My Nagant

[bghost]

Here is my newly refurbished M44 (1947 Ishevsk, non matching)....

 

 

I stripped all the original gunk off the stock, smoothed it up, stained it a red mahoganey, and then put 3 coats of clear coate polyeurathane on it.

 

I cold blued the mag well, butt plate, and a couple of small parts along with some simple touch up bluing around the bayonet lug and crown.

 

I used a B-Square scout mount and put that little red dot scope on it.

 

I bought this 2 1/2 years ago to go deer hunting with on short notice. Now I am going to use it for my stalking gun since with the red dot scope I should be able to quickly acquire my target.

 

Overall it didn't take much money to clean up. It looks tons better than it did before (see below).

 

One thing that is a little bothersome though...at the range a couple of hours ago...after shooting a couple of rounds through it, the bolt sticks when attempting to reload. A little elbow grease gets it free, and I think it got better after several more rounds. I didn't shoot much more though because I either didn't tighten my scope on well enough or the B-Square just isn't that great (don't know which yet)...either way, my scope loosened up and I didn't have anything to tighten it up with.

 

[Doble Troble]

Schweet!

 

The 7.62x54R is a great cartridge and should really put the deer down. I've had good luck with accuracy in an M38 using .312 bullets - the 150 gr Hornady's (3120) with 53 gr AA4350, OAL = 2.933 have given me excellent accuracy. This load does about 2650 fps out of that 19.3 " bbl. Better have your scope on tight .

 

I wish I knew more about these rifles and could offer some advice about the sticky bolt. Of course you're careful to check for pressure signs. The bolt on my M38 is "notchy" and I just attributed that to the (relative to Mauser) inelegant design. The second Mosin I got was an M91/30 with a butter smooth bolt, rivaling the best Mauser. Unfortunately this smooth bolt was also associate with barn door accuracy.

 

Is your bolt sticky chambering and extracting without firing? If only sticky after firing are there signs of pressure (flattened primers, shiney headstamp)? If there are pressure signs what is your load, and be careful with reloads?

[bghost]

It only starts sticking after firing (and sort of loosens up after a few more rounds).

 

Admittedly, I don't know much about ammo, so I don't know what pressure signs are. I am using a Barnaul sporting and hunting round that is 204 grain, soft point.

 

The accuracy is acceptable with this as I was grouping 5 inches at 50 yards yesterday before my scope unsettled itself. That isn't perfect, but for close quarters hunting, it will do fine (plus, I attribute some of my shots to pulling to the right because I decided not to use the slip on butt pad anymore....that metal plate is fiesty). The shots that I knew were on, were on.

 

Is this possibly an issue that could cause damage to the gun or even worse...me?

 

I suppose I should try to switch down to a smaller grain and see if I have the same stickiness.

 

 

[Doble Troble]

Sticky bolt after firing MAY mean that you are producing excessive pressure. Excessive pressure is dangerous to you and your rifle

 

What happens is brass flows and bonds to the bolt face which gives you a sticky bolt. If this is really happening you should see shiny marks on the case head where the bond "broke" after you managed to get it open.

 

If you do have excessive pressure the next question to answer is why. One possibility is that the Barnual cartridges are stiff - try some mild handloads. Another possibility is that the barrel has accumulated massive gunk over the decades - be sure it's really, really clean and not copper fouled.

 

Another potential explaination is that you've got some bolt set back. I'm not sure how to diagnose this on a Mosin - hopefully the experts will be by soon.

[FC]

That's interesting DT. I hadn't heard that before.

I have a couple 91/30's. Not terribly good or bad on accuracy.

I'd cut the charge down a bit. Are you following reloading tables?

Sticky bolt after firing MAY mean that you are producing excessive pressure.  Excessive pressure is dangerous to you and your rifle

 

What happens is brass flows and bonds to the bolt face which gives you a sticky bolt.  If this is really happening you should see shiny marks on the case head where the bond "broke" after you managed to get it open.

 

If you do have excessive pressure the next question to answer is why.  One possibility is that the Barnual cartridges are stiff - try some mild handloads.  Another possibility is that the barrel has accumulated massive gunk over the decades - be sure it's really, really clean and not copper fouled.

 

Another potential explaination is that you've got some bolt set back.  I'm not sure how to diagnose this on a Mosin - hopefully the experts will be by soon.

1860[/snapback]

 

[bghost]

I'm not using handloads nor am I capable of reloading.

 

I think I will try some different ammo and see what happens as well as giving it a very thorough looking over before firing again.

 

Thanks for the info.

[bghost]

Ah hah! How about this very plausible sounding explanation that I found with a quick search at http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/sticking_bolt.htm.

 

Here is the text for anyone not wanting to follow the link:

 

One of most frequent postings on all of the Mosin Nagant related forums is that of the problem of sticking bolts. Many people believe that this is related to the type of ammo they are using, others believe it is a headspace problems and still others attribute it to a rough chamber. They are all correct in their own way but often the problem is as simple as a dirty chamber!

 

When these rifles were placed in storage, they packed with a layer of waxy grease like preservative to protect the metal parts. Over the years some of this preservative hardened and formed a varnish like shell on the metal that is nearly transparent and very tough to break up with normal cleaning solvents. After cleaning a rifle using standard cleaning techniques, it is easy to believe that you got all of the preservative out of the chamber and off your metal parts. However, that film is still there. It's tightly bonded to the metal as a result of pitting or burrs in the chamber and it is trapped in the recesses of the locking ring where standard cleaning techniques can't reach it.

 

When you take your rifle out to the range and fire your first few shots, suddenly you can't open the bolt without really pounding on it. Why does this happen? When a round is fired, it generates a tremendous amount of heat and pressure in the chamber area. The charge causes the shell casing to become hot and to expand. At the same time the chamber walls become hot. The varnish like dried preservative heats up and becomes sticky. As the shell casing contacts the chamber wall and the sticky goo attached to it, there is a bonding that takes place as the metal of both surfaces cools in the first few seconds after firing. In turn, the bolt lugs are also trapped in this goo and the bolt becomes hard to open.

 

A rough chamber will make the problem worse by giving the goo more places to be trapped in and to adhere itself.

 

An out of spec chamber that is beginning to have headspace problems will also contribute to the problem by giving the shell casing more room to expand and more surface to come in contact with.

 

It goes on to relate how to clean it.

 

-b

 

[Doble Troble]

Excellent sleuthing!

 

FC, I worked-up that load with QuickLoad and optimal barrel time. It's stout but not a max load. It is remarkably accurate in my M38.

[RGRWJB]

Reloading for these guns can make them tack drivers.