Is My Mosin Able To Fire? PIc Included

[howitzer]

The barrel of my mosin looks sort of small in diameter....my first gun so I'm sure it's normal...but I took a round and inserted the bullet backwards into the barrel and this is as far as it would go.....is the bullet suspose to be able to slide fully into the barrel? or does the force of the bullet make it squeeze though when fired. Take a look at the picture i took.

If this is NOT how it's suspose to be...how can I fix this issue.

* what just came to mind was...im thinking maybe this is how it's suspose to be...to block gases from escaping in front of the bullet?

[Darryl]

Does it look like this down the barrel?


If it does, that is counter boaring.

The bullet is supposed to be "tight" in the barrel. That is what makes it twist as it goes down the barrel.

dolk

[howitzer]

no it hasnt been counter bored..the inside is still in great shape...just a little more dirt and grime to get out

[martin08]

This link may help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62_mm_caliber

Looks like you have a healthy bore.

[Darryl]

In your case the bullet is going in and hitting the rifling in the barrel and stopping......normal.

You can "slug" your bore if you are concerned. http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm



If it were counter bored (and a lot of refurbs are), then, What "helps" make a bullet accurate is how good the end of the barrel (muzzle) is. When the original solders used these rifles they cleaned them from the muzzle end of the barrel. That destroys the "crown" (which is the end of the barrel and makes them less accurate.

When they refurbished these rifles, they "counter bored" them to make where the bullet leaves the barrel nice and crisp and clean. Counter boring improves a poor crown on a rifle and makes it much more accurate.

So if you stick a bullet in the end it will go in easy at first (the counter bore) and then stop as it hits the rifling.

Dolk

[Darryl]

im thinking maybe this is how it's suspose to be...to block gases from escaping in front of the bullet?

The tight fit is not to block gasses from getting in front of the bullet (per say), it is to make the bullet pick up the rifling in the barrel and "spin" the bullet as it comes out of the barrel making it more stable (accurate). A bullet spins as it goes down range.

That is why the old smooth bore musket were so much less accurate (more than 80 yards and you couldn't hardly hit anything) and the newer rifled muskets (which are very accurate out past 100 yards).


Canada is a ways away from California, or I'd come over there and shoot that thing for you!

Dolk

[racerguy00]

Congrats on your first rifle! Your mosin passes what they call the bullet test, if it drops inside a nin-counterbored barrel your bore would be worn out. Looks normal to me but follow advice by slugging or Java a gunsmith check it out to put your mind at ease if bee be.

[Darryl]

If you are scared to fire it.......stick it in an old tire and tie a string to the trigger and get back......


I've done it several times at the range even......They usually make me go to the end of the "line" and make everyone leave! Never had a problem yet.


I'll shoulder any Mosin that has been re-furbished and fire it if it has been checked with a head space gauge and it has been cleaned. No problem, they are in really good shape. Just check the rifle over very closely and make sure there is nothing obviously wrong with it. And it is a great idea to have someone one who "knows a little" look it over too. A gunsmith is good, but I don't think it is mandatory on these rifles. They have been checked a few times before you got it.


And remember, the first round is the most dangerous one! .......just kidding........they all are!



Dolk

[howitzer]

I was thinking on just holding the rifle down my legs really tightly...turn it sideways and test it that way in the middle of no where hah. im 98% sure its gunna be fine..ill call the gun guy and ask him if he can check the headspace for me..hes the same guy who granted my gun licence hah

[finloq]

You are fine. I see alot of cosmo residue, be sure that you clean out the bore and chamber. These guys were made to take alot of punishment and keep on trooping. The bullet grips the rifling as the hot gas pushes it down the barrel. The rifling twists the bullet and imparts a spin on it to stabalize it. If your bullet would have dropped down the barrel, you would have a smooth bore musket, not a rifle.

[Junk Yard Dog]

That is a very nice crown on the bore if that is all the bullet will go in, very little if any wear. Check the headspace, check the firing pin protrusion with the tool in the accessory kit, instructions for this are on the forum main page under cleaning. Then fire it, you could get struck by lightening, run down crossing the street, get caught in the crossfire during a bank robbery, all more likely than your Mosin hurting you so long as you point the barrel down range.

[howitzer]

Thanks for the tips...nice to hear the crown is in good shape...checked the pin just now...good to go...cleaned and lubed the barrel and chamber up a tiny bit...last is the head space the its time to snipe some zombies

[Junk Yard Dog]

Zombies? I hope not, I don't care to have to live in the world of Walking Dead, fine for TV fodder, but it looks very unpleasant for the people living it on the show. Eating dog food, and the leg chopping off thing, no, not fun at all.

[dou44]

cutting the leg off does not bother me at all,as long as it's is not my leg.me i would find a apc or small tank to drive around in.

[racerguy00]

While I was watching that show Sunday I couldn't help but think how well an m44 with its spike bayonet would make a great zombie killing prop for the show. There. I mentioned Zombies, won't happen again.

[Simo]

I was thinking on just holding the rifle down my legs really tightly...turn it sideways and test it that way in the middle of no where hah. im 98% sure its gunna be fine..ill call the gun guy and ask him if he can check the headspace for me..hes the same guy who granted my gun licence hah

better to lose you lower half than your top half?

[Junk Yard Dog]

cutting the leg off does not bother me at all,as long as it's is not my leg.me i would find a apc or small tank to drive around in.

Better to just figure out who invented the Zombie virus before he invents it , hunt him down and blow off the top of his head, end of problem before it starts.

[evildog]

I love that show, they should have an episode where they stumble across one of our places and take up a bunch of mosins with the bayonets on and spam can after spam can of ammo. They would never run short of ammo again.....

[Junk Yard Dog]

I see this season they have gotten real with the firearms, AK's AR's lots of other guns, even silencers. I said right from the start that it was unrealistic to think that a group of people moving around rural Georgia wouldn't be able to find weapons of this type easily. Now, the Zombies who seem to have died while wearing complete sets of riot gear, even the helmets ......... another mistake, how could the zombies bite them through the gear, and if bitten and dying of the infection why would they keep their gear on? One man maybe, but an entire squad?

[evildog]

The infection is airborne in that it's inside them already. You get shot and die you come back, or heart attack or anything other than a bite and you die you come back. I also was wondering that they could not find more guns and ammo in rural areas...