The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I have 1927 Tula 91/30. I went out yesterday and shot both it and my M38. Well, on the 91/30, I would load up the magazine with 5 rounds, and whenever I would fire the 4th, the bolt would stick upon extraction. After opening it with a rubber mallet, wit would feed and extract the 5th round perfectly. Load up 5 more, and once again, the bolt would stick on the 4th round.

Any ideas on what could be causing this?

BTW, my new M38 functioned flawlessly through the 90 rounds i put through it yesterday.

Yes that is classic sticky bolt syndrome. By the time you get to the 4th round the receiver is hot enough that some old grease or cosmoline, even a unseen trace amount that has become embedded in the steel chamber area begins to melt enough to "glue" the round in place. Cleaning is required.

That is what I figured. I was just thinking that there might be something else because it was on the 4th round of every magazine.

I am guessing that rounds 1-4 heat it up to where round 4 sticks and as i am screwing with it to get it out, it cools off until the next 4th round or so.

I had that happen to me and it just made me crazy. I had to clean the chamber several times to get it right.

I had the same issue with a 91-59, someone on here suggested a soft brass shotgun bore brush and a drill. I stayed in denial for two more trips to the range, thinking "I know how to clean a rifle, it must be mechanical"... Finally I used the brush with some solvent for about 20 seconds...never stuck again.

All great advice here. Start with that and then inspect the chamber area with a bright light to make sure it's clean.