[Godfather]

A little over a year ago, I bought a Mosin M44. I immediately brought it back to the dealer, because about half the time you nearly needed a rubber mallet to get the bolt back open after firing. This problem only presented itself if the firing pin had been dropped. It even did it on empty shells, but never did it if you cycled the bolt without dropping the pin, or if you cycled on an empty chamber.

The shop opened the bolt and told me they ground out a bur, and that should fix it. It was good for about three more shots, when it began again. Being a person who doesn't make it to the range very often, I had owned this rifle well beyond any expected dealer-warranty, so now how do I fix this problem? I have taken the whole thing apart, and there are no more burs.

[Rumble]

I have heard that the sticky bolt symptom on Mosin's can be a result of crud buildup in the chamber (cosmoline and/or lacquered ammo melt), burrs, or improper headpsacing. This article, http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2005/eliminatesbs/index.asp addresses some fixes for it.

[49hudson]

The easy way to get the bolt to open on a fired case is to reach back to the cocking piece and pull back until it is cocked. Then you should be able to open the bolt with less effort.
In time a lot of shooting will loosen up the headspace a little and then it will open with out the need to cock it first.

[Cosmoline]

Is it all matching or a parts gun? If the former, it's probably buildup in the chamber. If the latter, you may need to headspace a new bolt head.

[Godfather]

Seems pretty straight forward. Curse you, lacquered ammo and Mosin rotating bolt. Thanks for the help.