Question for Mosin owners...

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gbeecher

gbeecher

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I have a Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 made in 1933 at Tula with a hex receiver. It's arsenal refinished and I purchased it from J&G sales online in April 2010. I've shot some 210 rounds of both lacquer coated steel case and zinc plated steel case ammo thru without a single failure. I had it inspected by a gunsmith at my local gun shop/range after I bought it and before I shot it. My question is (finally!) - how common is the 'sticky bolt syndrome' and 'rim-lock'? I've loaded mine both by hand and with stripper clip,though I prefer using the stripper clips. Your thoughts anyone?...:)
 
I know my Russians too! ;)

Sticky-bolt is relatively common, seeing as there are lots of Mosin owners that don't scrub the chamber as well as they should when they initially clean their rifles. However, it's also very easily fixed by performing said scrubbing with an appropriately sized brush and solvent, usually via electric drill.

Rimlock should NOT be a problem in a properly functioning Mosin. The Mosin has an interruptor-ejector that completely eliminates the possibility of rimlock when it's working as designed. If you have rimlock problems, remove the barreled action from the stock and make sure there's no cosmoline making the interruptor-ejector stick or malfunction.
 
Yeah, sticky bolt syndrome (SBS) is a very common problem. I had one Polish Mosin that I thought I had thoroughly cleaned, but pretty much needed a mallet to force the bolt open.

Symptoms:
Chamber and/or bolt is not completely cleaned of cosmoline residue, which can cause stickiness in chambering a fresh round and/or opening the bolt to extract a fired round.

Treatments:

For the bolt: Remove the bolt. Make sure the weapon is empty, pull the trigger and hold it back and open the bolt, pull it backward and remove it. Take the bolt apart OR just soak it in mineral spirits (for a day or two if needed). Rinse it in the spirits until the brown cosmo-crud stops coming out. Take the bolt apart if you know how, and soak the individual parts.

For the chamber: Some recommend the drill and brush technique mentioned above. Personally, I forgo the drill and use a lot of elbow grease, patience, and some old .30 cal or 20 guage chamber brushes to scrub, scrub, scrub the crud away.

It's just one of those things you have to deal with when dealing with milsurps that have been drenched in cosmoline for 50-60 years.
 
i completely disassembled my bolt, cleaned it in dish soap and water.. dish soap really cuts through the grease thats in there.. afterwards, dry it and re-oil it

also, you could probably put a little dish soap in water and boil it out.. that would get into every nook and cranny.. but the goal is to get that grease out of the internal mechanisms of the bolt
 
Could someone describe 'rimlock'? I'm wondering if that's what I'm experiencing when I can't get a round to chamber from the magazine seemingly caused by the rim of the top round catching behind the rim of the next round down. Aside from making sure the interupter / ejector is clean what else can / should be inspected for a solution?

For sticky bolt check out this video and other Mosin Nagant vids by Iraqverteran8888.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLL20Oh4P8M&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
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I personally never had a problem with either. I've even managed to stovepipe my '29 hex once. I've got witnesses!

Like others have said, 20ga brush on a drill works wonders for chamber cosmo.

Edit: @Centurian22, yep, thats rimlock. Clean out like you said, and if that fails, look to see if it is broken in anyway. Heck, it is a mosin, you could always ride it harder.
 
Sticky Bolt is your Mosin saying "CLEAN MY CHAMBER BETTER!!!" Thats the way it is. Slobs get "sticky bolt" all the time. Sometimes a Mosin that has been neglected may get sold off with a bum chamber full of pits.

Rim-lock is when your "Interrupter" is broken and not holding the next shell for the chamber under tension above the rounds in the magazine, where the rim will not touch, nor bind on the rim below. If your experiencing jams due to the rims of the loaded magazine binding, check your interrupter for a bad spring, binding or filth that blocks it from rocking
Sergi Mosin made a cool little idea work quite well and 'rim-lock' is a nonissue with a Mosin, unless its broken or blocked with gunk, which is very rare.

Cosmoline in the works and chamber of a newly sold 'Referrb" might give you sticky bolt in the chamber and rim-lock from binding on the interrupter, so a thorough cleaning is necessary when you get it home and before firing.
 
I had sticky bolt syndrome when I first shot my Mosin. After 4 shots I could barely get the bolt unstuck to eject the spent shell. I hadn't cleaned the chamber area well enough as mentioned above. After a few shots, the chamber got warm and all that built up stuff in the chamber got sticky. Did a much more thorough cleaning, and not I can shoot shot after shot with no problems.
 
BemidjiDweller said:
I personally never had a problem with either. I've even managed to stovepipe my '29 hex once. I've got witnesses!

Like others have said, 20ga brush on a drill works wonders for chamber cosmo.

Edit: @Centurian22, yep, thats rimlock. Clean out like you said, and if that fails, look to see if it is broken in anyway. Heck, it is a mosin, you could always ride it harder.
Click to expand...
When you said 'ride it harder', it reminds me of how tough these rifles really are. I don't baby mine when I'm working the action, not like I did when I first shot it. The Mosins greatest strength is its rugged reliability and simplicity. To me it's a typical piece of Russian hardware - simple, tough and dependable.
 
Rim lock is a myth. If you experience rim lock, you're not doing something right.

Sticky bolts can be cured by boiling your entire disassembled bolt for 15 mins. Dry off and oil.
 
I did the bore brush thing and got most of it and foaming bore cleaner got the rest. Did a little polishing on the bolt too. Like I've heard before "keep a 2x4 handy for when the bolt needs a nudge".
 
Rimlock is NOT a myth. It can and does happen if the interrupter isn't operating.

Out of my two '91's and one M44 only one currently holds the lower cartridges down correctly. I need to check the grooves for crud or otherwise tweak the other two to get the interrupters working. I only tested and realized what was going on recently. And there doesn't seem to be any resources out there with information on what the specs should be or how to set the interrupters if they need a tweak.
 
Rim lock is a myth. If you experience rim lock, you're not doing something right.
Click to expand...

Rim lock is NOT a myth. I've owned upwards of 100 Mosins at this point and it does crop up depending on the ammo you're using and the interrupter/ejector assembly. If the interrupter is installed and functioning as it should, it keeps rounds 2-5 from pushing against round 1 as round 1 is being stripped off and loaded. The problem is if the rim of round 2 is sticking up with spring pressure behind it, and the rim of round 1 is loaded behind round 2's rim, when you push the round just hangs up and won't go further.

The fixes are pretty simple usually and just require a new int/ejector.

SBS is usually just dried cosmoline but can also be an indicator of an out-of-round chamber, bad headspace or some more serious problem. Also I'm pretty sure most cases of SBS are really cases of weak arms or shooters trying to work the bolt with their fingers. You are supposed to pound that bolt back with your palm and smash it back down. It's not to be treated gently or worked with fingertips. When you get good at it you can cycle with surprising speed--and it's a lot of fun.
 
Cosmoline said:
Rim lock is NOT a myth. I've owned upwards of 100 Mosins at this point and it does crop up depending on the ammo you're using and the interrupter/ejector assembly. If the interrupter is installed and functioning as it should, it keeps rounds 2-5 from pushing against round 1 as round 1 is being stripped off and loaded. The problem is if the rim of round 2 is sticking up with spring pressure behind it, and the rim of round 1 is loaded behind round 2's rim, when you push the round just hangs up and won't go further.

The fixes are pretty simple usually and just require a new int/ejector.

SBS is usually just dried cosmoline but can also be an indicator of an out-of-round chamber, bad headspace or some more serious problem. Also I'm pretty sure most cases of SBS are really cases of weak arms or shooters trying to work the bolt with their fingers. You are supposed to pound that bolt back with your palm and smash it back down. It's not to be treated gently or worked with fingertips. When you get good at it you can cycle with surprising speed--and it's a lot of fun.
Click to expand...
I think that in some cases, sticky bolt syndrome and rim-lock can be due to what you mentioned about delicate operation of the bolt action mechanism. The first time I shot my Mosin (actually the very first round), I stopped and asked the range officer for assistance! He was very polite and basically showed me how to use a little more muscle to operate the action. I discovered the same thing when first using stripper clips. You need to manhandle these Mosins, but they are great rifles!
 
gbeecher said:
I have a Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 made in 1933 at Tula with a hex receiver. It's arsenal refinished and I purchased it from J&G sales online in April 2010. I've shot some 210 rounds of both lacquer coated steel case and zinc plated steel case ammo thru without a single failure. I had it inspected by a gunsmith at my local gun shop/range after I bought it and before I shot it. My question is (finally!) - how common is the 'sticky bolt syndrome' and 'rim-lock'? I've loaded mine both by hand and with stripper clip,though I prefer using the stripper clips. Your thoughts anyone?...:)
Click to expand...
If you were going to have a problem, you would have had it alreaedy. Most "sticky bolt" issues are caused by not getting the chamber free of dried cosmoline.
 
If your Mosin isn't BROKEN, rimlock is a myth.
Click to expand...

It may not even be a matter of being "broken." The interrupter can wear down over time, or it can be calibrated for a different style of cartridge with a different design of rim. Over 120 years there have been a lot of different shapes and materials used to make 54R. I usually charge with a sort of "wing" shape to the shells to make sure they are placed in with properly sequenced rims.

From the video description:

I have owned five of these guns and not one of them have this issue.
Click to expand...

Oh, FIVE? LOL I've shot so much 54R from so many Mosins I've lost even rough count long ago. Trust me it DOES come up. It's not a myth. I would not call it a design flaw, but it is a potential weak spot in the system that arises because of the archaic shape of the round. Usually when it happens, jiggling the bolt frees the lock and you can make note of it for correction. I keep a supply of int/ejectors on hand and swap them in there as needed. You'll notice if you have a stack of these that the interrupter part sticks down to various depths, so you almost have to "headspace" it to your particular Mosin. And if you swap out magazine/trigger guards you may find you need to alter the int/ejector again. The next time this does come up I'm going to make a little video of my own showing exactly what's going on.
 
My m44 doesn't do this but i also did a very thorough cleaning and decosmolining job on my rifle. A day in the trunk of my old car in the Las Vegas summer got most of the goo to drip out. The rest was solved with a brass wheel in a drill making sure the chamber was spotless.

I love my ****ty old Russian rifle.:)
 
Where can you find / buy spare interrupters/ejectors? And roughly how much? I know there will be variations in price.
 
Another cause of sticky bolt can be if the extractor claw is too close to the bolt-face, making it difficult to chamber or extract a round- as the extractor pressure binds against the case.
 
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