Scary Behavior of Mosin-Nagant Bolt
The more I fool with this thing, the more worried I'm getting....
After thoroughly cleaning the Mosin-Nagant I got recently, I started to play with the bolt to see how the action locks down. With nothing in the chamber, I opened the bolt, drew it all the way back, then closed it. I took my index finger and pressed upward on the end of the bolt-handle, and it didn't take much effort to get that bolt to open---which makes me EXTREMELY nervous about shooting this thing. And another crazy thing is, I dry-fired the rifle, then tried to push up on the bolt-handle to open it again, and THIS time it was MUCH harder to budge, just pressing up with my fingertip. This is insanity! Why on Earth is the bolt so easy to flip open when you've got it COCKED, but so much stiffer to turn when it's been decocked or fired??? There must be a ton of you folks out there who own M-Gs. so tell me: is this normal?? And more importantly, IS IT SAFE TO SHOOT, or should I dump it and find a Finnish M39 instead?
After thoroughly cleaning the Mosin-Nagant I got recently, I started to play with the bolt to see how the action locks down. With nothing in the chamber, I opened the bolt, drew it all the way back, then closed it. I took my index finger and pressed upward on the end of the bolt-handle, and it didn't take much effort to get that bolt to open---which makes me EXTREMELY nervous about shooting this thing. And another crazy thing is, I dry-fired the rifle, then tried to push up on the bolt-handle to open it again, and THIS time it was MUCH harder to budge, just pressing up with my fingertip. This is insanity! Why on Earth is the bolt so easy to flip open when you've got it COCKED, but so much stiffer to turn when it's been decocked or fired??? There must be a ton of you folks out there who own M-Gs. so tell me: is this normal?? And more importantly, IS IT SAFE TO SHOOT, or should I dump it and find a Finnish M39 instead?
0
-
If nobody here can give you a good anwser I do know where you can get one. Try the MN forum at www.milsurpshooter.net 
Go Army Beat Navy
IF you wanna have fun join the cavalry0 -
If these guns cock on opening then what you are describing sounds normal.
When cocked the striker is controlled by the sear and is no longer bearing on the bolt which makes it easy to lift the bolt.
mag0 -
belive it or not, this is the norm for these rifles.Good luck. 0 -
The reason it is easy when cocked is because all you are doing is rotating the bolt. When it is uncocked you are also cocking it which requires a lot more power because you are working against the firing spring. 0 -
That stiffness on opening upon firing can be improved with a little polishing of the ramped part that the cocking knob rides up on. Entirely normal. The Finnish one will do the same thing.
My border collie is smarter than your honor student.0 -
richbug is right. The Finnish M39 has a reputation as a great rifle, and this reputation is well deserved. But it has the same bolt that you already have. The Finns did not make bolts or receivers, they just took apart Russian rifles and used the Russian bolt and receiver on Finnish made barrels and stocks. They did a slight modification to the trigger but this would not affect what you are talking about.
If you are used to the elegant Mauser, the Mosin Nagant is a weird, sloppy action. It also is not pretty to look at. But, it is rugged and reliable. The Russkies built 19 million of them and used them to destroy the Wehrmacht on the frozen steppes of Russia.
You still ought to get a M39. It is the Cadillac of Mosin Nagants, and is a great rifle.0 -
Allen: I've got a 1942 arsenal-refurb 91/30 Mosin-Nagant, to clear things up. I tested it at the local indoor range Friday---chambered a round, said "Oh, well, it's been a good life", and pulled the trigger. Was pleasantly surprised to find myself still alive and unharmed...And was DELIGHTED to find that this maladroit, Flintstones-designed, crude rifle shoots BEAUTIFULLY to point-of-aim. Simple six 'o clock hold, and I could put those bullets practically anywhere I wanted to. I was only sorry I brought six rounds to test the functionality. Needless to say, I've decided to keep it....
....BUT I STILL WANT A REALLY GOOD FINN M39!
The chumps at a certain locally well-known pawn shop down here wanted---now get this---$200 for a very decent 1942 Finn M39. As Stone Cold Steve Austin would say: "Nah-ahh." Ain't gonna happen, especially since hand-select Finns are going for maybe $130-$150 at MOST. I'm gonna get a copy of Shotgun News and see what I can get.
Thanks for everyone's input on this, too---you've set my mind at ease, and now I have one pleasingly accurate shooter to add to my collection!0 -
Last I checked, which was a few months ago, the best deals on Finns were from Wholesale Guns and Ammo.
If you don't have an FFL you could buy an antique. They list the antique Finns separately. You pay more for the gun but no hassle with finding a dealer with FFL.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments