7.62 x 54r conundrum........

[3006guns]

I have a Mosin Nagant, 1936, Tula arsenal that I've just slugged and it measures .314. Rifling isn't perfect, but seems uniform...dark, but some shine and no "loose" spots.

No problem...I also have a quantity of plain base 168 boolits that measure .3145 that were originally for the 32-40 Winchester I believe. I had sized these down for some Jap 7.7 plinker loads.

I have cases and Trail Boss, so let's make up some fun plinking loads! And then...

I noticed in my old Lyman casting book a caution that due to a somewhat restricted neck area in the chamber of these rifles, they recommend nothing larger than .311. I have no practical way to cast the chamber....has anyone else used a boolit this size in the 91/30 and noticed any pressure problems?

[swheeler]

I shoot .313" sized in my 91/30. If you have a mil surp case you fired in it measure inside dia. of the neck, if not load up a dummie with one of your .3145" slugs and see if it chambers freely. You can do a chamber cast too.

[JeffinNZ]

Can I suggest two things?

1) Get an electro bore cleaner and give the barrel absolute death. You might be surprised how it cleans up.
2) Get you hands on the fattest bullet you can chamber eg: .316+ and send it down range.

You may have a sleeper there.

[NuJudge]

My experience with dark bores is that about 50 rounds of jacketed ammo, followed by vigorous brushing and solvents, will do a lot of good. I have had only one rifle fail to respond, and it was just too rotted out.

CDD

[3006guns]

Thanks everyone......I'll use all three suggestions. I built an electrolytic bore cleaner a couple of years ago and they work very well, so I'll give it a go on this rifle.

[mike in co]

my quick suggestion on the bbl is naval jelly and a ss brush.....2 or 3 treatments and you will be able to see the bbl.

mike in co

[BerdanIII]

I shoot 0.314" LRN, WC and SWC plinkers and 0.312" Lyman 311299's in my M39 with no problem. See if your bullet of choice will fit in the neck of a fired, unsized case; if it does you're good to go.

I tried a form of fire lapping described in The Fouling Shot in a $50, badly-fouled wartime M91/30. It cleaned up fairly well and what I thought were pits were blown out the muzzle and now patches don't snag. I put Isso bore paste on a patch and coated the bore before each shot, then fired a nekkid pulled surplus FMJ with a load reduced by about 40% from a full charge. It took about nine rounds to see any progress. According to the author, this method won't lengthen the throat the way an abrasive-coated bullet will. I figured the bore was toast anyway and had nothing to lose.

[JIMinPHX]

Cast the chamber with candle wax if you have nothing else.

[NickSS]

I have a 91/30 that I have fired 440 rounds of surplus through, cleaned is with several solvents and wore out five bronze brushes on and finally I see a shinny bore. It had so much gunk in it that I wonder if it was ever cleaned. It also grew two thousandths in diameter through this. It is now sitting at .314". I have shot it with 314299 slugs and have gotten good accuracy at 100 yards putting most bullets into around 3 inch groups. That is good for me with open sights.

[damron g]

I have a Finn 28-30 that had a similar bore. I took a patch on a tight brush soaked with Ed’s Red and covered it with Bon-Ami powder(JB would do the same I bet) and stroked the **** out of the bore. I then fired about 50-75 plain base loads with a lot of lube, then shot a bullet with a .313 body and .303 nose. The bore is now uniformly “peppered”, but if I don’t clean Now it shoots 2”-2.5” for 5 at 100 and many times much less. I don’t clean the bore at all; just start shooting as I think the bores bad spots are filled up with lube and whatnot.if I shoot smaller bullets groups are over 4” This was an Ed Harris deal and it worked well for me.