Simple Mosin nagant Question: Single Loading?

[jamesbeat]

Just got my first MN, an M91/30, and I can tell that these things are going to become a serious addiction for me

There is a wealth of information on these rifles all over the internet, so I have managed to find answers to most of my questions, but there is one issue on which I have read conflicting reports:

Is it ok to chamber a single round and then close the bolt on it?

I have read both that it is fine to do and that this happens every time you chamber a round, and also that it is a bad idea and can damage the extractor.

I know that some rifles can be loaded in this way without fear of damaging the extractor, but I don't know whether the MN is one of those.

I would just try loading the rifle slowly and seeing what happens as the round is fed from the magazine, but I don't yet have any dummy rounds to experiment safely with.

 

[courtgreene]

A mosin nagant rifle, as far as I know, is push fed. It should be perfectly fine to do it that way. A friend of mine can't figure out the stripper clips, and doesn't like to take the time to load the magazine 1 at a time, so this is pretty much all he does.
If you get some stripper clips, though, and figure out how to use them (it's not that hard), then I think you'd like that more.

 

[ball3006]

Put the single round in the magazine then close the bolt. If you just put the round in the chamber you will beat up your extractor.....chris3

 

[jamesbeat]

See? Two conflicting views already!

I ask the question from an academic standpoint more than anything, I doubt I'll be single loading the rifle much anyway. If I do, I'll pop the round into the magazine and feed from there.

I'm still interested to know though, simply because there seems to be so much disparity of opinion.

 

[hornet41]

If you think about it, it doesn't make any difference! From mag or inserted into chamber, the extractor doesn't snap over the cartridge rim until the bolt is closed!

 

[TurtlePhish]

It's fine to single load. The extractor does the same thing either way.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

It's fine to single load. The extractor does the same thing either way.

+1. Try feeding from the mag: push the bolt forward but do NOT close it. Then pull the bolt back. The round is still in the chamber, because the extractor doesn't pop over the rim until the bolt is closed.

Mausers, and anything else with a controlled round feed system are why many people insist on feeding from the mag.

 

[BCRider]

Courtgreene, if your buddy's Mosin jams when stripper clip loaded then the interrupter setup is slightly out of whack. When it's working correctly the finger on the interrupter/ejector spring will hold back the other rounds from the one due to be loaded so the rims don't lock.

On my two Mosins one worked fine and the other I had to tweak a touch to get it to reach in far enough to hold the lower rounds back.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've loaded hundreds by dropping them into the chamber and closing the bolt. The back of the 54R rim is slanted to let the extractor ride up and over it.

 

[firesky101]

I have owned lots of mosins, my father has even more. I have never encountered a broken extractor. I have not come across many broken anythings on mosins for that matter.

 

[Onmilo]

Just drop the round in the magwell and close the bolt.
Mosin rifles use a cartridge interrupter that pops the cartridge free from the magazine before the bolt feeds it into the chamber.

 

[jamesbeat]

I have owned lots of mosins, my father has even more. I have never encountered a broken extractor. I have not come across many broken anythings on mosins for that matter.

I can believe it.
I don't have much experience with these rifles since I literally just bought my first one, but I have detail stripped it.
There is not a single component that looks flimsy, everything is satisfyingly over engineered.

 

[TheOld Man]

Remember, Mosins were designed (in the 1890's) to be used by illiterate peasant conscripts who in many cases really did not want to be there. One of the most robust designs I have ever seen. I worked in Russia on an engineering project in the 1990's. If you saw what Russians do to their cars you would understand why the Mosins were built so tough.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Just drop the round in the open action...