt, as can other things. Spend some time at a few of the Mosin forums, you'll find pretty much everything covered there that you might have questions regarding. I shoot mostly surplus ammo and Brown Bear in mine.

[JasonS]

well it just bugs me because my other ammo was fine, and it only dose this once fired, just hard to bring up the bold and once you do it slides right back. I just havnt had time to mess with it right now but I cant wait to try my old ammo again.

[Fast Forward]

Just to add to whats been said,,,do a bolt deep clean,,and scrub the breech I use Disc Brake Cleaner ,,I shoot Surplus Commie ammo and Mine ejects without a problem I also had mine headspaced for surplus crap

[mogunner]

I had a Chinese Type 53, which is identical to the Mosin M44, that had a problem with a rough bolt after firing. A close inspection of the bolt head showed me a slight ridge on the locking lug, I used a fine stone to flatten this down and then polished the bolt head with some Mother's metal polish, then took a .22 bronze cleaning brush, bent a 90 degree bend in it and used it to scrub inside the chamber where the locking lugs run, there was some dried cosmoline in there that seemed to be heating up and making things sticky. It's really difficult to get these old rifles completely clean, I see people having problems like these that can be traced back to cosmoline residue in a lot of cases. Did you have the headspace checked on it? Too little headspace can be a factor in difficult extractions as well.

[vonotterskull]

Greetings. I have a M-44,(1946 post war production) and have had the same problems. I went to several forums and read a little on it. Main culprit points to a dirty bolt, cosmoline, grease, grit, etc. Second on the list was the bolt. By this I mean, some bolts are not always made within the same tolerances as others. What was recommended was a total bolt breakdown and polish with a Dremel. This is to remove any burs, snags, etc.. and make the bolt work more freely. Lastly was the ammo, laquered vs.non laquered, and also the issue with surplus rounds being taken off machine gun belts and sold as loose rounds but no real supporting evidence to support either claim. My M44 was completely taken apart (asides from the bolt) and gone over with a fine tooth comb, but to this day I still have the sticky bolt issues. The bore was throughly scrubbed out as recommended in the previous posts. I strongly feel that if I had more confidence and would Dremel the bolt smooth, there wouldn't be an issue. But as it is, it makes a nice chew the fat piece in the War Room and if I knew how to post a pic of it I sure would as it's a pretty piece of history.

[warriflefan]

I think that rim diameter differences between the different ammos can make a difference. The rim pushes the extractor out from the bolt head and makes it slightly wider with a loaded round than an empty chamber. A couple ten thousanths combined with some dirt or rough machining could be the culprit. I've shot different steel case ammos from modern production to milsurp and some stick and some don't regardless of lacquer or poly coating. Brass case yugo surplus works 100% in mine.

[soundguy]

one thing I'll add.. if I ever see a bolt gun that fires fine with one ammo... but not with another.. it doesn't immediatly make me think dirty gun.. it makes me wonder if the gun doesn't like one of the ammo types. perhaps it is loaded hot.. or the chamber is more suited to the bb ammo. perhaps the other ammo wa sa milsurp laq case?

find out what the other guy was shooting.

be aware that it may have been corrosive, and needing to be cleaned up again..

[therewolf]

Some of this cosmoline is absorbed by the chamber, and different

parts on the gun. It will melt during extended firing periods, but

takes repeated wiping and cleanings to completely remove.

Repeated firing, then field-stripping and cleaning on hot days

helps. Just leave it in the sun for a couple hours, then wipe it dry.

Oil sparingly, a well-treated Russian weapon

wouldn't know what to do with itself.

Meanwhile, don't be afraid to slap that bolt around. In a few

hundred rounds, it'll work as smoothly as a Swiss watch.

[soundguy]

ya but a swiss watch won't cycle with sand int he action.. a soviet weapon will!

[Fast Forward]

I wish my Yugo Mauser was as smooth to operate as My Izzy nagant

[therewolf]

Well, my Izzy has arguably the crappiest trigger pull in the universe.

My point was that the chamber melts down more glop as it heats up

with long, repeated uses, 30+ rounds or more, and that 25th, 35th,

or 45th round may overcome the grip your extractor has on the rim of the

cartridge.

Simply drop the bolt off the receiver, get a long 3/16 or 1/4 " brass rod,

from the hardware store, and gently tap the expended cartridge from the

muzzle side, it will fall out fairly easily, with steady, small taps...

[kermit]

Originally Posted by therewolf

Well, my Izzy has arguably the crappiest trigger pull in the universe.

my Izhevsk M91-30 has an M39 trigger and finn sear and slack spring so i don't have your problem. i bought finn trigger and sear on ********* from Finland For $30 slack spring was about $5. good luck with your izzy compared to my izhevsk.