Just got a Mosin!!

[LkWinnipesaukee]

My parents gave me a Mosin for my birthday on the 8th. It's nothing special (1943 M91/30 Izhevsk round receiver, a couple parts force-matched) but it's in great condition and the model is fun to shoot.

I did have some questions. There is some cosmo left in the gun, and the barrel needs cleaning. How would I go about cleaning it? Just like a normal gun? I've heard abous using hot water/ammonia?

Also, about 70% of the time, it won't chamber. I don't know if it is dirty or full of cosmoline, but sometimes the bolt will close, sometimes it won't. I hope it isn't a headspace issue. Can anyone provide some insight? I haven't gotten around to cleaning it yet.


My father also wants to know where online he can purchase some surplus ammo for it (he has an 03 FFL).


Thanks!!!

 

[Hoppy590]

many ammo dealers wont sell to ANYONE in MA. FFL or not.
thankk the AG for claiming his powers extend beyoned the state

use a 12 or 20 guage shotgun brush to clean the chamber. the hot water/ ammonia is to remove corrsive salts from surplus ammo. use it right after shooting.

clean out the chamber, then check to see if its chambering rounds. though headspaceing is always the quickest, best, and safest option

 

[Regolith]

Clean it out real well. The failure to chamber is probably due to a dirty chamber. After cleaning, if it still won't chamber, take it to a gun smith.


Water and ammonia is used to clean out the salts that get deposited when using corrosive military surplus. From what I understand, you really only need water for it (preferably piping hot). Anyway, it helps wash away the corrosive salt deposits left by the ammo. I don't know much about Mosins, or what type of ammo is available for them, so I would say if you suspect that your ammo is corrosive, you should probably use that method in addition to your regular cleaning.

 

[LkWinnipesaukee]

Don't get me started on MA gun politics. I already hate this Marxist "state" enough. We haven't been able to find any dealers that will ship to ma (even though it IS legal to), so we will most likely order some ammo through our local dealer.

I plan on just shooting the corrosive stuff, because it is so cheap.

 

[foghornl]

The hot water/ammonia combo is for removing the leftover corrosive "salts" from the old corrosive primers.

If you think there is still come cosmoline in the works, mineral spirits is your friend.

When I bought my M-44 a few years back, I used about 3 quarts of mineral spirits to get all the cosmo out. I put some in a small pan, placed the muzzle in the pan, then used a tight patch/brush to draw the min-spir into the barrel, then vigorously scrubbed the bore. Took a whole weekend. The barrel first looked like it had no lands/grooves because there was so much goo in the works. Use a 20-Ga shotgun brush on the chamber to get the goo out of there.

Another thing to look at....check the base of the ammo that doesn't chamber. I had a few rounds of Albanian surplus (arsenal code of 3, date code 88) that wouldn't let me close the bolt. "Upon further review", I found that the base was flat, rather than slightly beveled or curved.

 

[Hoppy590]

We haven't been able to find any dealers that will ship to ma (even though it IS legal to),

in 4 years of Criminal Justice. i hold this to be above all else
What the spirit of the law is.
What the Law is.
What they charge you with
and What they convict you on
are all very seperate concepts and in no way relate.

the reason no one will ship to MA is because the MA Attorney General has sued out of state dealers, claiming that you need a ammo license to sell ammo to MA residents. and that despite the fact that these are OBVIOUSLY out of state and OBVIOUSLY beyond the pissants jurisdiction. most companys take a "too bad" attitude towards MA.

If you control the beans and bullets, you already won the war.

 

[ball3006]

You need to clean your bore and chamber.....

If you have been shooting it and not cleaned the bore, the nice shiney bore the rifle had when you got it is most likely frosted now. You might be lucky. If you are shooting the Mosin ammo that has the green steel case, it will stick in the chamber. Look for the copper clad ammo or brass cased ammo. The Russians built these rifles like tanks so paying the excessive fees most gunsmiths charge, you could buy another rifle....With all the Mosin Nagant rifles I have had/have, I have never come across a headspace problem or any other problems that a good cleaning did not solve......chris3