I just got my first mosin and I love it. However the bolt is one stubborn son of a bitch. I have clean the chamber with a power drill and .50 brush and went hunting for any burrs and filed them down. The problem seems to be in the actual action of cocking it again. It is the same dry fired as it is at the range. If I pull back the cocking piece by hand before operating the bolt the problems goes away. Not a huge deal but I wouldn't want to do it with the Germans shooting back at me. Is this something that will improve with use? Also my mosin seems to have been fired few if any times before I got it, leading me to believe that it may just need to be broken in. Any advice maybe getting a different firing pin spring and playing around with that.

I don't have a Mosin yet, but you might want to make sure the bolt is properly put together. I almost put my 1903's firing pin sleeve on upside down, but by the design it wouldn't go completely back together. I can imagine if it was a poor design something like that could happen, which could cause loads of problems.

www.surplusrifle.com

Has detailed information about disassembly and reassembly of many surplus firearms. You might want to check there just to make sure. Again I'm no expert, nor do I have a Mosin, but it sounds like something is probably in wrong and not connecting with a groove, tooth, edge, etc. Like trying to push your safety over when it's not cocked, but as soon as you manually pull it back you're lined up and ready to go.

The mosin bolt is fairly simple and I think it would be impossible to put it together wrong. I think it has to do with the  spring being very strong. surplusrifle.com rocks

I wish I could be of more help. After getting my 1903 about two weeks ago I completely cleaned everything of the cosmoline and put it back together. I oiled the important areas but skipped several of the moving parts (was doing more of a function test before I oiled everything, just in case I needed to take it apart again). I noticed that my bolt locked up about mid way back. After oiling the rails the bolt rides in and the magazine spring/follower the bolt cycles almost flawlessly now. From time to time the follower with tilt funny and will cause a tightening feeling, but a little wiggle and it's fine. You might want to make sure everything is oiled outside the bolt as well (sure you already have, but just make sure it's all real good).

Also, if you are having the same problem when dry firing I would not think that chamber would have anything to do with it. You might want to check to make sure the receiver has no burs on the underside of it. If the receiver has been drilled/tapped and proper clean up didn't take place you might have a nasty bugger or two (especially if using dull tools) on the underside of the receiver.

You also might want to take pictures for the more knowledgable to look at.

Nature of the beast.

MN's use very stout main springs. I think they're actually truck springs.

Both of my M91/30's are that way. I absolutely have to pull the rifle off my shoulder to work the bolt. Not so with my Springfield and especially my Enfield No.4.

Both of my M44's are pretty hard to turn.  I think they are just made that way.  New springs or firing pins aren't gonna do much.  I doubt its gonna "break in" much.  

Some ammo is difficult to extract.  Yellow tip Czech is a sonuvabitch to extract, while Albanian is much easier.  Stick you little finger into the chamber area and feel around for goo, etc where the bolt lugs lock.

I've found that "most" of the time, the pre-war mfg'd MN's are smoother than war production guns.  Not a whole lot but some.  I have one particular MN, a 1927 Tula that is'nt too bad until I put some current production Wolf in it, after firing it's a SOB to work the bolt.  Brown Bear and surplus stuff does'nt give me any problems.  

It is a 1943 Izzy so the metal work was a bit rushed. The area where the lugs lock is the only place I didn't get in there very good, I had to buy a new toothbrush first. I will check it out in the morning. Thanks guys, I will also try some different ammo, I got a bunch of the Czech yello tip, and the Polish silver tip. From what I hear both of those tend to be hard to extract. Bad new is I think I cought the C&R bug

All three of mine (1938, Finn M91, and M39) can be tough to turn.  I've found it's actually easier  to turn the bolt with my left hand-better angle, stronger muscles, something of that nature.

i read an article in surplusrifles.com that if you cut the main spring from 3.25 to 3.18 that it will ease up. after you are sure its not headspace. look it up over there it shows how to do it.

I use an AR15 chamber brush to clean the receiver locking lugs. It has a stainless brush collar that does a nice job. I have also used a dab of Flitz polish on rough surfaces in that area, then work the bolt a buncha times to smooth things out. Just be sure to clean all the polish out when done.

Works for me. YMMV,

X

I have considered installing a Badger Ordnance oversized bolt knob on mine.  It is so stiff to operate, that I doubt that I'd take it on a hunting trip.

My 91/30 is a little stiff.  My M44 is pretty good though.  

Buddy was like, "is it supposed to be this tough to operate?"  It was his first time operating a bolt action.

I'm like, "treat it like a 55 year old russian lady.  Smack it around and tell it to make you a sammich."  

These (except the Finn rifles) were rebuilt in the 1970s and so the parts don't always fit that well and take some breaking in, like you said (not because it's new, but because the bolt parts aren't original to the gun).

Make sure the bolt is clean and lubricated, and then work on the spring if you want to. You don't want to shorten it to the point where it won't reliably ignite your ammo.

Another thing to remember is that the short, straight bolt of the Mosin simply means it takes a little more muscle to operate than a turned down Mauser bolt.  I always use my right hand, and put my thumb across the top of the receiver to get leverage.

I have to step on the bolt to get it open sometimes

Well all it took was a little drop of oil on the area where the bolt handle and the cocking peice cam against eich other, it still takes a little bit of effort but I don't have to beat the hell out of it to get a second shot off.

Sounds good -- I usually put some of my M1 grease there. Glad to hear it helps.

Walrus, sounds like you have a dirty chamber. Hit it with some laquer thinner (be careful of your stock finish) and a 20 gauge brush chucked in your drill. Otherwise try some brass-cased ammo and your problem should disappear.

The "sticky bolt" problem that people blame on Mosins is almost always the fault of steel-cased ammo in a dirty chamber.

Quoted: Sounds good -- I usually put some of my M1 grease there. Glad to hear it helps. Walrus, sounds like you have a dirty chamber. Hit it with some laquer thinner (be careful of your stock finish) and a 20 gauge brush chucked in your drill. Otherwise try some brass-cased ammo and your problem should disappear. The "sticky bolt" problem that people blame on Mosins is almost always the fault of steel-cased ammo in a dirty chamber.

I'll give it a try when I get back from college, thanks for the advice.