Have I ruined my Mosin-Nagant?

W

Wintrymix

Inactive
Hi folks,
I recently bought a Mosin-Nagant m91-30. My little family is extremely tight on funds and though this is an inexpensive rifle, it was a splurge for me. I was excited.

So I took it out to the range tonight and put 20 rounds through it and had an absolute blast. Good shooter too. When I got home this evening I decided to clean the barrel at least before bed time. I cut a patch in half, soaked it in solvent and ran it down the barrel from the muzzle end (which is how these things are typically cleaned) when I went to pull it back through, it got stuck.

I pulled as hard as I could and the cleaning rod came back out, but without the little plastic patch holder and patch which were still stuck in the barrel.

This is where I started making bad decisions.

I attached another little plastic jag to the rod and shoved it down and tried to push the stuck patch and holder on through to the breech. Rod got stuck again. Pulled rod out. Plastic jag and the little brass piece attached to the end of the cleaning rod that the jags screw into are both gone and now stuck in the barrel as well.

So now I have, in order, the patch, the original patch holder jag, second plastic jag, little brass sleeve, all stuck in the barrel.

No satisfied with screwing up this badly. I unscrewed the original cleaning rod from my Mosin, inserted it into the muzzle and pounded away at the obstruction. If it moved, it was very, very little. I tried for a good half hour and pounded at the obstruction hard.

I was afraid of completely destroying my cleaning rod, so I placed it back onto the rifle and gave up, but I'm afraid I might have pounded that little brass sleeve sideways into the bore, or something equally bad.

What the hell should I do? And have I likely destroyed my barrel (and thus the rifle all together in the case of a Mosin)?

:(

Wintrymix
 
Try removing the bolt and pushing it through from the breech end towards the muzzle.You can use a dowel rod to save on your cleaning rod.I highly doubt you harmed the barrel as the brass/bronze is softer than the barrel steel.

I have 8 91/30's,love them!
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I did actually try pounding from chamber end and it would move an inch from that direction either. There's nothing in there but plastic and cloth and the small piece of brass. Is there any way to just dissolve it out of there?

Any other suggestions?

I'm afraid a trip to a gunsmith would cost as much as the rifle.

:(

Wintrymix
 
Try squirting some Kroil down the bore and let it sit for a few hours if you are still stuck. Then try the method JRI suggested again.
 
You might try lacquer thinner down the barrel,allow it to sit muzzle down for a couple hours,that should help soften the plastic,try to keep the lacquer thinner off the shellac on the stock.Then give the barrel a good cleaning afterwords.
 
like JRI said, very unlikely you did any damage to the barrel, and the way to clear it is removing the bolt. a 5/16" brass dowel works well. local hardware store should have.
for future cleaning, push a saturated patch thru on a bare rod (no plastic thingy), then pass a brush thru. the pass the patch again. done.

btw, all surplus ammo is corrosive. hoppes #9 or a water and ammonia mix works well for cleaning.

tom
 
Regardless of "how it's been done", don't ever clean from the muzzle end on any gun that allows cleaning from the breach end. Take the bolt out and push the rod trough the chamber out the bore.

More guns have been ruined by improper cleaning then shooting. Rods down the muzzle ruin the crown and muzzle end of the barrel.
 
You could take the rifle apart and use an electric hot air gun to warm it up to soften the plastic stuck in the barrel... But first I would plug the breach end of the barrel and fill it with Ed's Red and let it soak. That should loosen it up a bit...

Tony
 
as was mentioned.. a 5/16" dowel rod (brass, if you can afford it, hardwood if you can't) about 3 or 4" longer than the barrel. Slide it down to the obstruction from the muzzle end and hammer the obstruction out. A good deadblow hammer would probably be best for this, but a heavy plastic tipped hammer should work, as well. A regular carpenter's hammer or ball-pein will damage the end of your dowel much more quickly than one of the softer ones, but if that's all you have, go for it.
It's doubtful that the stuck patch/jag has damaged your bore.

Depending on your rifle, a 5/16 might be slightly too large to slip down the bore. Try it.. if you have to force it, go with a 1/4" dowel instead. You want to use the largest possible dowel, that will still slide down the bore without having to be forced.
 
I'm surprised no one mentioned the importance of getting corrosive primer salts out of the bore. This is CRITICAL, as the milsurp ammo (I'm assuming you were shooting surplus because it is inexpensive) has Berdan primers that have corrosive salts.

EDIT: I see Dreamweaver did mention this...

Most surplus military ammo has this- it's great for preserving the ammo for long term storage- but lousy for rifle bores. The salts attract moisture- just like if you put table salt down your barrel. It will rust them out in short order if not flushed out shortly after shooting.


I would immediately flush the bore with tap water. Some guys add ammonia to it, that doesn't help with removing the salts, but does help the residual moisture evaporate out of the barrel. This might also help with getting the patch out. A small amount of heat from a torch might also help if all else fails- not too much- just enough to soften the plastic. Barrel temps easily exceed 500 degrees when shooting, so keep it low...

Once you get the bore obstruction out, you should always take a small container of water (with or without Windex added) and pour some down the bore (from the breech) immediately after shooting. When you get home, patch it dry, clean, and (always) end with a lightly oiled patch through the bore to protect against surface rust.

To learn more about the wonderful world of the MN, hit up these forums:
http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/mosin-nagant/
7.62x54r.net

Good luck.
 
Use the Kroil and the dowel rod BUT, I have had much better luck by cutting the dowel rod into about 4" sections, then inserting the sections and tapping or pounding as necessary. Less flex. Also if you totally bugger up the end you are pounding on you can remove it and start on a new 4" section. You have ruined nothing yet. Best wishes.
 
You didn't use an oversized patch did you? That would jam itself in there nice (yea I've seen it done, believe it or not). If it's that then try and burn the patch out (be careful...).

There's not a broken case head in there, is there?
 
A word of caution: using a wood dowel to pound out a barrel obstruction can result in the dowel splitting in the barrel and creating a worse situation. Always use a metal rod, preferably brass that is a close fit in the bore. If close fit is not available, tape wrapped around the rod to create a close fit in a couple of places will take the flex out of the rod. Here endeth the lesson. Goatwhiskers
 
Well Did you fix It ? I read this post this morning, and here it is late in the evening and dont know if you still have a plugged up Mossin Barrel.:rolleyes:
 
I would go with the laquer thinner route, pour from the breech to the muzzle. Then I would take a brass dowel rod and try to hammer it from the breech to the muzzle also. And make sure you clean up that corrosive ammo! or else rust will be a greater enemy than your obstruction. I prefer gunzilla. Make sure when you clean you go from breech to muzzle, and do not use any plastic bits, they will break. Go with brass, you won't regret it.
 
"unscrewed original cleaning rod"..."pounded away for good 1/2 hour". "highly unlikely you did any damage to barrel"
There is always hope! :eek:
 
Thanks for all the help everyone. I havent attempted anything more yet due to having to work the next few days & no funds for a brass dowel. I may have to wait a couple weeks before I can buy one. I hate leaving a fouled up rifle sitting that way in the cabinet. Bugs the heck out of me, but for now it'll just have to wait. At least I have a good idea what to try now when I'm able. Thanks again, everyone.

Wintrymix
 
Take the stock off and put the barrel in a vise. Put some kind of a rod in the barrel and heat the barrel with a bernze o matic on the outside. If you are lucky the plastic will get gooey enough to tap it out. You are not the first one to have this happen. Any plastic sticking to the barrel can usually be scrubbed out with a bore brush.
 
After all that..he's leaving it sit in cabinet for a couple of weeks..after firing corrosive ammo!:eek: If that old Mosin could only talk...He would have probably prefered a quick and honorable death by Panzer shell! Such a sad fate for an old loyal Komrad!
 
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