| A lot of problems with Mosin-Nagants are caused by Cosmoline combining with gunpowder residue and lacquer vaporized off the cases. I would suggest detail-stripping the M38, with special attention to the bolt and the chamber. Strip it all the way down, soak all the bolt parts in mineral spirits and scrub them with brass bristle brushes to get every last bit of Cosmoline and gunpowder residue out. Lubricate them with a really good gun oil.
Polish the bolt head, the bolt body and the extractor with Simichrome, not Brasso. I disagree with those who suggest using Brasso for this purpose. Brasso, as its name implies, is meant for use on non-ferrous, non-precious metals. (You can take my word for that. Lord knows I polished enough brass with it as a cadet!) Simichrome is intended for use on steel. Over time, you can bring a Mosin bolt to a mirror finish with Simichrome.
Clean the chamber and the receiver with great care, using a 20 gauge bore brush and mineral spirits before switching to Hoppe's No. 9 or equal. When you are satisfied the bore is clean, lightly oil the barrel. Use a fine gun grease on the receiver, sparingly.
Carefully reassemble the bolt. Use a gauge and check the headspacing to make sure you haven't any headspacing issues, because incorrect headspacing can cause 2 x 4 Bolt. Work the action a few times before you take it to the range and try it out with ammunition. I'd suggest making sure you're shooting clean, brass cased ammunition. Some Mosins don't like lacquered cases.
The Mosin-Nagant has a reputation for reliable operation under lousy field conditions similar to the AK-47's. But that reputation was earned before the rifles were soaked in Cosmoline and allowed to sit for decades, For the deserved reputation to reassert itself, you have to get the Cosmoline out of the picture. It's just about that simple. |