Tight bolt action

[JeffC]

Hello all, got a rifle question......

I bought a WWII Nagant and was wondering about the tightness of the bolt. It runs freely fore and aft but when locking the bolt closed it seems a little stiff to me. Unfortunately this is my first bolt action rifle so I'm not too familiar, would lapping be a bad idea?

 

[Jim K]

Make sure the bolt and receiver are cleaned and moderately lubricated with a good gun oil or light grease. Lapping would probably not help.

Even then, the M-N action is hard to operate (Russians were MEN!). The bolt design, plus the short bolt handle just don't lend themselves to rapid fire or ease of manipulation. If you get a chance, compare yours with other M-N rifles and with Mausers and Enfields.

Unless there is something wrong with that particular gun, that is the way it is, and all I can say that it gets to be less of a problem with practice.

Jim

 

[JeffC]

Hey thanks for the reply Jim..... How ya been?

I'll suck it up then and deal with it

It's probably just awkward since I'm a left handed American ,guess that makes me doubly challenged .

 

[Jim K]

I don't know how the Russians dealt with a lefty who couldn't work the M-N bolt; maybe they gave him a Nagant revolver. Or just told him to go out there and pick up a Mauser.

Jim

 

[1911Tuner]

Ruskie Rifle

Howdy Jeff,

Just a thought. Take the bolt out and look at the back of the lugs for signs of galling. I ran into that on an '03 Springfield once...

Luck!

Tuner

 

[Clemson]

Since this is your first bolt gun, you may not know that a MN cocks when you close the bolt. Try it a few times with the action already cocked, then dry fire it and see how much more effort it takes to close the bolt when you are cocking the action. For cock-on-opening actions like the Model 98 Mauser, Remington 700, Winchester model 70, etc., the stiffer part is in lifting the handle after firing. Once cocked, they are all easier.

Clemson

 

[JeffC]

Nagant Revolver.........those poor saps

I didn't notice any galling, but then again I didn't look too hard either.

I guess the cocking stage is what's giving me the hard spot, just have to get used to it.

Thanks for the replies all...

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Clemson,

You wrote "Since this is your first bolt gun, you may not know that a MN cocks when you close the bolt."

I have been fooling around with M-N's for around 50 years or so and that is news to me. The M-N is a cock-on-opening action.

The main problem in M-N bolt manipulation is the short bolt handle that doesn't give as much cocking leverage as the Mausers or most other bolt actions.

Jim

 

[Clemson]

Mea culpa, Jim. I was fooling with an Arisaka as I typed, and I had a brain malfunction.

The older I get, the more frequent that becomes........

Clemson

 

[Jim K]

You too? I thought I was the only one.

Jim

 

[JeffC]

I think I've got it down pat now, biggest problem is unlocking the bolt after firing, recocking the striker is what's making it hard. The more I shoot it the more accustomed I'm getting. Second hang up is from using the Czech surplus ammo, when loading a round I get some extra resistance when locking the bolt. This doesn't happen with the Wolf ammo so I won't let it bug me anymore. Must be the thick laquer coating on the Czech ammo.