mosin bolt sticking

[Milo]

just bought a russian mosin nagant m38.  Took it to the range today and was very impressed with the accuracy.  The only problem I had was when I went to eject the fifth round the bolt would stick.  I was using the wolf brand ammo.  It was worse when I used Olympic brand ammo from greece.  After a while it would stick to where I would have to hit the bolt up just to get it to budge.  Anybody know what could be causing this?   The gun is in excellent shape all the numbers  match up.  Thanks Eric.

[MGMorden]

Maybe some cosmo left in the action.  Some ammo will cause this too though.  In my Savage 110, if I shot Barnaul ammo (similar to Wolf) the bolt would barely open after firing (which is why I've got nearly 100 rounds of that stuff sitting on a shelf).  Other ammo works flawlessly in that gun (and I used to have an 03A3 that would work fine with the Barnaul), but just the two together don't work well.  My advice would be to try some domestic manufacture (or some of the better foreign guys like Sellier and Bellot, which I'd actually choose over ANY of the bargain level US ammo) ammo and see if they exhibit the same problem (if simply cleaning the action doesn't solve it).

[Robert357]

I have heard that some of the lacquer coated ammo can loose some of the coating within your chamber and that the build-up can lead to hard closing of the bolt.  You might try taking a shotgun brush and mop and working on cleaning the chamber/throat of your MN.  

If you are using the heavier bullet (180 to 200 grain bullets) ammo, the MN's are notorious for shooting way high.  Usually folks recommend raising the front site by either substituting a finishing nail (cut to the right length) for the front sight pin or use something (like a roll pin cut to the right length) that slips over the front sight and allows you to raise the front sight.

The are fun rifles and a great price now.  While not tack drivers, they are more than hunting accurate.  Some people have gotten spectacular accuracy out of surplus MN's.   I hand load most of my MN 1891/30 7.62x54R ammo.  When I do buy Wolf ammo, I get the copper washed stuff.  I had no problems with Olympic ammo, although it seems like a waste of good brass in not being able to reload it, because of those Berdant primers.  

If you ever buy the really cheap mil-surp ammo, make sure you have some windex or something to clean your bore and chamber before you put the rifle away for the night.  I have had to remove quickly developed rust from an SKS that one of my sons shot with surplus ammo, but didn't get around to cleaning right away.  The potential for a quick layer of rust is another good reason to use a brush and mop on your chamber.

[Milo]

thanks for the replys guys, much appreciated.  Eric

[1911crazy]

I had cases sticking in my M39 once and i went home and cleaned the chamber really good then put a light coat of oil in it wiped some out leaving a very light film in the chamber and took it back to the range and I had no problems with it after.                           BigBill

I have shot the russian baranul 7.62x54 soft point hunting ammo out of my svt-40 Tokarev with no problems at all.

[RB Rooson]

If you have a Mosin-Nagant that has all of numbers matching - YOU ARE EXTREMELY LUCKY!  Read the www.russian-mosin-nagant.com site and there is a wealth of information to be learned about these rifles.

During the war, the russian soldiers would clean their rifles by pulling the bolt and dropping them into tub filled with gasoline and oil.  In putting the rifle back together, they would take a bolt out of the gas/oil tub (didn't matter if it was their bolt, as one fits all.....) and reassemble.  The chances of getting the matching bolt was almost impossible.......now multiply this by any number of battles!

The "sticking bolt"?  As stated by other knowledgeable posters - it could be cosmoline (good cleaning again); ammunition (I found Albanian to be very poor, but Czech to be very good); cleaning the rifle after each and every use (I'm almost religious about it.....); or whatever!!!

There is Czech practice ammo that is accurate up to about 200 yards and excellent for target shooting.  It has a 46 gr. bullet (I think...) and very little recoil.  The price is around $80.00 for a case of 912 rounds (why 912 rounds?  I don't know.....would be interested if anyone has a theory or explanation on that).  I find that these shells almost never stick or have any problems.  Just my two-cents on that......

I have found that no matter what, nothing "slicks up an action better" than a couple of thousand rounds through the gun.  And some of these puppies have been sitting around for fifty/sixty years.......

[His lordship.]

I have 2 MN's, a 1942 91/30 rebuild, and a like-new late prod. Model 44.  The ammo that has been good about extraction from both rifles have been the Hungarian light ball lacquered steel case, the Albanian brass, Bulgarian brass, the Wolf copper covered steel case, and the Czech steel cased target ammo (the light weirdly shaped bullet type with low recoil).

The ammo I have had trouble with in extraction has been the Czech steel cased lacquered light ball, this ammo, while accurate, has been the number one complaint in the other chat rooms on Mosin Nagants too.  On my 1942 model I have to frequently pound on the bolt to get it to pull out of the chamber and come out, on my Model 44, less pounding, but it still fights me.  I have put 4 boxes from different ammo sellers of this stuff through my guns, so I doubt it is a lot problem.

Too bad about the Hungarian light ball becoming scarce, I bought quite a bit of it at the last 2 gun shows, and now it seems to be drying up as I have not seen any since.  I am leaning toward the Wolf copper covered light ball ammo as it is non-corrosive, cheap if bought in bulk and was very accurate in my 91/30. :-)