Mosin 91/30

A

azredhawk44

Moderator
I dusted off my old beater 91/30 for some range time this weekend.

Last time I took it out, it got to the point that I almost needed a sledgehammer to whack the bolt open.

Since then, I took a segment of cleaning rod and nylon brush, chucked it into my drill and brushed the chamber good with some flitz.

Went back to the range with Hungarian surplus heavy ball steel cased ammo, as well as some S&B and Winchester 180gr brass cased stuff.

I used to get about 5-10 rounds through the thing before the heat became such an issue that it took 2-3 whacks to open the bolt. Now I can get about 15 rounds of steel cased ammo downrange before that becomes a problem.

Brass ammo, though.... butter-smooth bolt operation. Even when it gets hot. I shot 20 rounds back to back and the last shot was just as easy to eject as the first shot.

My handguard is sliding around loose, though. The spring keepers aren't retaining it well enough. Thoughts? I am considering wrapping the fore-end in canvas or burlap to keep the handguard in place but still look period-correct. Then again, I'm also thinking about sticking the whole thing in an ATI synthetic stock and putting either mojo sights or a scope on it. Open playing field, here. Just gotta fix that loose handguard somehow.
 
Take a look on gunbroker. You could pick up a handguard for a few bucks, i'm sure. They're all mismatched to the rifles, as everyone knows. If you're really concerned about it sliding around, you can shim it (or yes, cover it in canvas like I did with mine). I think it's only purpose is to keep you from burning your hands, I'm sure it won't affect accuracy. Not like mosins are terrible accurate to begin with ( I own 3).

+1 on the way to clean the chamber- I did the same thing, and it worked flawlessly. I have no trouble with the steel ammo, thanks to DeWalt.:rolleyes:
 
I had the same problem.
I took the barrle out and the bolt and Put both inside a bathtub of very very hot water. I let it cool enough that it wouldnt hurt me. While it was in there I ran a peice of cloth through the barrle. I did this alot. I also used my finger to clean the chamber. While the bolt was in the water I took it apart. I ran my fingers and some cloth all ovver it to scrub the cosmoile out. I took the bolt out and dryed all my peices very well. Try a fan and a hair dryer, it worked for me. Use a towel on the exterior of the barrle. Then run dry cloth through the inside. It probally wont come out completly clean but as long as its only a little dirty your fine. Once everything is perfectly dry, Put it all back together. Also before you put your bolt back in, you will want to put some REM oil (remington oil) wherever the bolts parts move or make contact with any other part of the gun. I promise you if you can do everything I said really well, It will atleast loosen up. I did it and it works perfect for me now.
 
Yep. The chamber brush soaked in Kroil does a good job too.

Peptobismol9, I have found that grease on the bolt and on the camming surface of the receiver, seems to work better than light oil.

YMMV
 
I ended up taking the rifle out of its original stock and handguard, and putting it into an ATI black synthetic stock.

I also changed out the sling for a 1" inexpensive M1907-style leather sling, since the original sling had the leather dog collars and wouldn't work with the newer modern stock with more closely spaced sling studs.

I also put a Mojo rear sight on it. I prefer the aperture rear sight and it aided accuracy.

One drawback to the mojo - I have about 2K rounds of 180gr ammo, and I'm hitting high at my intended zero. I'm unable to crank the mojo down any lower. I cannot find a higher front sight.

I may have to change to 150gr ammo to fit the sighting constraints I now have.

Distinct improvement in cheek weld and consistency downrange. Especially without the handguard bouncing around all over the place.

This mosin was a 300 yard gun until the handguards started vibrating loose. Now it's back to that distinction again, and possibly further. The groups are tighter than they were when I first got it.
 
those of you who have your rifles hand guards covered in canvas. POST PICS

i did mine recently and well i want to figure out a way to do it and have the sling go through the canvas some how
 
Here ya go.

How the sling goes through the canvas? why, with a box cutter :)

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The front sight is easy, heat-shrink tubing is the way to go. Slip it over the sight, shrink it down, trial fire and trim until you get the results you want.

Chamber cleaning: Get a brass bristle brush for a 20ga shotgun, attach one length of cleaning rod, and chuck the other end into a drill. Use the SLOWEST setting, and lots of cleaner. It may take a while to come clean.

Greasing the bolt is a good idea. "If it slides, grease it. If it spins, oil it." I'm going to give some Lubriplate a try.
 
Most mosin chambers are rough. They are either cut that way or rust and sometimes from lack of cleaning. Corrosive ammo also makes them rust quicker unless they are cleaned shortly after being fired. In some cases the cosmoline has not been completely removed.

On a new acquired mosin, I wash with very hot soapy water first using 20 ga brush for the chamber and 8mm brush for the bore. Once clean, I wrap crocus cloth over 20 ga brush and polish the chamber lightly. I rinse out contaminates with brakekleen (make sure the stock is not on it). I then follow up with hoppes #9, wipe clean and then oil the bore and chamber.

I use STP to lube the bold and lugs. It seems to work better than lubes and greases.

Steel cases are usually coated with a varnish and when it gets hot, it will start to leave the coating on the chamber. A quick cleaning with mineral spirits in the chamber will remove the build up.

I hope this helps. Mine function quite well with this proceedure.
 
Yeah, -1 on lacquered cases. I always stick to the copper wash, or straight brass. Never have trouble with either of them. Mine'll do steel cases, but they get a little sticky, like everyone says.
 
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