My First Mosin

[jeepfreek]

So I went to the Crown Point gun show then stopped by Blythe's in Griffith on the way home. Blythe's had just received a shipment of Mosin's in on Friday and they happened to have 5 "hex" receivers to choose from! I picked up what I believe is a matching numbers Izhevsk post-1928 Soviet Dragoon or M91/30. It also had some other marking on it that I am not seeing anything about. The other rifles didn't have them from what I could tell. Any ideas?

The marking under the hammer and sickel, then to the right of that it looks like a couple of 00's? Then the stock had some what looked like stamped marks on it for some reason.

 

[K_W]

Your rifle was made at Izhevsk and 00 is an accuracy proof mark.

 

[johntheplinker]

The box with a slash through it is a refurbishment marking, another variant is on the barrel between the Soviet property mark and date. Forgot to add, all the small stamps in the wood are not known for certain but are believed to be inspector's marks or showing a certain process has been completed.
Very nice looking rifle, especially for being over 80 years old. Especially since it is your first and an ex-dragoon to boot.
Be aware, these do tend to multiply. Next you'll want a round receiver, then you'll want a carbine, then a M91, and before you know it you'll be looking for Finns. Its called Mosinitis, and there is no cure, symptoms can only relieved by regular additions to the collection.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Great ex-dragoon for your first Mosin!

As John mentioned, it may be your first, but there is no way it will be your last!

 

[williamnewman1]

great looking rifle , congrats , as others have said : they will multiply

 

[Miketodd]

Now to put a Monte Carlo stock on it, a rail and a BSA optic!

 

[jeepfreek]

Thanks for the info! It's in amazing shape for the year it is. Even the cosmoline isn't all that bad. Tomorrow I will be cleaning it up and then if all works out I'll be on the range next weekend with it.

 

[nmcqueen469]

Be sure to spend a lot of time on the bolt itself when stripping the cosmo. It will save you from the "sticky bolt" syndrome later down the road.

Also, check out SGAmmo.com | Family Owned and Operated, Stillwater Oklahoma for all your ammo needs. Sam is the man when it comes to Mosin food.

 

[richardh]

+1 on SGAMMO.com. Great prices.

 

[lmyer]

Nice ex-Dragoon. Congrats!

Les

 

[gregkl]

The box with a slash through it is a refurbishment marking

My M44 does not have that mark. Does that mean mine is not refurbished? And if so, what does that mean?

I think I have a burr in my chamber that's causing my "sticky bolt".

 

[johntheplinker]

My M44 does not have that mark. Does that mean mine is not refurbished? And if so, what does that mean?

I think I have a burr in my chamber that's causing my "sticky bolt".

Not really, not all got that stamp, depending on the facility and time of refurb it could have a different mark. There are other things to look for besides the mark.
A quick way of finding a burr in the chamber area is to take a q-tip and rub it around the area, the cotton will stick to the burr. Depending on where the burr is, a fine file or a dowel with some emery cloth wrapped on it will make quick work of the burr. Go easy so you don't change the dimensions, just remove the roughness.

 

[gregkl]

Not really, not all got that stamp, depending on the facility and time of refurb it could have a different mark. There are other things to look for besides the mark.
A quick way of finding a burr in the chamber area is to take a q-tip and rub it around the area, the cotton will stick to the burr. Depending on where the burr is, a fine file or a dowel with some emery cloth wrapped on it will make quick work of the burr. Go easy so you don't change the dimensions, just remove the roughness.

That's interesting! A gunsmith at a shop in C'Ville told me the same thing. I tried it and can't get any fibers to stick. But if I try to tap a spend cartridge back in, it hangs up and when I tap it back out, there are scratches on the casing. Maybe it isn't sharp enough to catch the cotton?

I was thinking of the dowel rod idea or maybe using some red rouge and a bore mop brush.

An unfired round will drop right in. It's after it's fired that it won't come out.

 

[johntheplinker]

That's interesting! A gunsmith at a shop in C'Ville told me the same thing. I tried it and can't get any fibers to stick. But if I try to tap a spend cartridge back in, it hangs up and when I tap it back out, there are scratches on the casing. Maybe it isn't sharp enough to catch the cotton?

I was thinking of the dowel rod idea or maybe using some red rouge and a bore mop brush.

An unfired round will drop right in. It's after it's fired that it won't come out.

If you can get a good look in there, you might have some pitting. These rifles were used under some horrific conditions and didn't always get the best of care, not to mention it could have laid on a battlefield for how knows how long before being picked up.
More than likely, though, you might just have old petrified cosmo/fouling/gunk in there. For that I use a 20 ga bore brush on a short piece of cleaning rod chucked into a variable speed drill. Soak the brush with some good solvent (acetone, mineral spirits, something along those lines) and spin the drill on slow for a bit. Repeat a couple of times then wipe down everything. It may take a couple of times but it works. Oh, probably best to do it with the stock off the rifle, some stronger solvents will eat the finish right off the wood.
If there is some minor pitting, about all you can do is try to polish some of it out, just enough to get rid of the roughness without changing the dimensions any more than absolutely necessary. I did that with one of mine, using some super ultra fine sandpaper. Just a couple of swipes was all it took. If its very bad, you might want to have a professional look at it and see what can be done.

 

[jeepfreek]

Today I spent awhile cleaning it up with mineral spirits. Worked wonders! Broke everything down including the bolt and it wasn't all that bad to begin with. I was nervous tearing everything down but took my time and very glad I did.

Wonderful rifle to work on. I found some more marks around it. I didn't get any more pictures but lots of small oddly placed - I guess they would be - punches in the wood. The wood itself is in awesome condition! I am so happy with my first Mosin!

(To the young guy I beat by about 5 minutes in Blythe's- glad you got a Hex of your own but I'm SUPER glad I got the one I did!)