Feeding my Mosin Nagant

[smithman 10]

I bought a 91/59 years ago off an old gent paring down his rifle collection.

Love shooting it but can't figure out how anyone could have used it in combat!

Never found a stripper clip that worked and even loading single rounds I seem to always get at least one round with the rim behind the round below it so it won't feed.

What's the secret to making this rifle run smooth?

Or does it have a defective part rather than a defective owner?

 

[GCBurner]

I thought the rather complicated "interrupter" mechanism in the magazine was supposed to make it feed reliably whatever the position of the rims?

 

[smithman 10]

I've seen video on YouTube of guys loading and firing Mosins fast from strippers with nary a glitch. Just wish mine would do that.

Makes me think something's wrong with the magazine or interrupter.

 

[VPLthrneck]

There might still be some cosmoline or other old grease/gunk stuck in the shell box spring.

Here's what I did to all three of my M-N's:
1) Take it completely apart and give it a good cleaning.
2) Pop open the bottom of the shell box and take the leaf spring out and soak it in WD-40 or Hoppes #9.
3) When reassembling put a little bit of gun grease on the moveable parts of the leaf spring.

 

[nathan]

Try removing the action from the stock and unscrew the interrupter. Polish the surface smooth with emery cloth . Maybe it will help .

 

[Rory McCanuck]

Some stripper clips are better than others, holding rounds tightly.
All of mine are loose, but I've learned how to make them work.
Get 5 rounds into the clip, then let them hang loose.
Rattle it a bit, and they should all hang at the same angle.
Now, hold everything tight, (clip, 5 cartridges) and turn over.
The rounds should all be pointing up, or straight out with a
looser clip, and the rims should all be right way round.
Set into the groove in receiver, and push in with your thumb.

Hope this helps.

 

[Deus Machina]

FWIW, I have heard that early interrupters would allow a rimlock that newer ones let slide, and--at least in my M44--even the new ones don't prevent it if you manage to lock up the top round. Which always seems to want to move that way even if I have it set right in the clip...

 

[A Historian]

I thought the rather complicated "interrupter" mechanism in the magazine was supposed to make it feed reliably whatever the position of the rims?

Supposed is definitely the operative word there. :\

 

[smithman 10]

FWIW, I have heard that early interrupters would allow a rimlock that newer ones let slide, and--at least in my M44--even the new ones don't prevent it if you manage to lock up the top round. Which always seems to want to move that way even if I have it set right in the clip...

Good to know I'm not the only one who has trouble loading these fine rifles.

By the way I cracked up when I read that Deus Machina's "When you get angry enough, grab your rifle and run outside. If you're the only one there, it's not time yet."

 

[Caliper_Mi]

I've had rimlock once or twice. Trick is when you are single loading to push each round into the magazine and then rearward to ensure that the rims re properly staggered.

I got a set of bad ebay stripper clips - would not work for anything. Later got a different set that works great. The good ones are brass, if that matters anything. Loading from these clips works just like all the youtube videos. You do have to have the rounds angled upward in the clip when loading to get the rims oriented right. I've never had rimlock loading from strippers.

 

[nathan]

If you use the Bulgarian stripper s with the circle 10, they work fine.

 

[GCBurner]

The Russian ammo I bought is already loaded on stripper clips out of the box, and I haven't had any trouble with them.

 

[fatcat4620]

GCBurner, where did you get this ammo. I need to feed my M44 and want a munch of stripper clips for it as well. If its online I could hit two birds with one bullet.

 

[Cosmoline]

The interrupter is actually a pretty simple mechanism. It's just a prong of steel that blocks the round below the top and keeps it clear of the feeding round's rim. In some Mosins this steel will be worn down or just loose from wear, so it lets the following round rise up too high and permits rimlock.

Also, if you look at different 54R you'll find some very different rim designs. Change the ammo and you may be changing the ability of the rifle to feed properly.

As far as stripper clips, as noted some are better than others. I prefer the Finnish type which are stiff steel with retaining clips on the end. The eastblock clips tend to be of softer material and will sometimes permit a round to leap out early and mess up the works.

Loading methods differ, but for stiff clips you can use the top round as a rammer to plunge the others down and save your hands from getting cut up.

 

[GCBurner]

GCBurner, where did you get this ammo. I need to feed my M44 and want a munch of stripper clips for it as well. If its online I could hit two birds with one bullet.

I bought half a case at a gunshow, along with some Russian ammo pouches to carry it in. The clips are shiney new looking, maybe nickel or chrome plated, and the only mark on them is a triangle in a circle. The headstamp on the cartridges is an 08 on top and an 01 on the bottom. The dealer was selling them out of an open Spam can, but the markings were in Russian, so I don't know anything else about it. Seems to shoot good in my rifle, anyway. It comes in unmarked paper packets, tied with string, which each hold 15 rounds on clips, just enough for each side of a regulation ammo pouch.

 

[Phaethon]

Whenever I load single rounds I just make sure to load the first round in, and then use my thumb to slide it as far back towards me as possible. When I load the next round on top of it, I put the rim of the next case about halfway up the case of the round below it and repeat. I've never had any issues.

 

[16in50calNavalRifle]

Lots of good info and advice in the comments so far.

I sometimes get jammed up using the strippers (cheap, tin repros I bought on-line), but not always - but enough that like phaethon, I usually load one round at a time, being careful to use the rim of the round I'm loading to push down the top round in the magazine, sliding the rim back on that top round, ensuring it rests behind the rim below.

It's really a technique question - you need to pull up on the front of the loading round, push down hard on the rear, and in such a way that does not mash your fingers. Depends on the rifle, the spring in the magazine, etc. Same for the strippers - even my "bad" ones can work quite well when I'm getting into a rhythm with them.

I plan to keep an eye out for brass or the better steel ones from now on. I don't minding one at a time - like the bolt-action cadence, it's a nice methodic ritual - but I'd also like to get proficient at using the stripper quick loading.

 

[Coviekiller5]

I am surprised it is having that much trouble. As others have said its alot to do with technique, and the bolt can be really smooth if you get it nice and clean, the chamber that is. I can fire my M44 faster than my friend can fire his Mauser M27/48. Just watch out you don't rip your thumbs up on those stripper clips. I have done it more times than I wish to admit.

 

[Cosmoline]

Those clips have the Tikka mark on them and look just like the Finnish ones I prefer, but the ammo doesn't appear to be Finnish. Are you sure about those stamps?

 

[GCBurner]

Those clips have the Tikka mark on them and look just like the Finnish ones I prefer, but the ammo doesn't appear to be Finnish. Are you sure about those stamps?

Yep, I suspect it may be ammo repacked in Finland; the Russians have done away with the little fingers at the ends of the clips to simplify production lately, I believe. The headstamps are puzzling, though, the 08 over 01 would tend to indicate ammo produced in Factory #8 in the year 2001, if it follows the normal Russian marking convention, but I don't know if Factory #8 is a Russian production facility, and Russian 7.62r made after 1968 seems to be packed in 20-round packs instead of 15. There is no colored tips on the bullets to indicate ammo type, but it seems to be standard 147 gr. light ball. It's pretty accurate stuff, at least in my rifle. That, combined with the lack of labels or markings on the packages made me wonder if it might be repacked 7N1 ammo meant for a Dragunov.