M44 Problem

[OHOD]

Went to the range to shoot my Hungarian M44.

I've shot it once before without a problem, today I had a problem.

First round:
Cambered round and noticed the bolt feels like it is compressing the round at the very last 1/4 inch. As if I am compressing something, real soft like.
Fired the round, the shell got stuck in the chamber.

Tried a different brand of ammo, same thing.

Since I didn't have cleaning equipment with me (not next time though), I couldn't clean out the chamber. Range master popped the spent cartridge for me. He said he used a little force.

Flash forward to home.

Cleaned the heck out of the thing. Scrubbed the chamber, scrubbed the bore, scrubbed till the cows came home.
Chambered a SPENT round (just the shell) to see if the compressing thing went away. Nope. Shell still got stuck.

Looking at the bolt face and ejector, I don't see an obvious problem.

Suggestions?

[SVT-40]

Did you change the type of ammo you use?

Or are you sure the chamber does not have something stuck to it's walls or near the neck?

[SoCal Bob]

Have you used this same ammo in this same M44 before without any problems? Do you have any other ammo to try to rule out an ammo issue?

[SVT-40]

The only other thing I can think of is that somehow your bolt is not properly put together. So maybe you should take it apart then reassemble....

[OHOD]

Silly me. Spent casings are larger in diameter than live rounds. Duh

A correctly sized casing fits easily.

Not about to put a live round in there at home.

[DannyInSoCal]

Disassemble the bolt and give a good boiling water soak....

[OHOD]

I pulled another bolt from another rifle and tried it in the M44.
No go. Still will not eject the shell even after I filed down a spent casing so that it fits into the chamber easily.

Noticed that the ejector is closer to the bolt face on the bolt as compared to my other bolt by about .006.
I don't know if that is enough to prevent the ejector from going over the cartridge rim.

[OniKoroshi]

Is the extractor flush on the back side of the bolt head? Have you rechecked headspace?

[rodngun762]

You know what, I have never been able to figure this out. I have a M44, two M91/30s, and an M39 and have NEVER been able to shoot them as I always get this same problem.

I have been shooting primarily czech silver tip but I have also tried other ammo to no positive result. Wolf didn't work either. I have also cleaned the chamber with the shotgun brush technique too.

So I have just gave up on shooting my mosins and instead just shoot the mausers when I'm feeling like some milsurp.

[OHOD]

Is the extractor flush on the back side of the bolt head? Have you rechecked headspace?

I don't have a headspace gauge.
How can I check it without one?

The extractor appears flush with the bolt head, but the cartridge doesn't sit flat on the bolt face. Opposite of the extractor, the cartridge rim is slightly raised above the bolt head when the cartridge is clipped under the extractor.

On my other bolt, the cartridge is flush and perpendicular.

[OHOD]

You know what, I have never been able to figure this out. I have a M44, two M91/30s, and an M39 and have NEVER been able to shoot them as I always get this same problem.

I have been shooting primarily czech silver tip but I have also tried other ammo to no positive result. Wolf didn't work either. I have also cleaned the chamber with the shotgun brush technique too.

So I have just gave up on shooting my mosins and instead just shoot the mausers when I'm feeling like some milsurp.

Maybe we can solve this problem so that you can shoot your guns.

[Vlad 11]

Hard to tell without looking at your bolt but it seems that maybe the extractor got pushed in a bit. Perhaps a bit of debris was in the extractor slot in the chamber and crammed the extractor in.

Good on not fooling with live rounds...
For the future -- have a reloader buddy make you 5 dummy rounds for function testing / snapcapping / flinging cartridges across the living room safely

[mosinnagantm9130]

Is the extractor is bent? That could explain it not being able to get over the lip of the rim.

[OniKoroshi]

Pics of suspect bolt head would help.

[Paulie Lugnuts]

Is your other bolt from another rifle? Does it work OK in that gun?