Finnish Mosin is there a sticky chamber issue?

Get a light and look in the chamber. You should be able to see corrosion. I wouldn't give up yet. If it got sticky all of a sudden then I would still think its a dirty chamber. Or maybe an ammo problem. Try some different ammo.

Sticky bolt is from cosmoline in the chamber and doesn't require much to remedy. #9, mineral spirits etc will work along with a polish from 20ga bronze brush and cordless drill.

All Mosin Nagant Rifles have a some what of a sticky bolt, never seen one that didn`t.....

Did you just start using different ammo? Today I just some of the ammo that JG Sales is selling on stripper clips and had the bolt on my Mosin Nagant start sticking (for the first time ever), I then went back to the 1971 steel core silver tip that I have been using for 3 years and the problem went away.

JB bore paste will do wonders.

Some chambers are tighter than others, and while cosmo can be a pain, its usually well removed by those who know basic gun care procedure, and that cosmo has to be dissolved out with a solvent and some scrubbing action.

Laquer and dirt are always a factor from shavings and dirt on the cartridge, but , in my experience, shoot Steel cased ammo and the 'extra' soot from the case not being expanded for as long against the chamber wall during firing allows soot to come back on the case.
lacquer'd or copper washed steel cased ammo will come out 'dirty' 1/2 back or more.

The soot builds and becomes a 'drag' to say the least, on your primary extraction when the bolt rotates and loosens the fired cartridge, before pulling it out.


Brass cased ammo will not have the wash back of soot to the chamber to build up, shoot and look.......and works better for me, especially in a rifle with a tight chamber.

Shoot both , and it will be very clear.

Routine cleaning with boiling water and scrubbing will remove the soot, cosmo and dirt.

A stick Bolt is a Mosin's way of telling you to clean it, or clean it better.
Don't forget the chamber AND the bolt, and lube its camming surfaces, as well as any contact points between receiver and bolt

303tom said:

All Mosin Nagant Rifles have a some what of a sticky bolt, never seen one that didn`t.....

Click to expand...

Neither of mine has a sticky bolt problem.

Steel cased ammo gets a bad rep. It has its pros and cons, but was made for the Mosin Nagant.

Have you disassembled, cleaned, and lubed your bolt?

A never ending struggle...

I own a 1891/30 hex receiver made in Tula 1933. The bolt and barrel/receiver are both original stamp matched. The magazine is not. I've never had any of the 'sticky bolt' syndrome. I've now fired some 210 rounds of Brown Bear lacquer coated and zinc plated, 203 grain soft-point thru it. I've had rim-lock a handful of times and one misfire. On the misfire, I simply cycled the bolt a second time and it fired normally. With rim-lock I can usually slap the bolt and still chamber a round. I'm of the opinion that most of the 'sticky bolt' has more to do with the arsenal refinishing process and swapping of parts. Russian and Soviet soldiers in both world wars probably didn't have all kinds of time to clean their rifles as much as some owners do today. The Mosin-Nagant was designed to be simple and rugged and it earned a good reputation in service for some 50+ years.
The Mosin-Nagant 'sticky bolt' syndrome debate is much like the AR-15 reliability debate - it goes on and on and on...

The sticky bolt syndrome is not inherent in the Mosin Nagant's design.

If it was bad as some make out, it would have been next to useless in combat conditions.

So I suggest people with a sticky bolt look to other factors as to cause.