M1903 clean up

[savasyn]

I'm brining my new-to-me M1903A1 home tonight! It does not appear to be coated in cosmo at all so I think a good cleaning and oiling will be all it needs.

Should I bother to remove the action from the stock to check anything or just leave it alone?

And yes, I'll post pictures of it once it's all cleaned up either tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks!

[NRAhighpowershooter]

If it were mine, I'd strip it down to the bare action.. bolt as well.....Don't mess with the cut-off switch though.. they are a ROYAL PITA to put back together........

[Fate]

I almost always do a thorough take down/cleaning of a milsurp (but as NRAhps said, stop at the tricky stuff).

Good to do as sometimes you find severe pitting on the exterior barrel/action that's hidden beneath the wood. Others have found sabotaged rifles that were waiting for someone to shoot them and be injured/killed (gunboards.com's forum had pics of one of these a couple years ago).

It gives me peace of mind to shoot these old girls once I've given them a good look.

[Full Clip]

Others have found sabotaged rifles that were waiting for someone to shoot them and be injured/killed (gunboards.com's forum had pics of one of these a couple years ago).

That's just cold...

[metalhead357]

[savasyn]

What kind of things would people to to sabotage rifles? And WHY???

I just pulled the bolt apart and it looks great inside. I'm going to garage to pull the rest apart in a few minutes.

The bolt is well lubed with a heavy oil or light grease. I don't have anything quite like that, just CLP and Tetra. Anyone know a good grease to use on the bolt?

I'll post pictures once it's all back together.

[metalhead357]

Anyone know a good grease to use on the bolt?.

DONT grease it...unless you're putting it into a storage condition. Light oil or CLP will work just fine.

[savasyn]

DONT grease it...unless you're putting it into a storage condition. Light oil or CLP will work just fine.

Hmmm, that's the opposite of what I was told about the Mosin bolt.

Out of curiosity, what is the problem with grease?

I'd prefer to use CLP as I'm using it elsewhere on the rifle.

[ar15barrels]

Don't forget that CLP is heavy on solvents and evaporates.
CLP is NOT a good oil for the sake of having oil.
If you want oil, use oil.

CLP is a concotion to made so a soldier does not need to carry 3 seperate bottles in the field.
It's not very good at C, L or P, but it works when it's all you have.

[metalhead357]

Hmmm, that's the opposite of what I was told about the Mosin bolt.

Out of curiosity, what is the problem with grease?

I'd prefer to use CLP as I'm using it elsewhere on the rifle.

Grease can/does actually act more STICKY than slippery- especially when the weather tiurns cold. WWII stories of RUSSIAN soldiers mixing alcohol with grease just to get thier guns to fire......

Now a LITTLE....I said a LITTLE probably wont do *bad* things but bolts/firing pins are USUALLY meant for oil. Not sure where you heard to use grease...but either way- if you DO decide to use grease- make sure you clean EACH time you fire (at the end of each outting) as the grease acts like a friggin' magnet for any blowby and that'll certainly gun you up. About the only reason I can think it'd be ok to use grease on a Moisin and not a Mauser is that mauser's do tend to have tighter tolerances from what I have read; I've never broken out a mic to check....but there you have it.

Personally I LOVE grease as it stays where it should....but I just dont think it should be staying IN your bolt...maybe ON the cylinder sleeve.....

[savasyn]

Ah, got it.
Yeah, I'm ONLY using the grease on the lugs and the areas that they ride on. I'm NOT using any on the internals of the bolt.
Tomorrow I'll see about removing it all and using regular oil.

[savasyn]

Ok, I finally posted the pix of this rifle in the gallery forum. Here's the link:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=810782#post810782

[smle-man]

Your rifle looks very nice. It appears to be a WW2 rebuild since it has a SA42 dated barrel - very common on the rebuilds. The C stock may have been added at that time or later when the rifle was in Greek service. The s.n. stamped on the stock and etched on the bolt are indications of a Greek rifle. Yours is almost certainly a CMP sales rifle since the 03s returned by the Greeks were sold via the CMP.

[savasyn]

Cool, thanks for the info!
Hopefully I'll get to go shoot it in the next week or two.