Mosin Nagant Questions?

[308sc]

Hi,

I recently started a thread about which place I should order a Mosin Nagant from online. One of the suggestions was JG Sales and ordering a "Ex Sniper" Mosin Nagant. Well I did, but I want to know the answers to 2 questions.

1. Should I check the headspace? (I know the answer is probably going to be yes, but how many of you have had a problem with headspace on a Mosin Nagant anyway)

2. What is the best way to clean the cosmoline of a Mosin Nagant?

I've read that leaving them out in the heat does a good job of melting most of it off.

Help me out on these questions!

Thanks,

Ryan


PS: I'll post pictures of the Mosin, and tell you how it performs if you guys are interested!

 

[308sc]

ok...wow you guys really went nuts on this thread :banghead:

 

[grimjaw]

You didn't get many replies because these questions have been asked and answered on this and other forums many times.

Headspace on any surplus weapon should be checked.

There are probably more HOWTO clean cosmoline threads than there are Mosin Nagants. A search will find several.

jm

 

[308sc]

ok sorry.....your right delete this thread if you wish MODS

 

[CHAINGUNMASSACRE]

Well, the first thing I would do is to use the dreaded GUN SCRUBBER on everything. Except the wood. Go over it all with hoppes #9, let it sit for 10 min. Then use a good gun oil, I prefer Birchwood Casey synthetic or CLP for my milsurp stuff. Oil the hell out of it, including the bore. Brush the bore first, with the #9 solvent. The next day, oil it all again. Youll be amazed at the amout of oil the metal will "absorb" overnight. After that, you should be good to go. Fire away. I have many Mosin Nagants, and have NEVER had a headspacing issue. Although I know it can happen, there is an active thread right now that appears to be a malfunction caused by improper headspacing. Look at your first few fired cases closely, wear safety glasses, all that stuff, until you KNOW it's a safe shooter. All mine have been. And I have every make, from every aresenal. Except Sako. None of those yet. My Isky M38 won't stabilize 203 grain bullets, starts keyholing them at 100 yards. But that has nothing to do with safety or headspacing.

 

[308sc]

thank you

 

[Old Time Hunter]

First, congrats on your purchase.

Second, the Mosin is such a simplistic rifle it is easy to disassemble (check surplusrifles.com), tear it down immediately after receiving your new to you Russian historical item. Get all the iron off the wood...very easy to do with every day tools. The bayonette is even a screwdriver!

Third, wash off all metal with brake cleaner after washing out the bore with Windex. This will get 99% of the cosmo off the metal so spray all the metal with Remoil or equivalent after it dries.

Fourth, wash the wood down with hot water and Murphy's oil soap a couple of times, then dry off. If you want to get the shellac off, now is the time, I use stripX biodegradeable gel stripper, brush on..wipe off until it is all gone. Wipe down with MS (mineral spirits) to remove all residue then let dry. The next day or so, rub in a couple/three coats of BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) and after drying (another day) give 'er a coat of carnuba/bees wax. That is what I do and the came out like this:



The Mosin's head space is less than a consideration than most realize since the 7.62 X 54R is a rimmed cartridge, they head space off the rim. Gun has to be pretty mutilated (especially the bolt face) to have headspace problems. But my cheap way to check is to put a piece of paper between the back of a cartridge and the bolt face, if the bolt will not close easily, you are probably safe (paper is about .007"). If it closes easily, fold the paper in two and try again, if it still closes...definitely get it checked by a gunsmith. By the way, this is a suggestion and you will have to take any and all responsibility for liability...that's MY disclaimer.

 

[308sc]

thanks once again certainly will do,

shellac is the coating on the stock right?

 

[mgregg85]

mineral spirits also works well to get the cosmoline out, just make sure you get the metal off the wood first.

 

[GD]

I use heat to get the initial cosmoline out of the wood. I then follow up with a good scrubbing with TSP in hot water. After the wood dries, it will appear to be dry (you got all the cosmoline out near the surface). Then I usually use BLO to get the wood back to a nice finish. On hard to access places on the rifle, I use spray carburetor cleaner. A light coat of oil over the metal wil finish the project.

 

[Archer Bite]

I have 6 MN's all 91/30, all pass the Go-Gauge, 3 fail the No-Go Gauge (so far:banghead:.

 

[Starship1st]

Hey guys, thanks for the cleaning tips. I got mine on Wednesday and realized that I need to do a deep cleaning. I will disasemble and clean every thing. Should I buy a depth gauge for the firing pin before shooting as the final step after the cleaning?

 

[Okami]

Nice looking rifles and great tips Old Time Hunter! *Thumbs Up!*

 

[RaferJanders]

Take the rifle apart, get some tide and get the shower with it and scrub!

 

[Almond27]

I used non chlorinated brake cleaner from walmart and it makes the cosmo come off quickly. I would recommend some safety glasses though I learned the hard way.