Need help
I bought a Mosin Nagant rifle at the last gun show and some surplus ammo. Chambering the cartridge was difficult and required a sharp thump with my hand to close the bolt. Someone told me they thought it may be the ammo which was Albanian, and had a history of being hard to chamber. I ordered some Norma brass and while waiting for that to come I removed the bolt and tried to put the cartridge head into the bolt head under the extractor. Difficult. When forced in, it was too tight to turn with the fingers. I took a couple cartridges and milled 1-2 millimeters from around the rim. Worked fine. Bolt closed easily, no signs of excessive headspace on the case after firing. Meantime the Norma brass arived; same problem I had with the Albanian. I'm convinced that it is the extractor extending too far into the bolt head recess. Is there any way I can grind a little off the extractor or am I going to cause more headaches when I start this? I can just continue to remove brass from the rims, but this is just a band-aid. From some of the sites I have monitored, others are having this problem. Any ideas??
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OK guys and gals I need help on this one. I am looking for a wooden stock for a p14 enfield. Any ideas would be welcomed 0 -
It's surprising that the Norma ammo gave you a problem. Is your rifle of Russian origin, or made by one of the former satellite iron curtain countries? If Russian, I'd try some Russian ammo before working on the bolt. SOG currently has a great deal of non-corrosive Russian ammo made in the 1980s, if you don't mind steel cases and steel core bullets (copper jacketed). If that still doesn't work properly you should be able to remove a little metal from the bottom of the extractor with a dremel tool and small grinder. There are several dissassembly books that will show you how to dismount the extractor from the bolt; I wouldn't try to grind it in place. Your solution may still be as simple as changing ammo, but if you decide that something has to be altered you should remove the extractor and the see how well the cartridge rim fits into the bolt face without the extractor. It may be that the recess was cut too small and will need to be opened slightly. When weapons are produced on a massive scale as they were in WW II the cutters progressively wear until they become undersized. You can also do this with a dremel and a grinding wheel of appropriate size (use one as close to the size of the existing opening as possible) if you have a good eye and a steady hand, but it would be preferable to do it on a milling machine.[This message has been edited by Der Gebirgsjager (edited 11-12-2001).] 0 -
Yeah, thanks. I think you are right, the first thing that I should do is remove that extractor and see if the bolt head recess is large enough. I dread having to remove that extractor; I know HOW to do it but I bet that thing hasn'e been removed since 1944 when it was made, and like it was soft soldered in place. 0 -
I forgot to add that yes the rifle (actually M38 carbine) is Russian. I'll order some Russian ammo from SOG and give it a try before driving myself up the wall. 0
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