OT: M43, plus one

[Aardvark]

Sticky bolt syndrome is caused by hardened cosmoline inside the chamber. After firing a few rounds it heats up and sticks to the bolt. Best way to clean it is fire until the bolt barely opens and then clean the hell out of the chamber. Keep repeating the process until that bolt stops sticking.

Skeletor, thanks for that advice. I expected that correcting the problem would happen in stages. I cleaned the chamber pretty thoroughly after I fired it, so we'll see how it operates next time.

Interestingly, sometimes the action operated so smoothly, I could have worked it using the tips of my thumb and forefinger.

As far as 'how tight is tight': I have nothing to compare it to, this being the first rifle I've fired. I was afraid that using too much force would damage something delicate. Sort of forget that there had better not be anything delicate about a combat rifle.

 

[Dave Rishar]

Sticky bolt syndrome is caused by hardened cosmoline inside the chamber. After firing a few rounds it heats up and sticks to the bolt. Best way to clean it is fire until the bolt barely opens and then clean the hell out of the chamber. Keep repeating the process until that bolt stops sticking.

That's one of the usual suspects right there. I used to have a copper wire brush on a bent handle that I'd soak in acetone and get in there with. That grease can be difficult to remove. (My normal procedure for the magazine assembly and bolt parts was to let them sit in a bucket of the nastiest solvent that I could find for a few days.)

 

[munk]

The other not so easy to fix sticky bolt syndrome can be caused by excessive head space in the rifle chamber, assuming normal operating pressures. If the simple fixes of cleaning the weapon do not work, and the bolt is still sticking, take it to a gunsmith.

There is a lot of surplus Soviet ammo out there. Reloading is a vastly rewarding hobby however, leading to better performance and even personal growth.

If the rifle is accurate, it is usually (but not always) in mechanically sound condition. IE- tight.



munk