Tight chamber Chinese mosin m53 HELP!

[Mark White]

I recently purchased a Chinese mosin m53 from a local gun show and I am having trouble clambering a round. If I try to close the bolt it will not go down even if it's in the correct place in the receiver when I extract the round there are large scrapes down the side of the casing twards the bottom. I haven't found any other posts about this problem. Any ideas?

 

[HankC]

Is there a nick or a burr in the chamber? You can always rent a chamber reamer to recut the chamber. Another thing you can do is spin a spent casing with JB bore paste to polish the chamber.

 

[LoonWulf]

First check your chamber thoroughly, could be rust or damage, could also be debris.

 

[boom boom]

As Hank C or LoonWulf said, did you do a visual check with a good borelight into the chamber first? Is there pitting, etc. Sometimes, even a cartridge with the head torn off is lodged in there so check it carefully. What is the rifle's overall condition? Some of the 53's are in new as issued shape but most of the recent ones that I've seen have been pretty beat up.

Next, does the bolt serial match the receiver? Mismatched bolts can be trouble. Is the extractor hitting the receiver? etc.
Was the rifle bubba'ed--e.g. signs that the barrel has been replaced, cut, etc. or does it have mismatched parts (parts rifles often have tolerance problems? The rifle also could have been rechambered and firing it in this case would be catatrosphic.

Sometimes, scratches on the case may be caused by a faulty interruptor in the magazine or by some pretty severe burrs in the chamber (you should see them easily with a borelight at the back of the chamber). BTW, get a cheap led borelight rather than messing with a flashlight.

If you don't find out what it is, either get a gunsmith to look at it (one used to milsurps) prior to firing it, or return it unless you got a really cheap deal.

 

[fireman 9731]

Are you feeding from the magazine? If you aren't, the extractor can have trouble slipping over the rim of the case and the bolt wont close.

Also, a disassembly and thorough cleaning of the bolt and recesses in the receiver may also be in order.

Lastly, is this your first Mosin? If you are used to a modern bolt action, any Mosin will feel like its having issues. Don't be afraid to work the bolt with some gusto.

 

[denton]

I think you might have a problem similar to the one I've had with a 30-30 bolt action.

In my case, reloads made with new brass and factory loads slipped right in, but full length resized brass from any other gun would stick about 1/4" away from full seating. The problem was a chamber just a bit tighter than spec.

When a cartridge is fired, it forms a "pressure ring" just forward of the case head. That is what was sticking. You can check yours by covering the pressure ring with Magic Marker, and attempting to seat it.

Of course, you should first check the chamber to make sure it is smooth and free from deposits.

If the problem is, indeed, a tight chamber, that's not all bad. Tight chambers can be more accurate.

You can get the chamber reamed out a bit for a small investment, or you can do what I did: I bought a new 30-30 outer die body for very little money. Then I chopped off the top of the die just back from the shoulder. Next, I ground about .100" off the bottom of the die and refinished the edges. The result was a funny little half length die that no longer stuck out of the top of the press. Since the cartridge is well tapered, the mouth of the die was a couple of thou smaller than the original mouth. So I can take range brass and pre-treat it with that die, and the resulting ammo fits.

If someone made small base dies for the 30-30, that would have been a much easier solution. But as far as I can tell, nobody does.

The other thing to check is whether there is a problem with the neck of the case. But I'm thinking that the most likely case is the pressure ring.