OT Where can I buy a bolt for a Mosin Nagant

has the bolt for $99 and it comes with a free bolt holder.

Ackshully, $69.95 could get him one with a lesser bolt holder.

And ammo $179.95 for a 600rd case in MN chargers, free shipping! Bbbut, where are the pre-Cull prices?

-- You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. --Jack London

You can buy a whole Mosin for less than $100

I still remember buying Mosin-Nagant ammo at 10 cents per round. That ammo was shitty though, and had a lot of misfires. 1 out of five or so.

i

Which is exactly what I did.

i

Gun Parts/Numrich would be first stop, Springfield Sporters has scads of parts, too. Both have web sites. Then you get the fun of checking headspace, those gauges will cost more than you can get another gun for. I wouldn't depend on Soviet tolerances being held to U.S. interchange levels, even here they checked headspace when changing bolts in Springfields.

Stan

Brownell's. While its frowned upon in some circle, I have seen straight handles cut and welded and then ground and polished.

Pete Keillor

I have also seen the handles heated and bent. Probably better than cutting and welding.

Jim

Ooh, love that #5 angled job. Sweet!

-- You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. --Jack London

In the 60's it was, as you say, quite common to either forge or weld military bolt handles. I even has a special fixture to hold the bolt while being forged.

As I was concerned about the strength of a forged bolt I hardness tested several '98 mausers bolts and receivers which showed a hardness comparable with cold rolled low carbon steel. This was also true of the larger Japanese receiver but not true of some US made guns so it is not a universal.

As most bolts lock to the receiver/barrel at the front of the bolt what you do at the rear of the bolt really has little effect on the strength of the action.

Cheers,

John D. Slocomb (jdslocombatgmail)

Forging is the better method, even if you're an ace weldor. Haven't looked lately, but bolt forging blocks used to be a Brownell staple. The other necessity was a rosebud tip on the torch. Worst part of the job was stripping the bolt, really needed special pliers to remove the extractor and collar during stripping. The original instructions were to pack the interior and bolt head with wet asbestos. Have never seen a set for the Mosin, but then it was never really sporterized much back in the '50s. Maybe Iggy can make some bucks turning out bolt forge blocks with his new acquisition.

The oldest Mausers were made of mild carbon steel and then pack- hardened, gave a hard exterior for wear and a softer interior for shock resistance. '03 Springfields were done the same way, during the rush to rearm in WWI, they gave the job of heat-treating to some inexperienced dubs who turned out full-hard receivers. These were later found to be dangerous to fire, particularly with WWI leftovers, see Hatcher's Notebook, and the material was changed to alloy steel. A lot of American gun makers had already changed over much earlier. A lot of fuss was made in the gun press about these nickel-steel '03 receivers, you'd swear they were magical the way the contemporary writers carried on about them.

Stan

Iggy...the issue with trying to match a generic MN bolt with a rifle that it didnt come from..is a little thingy called "head space"

The bolt has to be matched to the chamber/barrel/round

If the distance from the barrel is too far..when you pull the trigger..the firing pin hits the primer..which starts to expand BACKWARDS towards the bolt...in some cases splitting the primer and putting a bunch of gas in your face. Then the back of the cartridge starts to stretch backwards towards the bolt face...making the case longer than it should be..and often times making a weak ring around the case..which can and oftent times does split open..putting 45,000 PSI suddenly into open air..8" in front of your face..sometimes with incredibly bad results.

If the distance from the barrel is too close..the gun wont chamber a round. Which is far far safer than the above. It wont blow your face off or cut the bolt free and launch it into your skull at many hundreds of Feet per second.

Some manufactures were better than others..and some bolts will interchange "safely".

Ive a number of mausers that have had this done..and a couple Springfields that came from the same arsenel during the same time frame..and the bolts will interchange...MOSTLY ok. Found that out the hard way when taking 5 to the range one day and having a friend help me clean/clear and test fire.

They all fired ok..but had some bulging primers that raised my eyebrows and caused me to start investigating.

If you have lost the bolt to your MN...you may have some issues......shrug

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

VERY nice selection of M39s...the superior MN of all ever made.

Not cheap these days from the looks of it..but some nice nice arms.

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

Good point. I bought a nice Mosin Nagant, made in 1943, very historical looking. This is my second M-N, as I have a Finnish M39, but that one is not exactly "like in the movies", and this one is.

The bolt question was just trying to cover bases.

i

My M39 is a very nice shooter. I put a scope on it.

i

Which mount did you use? Ive got a few M39s and was pondering setting a scope on one.

Ive considered making a custom scope mount so I can use both glass and iron sights.

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

Good looking MN. Big 5 Sporting goods has lesser quality MNs occasionally on sale for $79

btw..you will likely find that your new rifle will shoot far differently with the bayonet mounted as it does with it unmounted.

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

I had the bolt handle welded on.

i