a new to me 91/30 mosin nagant, questions

S

shrewd

New member
so i picked it up today at the gun show for 105, and it looks half decent. i've always enjoyed a good bit of wear on the gun, and the internals don't seem too bad (however soaked in cosmoline...yuck)

anywho i'm trying to avoid the usual slew of first timer questions, and i've read all the somewhat crazy seeming solutions to the cosmoline problems, many of which seem to involve lots of heat. my problem is that its pretty darn cold outside, and i don't exactly have a boiler room in the house to store the sucker. i was hoping to avoid completely taking the stock off and such (something i've never done before) but it seems that might be the only option.

i turn to you, dear knowledgeable friends, for advice
 
I bought a 91/59 that had been hanging on the wall at the gun shop for a long time. Not only was it drenched in cosmoline but all the dust from a long time on that wall made cleaning that rifle hell. I just broke it down, bolt and all and started cleaning everything. No lie, it took me almost 4 hours and almost a full bottle of #9. I was rewarded after all that work with an awesome mosin. Im sure there are faster ways but I got a great deal of satisfaction knowing I did all that with just a bottle of hoppes, some old rags, brushes and alot of elbow grease.
 
Just go to Walmart and get a gallon of "paint thinner" (100% mineral spirits). That will take case of the grease.
 
Yeah, clean it...That is the hardest part.

But that is why the guns survived this long. Protected! Our local fleet farm sells them for $99. On sale.... $89! A serious defense for low bucks.
 
http://www.surplusrifle.com/russianmosin189130/rifledisassembly/index.asp

It is a very simple rifle to disassemble. there are only two screw and two barrel bands holding the stock on. Thats it. It's not going to pop out and shoot springs and clips across the room. My recommendation is take the stock off, put the bayonet on and stick it in the back yard and run a pot of boiling water down the barrel (maybe two pots). That outta take care of most of it and wont take more than two minutes of you being outside in the cold.

You can also put the bolt in a pot of boiling water. Just don't ever use the pot for cooking/eating again.

As for the stock, just get as much off with a rag and a hair dryer/heat gun as you can. That will get most of it out.

I've clean my rifle dozens of times. Theres still cosmoline that bubbles on the hand guard when the rifle get hot. You wont get it all out.
 
just to be clear, I shouldn't pour the boiling on the wood also, right?
the hot water is just to clear out the barrel?
 
For the stock I just refinished it. It looks so much better now that it did before. It was the best way I ever tried to get all of the smelly sticky cosmoline out at once. It looks good as new now!
 
I disassembled the rifle (really easy) and then sprayed some Simple Green everywhere. It worked really well. After that I put some wood conditioning stuff on the stock and oiled it all up and reassembled it. I use some foaming cleaner for the inside of the barrel and let it soak for like 15 minutes. Have a heavy supply of rags and cleaning patches handy.
 
Cosmiline melts at around 120-130 degrees I believe. Water boils at 212 degrees. The boiling water will clear all the cosoline out because it will melt and drip out the gun. I wont take much to get it all out of the barrel/action.

As for the stock, I wouldn't pour boiling water on it. Im not sure how that will effect the wood. I advise using a hair dryer or a heat gun if you have one. Heat it up and as it bubbles up, wipe it off with a rag. One advantage of me living in the California desert is all I had to do was set the stock outside in the simmering heat and just go outside every 15 minutes or so an wipe it off. It didn't take long to get it off, but seeing that you are in a cold environment it may not be so easy to get it off. All you need it to get it to the point where it doesn't feel like you have grease on your hands from holding it.

Keep in mind that if you try to refinish the stock as someone else posted, it will lose much of its historical value as well as its value to a collector. Collectors like original guns in original condition. even if you want to refinish it, you still have to get the cosmoline out first. :)
 
Picked up some simple green and a degreaser. When I get home I think I'll strip and spray the snot outta this thing and start scrubbin. going to need to rip up some old gym shirts, I suppose
 
True, it might ruin the historical value of the stock, but my problem was the hairdryer. It took a lot of shellac with it. It's alright though, mine was one of the many that was refinished at the factory anyways. If I wanted a mosin that was going to be resold or put on display, I would get one with a scope. I want to shoot this one, so I need it to be nongreasy, nonsmelly, and weather resistant. :)
 
well that was a bit of an adventure. lots of cleaning and scrubbing, a bit of panic while using my buddy's .30 cal brash brush, and some other minor drama, but its done now

though i dont suspect the cosmoline issue to really be solved until it gets nice and hot out
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top