Some of you may or may not remember me poking around here over the last few months with a few sparse rifle questions (I'd imagine not, these are spacious forums and topics seem to come and go like wildfire), but to any that do, I finally stepped out and bought my first rifle; a Mosin-Nagant.
I was hoping more for a nice Gewehr 98 of WWI manufacture, but my budget was tight and I figured that for the same price I could buy three pristine Mosin-Nagants. I fished around the a gunshow trying to compare all the identical arsenal surplus models to find the most distinctive or appealing, and I eventually came across one I was happy with.
I paid 150$ (which is probably pricey in Nagant terms - this isn't a Finnish model or anything) and here are a few pictures of it. You'll have to excuse some photo quality, I was using an iPhone; I also have some questions and concerns afterwards.
I already gave most parts a thorough cleaning in mineral spirits, with exception of the receiver. I pretty much just wiped the receiver down until my finger stopped coming up greasy.
It was actually partially these beautiful Russian markings on the receiver that compelled me to buy it (I later identified it as Izhevsk), its pre-war manufacture date, and octagonal receiver. Everything points to it being a Dragoon variant, I believe it was, but it has all the additions of a 91/30 (globe sight, metric sight adjustment, etc) so I'm guessing it was re-arsenaled at some point during or after the war. It's a shame, but I don't mind really, since I always thought the globe sights were very distinctive and cool.
Another minor curiosity that I have is the magazine door. It jiggles a little bit, and is the only part of the rifle that makes noise when not being fired (obviously). Is there something I can tighten somewhere on the gun to get rid of that?
More importantly though, I took it to the range the other day and fired it for the first time. In fact, it's the first rifle of real calibre that I've ever fired, and was pretty startled by its kick. After massaging my shoulder thoroughly, I tried to operate the bolt and extract the round but it was stuck and I really had to heave my weight on it. I had read somewhere about "sticky bolt syndrome" and assumed that this must be what it is, though no one ever described what exactly it was, as in, when it's supposed to happen. I guess everyone assumes the name is self explanatory. Anyway, after comparing fired and unfired rounds, I just assumed that the cartridge was expanding in the receiver and making it difficult to open up.
But, a few days later I was handling it and trying to remove the bolt, and I accidentally pulled the trigger (no, it wasn't loaded). I cursed to myself and then went to open up the bolt, and was shocked to see that it had frozen stiff again! I manhandled it, then tried dry-firing again, and once again it was tough to open. Without firing, it was like butter. What could possibly cause this? I know I didn't chemically purge my gun of all cosmoline, but I wouldn't imagine that some microfilm would magically mess with my gun even when it's firing cold.
Now, relating to the stock. When at the range, I noticed my gun started to get pretty hot. I was new to that, since .22's and 9mm's never seemed to get the gun as hot as my Mosin was after only a handful of shots. But that's not the issue - I was grabbing hold of the stock to try and manhandle the bolt, and then it slid sideways - the cosmoline that was embedded in the wood was sort of "sweating" out.
I actually think it's kind of funny, but I don't want to have the gun slippery when I'm trying to handle it. How can I get rid of this stuff without damaging the wood or finish?
Later, when I was cleaning up my barrel post-range, I was using Hoppe's No.9. I was probably being a little careless, as I don't have a gun mount or anything very stable to hold it while cleaning. But I think that at one point when I grabbed the rifle and had a little Hoppe's on my hand, that it ate through the finish near the muzzle;
It's hard to see because my camera doesn't function well in low light. It's next to the barrel band, at the bottom, slight discoloration. There are a few pockmarks like it elsewhere. It might just have already been there and I just never really noticed it until giving it a nice, close, inspection, but I'm hoping to find some way to make it smooth like everywhere else.
Lastly, back on the subject of rifle kick, I think I was probably holding this thing wrong. I know it's supposed probably supposed to hurt your shoulder when firing, but just in case, can anyone point me to a thread or a video on proper shooting position and marksman tips and etc?
Sorry for the long read, everyone. Thanks for any help in advance!
I was hoping more for a nice Gewehr 98 of WWI manufacture, but my budget was tight and I figured that for the same price I could buy three pristine Mosin-Nagants. I fished around the a gunshow trying to compare all the identical arsenal surplus models to find the most distinctive or appealing, and I eventually came across one I was happy with.
I paid 150$ (which is probably pricey in Nagant terms - this isn't a Finnish model or anything) and here are a few pictures of it. You'll have to excuse some photo quality, I was using an iPhone; I also have some questions and concerns afterwards.
I already gave most parts a thorough cleaning in mineral spirits, with exception of the receiver. I pretty much just wiped the receiver down until my finger stopped coming up greasy.
It was actually partially these beautiful Russian markings on the receiver that compelled me to buy it (I later identified it as Izhevsk), its pre-war manufacture date, and octagonal receiver. Everything points to it being a Dragoon variant, I believe it was, but it has all the additions of a 91/30 (globe sight, metric sight adjustment, etc) so I'm guessing it was re-arsenaled at some point during or after the war. It's a shame, but I don't mind really, since I always thought the globe sights were very distinctive and cool.
Another minor curiosity that I have is the magazine door. It jiggles a little bit, and is the only part of the rifle that makes noise when not being fired (obviously). Is there something I can tighten somewhere on the gun to get rid of that?
More importantly though, I took it to the range the other day and fired it for the first time. In fact, it's the first rifle of real calibre that I've ever fired, and was pretty startled by its kick. After massaging my shoulder thoroughly, I tried to operate the bolt and extract the round but it was stuck and I really had to heave my weight on it. I had read somewhere about "sticky bolt syndrome" and assumed that this must be what it is, though no one ever described what exactly it was, as in, when it's supposed to happen. I guess everyone assumes the name is self explanatory. Anyway, after comparing fired and unfired rounds, I just assumed that the cartridge was expanding in the receiver and making it difficult to open up.
But, a few days later I was handling it and trying to remove the bolt, and I accidentally pulled the trigger (no, it wasn't loaded). I cursed to myself and then went to open up the bolt, and was shocked to see that it had frozen stiff again! I manhandled it, then tried dry-firing again, and once again it was tough to open. Without firing, it was like butter. What could possibly cause this? I know I didn't chemically purge my gun of all cosmoline, but I wouldn't imagine that some microfilm would magically mess with my gun even when it's firing cold.
Now, relating to the stock. When at the range, I noticed my gun started to get pretty hot. I was new to that, since .22's and 9mm's never seemed to get the gun as hot as my Mosin was after only a handful of shots. But that's not the issue - I was grabbing hold of the stock to try and manhandle the bolt, and then it slid sideways - the cosmoline that was embedded in the wood was sort of "sweating" out.
I actually think it's kind of funny, but I don't want to have the gun slippery when I'm trying to handle it. How can I get rid of this stuff without damaging the wood or finish?
Later, when I was cleaning up my barrel post-range, I was using Hoppe's No.9. I was probably being a little careless, as I don't have a gun mount or anything very stable to hold it while cleaning. But I think that at one point when I grabbed the rifle and had a little Hoppe's on my hand, that it ate through the finish near the muzzle;
It's hard to see because my camera doesn't function well in low light. It's next to the barrel band, at the bottom, slight discoloration. There are a few pockmarks like it elsewhere. It might just have already been there and I just never really noticed it until giving it a nice, close, inspection, but I'm hoping to find some way to make it smooth like everywhere else.
Lastly, back on the subject of rifle kick, I think I was probably holding this thing wrong. I know it's supposed probably supposed to hurt your shoulder when firing, but just in case, can anyone point me to a thread or a video on proper shooting position and marksman tips and etc?
Sorry for the long read, everyone. Thanks for any help in advance!
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