Mosin Nagant M44 bolt is occassionally hard to close on round. FIXED

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padavid12	Mosin Nagant M44 bolt is occassionally hard to close on round. FIXED	Lead	[-]
Posts: 42 (11/10/09 07:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I have a MN44 that will occassionally be hard to close on a round. Sometimes it will cycle through 5 rounds without a hitch and then it will be hard to close. It does this when firing or when just cycling through. Any ideas as to what may be causing this problem? Thanks David Last Edited By: padavid12 11/16/09 12:09 PM. Edited 1 time.
zeebill		#1	[-]
Posts: 3803 (11/10/09 08:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is it with a particular type of ammo you are using or with any kind? Have you removed the extractor from the bolt head and made sure there is nothing floating around in that groove it fits into that would stop it from moving. 160 pound compressed air with carb cleaner will not clean under there at times when the right thing is lodged in that groove. You need not ask how I know! Bill
Stan in SC		#2	[-]
Posts: 1815 (11/10/09 08:34 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Probably Albanian ammo.This ammo is notorious for occasional thick bottom rims.I have some that will not work in my M39 but my 91/59 just eats it up. Stan in SC The more I listen,the more I hear....and vice versa. The LT-2 sight adjuster.Have you adjusted today? Geezer is as geezer does.
padavid12		#3	[-]
Posts: 43 (11/11/09 05:28 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It is Bulgarian ammo from J&G. I will try some other. I will also try cleaning the bolt as suggested. Thanks David
M39Scout		#4	[-]
Posts: 1913 (11/12/09 11:11 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	padavid12 wrote: I have a MN44 that will occassionally be hard to close on a round. Sometimes it will cycle through 5 rounds without a hitch and then it will be hard to close. It does this when firing or when just cycling through. Any ideas as to what may be causing this problem? Thanks David CONGRATULATIONS!!! You found a Mosin with a TIGHT chamber!! Good Shooting and God Bless!! Darrell "Nicht schlecht, Herr Specht"
keithreid		#5	[-]
Posts: 788 (11/13/09 03:14 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	either a tight chamber or non-uniform rim thickness. take the ones that won't chamber and see if the over all length is different from the ones that will chamber. If the chamber is too tight, the only way I know of to fix it is to get a chamber reamer and open it up a little. If they are the same length, look at the rims for variances in thickness. if the rims are causing the problem, remove the extractor from the bolt head and clean the bolt head and extractor, also clean the extractor groove in the chamber area. I use bore patches and dental pics to get crud out of the extractor grooves. good luck, y'all have a good day, Keith
padavid12		#6	[-]
Posts: 54 (11/14/09 01:27 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	update. I have thoroughly cleaned the bolt head and the problem still exists. I put the bolt in another gun and it does the same thing. I put the Bulgarian ammo in the functioning gun and it cycle great. I put the known good bolt in the suspect gun and it works great. Apparantly there is something wrong with my bolt head. Any ideas? David
cujo		#7	[-]
Posts: 255 (11/14/09 03:18 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	To me sounds like you have a chamber burr that when feeding the round catches on the burr and makes it hard to close the bolt. If it is a chamber burr what I would do is chuck a cleaning rod in a drill with a bore brush on the end ( I have used a 410 size brush to good effect ). Then just place the brush with it on the cleaning rod and run at a low speed. Apply mineral spirits to the brush ( this will take care of any crud and potential cosmo ). Being careful to not let the brush hit the rifling. Then after that is complete with a clean chamber you could wrap some 0000 steel wool around the brush and polish the chamber a bit, but apply oil to the steel wool 3in1 works good for this but you could use breakfree if you wanted. Try this for now and if it don't work I have a few other tricks up my sleeve. Mike
padavid12		#8	[-]
Posts: 55 (11/14/09 03:32 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't understand. The bolt does the same in another gun and another bolt works well in the affected gun. If there was a burr, wouldn't it affect any bolt used? David
Ed Novak		#9	[-]
Posts: 2193 (11/14/09 04:56 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	padavid12 wrote: update. I have thoroughly cleaned the bolt head and the problem still exists. I put the bolt in another gun and it does the same thing. I put the Bulgarian ammo in the functioning gun and it cycle great. I put the known good bolt in the suspect gun and it works great. Apparantly there is something wrong with my bolt head. Any ideas? David You have cleaned the bolthead, but have you thoroughly cleaned the bolt body? Have you tried swapping the "suspect" bolthead onto another bolt body? NRA Endowment member LECS #2
padavid12		#10	[-]
Posts: 56 (11/14/09 05:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I haven't tried transfering the bolt head. I will try that tomorrow. The darn thing looks so simple. I just can not figure out the problem. I found a replacement on surplus firearm part but it is half the price of a complete bolt. If it turns out to be the bolt head, I will probably just replace the whole thing as the gun in non-matching anyway. David
zeebill		#11	[-]
Posts: 3817 (11/16/09 03:39 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Problem as pointed out is with the bolt in some way not the chamber if transferring the bolt brings the problem with to another rifle. You did remove the ejector and clean the groove? If not so do that and while the ejector is off the bolt head try and take a cartridge and fit it into the bolt head alone. It should do so easily, if not the bolt head might be slightly dented and at times not allowing the shell to completely enter the bolt head thus causing the problem. Assuming you get the cartridge into the rifle and fire it, have you checked the brass for ripples and such? Keith and others eluded to the sometimes variations in certain ammo but Bulgarian light ball has worked very well for me so I am going to say it may not be the ammo in this case. If you see ripples, lines, stuff on the brass and not all the time it could be an intermittent head-space problem maybe being caused by the bolt in some way? I had one that was very balky from time to time on an early M27 Finn and eventually changed out the connector bar and the problem went away. The only thing that caught my eye about it was the bolt was very loose I guess that contributed to it? You are driving the old man nuts here but at this age I guess any brain activity is beneficial huh? Bill
padavid12		#12	[-]
Posts: 57 (11/16/09 12:16 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, I got her fixed. I took the bolt head/extractor off a known good bolt and compared it with the problem one. The extractor was a little more inward toward the bolt face. When I tried to put a round in, it was difficult and required more force. On the good bolt, the round would just pop right in without much push. I took the extractor off and cleaned the area thoroughly and put a slight bend in the extractor. Once reassembled, I put 5 rounds in the mag and cycled. It ran perfectly smooth and that smoothness was actually better than my other MNs. I really appreciate everyone's help in this matter. It is only a $60.00 gun and I didn't want to have to put that much again into it for a new bolt or gunsmith fees. I guess I am too demanding but I expect a $60.00 gun to still be usable. Thanks again. David
zeebill		#13	[-]
Posts: 3821 (11/16/09 12:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Way to go! I admire your effort and agree about the way a $60 gun should work! I have one that cost me a whole $39.95 and it works as smooth as silk and it is very accurate and now looks great too. Price is immaterial and the value is in what it is capable of and the ease of such. By the way you are very lucky to take the bend out of a extractor and I would watch it close to see if the bend returns or the extractor snaps off. They are tempered and tend to snap when bent at the drop of a hat. Want to get a giggle? I had one I straightened and was sure I would have it break at the range someday and began to carry a spare. Only thing was I forgot the tools to replace it at the range and was still out of luck when it went!!!! Geezer is as geezer does I guess! Bill
padavid12		#14	[-]
Posts: 58 (11/16/09 12:48 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree about the possibility of a breakage. I am going to get one and replace it as soon as possible. I have a feeling that once something gives a problem, the fix will only be temporary. It is just amazing how close the tolerance is on these things. I was determined to get it fixed. A lot of trial and error. This board and others are a real asset when it comes to fixing things. Thanks David
Ed Novak		#15	[-]
Posts: 2196 (11/16/09 03:18 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	David: Good on ya! I will say that this string has been an interesting adventure for several of us who just had to "stay tuned" with you. I am proud of you for sticking with the work. NRA Endowment member LECS #2