Mosin m38 chambering issue

[Turftech1]

Hi all,

I have 2 Mosins, an m44 (one of my all-time favorite guns to shoot), and a 91/30, which had sticky bolt syndrome, but after polishing the bolt surfaces and the ejector now runs like a DREAM.

So, my awesome and amazing neighbor, who has helped my family tons was looking to get a cheap bolt action, and (based on my recommendation) bought a pretty beat up m38. I offered to clean it up for him, as it was still packed in cosmoline.

I cleaned it really good, polished the bolt, and everything. It is still nearly impossible to chamber. I noticed that the empty shells I was chambering would come out scratched up near the rim, and found a decent burr in the chamber. I sanded the burr out, but it is still crazy hard to chamber and eject shells. I am sure it is the chamber, as I can run shells through my m44 or 91/30 all day with the m38 bolt assembly.

Anyone else had an issue like this?

I would really like to help this neighbor out if possible.

I tried running a 12 ga brush with polishing compound through the chamber based on a IV8888 vid, but still not chambering.

 

[rcmodel]

Take a chamber size bronze bore brush, and wrap it with 0000 Super-Fine steel wool.

Then using bore solvent, chuck the rod in a drill and work it in and out of the chamber running for a while.

That will take out stuff you didn't know was in there!!

Rc

 

[Turftech1]

Take a chamber size bronze bore brush, and wrap it with 0000 Super-Fine steel wool.

Then using bore solvent, chuck the rod in a drill and work it in and out of the chamber running for a while.

That will take out stuff you didn't know was in there!!

Rc

This is a great idea. Thanks! I will totally try this.

 

[joem1945]

It the chamber is still rough, wrap a patch around the brush and apply a bit of 600 grit polishing compound to it and turn it in a drill.

 

[carbine85]

Check the extractor. Compare it to the other ones or better yet try another one. If it's that hard to open the bolt it's probably in the bolt.
What does the fired brass look like?

 

[Turftech1]

Check the extractor. Compare it to the other ones or better yet try another one. If it's that hard to open the bolt it's probably in the bolt.
What does the fired brass look like?

I fixed this exact issue on a 91/30. It is definitely not the bolt or extractor. If I take this bolt, and run it in my m44 or 91/30, it runs smooth as butter. I also can't run this rifle with any of the 3 mosin bolts I have.

Good guess though. This feels kinda like when I had a bad extractor, but if I swap bolts, it isn't any better.

 

[boom boom]

If polishing the chamber won't work, the rifle chamber may be a bit short compared with your other rifles--thus the current bolt length including the bolt head is at max lengthwise while the 38's chamber is at a minimum--tolerance stacking could introduce this problem.

In that case, you are crush fitting the brass into the chamber which can also make it sticky upon extraction. A chamber cast using cerrosafe might be a good idea to determine exactly what is going on after you scrub the chamber.

 

[entropy]

The areas where the bolt head lock in will fill with preservative when stored, and is usually not fully removed when initially cleaned. Check this area for gunk buildup and clean it out. And polish that chamber as previously mentioned.