Good evening gents! I picked up my third vintage rifle this past Friday: an Izhevsk 1948 Mosin Nagant M44. The stock looked pretty ratty as expected, but the bore was in outstanding shape so I bought it. All parts except the buttstock match, but I don't really care since I'll be using it to blast cheap ammo and have a good time. I got it home and stripped the original finish off with Citristrip, then scrubbed the stock with a Brillo pad and some hot soapy water. I let her dry, then went at sanding the stock down with a few different grades of sandpaper until I got it nice and smooth. Finally I wet the stock with a damp rag to pull the pulp out of the pores and then hit it with some fine steel wool (I performed this step about 5 times). After that, I decided to go with Tru-Oil as my finish. I don't like regular BLO because it leaves a really gummy finish and I have heard good things about Tru-Oil, so I gave it a shot. After 6 coats with 0000 steel wool inbetween, I was pleased with how it came out. Its a little glossy, but I kind of like it.
While the Tru-Oil was setting, I took apart the bolt and cleaned it up. There was a little cosmoline in it so I removed that. The bolt was a little sticky initially and had some varnish in a few places, so I polished up all the bearing surfaces with some emery cloth and regreased everything. The rifle didn't come with a firing pin protrusion gauge, so I placed an order for one off of Ebay ($5). After reassembly, I felt comfortable with the amount of protrusion, especially given the seating depth and hardness of the primers on the copper-washed Russian surplus I bought for her.
Sorry I forgot the "before" pics, but here are the "afters":
Camera didn't want to focus right on this one, but you get the idea.
I took it out and shot it and boy, was it a blast (pun intended)! The trigger in this rifle is actually very crisp and pretty darn light. My bolt polishing efforts were not in vain as the bolt cycled smoothly and effortlessly. I shot it both with and without the bayonet extended and did not find it to change the POI much. The rifle pretty much put the bullet where I wanted it. It kicks like a mule and sends a raging fireball out the muzzle, just like everyone says, and I love it. Great value and a really high fun factor for $150. I wish I would have bought a bunch of them when I was a kid and they were $80 a pop. I think I would like to re-blue the trigger guard/magazine as it has some pitting, and possibly replace the buttstock with another metal one, as this one is pitted pretty badly. All in all, I think it was a good purchase and a really fun weekend project. I definitely want to buy some more! Next on the list will be a Finnish M39.
Comments and critiques on my project are welcomed. Cheers lads!
While the Tru-Oil was setting, I took apart the bolt and cleaned it up. There was a little cosmoline in it so I removed that. The bolt was a little sticky initially and had some varnish in a few places, so I polished up all the bearing surfaces with some emery cloth and regreased everything. The rifle didn't come with a firing pin protrusion gauge, so I placed an order for one off of Ebay ($5). After reassembly, I felt comfortable with the amount of protrusion, especially given the seating depth and hardness of the primers on the copper-washed Russian surplus I bought for her.
Sorry I forgot the "before" pics, but here are the "afters":
Camera didn't want to focus right on this one, but you get the idea.
I took it out and shot it and boy, was it a blast (pun intended)! The trigger in this rifle is actually very crisp and pretty darn light. My bolt polishing efforts were not in vain as the bolt cycled smoothly and effortlessly. I shot it both with and without the bayonet extended and did not find it to change the POI much. The rifle pretty much put the bullet where I wanted it. It kicks like a mule and sends a raging fireball out the muzzle, just like everyone says, and I love it. Great value and a really high fun factor for $150. I wish I would have bought a bunch of them when I was a kid and they were $80 a pop. I think I would like to re-blue the trigger guard/magazine as it has some pitting, and possibly replace the buttstock with another metal one, as this one is pitted pretty badly. All in all, I think it was a good purchase and a really fun weekend project. I definitely want to buy some more! Next on the list will be a Finnish M39.
Comments and critiques on my project are welcomed. Cheers lads!
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