Mosin nagant sticky bolt cure

[BUSHPILOT]

These weapons are OVER built and tough to break or wear out.

The most common complaint is the "sticky" or hard bolt resulting in the "Mosin Slap" to close the bolt on a fresh round.

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. Rinse it in the spirits until the brown crud stops coming out

If you know how to take the bolt apart, soak the parts and brush the brown crud off.

Get a 20guage wire cleaning brush and a rod.

Fix the rod in an drill motor and afix the brush to it.

Run some mineral spirits into the chamber and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This will melt the brown crud inside the chamber.

Then, dip the brush in spirits and run it into the chamber back and forth. Wash it out with spirits until the brown crud is gone.

That will take care of 99% of the sticky bolt problem BUT there is another trick which will help.

If you have the bolt apart, remove the main spring and cut off ONE coil....

this will improve the action BUT DO NOT CUT MORE THAN THAT unless you have a replacement coil spring since cutting too much will make for a light impact on the primer.

Mosins are tough weapons and will likely outlast us all.

[FarmerJohn]

I have found that the stiky bolt issue comes from improper removal of cosmoline and gets baked in there sorta also getting a bent bolt will also aid you as it gives you lil extra leverage

[WSierra]

I agree, baked on cosmoline in the bolt and chamber is common.
Clean, clean, clean.

[blue123]

polishing the bearing surfaces on the bolt and then the chamber also, slickend mine rite up,no more stuck cases or hard bolt throws.
it is my favorite boltgun.
mosin nagant 002.jpg

[High Kapacity]

you guys just need to man up and use ur mooosles

[Gronk]

That spring is for the firing pin. It rides inside the bolt, gots nuttin' to do with sticky bolt.

[AKpredator]

Clean all the cosmo off of it.

Then apply some toothpaste to the mating surfaces. Get yourself a tall beverage, sit down in front of the 65" plasma, watch your favorite show and work that bolt all night.

Clean it up, wipe it down, re-oil it and it should be good to go.

[Caribou]

Yep, cleaning the chamber every time prevents sticky bolt.

After my Cosmo is removed with a solvent and 20 gauge brush, I do routine maintanence with boiling water and dawn soap. Sometimes just the boiling water down the bore to dissolve the salts and keep the laquer from building , as I use Czeck Laquer'd steel cased ammo.
I lightly oil after a scrub, then rinse with the boiling water and brushing.
Sticky bolt occurs from the shell caseing expanding into rust pits or laquer/dirt/cosmoline building up and "glueing" (for any better word) the shell to the chamber wall under high pressure.
The problem for us is that the bolt is doing its primary extraction thang with the extractor rotating the spend case and loosining it when we lift the handle, but insted , the stuck shell has the extractor, under spring pressure,and with a high friction , skidding along the rim of the shell.
Thats why the bolt is way easy to close and pull back, as well as extract and eject an unfired round, compared to the lifting of the handle on a spent shell.

Happens on Mausers as well as Winchesters and such. Deal is, America uses brass, and it isnt laquerd . The Germans used laquer'd steel cases in WWII and so did the Russians, and they both had sticky bolt problems, which the Germans held at bay with good training, untill the end.The russian was often handed the rifle and told which way to go. On the job training at its worst...He learned or died.

Scrub the chamber and rilfeing with boiling water and it drys almost instantly, then lightly oil.
Use some soap if its tough.
No stick bolts for me.

[FarmerJohn]

Originally Posted by Caribou

Yep, cleaning the chamber every time prevents sticky bolt.

After my Cosmo is removed with a solvent and 20 gauge brush, I do routine maintanence with boiling water and dawn soap. Sometimes just the boiling water down the bore to dissolve the salts and keep the laquer from building , as I use Czeck Laquer'd steel cased ammo.
I lightly oil after a scrub, then rinse with the boiling water and brushing.
No stick bolts for me.

i hate laquered stuff i use the copper plated steel cased surplus ammo at 79 a 440rnd can i cant complain

[Groovy Mike]

good post on cleaning but I can't agree with cutting the spring.

[blue123]

Originally Posted by Groovy Mike

good post on cleaning but I can't agree with cutting the spring.

i actually increased the power of mine to 24lb using wolff extra power springs
http://www.gunsprings.com/Rifles%20%...NT/cID2/mID102

[FarmerJohn]

Originally Posted by blue123

i actually increased the power of mine to 24lb using wolff extra power springs
http://www.gunsprings.com/Rifles%20%...NT/cID2/mID102

replacing the spring and cutting it are two different things but you can always get better results upgrading parts

[Caribou]

Cutting the spring will give you light strikes, especcially in the deep cold I live in 8 monthsa year. Fact is, its not a problem with soft commercial primers, and hard military primers are what Im hitting.
The rifle cocks on opening, and removing a coil might make that easier, but not when Im working that bolt, positive like.

You cant go wrong with Wolff Springs, for sure.

[BUSHPILOT]

Cut the spring and notice how much easier the bolt moves when closing the breach on a round. BE CAREFUL. Hard primers need a hammer to fire them.

[sarge912]

I just soaked my bolt with PB Blaster and I clean the chamber with my m1 chamber brush. It is smooth as glass.

[Hummer]

Don't cut the spring ! ! ! ! !

Get a Wolff extra power spring if possible.

[Mythfit]

This is the video where everyone is getting the idea to snip one link off the firing pin spring:

YouTube - "Sticky Mosin Nagant Bolt? Making your Mosin Rock part 2" M91/30 M38 M44 M39 Finnish Russian

It is pt.2 of 4 videos that "Iraqveteran8888" did on the sticky Mosin bolt problem. In these videos he polishes the chamber, polishes the firing pin, and snips one link off the firing pin spring. He then runs these guns through rapid fire drills to heat up the barrels (chambers) to show that the bolts are not sticking any longer.

You can kind of understand what he is saying because the spring does put a lot pressure on the bolt head and safety. Have you ever tried to put on the "safety"? Yeah, the one no one uses cause it's to hard to turn. That is all the firing pin spring pressure. Heck, I've seen people weld "D" rings to place their fingers in so they can have enough strength turn the safety easier.

[Hard Hittin 54r]

Originally Posted by Groovy Mike

good post on cleaning but I can't agree with cutting the spring.

Same here, I have never had to cut a spring before.

HH54r

[Hard Hittin 54r]

Another problem everyone neglects is as follows:
Tighten the action correctly when you install it in the stock. Most actions need to be re-tightened to a minimum of 30 to 45 inch pounds of torque. They need to be tightened equally as well.
NOTE: If your stock is not pillar bedded, subtract 10 inch pounds on the tang screw.

Once the bolt is clean remove the action from the rifle. Operate the bolt. If it is nice and smooth. It should cycle smooth in the stock as well. When reinstalling the action in the stock, be sure to torque the two screws correctly and the bolt should cycle smoothly.

If not, you then need to see what is causing the interference between the action and the stock i.e. displaced splinters of wood or other items causing as misalignment between the action and the stock. Remove these issues. Torque the action to the stock and the bolt should cycle smoothly.

Give this tip a try as well. Sometimes cleaning is not enough.

HH54r

[Antiacus]

http://surplusrifle.com/articles2008...burr/index.asp