How to fix a Mosin bolt that won't close?

[RomanCatholic]

I have cleaned the chamber with a chamber brush several times, but the bolt will not close with a round in the chamber. Is this a headspace problem and if so how is that resolved?

[kf4zra]

for safety's sake, i would recommend taking it to a competent smith.

if you want to change the headspace on a mosin, you simply switch out bolt faces until you find the correct one. you will need gauges as well as many bolt faces to choose from.

you could have a burr or piece of casing stuck in there too stopping the bolt from closing. for God's sake, do not force it closed, and do not attempt to fire it until it is taken care of.

[RomanCatholic]

So what will a gunsmith do it? Can I do this type of work at home? I don't want to spend $30 or $40 dollars at a smith to fix a gun that only cost $70.

[RepeatDefender]

Could be a bad/broken extractor. Take a good look at the extractor as you're trying to close the bolt. Hope that helps. Be safe and if you don't feel comfortable, take it to the gunsmith.

[kf4zra]

Originally posted by RomanCatholic
So what will a gunsmith do it? Can I do this type of work at home? I don't want to spend $30 or $40 dollars at a smith to fix a gun that only cost $70.

you will spend 40-50 for a set of gauges

they are not expensive guns, so most people dont even mess with one that will not close.

do the SN's of the bolt and receiver match? is it a refurb rifle? if so, probably a broken case or burr. if not, its most likely headspace.

i have seen several milsurp rifles that came from the distributor with broken cases stuck in the chamber

[RomanCatholic]

It is a mix gun. I have tried cleaning the chamber with solvent, but no luck. Do I send it back to AIM Surplus?

[kf4zra]

if you just bought it from them, and it is not functional, they should exchange it.

spend a couple of extra bucks and get an arsenal refinished one, shouldnt have any problems with one of them. you will spend less on shipping than you will on gauges or a smith, and you will have a gun that will definately work.

[RomanCatholic]

Originally posted by kf4zra
if you just bought it from them, and it is not functional, they should exchange it.

spend a couple of extra bucks and get an arsenal refinished one, shouldnt have any problems with one of them. you will spend less on shipping than you will on gauges or a smith, and you will have a gun that will definately work.

I thought there Mosin's were aresenal refinished?

[kf4zra]

im not exactly sure what they are selling, i havent bought a mosin from AIM before, last gun i bought there was a pair of albanian SKS's.

if they are rearsenaled, the SN's will match on the bolt and receiver. the russians would rebuild the guns with all kinds of parts they had laying around, but would grind off the old SN and apply a new one.

if your bolt has a SN that starts with 2 cyrillic numbers, than it is a non rearsenaled bolt. they are not that common anymore. if the number matches the receiver in either case, you should be ok. if it is a put together gun that someone here built with spare parts, you could have issues. i have built several that way and on a few ran into headspacing issues initially, but have switched out bolt faces till it passed the GO and failed the NO GO gauges. they shot fine.

heres my personal opinion, take it for what it costs. if it is not a sentimental gun, or a unique piece, just a shooter, i would send it back. if it is an M28/30, or a M27, or a 1892 Chatterault, i would probably invest some money in trying to get it to function correctly. there are literally millions of what i call shooter mosins that are wonderful guns, but are not worth the money to repair. they are perfect donors for spare parts to restore guns that people have bubba-ized. as much as it pains me to see a gun converted to parts, yours may be a candidate. if you paid under $100 from AIM for it, you should let AIM deal with that hassle and have them send you another gun. if it is one of the Finn 91's they were selling lately i would demand they repair it or exchange it for an equivalent functional one.

[citori59]

are you place in the round in the chamber then tring to close the bolt?

[RomanCatholic]

Originally posted by citori59
are you place in the round in the chamber then tring to close the bolt?

Yes, I am placing a round in the chamber and trying to close it. It will not close.

God bless,
Jordan

[Marine8541]

You have a headspace problem. Your problem now is do you put the money in it to get it fixed or just get another.

[RomanCatholic]

I switched bolts and it works fine. How much is a new bolt?

[Marine8541]

Originally posted by RomanCatholic
I switched bolts and it works fine. How much is a new bolt?

Just because the bolt closes now doesn't mean that it's good to go, you need to have the rifle checked with a set of go/no go gages.

I've seen bolts go from $20 and up.

Where are you located maybe someone by you has a set of gages.

[RomanCatholic]

WV

[paccw]

So any update?

[eddief4]

Originally posted by kf4zra
for safety's sake, i would recommend taking it to a competent smith.

if you want to change the headspace on a mosin, you simply switch out bolt faces until you find the correct one. you will need gauges as well as many bolt faces to choose from.

you could have a burr or piece of casing stuck in there too stopping the bolt from closing. for God's sake, do not force it closed, and do not attempt to fire it until it is taken care of.

+1:thumbsup: :wavey:

[RENEA]

Just out of curiosity- which MN do you have?

[RomanCatholic]

Sent it back to AIM for an exchange. It was a headspace problem, but AIM came through and sent me a working rifle.