will my mosin nagant blow up?

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lonewonderer

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Picked it up for $99. It was in really bad shape in terms of finishing and the steel looks really worn out. I've put about 75 rounds through it so far and today I started to wonder, just how long will this thing last? After doing some searching online, I came across some stories of it blowing up.

The only problem I've had with it so far is this one time when I put a round in the chamber, slid the bolt forward and it fired as I was closing it (thank god I was pointing it down range!). That only happened once though.

I've been thinking about taking it to a gunsmith but it's just a $99 rifle. Would I be better off for selling it for whatever I can get and buying one that's in decent condition?
 
If it was me, there is no way I would sell it if I had any safety concerns, for $99 your going to be wondering if the buyer will be safe. At least I would. Not trying to be smug, just saying.
T
 
I'd give it a good cleaning and see if that helps, perhaps the firing pin is getting sticky in the bolt, also check the amount the pin sticks out of the bolt.. There are some good youtube videos that show you how to clean it properly. These are normally very foolproof rifles that don't give any problems.
 
Sounds like you may have minimal sear engagement on the trigger/bolt.
If you are worried about head spacing have a smith check the spacing.

Your problem is not the firing pin sticking as the Mosin Nagant does not have a floating pin. If the cocking piece is back the pin can not be forward.
If the pin was too far advanced and firing cartridges upon bolt closure than you would have burst primers when otherwise fired.
 
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It will probably last longer then you or your kids and their grand kids, probably even if you stored it in a chicken coop. ;)

Sounds like the firing pin needs cleaning and or adjusting or the sear is wonky. Even though it's a $99 rifle you can't put a price on your safety and the safety of others at the range around you. So IMHO a gunsmith who is knowledgable about Mosins might be a good idea.

Btw all Mosins will fire if you close the bolt on a live round and then ease the bolt down manually, not sure if this is what you are doing but I thought I would mention this just in case.
 
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Easeing the cocking piece down will not fire the cartridge. However it does create a very unsafe set of circumstances as the pin IS resting on the primer and a sharp blow to the cocking piece WILL fire the gun.

Look for a rounded sear, rounded cocing piece, bent trigger/sear spring or loose screw.
Failing that an excessively sloppy bolt reciever fit may allow the cocking sear to lift over a short sear engagement
 
Listen to ciphery. He is right on the money.

If a gunsmith wants to charge you more than an hour to fix the problem, go to a different gunsmith.

That $99 rifle may just have been one of the best deals you ever made.

I have an M91/30 sniper that has absolutely no finish left on either the metal or the wood. The bore is pristine. It is one of the most accurate milsurps I own.

Honing a sear and the engagement face on the bolt is very simple but does require the right hones and a good eye or maybe a square to keep the contact faces aligned properly. Good learning rifle you have there.

By the way, if you decide to do it yourself, take off just enough to square of the faces and no more.
 
Also check YouTube on how to disassemble and reassemble the bolt, and check for proper firing pin protrusion. Your bolt may have been assembled incorrectly.
 
ciphery said:
Easeing the cocking piece down will not fire the cartridge. However it does create a very unsafe set of circumstances as the pin IS resting on the primer and a sharp blow to the cocking piece WILL fire the gun.
Click to expand...

In many cases it will fire the cartridge and other members here have discovered this in the past.

As other have mentioned in this thread the firing pins don't float, also who knows how the rifle was set up before one got it or how tight or loose the tolerances are.
 
Dyspnea said:
Also check YouTube on how to disassemble and reassemble the bolt, and check for proper firing pin protrusion. Your bolt may have been assembled incorrectly.
Click to expand...

FTR, I did take it all apart, even the bolt, to remove the cosmoline, it was shortly thereafter that I had that misfire

although I did follow the instructions on setting the right bolt height, I'm kind of worried that perhaps I let the bolt protrude too much

however, if that were the case, I'd probably have a lot more misfires

taking it to the gunsmith seems like the best idea so far
 
Did you buy this fresh from a crate of cosmoline or did you buy it used from a Bubba?

You'll want to look at You Tube for strip and assembly videos. In particular check the trigger and sear. The sear in this case is also a big flat spring. One of the "mods" involves bending this spring. It not only reduces the trigger pull but if done even a trifle too much it reduces the sear engagement on the bolt's tail piece. If it's bad as you're closing the bolt it could cause the tail piece's hook to jump over the sear and make the gun fire before you are ready.

In any event You Tube is full of really good videos on this stuff. Check them out and learn to at least strip down and check the gun. In particular look on You Tube and the web in general for "mosin nagant trigger job". It'll show you the sort of treatment that your gun might have gotten and why it's jumping the sear and firing before you're ready.
 
If you look on page 33 of the thread "199 M44 from Collectors Source" in Red Rifles I posted a picture of the profile of a correct sear/spring assembly and one that causes the same problem described here (fires when the bolt is closed).

As several people have already pointed out, used firearms of any kind are always risky. Mosins especially so because they are cheap (inexpensive) and therefore attract the back yard mechanic types. Fewer people take the grinder and file to the $5000 trap gun.
 
Check to see if the trigger spring screw is tight before you do anything drastic. If you are really worried about it, I will take it off your hands.
 
Mosins are built like tanks. As others mention, you likely have a small issue with your sear or the point it engages on the cocking piece. Find some qualified help if you're unsure. And you have an excellent story to tell people about why you should always point your gun in a safe direction.
 
The Mosin is a #### on open bolt setup. So if it fires when you closed the bolt there is or is most lilkely a sear issue.
IF someone has tried to mod the bolt for #### on close and butchered it, them you may have an issue there but even still a slowly closing bolt even with the FP protruding should not have enough force to fire the primer. Have the sear checked out. Perhaps someone tried a trigger job or the edge of the sear is worn down.
 
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