Getting antsy

[45collector]

My usual gunsmith apparently doesn't see many milsurp rifles. I had brought in my M91/30 (aquired mid-September) to have him check the headspace. 2 weeks later I went to pick it up at the gunshop and it was tagged with a note: "I have no headspace guage or chamber reamer, sorry."

OK, I'll do it myself. First of all, I doubt the chamber needs to be reamed. And yes, all parts on this rifle are matching, so the headspace may even be in-spec as well. So here are two questions:

Anyone have a field guage they can sell me? If not, I'll get one from Midway. I always like to check here first though.

Second, Is it possible that the extractor is so damn tight it will not slip over the rim to chamber the round and push the bolt home? Before I took it to the 'smith, I had slipped the round into the bolt face by edging it under the extractor and seating it flush in the bolt face. At that point, it chambered and the bolt closed fine. Trying to push the extractor out by hand only moves it slightly and puts a big dent in my thumb. Is this normal? It looks like the extractor is welded to the bolt, so I don't want to put too much pressure on it to lessen the tension.

So, I'd like to shoot this honey soon. I've never owned a gun this long without shooting it!

 

[drgrant]

Maybe I'm a bad person but I would do the "two strips of masking tape" test and call it a day, unless the person you got it from said "do not shoot this until you bring it to a good gunsmith" or some similar warning.

-Mike

 

[vellnueve]

The extractor will not move by hand. That's normal.

Just shoot the damn thing!

 

[45collector]

Oops, I think I backspaced too many times while typing that I left out one pertinent fact: I can only get the bolt to close on a round if I slip the rim up under the extractor and then close the bolt. If I do that, it will close all the way just fine. If I just work the bolt and chamber a round from the magazine, the bolt will go nowhere near closed.

Drgrant, what is the "two strips of masking tape" deal?

Thanks

 

[m44]

Like vellnueve said

"Just shoot the damn thing!"

Honestly I never headspaced any of my milsurps not even my gew88s, and I never had a problem.

 

[jpattersonnh]

The masking tape trick should make a good field gauge, 3 pieces for a no go. The problem w/ that is masking tape was gotten thinner over the years. As far as the rifle not feeding from the Mag, try putting a round in the chamber by hand and closing the bolt. If it closes you may want to look at the ramp, Mag spring, follower, "ears". Many real nice 91/30's are pretty rough and need to be worked (used). I bought an arsenal refinished Hex receiver that suffered from a similar issue. I just hit the bolt hard upon chambering a round and everything smoothed out is a few rounds. I suggest just shooting it also. jp

Oops, I think I backspaced too many times while typing that I left out one pertinent fact: I can only get the bolt to close on a round if I slip the rim up under the extractor and then close the bolt. If I do that, it will close all the way just fine. If I just work the bolt and chamber a round from the magazine, the bolt will go nowhere near closed.

Drgrant, what is the "two strips of masking tape" deal?

Thanks

 

[vellnueve]

In that case, it may be necessary to strip the bolt and look for problems.

 

[45collector]

Even if I place a round in the chamber, and try to close the bolt, it won't go.
I cleaned the hell out of this thing before hand. I checked the chamber for any burrs, the bolt face is clean and smooth, and I checked the FP protrusion. I guess I can continue to try to force the bolt down, but I already put a lot of force on it and it still doesn't want to seat.

I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. Any other tips would be appeciated.

Thanks guys.

45collector

 

[vellnueve]

Strip the bolt. There may be something in there causing the extractor to bind.

 

[SKS Ray]

I had a Finn rework M91 that would only chamber certain ammo types. Some rounds were as if I was trying to close the bolt on a field gauge. I never fired it and sold it to a buyer who was aware of the issue.

 

[45collector]

I had a Finn rework M91 that would only chamber certain ammo types. Some rounds were as if I was trying to close the bolt on a field gauge. I never fired it and sold it to a buyer who was aware of the issue.

Yep that sounds exactly the same as what mine's doing. Any idea what the cause was? Like I said, if I sneak a round under the extractor, the bolt will slide home just fine. That's why I figured maybe the extractor is too tight.

 

[Knob Creek]

How about Strickland's in Berkley. I hear he's a good Milsurp guy.

 

[terraformer]

Since vellnueve's advice is falling on deaf ears, I figure I will reiterate, strip the bolt. Those were packed in cosmo and there is probably some stuck in behind the extractor making it difficult for the extractor to move all the way back freely.
See here and google gootube for a video how to on stripping and cleaning the bolt.

 

[45collector]

Since vellnueve's advice is falling on deaf ears, I figure I will reiterate, strip the bolt. Those were packed in cosmo and there is probably some stuck in behind the extractor making it difficult for the extractor to move all the way back freely.
See here and google gootube for a video how to on stripping and cleaning the bolt.

No need to reiterate. As stated, I'd already spent hours cleaning the cosmo out of this rifle before I attempted to chamber any rounds. I stripped the entire bolt assembly and got every speck off of it.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe there's a burr or something I cannot see in the chamber that sits right on the extractor when the bolt is closed. That would prevent it from clicking up and over the rim as the cartridge is driven in. I'm also going to try some different ammo this weekend (Bulgarian). I'll post the results.

Thanks again all.

 

[45collector]

Well, I did it! I snapped the extractor off the bolt trying to ease up the tension. What a friggin genius I am. I bought a bunch of Bulgarian ammo, got to the range, and the bolt would still not close on each round. I'm now convinced there must be a burr in the chamber that is impeding the outward movement of the extractor. So after I snapped the extractor off like an a**h***, the bolt closed fine on each round. I put about 60 rounds through it, (having to use the cleaning rod to extract each shell ) and it's more accurate than I could have hoped for! Coffee cans @ 100 yards, no problem!

So now I must either try to weld the extractor back on, and smooth it out, or I'll have to buy a new bolt face, and a field gauge to make sure it's within the same specs as the original.



Oh, and yes, my shoulder is wicked sore.

 

[SKS Ray]

Extractor info found here: http://www.surplusrifle.com/finnishmosin/boltdisassembly/index.asp

A new extractor will run you about $19.00 plus shipping. If you want the link where to buy one PM me and I'll send it to you.

 

[matt]

Wish I'd seen this thread earlier... Just read it today.

I have no-go and filed gauges you can borrow. I can mail them to you if you'll mail 'em back, or we can FTF depending where you are.

Matt

 

[45collector]

M4M, Thanks for the link again. +1. I had browsed that website when I first got the rifle. I forgot that you can buy just the extractor. Looking at the bolt head, I thought the extractor was welded to it! I'm ordering one from the parts distributor I've used for years. (PM sent to you anyways to see if it's the same folks you use.)

Matt, thanks for your offer. I've already fired the rifle, and the headspace is within specs. If I can just tap out the original extractor and replace it, I won't need a different bolt head.