Help Please...New Mosin 91/30 bolt close issue

15 + S&H, 18 if you buy a new bolt head. have you tried chambering a live round, though? Not just a snap cap? Cause, it could just be an issue with the snap caps. I've taken my Mosin COMPLETELY apart tonight trying to figure out what would cause your issue. Did find some nasty-nasty under the buttplate, realized it's counter-bored, got my bolt to work a bit smoother and optimized my firing pin depth. So, I thank you for getting me to work on that.

I never did find a way to replicate the issue you're having. Aside from the fact that my bolt gets tough at the same spot as yours, but mine's still workable. If I would you, I'd give it a try with some actual 7.62x54r casings or live rounds to make sure it's not just the snap-cap.

Also, if you want some info on little improvements to these things. I've got more than a few youtube videos, online guides and tutorials about Mosin improvements. I'm sure, just like me, you want to really bring out your Mosin's potential.

I'd definitely get the headspace checked on that one, if I were you, as well.

A few more questions (cause I'm'a bit of a mosin-phile) for you.
What year is yours? Which receiver and which factory?
How's the bore look in yours?
Matching numbers on all your parts?

Once you figure out how it shoots, make sure to let us know! That's my favorite part. I can do a 1.5" group with mine with a good bench, little wind and a lot of patience. The hardest part is really figuring out the trigger break.

Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of the most interesting $100 you'll ever spend.
 
Everything I've tried has been with live rounds. I've used 2 types in case some had sloppy tolerances on rim thickness - copper washed steel and brass. But as I've said, they all fit perfectly if I manually place them under the extractor, so I don't think that is an issue. All I can come up with is the extractor is bent inward just a bit causing it to just drive into the cartridge base instead of sliding over the rim. Like I said before, it will slide over a round occasionally but not often. I can't eyeball it and tell if it is bent, but that would answer my problem.

You said you had a counterbore. Mine was sold as "no counterbore". How did you check?

Mine is a 1944 Ishezsk round receiver (not laminated). It has all matching stamped #s. The bore looks really good after a thorough cleaning, and the wood is in great shape (obviously been refinished but just a couple of tiny dings).

What do you have?
 
42 Izzy, almost identical to yours. Just a counter bored crown. If you google it, you'll see exactly what it means. I'm willing to bet that a lot of Mosins that weren't counterbored have their crowns worn to hell. A few lucky ones get away with a pretty decent looking crown.
 
I ordered a new extractor from Buymilsurp today along with a set of Mauser lock screws (you can't just buy ONE thing). I hope that fixes it. I also took a closer look at my muzzle today and mine is definitely not counterbored. I guess only time will tell if that is good or bad. Just a few more feet of snow to melt and I should be able to get to the range and test it. Winter is especially long when you get the itch to bang off a few rounds.
 
Weren't those the ones they counterbored?
Click to expand...
You'd think. But I've personally seen only Mosins with a terrible crown or counterbored. I'm not sure how many exist with clean crowns that aren't counterbored.
I ordered a new extractor from Buymilsurp today along with a set of Mauser lock screws (you can't just buy ONE thing). I hope that fixes it. I also took a closer look at my muzzle today and mine is definitely not counterbored. I guess only time will tell if that is good or bad. Just a few more feet of snow to melt and I should be able to get to the range and test it. Winter is especially long when you get the itch to bang off a few rounds.
Click to expand...
I hear that. I haven't shot my Mosin since... probably October. My groups will probably be the size of a UPS truck by the time I get back out to shoot.
 
Well, I finally got some parts to troubleshoot the bolt close problem. I tried 2 different extractors with no luck. Mmmmmmm. Wow, this crow IS yummy! :D Anyway... I also picked up an M44 since the last post, so I tried the M44 bolt in the 91/30 - worked as advertised. I then tried the 91/30 bolt in the M44 - also worked as advertised. So I tried just moving the M44 bolt head to the 91/30 - no joy. Then I tried swapping the guide rods and bolt heads on both bolts (with bolt bodies in original rifles) - both worked as advertised. Hmmm. :confused: Now, with everything back in its original place the 91/30 bolt still fails to close. The only thing I can think of is to get a set of headspace gauges and swap parts until I can hopefully get 2 functioning weapons. Any ideas?
 
I would take it to a GunSmith and have the Chamber Cast, and the headspace checked. Your Chamber may be too short, the barrel may have been changed at some point in your rifles life.
Good luck.
 
Final update… I checked many posts in several forums before I asked for help on this subject. Unfortunately, none of the posts I found ended with a solution. They all just sort of left me hanging. I had hoped that I could isolate a bad part so that I could share my solution with others, but it seems that I too must leave everybody hanging. So for what it’s worth, here is how I “solved” my problem… I picked up a set of Okie headspace gauges (great product at a great price) and checked the headspace on both my M44 and 91/30. They both checked good with go & no-go gauges (never needed to get to the field gauge). I then swapped the bolt head and guide rod assembly between bolts. I again checked headspace and again both checked good with go & no-go gauges. At this point, both rifles will now cycle flawlessly (even without truly “changing” any parts). I am happy albeit still a little mystified.
 
I'm having the exact same problem. I put a couple days of work in cleaning, stripping, sanding, refinishing, oiling,, etc. I disassembled my bolt and used steam on all the metal. I detailed this thing like a show-room car. I tried snap caps first. I loaded two. The first one loaded fine, 2nd one got stuck as you describe. I figured it was the snap cap.

I finally had a chance to go to the range to try out live ammo. My first clip of 5 cycled through just fine. 2nd clip hung up on the last round a bit, but then went through. 3rd clip the last round would not go. I had to open up the magazine and reload. Then again, the last round would not go through.

I'm suspecting at this point its the mag follower. I'm looking at buying a new complete mag set for $20. I'll let you know if it makes a difference.

Here's my first two shots. I'm no James Cameron, but it'll do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQX-ist1rsM
 
My rounds always stripped from the mag, but the extractor would not slide over the rim of the cartridge - which was just enough distance to keep the bolt from fully closing. Are your rounds getting stuck leaving the mag, or does the problem occur after they have stripped?
 
I'm still going to say: headspace! If your extractor won't go over the rim of the case, the only reason I can think of is headspace, as this time. If your bolt isn't headspaced correctly, there might not be enough space for the extractor to make it over the round. I'd try to find a smith with a set of 7.62x54r headspace gauges to check for you. Everything you say about the gun sounds like it's spot on. But, I can't picture why it wouldn't work. Kind of messed up.

I'm out of advice for the "DIY" crowd and now suggest a quick smith check.
 
I did a headspace check. It checked fine. Read my previous post.

Dschild seems to be describing the rounds hanging up in the mag well (at least as I read it). I am just looking for clarification.
 
missed that. Sorry. It's been a long time since we talked about this specific issue. Taking to a smith is about all you can do, now.
 
Ok, so... Headspace is ok, the extractor has been replaced and it still has the same problem? I've been doing a lot of looking into this. And I think I may have figured it out. Inside the recievers, the end of the barrels have a small cutaway that the extractor moves within. There may be cosmoline or other junk in that cutaway, preventing your extractor from moving to where it can move over the rim of the shell. Since the rifle was stored with the bolt closed, the cosmoline never hardened where the relaxed extractor sits in the cutaway. You might want to specifically check that little spot. It's a long shot, but... it might be your best bet at this point.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinBarrel.htm

You can see the cutaway there. If that cutaway is blocked, the extractor cannot work properly.
 
I've finished a serious cleaning of my bolt and chamber. I removed everything, soaked, steamed, oiled, and put back together. I used gunk remover and mineral spirits. The chamber was pretty dirty still. So I'm glad I did this. I got in there with q tips to make sure everything was polish.

When I reassembled the bolt it seemed to go back together "easier". Maybe it's because I've done it a few times now.

So now I still have the same original problem. But I also have a new problem of the bullet flipping up when trying to chamber a round. The backside kicks up if I load slow.

Here are two videos demonstrating the issues. The first is the round not entering the chamber. It's always the bottom round. When I go to the range I now load a dummy round first just to get around this issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuV4zMmr5TU


The second video is demonstrating the round kicking up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYcP5Y9Ymr0
 
Last edited:
MR DSChild

I watched your videos, and from what I can tell it looks like your magazine spring may be weak or bent.
The bottom cartridge is definately binding up.
However, its impressive to have an action thats precise eneough to load spent cases.
If possible I would try and replace, the magazine spring and follower.
 
Thanks, TX. I have gone ahead and ordered a new mag assembly. Just to be safe I also ordered an extractor.

Could you explain a bit about what you meant by "However, its impressive to have an action thats precise eneough to load spent cases."
Should it not be able to load spent cases normally? I thought I could use them for practice, like snap caps.
 
Yeah, DSChild, it's definitely an issue with the magazine spring or follower. Your magazine interrupter seems fine, given that it feeds correctly. It looks like something's jamming up the follower in the magazine housing or the spring isn't strong enough to push that last round all the way past the interrupter. Beautiful stock, by the way!

Also, yeah, they usually feed spent rounds just fine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT6ObRXRNeM#t=0m34s the last round hangs up on the feed ramp, because the top of that particular empty is a bit rough. I've been using the same four empties for about 6 months, now, so they're getting beaten up.
 
MR Dschlid,

What I meant about Impressive, is that most bolt action rifles I have dealt with relied on ramps, where the nose of the bulet hit the ramp, and was driven into the chamber, watching your nagant the bolt face grabs the rim, and the guide rails are so perfectly aligned that it loads the round without a hickup. From a mechanical standpoint thats a very impressive feat.
Try to cycle spent cartridges, in a Remington 700, Savage 110, Ruger M77,
basicly anything you can think of and you will have a Jam.
It is uncommon to be able to cycle empty cartridges.
When I saw that it really made me admire the craftsmanship, that was put into these Rifles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top