Mauser Bolt Question

[Konstantin835]

I recently got a Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser and the bolt is buttery smooth, but only when the safety is in the middle (vertical) position. When I flip the safety to the fire position the bolt becomes very hard to operate (worse than my Mosin). If I dry fire the rifle the bolt is almost impossible to open. The really crazy part is that this problem was greatly exaggerated when I cleaned the cosmoline off the rifle (I did re-oil the bolt). I've tried slightly polishing the firing pin and the 2 curved faces where the cocking piece meets the bolt body with no effect. I would really appreciate any ideas on how to fix this. Thanks!

 

[dfariswheel]

Never polish the bolt cam surface or the cocking piece. These parts are case hardened with a very thin "crust" to an almost glass hardness.
The hardened layer is so thin that just about any polishing can break through the layer and expose the soft inner metal.
That will cause very quick wear of the parts and very sticky operation.

Use a light coat of grease on Mauser bolt assemblies inside and out, not oil.
Apply some grease to the bolt cocking cam.

Check the front of the firing pin shoulder and the front-inside of the bolt for any fouling you may have missed when cleaning. Apply a light coat of grease to the firing pin and spring.
Check the the bolt components for mis-matched parts or worn parts.
You often get bolt problems when parts have been replaced.
Make sure the firing pin spring isn't an extra-power replacement.

 

[Konstantin835]

Thanks, but I'm still really confused as to why the bolt is so smooth with the safety in the middle position but not when the safety is on fire. Is that normal?

 

[rcmodel]

The only way you can put the safety on is if the striker / firing pin / very stiff FP spring is already cocked.

With it off, and the striker down, the cocking cam has to cock the stiff firing pin spring when you open the bolt.

Without understanding that, I'm not sure you really have a problem.

Grease the cocking cam, bolt sleeve threads, etc, that move when you open the bolt like dfariswheel said and try it.

But it will always be harder to open the bolt when it is uncocked then it is when it is already cocked with the safety in the middle position.


rc

 

[Konstantin835]

Thanks, I guess I didn't fully understand the mechanics of the safety but the bolt is still extremely hard to work after dry firing. I recently cleaned the bolt again in boiling water and greased it as suggested. Any other ideas? I'm at a loss because I've always heard how smooth the Mauser is and mine is no better than my Mosin Nagant.

 

[courtgreene]

RC explained it well. try taking the safety off, NOT DRY FIRING IT, and working the bolt with the safety off but already cocked. That should feel the same as it did when it was in the vertical position because in both circumstances you're taking the action of cocking on opening out of the equation. If not, then we have a real mystery.

 

[rcmodel]

98 Mauser's are fairly smooth on cocking.

However your Yugo is not really a 98 Mauser.

Some of them were not hardened properly in the first place.
And some of them don't still have the original bolt or bolt parts in them that were fitted to the gun when they were made.

Replacement parts could have been modified from a 98 Mauser action, which is 1/4" longer then a Yugo action, and would take some grinding to get those parts to fit.

It could be your bolt cam or cocking piece were not properly surface hardened to begin with.

Or it could be they have been mismatched when the exporter built rifles out of parts bins.

Or it could be the thin hardening has already worn through due to a mismatched or modified striker and is now galling when cocking.

Whatever it is, don't blame 98 German Mauser's as a group, because your Yugo really isn't a 98 Mauser.

rc

 

[Konstantin835]

courtgreene, thats what I did. When I work the bolt in the fire position (already cocked) it is much more difficult than when the safety is in the vertical position. I'm not sure I totally understand; does the firing pin have to engage the cocking cam even when the rifle is already cocked?

Edit: The bolt matches the receiver so it cant be mismatched parts.

 

[rcmodel]

Yes.
Even though it is cocked, it is not in contact with the sear until you close the bolt, which takes the final preload off the cocking cam and transfers it to the trigger sear.

The "safety on" cams it away from the cocking cam and trigger sear, and takes all the load off when opening the bolt however.

rc

 

[Konstantin835]

So is there anything else I can do to smooth out the bolt?

 

[dfariswheel]

The bolt matches the receiver so it cant be mismatched parts

Oh yes they can be mismatched.
These bolts are made up of a number of parts and it's common to find a bolt body that matches the receiver but with many other parts not matching or correct.
I've seen any number of rifles in which the only part that was original was the actual bolt body. Every thing else was replaced; the firing pin, bolt shroud, safety, cocking piece, etc, and the replacement parts may not have been even made in the same country.

My suggestion is to take the rifle to a qualified gunsmith and have him look it over. Possibly he can spot something that's causing hard bolt operation.
The LAST thing you want to do is start grinding or polishing parts hoping to hit on a fix. Usually that destroys it all.

 

[xerxesthecat]

a common problem with the mauser action is the bolt sleeve lock pin and spring located in the shroud. if the spring gets rusty, deformed, or a piece of crud gets in there, it will do exactly what you are saying. disassemble the bolt, then on the underside of the shroud note the way the pin rotates out. remove it and the spring. clean out the recess & both parts. if anything is obviously wrong, replace the part & see how that works.