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Old January 22, 2013, 10:03 PM   #1
reednoah
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Cleaning an old 91/30

I have an old 91/30 mosin I tried shooting a while ago but it didn't do very well. I wasn't surprised actually because the bore looked really dark and heavily pitted. I considered rebarreling it and went poking around online for an idea of how involved this might be. Wow! Major undertaking, no doubt. But then I came across a reply to a question from someone thinking about the same project and they were advised to try a very thourough cleaning. That's much more within my capabilities,though the technique suggested is one I've never tried . They said to plug the bore at the breach end and fill it all the way up with solvent. Let it sit for a week, then scrub vigourously for a long time. My question for you is what sort of plug materiel should I use that won't leak and won't cause any further damage to the bore. Using a wooden dowel was not advised because it could cause damage. Okay, but this seems odd to me too. The wood is much softer than the metal so I'm wondering where the risk is coming from.
But what I really want to know is what other materiel would be safer to use and that won't leak solvent over the course of a week.
I would be grateful for any advice anyone might have.
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Old January 22, 2013, 11:52 PM   #2
kilimanjaro
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I can't see much wrong with using a wood plug, it may swell a bit, but won't damage the breech, in my opinion. A little plumber's putty should work fine.
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Old January 23, 2013, 12:10 AM   #3
tahunua001
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general rule of thumb when parkerizing is to plug both ends with short sections of wood dowels, you should be fine but don't plug too tight, the wood will swell with the solvent and will be harder to remove than to get in.
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Old January 23, 2013, 01:40 AM   #4
deerslayer303
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I have used a two part epoxy putty, its petroleum resistant. It comes in a stick at the auto parts store. The stuff I bought was call fast weld. The outside of the stick is a light grey and the inside is a dark grey. You break you off a piece and knead it till its all one color. Then make it into a roll a little bigger than a casing and shove it into the chamber. This stuff cures in like 20 minutes. It gets warm when you are mixing it. Don't dilly dally with it. When it sets up its like a rock. It doesn't swell so don't worry about that. but clean the chamber area with alcohol really good to make sure there is no oily residue there to help the putty cure. Then I used a gel type bore scrubber. I filled the barrel up with the gel bore scrubber then I left it standing of course and covered the muzzle end with a tube type balloon. When you scrub it use a BRASS ROD and a Bronze brush, don't use a steel bristled brush. When I was done I knocked the putty out with the cleaning rod that comes on the Mosin tap it gently and it will come out in one piece, I then ran a 20 gauge shotgun bush on a section of cleaning rod in my drill to clean up the chamber in case there was any left over putty in there. Hope this helps
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Old January 23, 2013, 11:44 AM   #5
jsmaye
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Quote:
...because the bore looked really dark and heavily pitted...then I came across a reply to a question from someone thinking about the same project and they were advised to try a very (thorough) cleaning.
Sorry to break it to you, but no amount of cleaning is going to remedy a pitted bore.
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Old January 23, 2013, 12:12 PM   #6
TomADC
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Saw this on another board a member there is redoing a 1858.

"Captain,

You might want to try lapping the barrel out using an old method my gunsmith taught me. Take a 45-70 case and sharpen the mouth the best you can and cut some leather wads. You may want to use older brass because it will mess the case up. Then you take your roughly .457 diameter leather wads and use a leather punch to cut holes about a 1-4 inch in diamenter directly in the center of the wad. After you have about 6-8 wads you are ready for mounting. Take an 8x32 bolt that will fit into the threads of an older one piece steel cleaning rod (GI rods work great for this task) and place your wads onto the bolt. You have to measure the bolt to fit through your leather and have room to tighten down. Wads can be added or subtracted if needed. For a badly pitted barrel start with course grade lapping compound. Can be obtained at an Auto parts store in course and fine grade packages. Coat the leather wads with the lapping compound after snuging them into the cleaning rod. Starting on the breech end tap the coated leather into the bore. Run the lap that you just formed through the bore untill you see a little leather pass the muzzle. Tighten the 8x32 bolt one quarter turn or more. Too much will sieze, but a little will give you friction to do the job. Pull the lap back through the bore and stop when you see leather showing. Work the course grade compound and clean once in a while to see if the pits are gone. This will take a while, so clear your evening schedule. Once you get the desired results switch to the fine grade and take the same steps as you did with the course compound. If you are worried about damaging the bore don't. The lap will only take off very little, the worst that will happen is that you will not be able to get the pits out. In your case there is nothing to loose. You will know when the job is done when the bore looks like a mirror.

Good luck,
Wes"
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Old January 23, 2013, 03:16 PM   #7
tobnpr
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Quote:
Sorry to break it to you, but no amount of cleaning is going to remedy a pitted bore.
Yep...

Get some Wipe-Out...
Several applications, with overnight "soaks", will get it as good as can be...without undue effort or cost.

If it doesn't shoot up well after that, hang it on the wall and buy another one.
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Old January 23, 2013, 07:12 PM   #8
deerslayer303
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^^ Agreed, they are cheap enough.
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Old January 23, 2013, 11:08 PM   #9
the rifleer
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A good way to clean a barrel is to actually shoot it. You cant get anything in a barrel as tight as a bullet.

If it is actually pitted, as others have stated, you can't do anything about it.
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Old January 23, 2013, 11:35 PM   #10
Heavy Metal 1
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for plugging the bore the hardware stores have a thing (can't think of the actual name) that is basically a rubber stopper with a bolt for a core and a metal washer on each end. Tighteneing the bolt conpresses the rubber enlarging its diameter forming a liquid proof seal.

I vouch for the Wipeout though as it is much easier. I have a rifle with a nasty bore and giving it 2 1/2hr treatment of wipeout made it shine. It is still pitted, but it got the crud out of the pits!
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Old January 24, 2013, 03:49 PM   #11
m&p45acp10+1
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I have several rifles that have bores that look like they are pitted to some extent. I cleaned them good, and with good ammo they shoot quite well.

I would advise before doing all the other stuff slug the bore first. The cause of inaccuacy in many of the Mosin-Nagant rifles is an oversized bore. I have one like that. It shoots 5 inch groups at 100 yards with the spam can ammo. With my hand loads using an oversized bullet it cut those groups to 2 to 3 inches. (My vision with iron sights limits this. Someone better beihind the trigger with decent eye sight could shrink that even more.

Now that said for a good cleaning that will help. Get some J&B Bore Brite. Use a cleaning brush. Oil the bore. Dampen a patch with oil. Rub it across the surface of the bore brite. Wrap the patch on the brush. It should be real tight fit. Go in back and forth in and out short strokes all the way down the bore, and back out. Rinse the excess with hot tap water. Run dry patches through till it is dry. Oil it again. See how it looks. It may take 2 or three times to get it better.


Note that if you slug it, and it is .310 get some brass cased ammo. Fire it out of the rifle. Buy a Lee Loader. (The $20 whack a mole.) and non metal mallet. Add a block of wood. Now buy some .311 sized bullets that are for the .303 British, and some powder, with some large rifle primers. Follow the directions, and use a powder that the instructions list that will work with the dipper. Your groups will shrink.
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Old January 24, 2013, 06:09 PM   #12
Duzell
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how to clean a 9130

ok mosins are normally not accurate, you could buy 50 and maybe 1 is normal, but there are a few very accurate ones, its just rare to find them.

anyway if this is a gun youve just got recently i recommend the following

1. put windex on whatever your using to clean down barrel, this will neutralize any corrosive ammo residue that remains

now i use a cleaning kit for my m1a the rods are strong and reach way past the barrel of the mosin now. using rod i put a white gun cleaning rag that is soaked in windex and ram it down the barrel a few times , let this set for 20 min(barrel snake works with this to)

after that i would take the bolt apart and gap the firing pin to proper size(not hard with tools that are provided with mosin)

after cleaning the bolt and greasing it, work on the barrel with bore cleaning kit, must keep jamming rags down it till its clean(rags come back white)
after this i would wait till barrel inside is dry

now to get the remaining cosmoline out i baked my rifle with a pan under it to catch the goo. anyway it takes a while but the stuff will leak out and then repeat cleaning steps above(you should always check pin size after a shoot)


if you have any questions or thoughts on what you are thinking of doing to this mosin feel free to drop in on my mosins project blog ill be happy to help you with thought, concerns, recommendations
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Old January 24, 2013, 06:25 PM   #13
m&p45acp10+1
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Save yourself the trouble is you still have the cosmoline on the rifle. Take the metal off of the stock. Spray it with brake parts cleaner. A can cost $5 or less at the auto parts store, or automotive section in a Walmart.

Take the bolt apart and put it in basin with all the other part except the barrel. Hold the barrel facing down towards the basin. Spray in short busrst down the barrel. The spray will run down the barrel, and into the basin. Spray the outside with the cleaner over the basin. When you have used at least half of the can. Swish the parts in the basin around. Leave them in for the time being. Now Run an oiled patch down the barrel a few times. Then wipe the outside with oil. Stick it to the side. Now take the small parts out. Give them a good shake. The parts cleaner will dry quickly. When it dires wipe the parts with a generous coat of oil. Let it sit for a few minutes. Now wipe the excess off of the outside of the barrel and action. Run a couple of dry patches down the bore. Now wipe the parts with a clean dry cloth. Put them back together. Place the barrel action back on the stock with the screws. Replace the bolt.

Done. Takes less than a half hour for the cleaning everything up. Add a few more minutes if you do not know how to put the bolt back together. For that one youtube is your friend.

I just finished doing this with one not 20 minutes ago. (I now have bought 6 of them in the past 2 years. I gifted 3 to family. One to my wife. Two are mine.)
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