Mogin-Nasant 91/30

[scshootingfan]

I recently purchased a Mosin-Nagant still in the cosmoline and disassembled, cleaned, oiled and reassembled. I triple-checked the firing pin height to make sure it is set within the tolerance.

I haven't had the chance to fire it yet but I have testing it with snap caps for feed, firing pin alignment, ejection, etc. I am having trouble closing the bolt when chambering a round. The action is very smooth with no round, and if I partially open the bolt with the snap cap in place and then close again the bolt functions smoothly and easily. I disassembled and reassembled the bolt again to make sure all is correct but there was no change.

Have I missed something or is this just a characteristic of the rifle?

feel free to answer with suggestions or advice here or directly to my e-mail, [email protected].

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[cooldude14]

Its most likely a stiff extractor, they are pretty stiff on mosins.

 

[Ron James]

Have I missed something, isn't the 91/30 a rifle and not a handgun

 

[Giterboosted]

^ that

 

[Texan Scott]

SC, what they're hinting at is that you've inadvertantly posted your question in the Handguns section. You'll find a lot of knowledgable MoNag users on THR, but if they're not browsing outside the Rifles sections, they may not see your post.

 

[scshootingfan]

Mosin

Thanks Texan. I didn't realize my mistake. I'll head on over to the proper area.

 

[harmon rabb]

are you comparing it to a nice new weatherby or something? it's a MN. pretty much nothing about it's operation will be smooth. slam that bolt forward, slap it shut. manhandle the action and you'll have no problems.

 

[Dr.Rob]

moved...

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

Yeah, there really isn't much "finesse" to Mosin Rifle. In some cases, shooters literally have to beat the snot out of their bolt handle (doing more damage to themselves, really) just to get it to cycle. There could be some cosmo in the chamber and the bolt recesses. Do a search, there's lots of info on this forum that can help you. If you still have any questions, don't be afraid to ask, I'll answer any questions the best I can, as I'm sure these guys will, too.

 

[TxBobS]

Might need to scrub out the chamber. 20ga shotgun brush will do the trick.

 

[LoonWulf]

I had an issue with mine being almost impossible to close on a chambered round, oddly enough if i put the round all the way in the chamber and closed the bolt it worked fine. Ended up being a sharp edge on the rim of the bolt face, smoothed that out with a dremmel and its pretty slick now. You can also shim up the extractor if its too tight, just be carefull that you dont move it so far that it fails to properly extract. Cleaning the chamber well is also worth a try.

 

[16in50calNavalRifle]

Just a guess here - you said you "cleaned" it up after disassembly, but as others have noted, there still may be some fouling in the chamber area.

Just to be sure - and because it ensures a thorough cleaning for the long run - I'd suggest a more intensive cleaning. What I do is to take the disassembled receiver/barrel (remove the trigger pin as it will fall out otherwise) and stand it (chamber side down) in a barrel/large can of boiled water. Let it heat up for 15 minutes or so, then stand it in a container of mineral spirits (enough to submerge the chamber area). Or use some other method of heating it up.

Meanwhile every other metal part - including the bolt pieces - should be allowed to soak in mineral spirits at least overnight.

Then rub/wipe everything down with clean cloth, run a 20 guage bore brush dipped in mineral spirits around in the chamber using a hand drill, then clean/dry out the bore and chamber area completely (q-tips, patches, etc.). Reassemble and lightly oil the bolt (lightly oil the barrel/receiver for cosmetic purposes), and give it a try.

I'd also follow LoonWolf's suggestion and carefully examine the bolt head for any oddities, as well as the recesses and surfaces around the chamber (more difficult, need a good flexible bore light and magnifying headset).

 

[caribou]

These guys have it right, you have cosmo in the chamber.

Cosmoline can dry and coat the surface of your chamber and look like bright steel. use a solvent, or a carberator cleaner and give the chamber a blast or two, scrub with a chamber brush (sometimes I chuck a rod and 20 gauge brush into my drill and give it twirl)
The cosmoline is to protect the steel, and the chamber being the most crucial part of the barrel, it was slovenly applied. It drys hard and theres most likely the problem after 60 years in storage in a dry environment.
After removeing the cosmo, you will need to keep the metal surfaces rust free with cleaning and a light oiling and a wipe. The bore can always use a light oiling after a good scrub. The wood can be stripped of varnish with denatured alcohol and linseed oil applied, the Russian way, or you can let it wear off and keep oiling it with Linseed oil, also the Russian way ~~LOL!!~~

Anytime theres crap, either dryed or pounded by sucessive shots, the Mosin will let you know by makeing the bolt hard to use. The shell will be stuck rather hard and dragging the extractor along the rim is the "sticky" part. Repeated shooting and bolt pounding will mess up your bolt, quickly.

Steel cased ammo dosent expand and seal a chamber as well as Brass cases, so soot will build up when useing laquerd steel cases, and on a hot chamber , laquer is often left, and this too will give you "sticky bolt". Always clean your chamber........

The reason they gave a fireing pin tool to the common soldier was so he could keep the bolt steel bright and polished, especcialy where the cocking piece cams against the bolt body. Crud or rust there can make things hard to open too, and dissassemblingthe striker freom the pin is nessessary, but most guys knew where the pin would need to be and just did a visual, as they knew their rifle well, and if they didnt, the pin gauge would do the trick.


If your rifle was stuffed with cosmo, it was "referrbed", which means it was sent to an armory and brought into spec, with replaced parts and an accuracy/fireing check was done, than cleaned and storage stuff applied. Alot are total rebuilds and some were so good, they just have Shellac applied to preserve the wood and cosmo on the bore and other metals, then paper wrapped and placed into storage cases. Its been through the armorers hands at least twice, once while being built, again before storage and the wait for WWIII.

Get the cosmo out, clean the rifle after each shooting session like any soldier would and that rifle will last a lifetime.