Bought a Mosin. What do I do first?

[LloydXmas250]

Bought it and will be picking it up soon. I've read all about the cleaning that needs to be done and I'm kind of confused. Then one I purchased didn't appear to have really any cosmolene on or in it. It was heavily oiled. Once I pick it up how should I clean it first? And what's with the running of hot water down the barrel I've heard of? Is that necessary and what does it do? Basically, what's a step by step cleaning process that I should do before I take it out? Thanks.

[bigghoss]

hot water down the barrel is to remove any corrosive residue from any old ammo that may have been put through the gun. most regular solvents and cleaners won't remove this. you only need to do this after shooting corrosive ammo and it wouldn't be a bad idea right off the bat since you never know. the only other thing is "sticky bolt syndrome"

check this out http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...esbs/index.asp

surplusrifle.com is a great resource

[azredhawk44]

You need to sweat the cosmoline out of the bolt and chamber.

You can put the bolt in a toaster-oven @ about 250 degree heat for a couple hours. line the area under it with aluminum foil to catch the run-off.

The barrel is harder to do. Best way to get the cosmo out of it (at least for me) is to put it on the patio in a sunny spot for a hot AZ afternoon. The cardboard will be greasy afterwards. Then you degrease the barrel while the cosmoline is still runny from the heat. That "should" get the rest of it.

Hot water: I use lightly soapy water to neutralize and wash out the salts from corrosive primers. I then follow that with an ammonia based window cleaner to get out copper fouling since most surplus x54R ammo isn't great quality and tends to foul a lot.

My results give me a rifle good for 300 yard prone shooting at pumpkins, no problem, with 180gr ammo.

[GONIF]

get some brake kleen non clorinated from Auto zone ,a couple of cans will clean the cosmo out faster than you can beleive. do it out doors the smell and fumes are bad .

[mp25ds4]

i just scrub the barrel with a bore brush soaked in solvent(hoppes elite, etc.) and then run patches through like a normal gun cleaning and my bore(s) still look like mirrors on all my guns that i shoot surplus through.
( mauser, enfield, mosin etc.)

[lachanceent]

Bought a Mosin. What do I do first?

Buy Another

[LloydXmas250]

Thanks for the advice. The bolt is actually extremely quick. It does not stick whatsoever. Not yet at least. One quick question about the water to clean the barrel. Do you actually disassemble the gun to the point where you remove the barrel or do you just carefully pour water down while it's still attached to the stock? Also about the wood. Do I oil that as well when cleaning?

[bigghoss]

http://www.mouseguns.com/compare.htm

[Mike U.]

WHOA!! Hold on a minute there pardners! Better check with the better half before baking Cosmoline steeped gun parts in her oven. That cooked Cosmoline smell lingering in the oven and house will put you in the dog house for many moons.

I made this mistake once. ONCE...

[LloydXmas250]

How can I tell there is still cosmolene in the gun? It was imported to a US manufacturer and then sold to this gun store and when I was going over it before I bought it, I couldn't find any traces of cosmolene. Even looking down the bore, it was practically a mirror. It is well oiled too. Is it possible it's already been cleaned of its cosmolene?

[bigghoss]

if it hasn't been in private hands yet you can bet there's cosmo in there somewhere. if you have a shop or something maybe you can build ya a little sweat box with a tarp and 2x4s and stick a space heater in there and crank it up. keep the heater away from the tarp though.

[carguychris]

get some brake kleen non clorinated from Auto zone ,a couple of cans will clean the cosmo out faster than you can beleive.

The good thing about brake cleaner is that it will strip every last trace of oil off the metal. However, the bad thing about brake cleaner is that it will strip every last trace of oil off the metal. Military-style parkerized or phosphate finishes don't possess any corrosion-protecting properties on their own; their purpose is to absorb oil. No oil = no corrosion protection.

Make sure to thoroughly oil any surface that has been cleaned with brake cleaner.