Cleaning a Mosin Nagant barrel

[1-1 Banger]

What is a good way to clean all the cosmoline and other assorted crap out of the barrel of a Mosin? I was thinking of getting some of that foaming Gunslick stuff or whatever it's called. I know I can only wring so much accuracy out of a 91/30 but I was planning on shooting it out as far as I can so I'd like the barrel to be as clean as humanly possible.

 

[TheVision]

WD-40, kerosene, or diesel.

 

[morcey2]

Hot water.

After you get the cosmoline out, foaming bore cleaner is a great way to get the other fouling out. I've used the Gunslick version on quite a few mosins and mausers with good results.

Matt

 

[Jackal]

The single best tool for first time Mosin cleaning is Patience.

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

take the barrel off the stock i used mineral spirits i put the action end in
a plastic tub and plugged that end and filled the barrel up let soak over night
i cleaned the wood with denatured alcohol just dap on a rag and wipe. dont
sand the wood you will find a lot of prof marks on the stock. when you restain
or you can just put the stock in a trash bag put it in your car on a hot day
and wipe all the cosmorline off lots of ways on YouTube

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Mineral spirits does work very well for removing cosmoline. I don't think bore foam will clean out the barrel until you get the cosmoline out.

Benzine and Petroleum naphtha mixed are best but both are hazardous and carcinogens so mineral spirits is much safer.

 

[Dmitri Popov]

Clean as you would a muzzleloader. Hot water is best. Take the barrel/action out of the stock and soak in a bathtube of very hot water. Clean. Repeat. Then plug end of barrel, and fill up bore with almost boiling water. Let sit for a while til the whole barrel is really hot. With an oven mit, dump out water and refill with hot water. Then dump, and clean. If you are still geting cosmoline, just repeat. I don't like using any harsh chemicals when I use a gun, not because I'm afraid I'll mess something up, but because due to a previous work accident my lungs are still very sensitive to certain chemical fumes. This method absolutly works, and your significant other won't complain about smells

This is also the best way to clean your rifle after shooting corosive ammo.

 

[Lj1941]

The single best tool for first time Mosin cleaning is Patience.

AND A LOT OF ELBOW GREASE.When you think you have i

 

[caribou]

I used a rod and brush and push most of the gunk out in plugs. Once free of most of the cosmo, I then used solvents with the brush. I often use gasoline outside and a coffee can and flush/scrub/flush the bore with gas until its shiny and clean. Boiling hot water and a light oiling will complete the cleaning.

As above, removeing cosmo or just for routine cleaning, doing so with Boiling water is the best, cheapest and surest way to keep a barrel rust free. It will do a fine job for non corrosive ammo use as well. It works by dissolving the salts, as water does, and the heat will remove all the water as steam. I pour it from a kettle into the chamber, scrub, flush again, scrub, flush and shake the extra water off, then prop against a wall and let the steam out, and the heat cool off....Then a bit of solvent and patches, than a light oiling and your good to go.

Treat the chamber with chamber brush, or a 20 gauge brush, and be sure to get all the cosmo outta the chamber. If you dont, you can have issues with sticking cases.

I take the action outta the wood and I apply spare cosmo to the metal thats under the wood, barrel and action if it dosent have it.

 

[westerbk]

Well....what I did, and there was not a lot if cosmoline in my barrel was go out and shoot it. I put 20 rounds through it. Then gave it a good cleaning with CLP and the barrel brush. Shot it a few times since, spray the CLP down the barrel and run a bore snake through it about 4-5 times. The inside shines like a diamond.

But for the more traditional route....I would go with hot water just like cleaning my black powder rifle.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Mineral spirits or WD 40 work great for getting the bulk of the cosmoline out. Shoot it some and then swab with WD-40 again. Repeat about twenty times......

 

[desidog]

Its summer...I'd proceed in roughly this order:
Get some black trash bags, take the rifle apart, put the pieces in a trash bag or two, place said bags in direct sunlight on a hot day, drink a cold beer, stand by with 2-5 rolls of paper towel (depending on brand), and go 'til your elbow gives out...then repeat the beer and get back to work!

 

[scaatylobo]

Ballistol

This was told to me by a fellow shooter.

he was asked about cleaning corrosive ammo from a barrel,his STRONG suggestion was Ballistol.

I did that with both SMLE's and both MN's and so far NO rust or corrosion.

AND they did not require lots of elbow grease either.

I did reclean them a month later and got more crud from barrels = but no rust !.

 

[Deus Machina]

Out of the barrel, the quickest way is to push a very snug patch down the barrel. Then a second or even third. That takes care of 99% of it. Then scrub with patches and mineral spirits.
Worked for me.

 

[midland man]

after you get the grease out I recommend straight ammonia its what I use to remove copper you can get ammonia at your local store cheap and it eats copper and it doesn't hurt the barrel the wipes will come out blue as that's were the ammonia eats the copper out! when the wipes come out no more blue after several applications and soakings with brushing with plastic brushes once the rags or wipes come out no blue color on them then the copper is gone!

 

[LeonCarr]

Mix up a gallon of Ed's Red. That will get most of the cosmoline and powder fouling out, especially if soaked overnight.

For the copper fouling, 10% Janitor's Ammonia (Available at ACE Hardware) mixed with Ivory Soap will get the copper fouling out and the soap helps it stick to the bore and work better.

Both of the recipes for the above are available at www.frfrogspad.com under Homemade Cleaners and Lubricants. Use at your own risk and take all safety precautions.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[wendellgj]

I was reading the wows of another trying all the solvents that deteriorate skin and lung tissue well along with doing a good job on your dishes. Some even made the (Cosmoline) harden but he finally tried gasoline which after all the other chemicals many of which have been mentioned here that did not work all that well cleaned it up exceptionally well. Of course gasoline is highly flammable and should be used outside in my opinion for ventilation, face shield, rubber gloves, the whole nine yards. How many of you have been in chemical accidents? Or subjected to enough residual solvents and heavy metals to cause central nervous system and muscle nerve damage? Us folks that love this subject ourselves to massive doses. Read the labels as it is a horrible way to live after you lose the above mentioned systems.

 

[herrwalther]

The single best tool for first time Mosin cleaning is Patience.

This and mineral spirits. Brake cleaner in an aerosol can is useful for getting out cosmoline that has worked down deep in the rifling. But mineral spirits will take care of the rest.

 

[Palehorseman]

take the barrel off the stock i used mineral spirits i put the action end in
a plastic tub and plugged that end and filled the barrel up let soak over night
i cleaned the wood with denatured alcohol just dap on a rag and wipe. dont
sand the wood you will find a lot of prof marks on the stock. when you restain
or you can just put the stock in a trash bag put it in your car on a hot day
and wipe all the cosmorline off lots of ways on YouTube

Most of the refurbed combloc Mosines have a shellac finish, (especially Russian ones) and alcohol is death incarnate to shellac.

 

[M1GarandDeerHunter]

I have cleaned up a bunch of these rifles, my standard proceedure is to disassemble the metal from the wood, boil a big pot of water with a little soap in it like Dawn, and pour it over the metal surfaces. It melts like butter. I push a jag thru the barrel to get cosmo out, the excess and then take a funnel and pour boiling water down the barrel. That usually get rid of most of it. While its steaming hot, I take soapy water and a tooth brush and scrub the nooks and crannys. This pretty much degreases the rifle. I follow with a cleaning with whatever gun solvent strikes my fancy (rifle bore cleaner, hoppes, clp whatever) and wipe her down. This puts oil back into the metal keep it from rusting. Last, but not least, take a 20 ga, or some larger synthetic brush, (I attach to a drill) and clean the chamber. Look it over carefully. Crud here leads to sticky operations. I clean the barrel with an ammonia based cleaner to get crud, copper or whatever is left. I wipe any excess grease out of the stock, typically there isnt that much. Lube her up, and reassemble. There are many ways to do it. This one doesnt cost much in the way of chemicals or solvents.
When I clean after using corrosive ammo, boiling water with a touch of soap and wipe out letting the heat dry the metal then standard cleaning procedure with a bore cleaner and oil. Never any rust problems.

 

[RG7X]

Boiling water and Windex. Usually shines up nicely and gets the job done. I tried the boiling water by itself once but after a few days I noticed a bunch of crud caking up in the bore.

 

[Robbins290]

Mineral spirets worked good for me. Kinda messy. But a its safe for the finish on the wood

 

[diyj98]

Soaking them in kerosine will get rid of the all the old grease and gunk.

 

[Centurian22]

Looks like your question has been covered well. As for long distance Mosin shooting, check out the Facebook group "Long range Mosin shooting/hunting" lots of great info.

 

[dmurdach]

I use a heatgun and a lot of paper towels.