Metal Flakes in Mosin Nagant

Dr.Nipps

So after going to the gun range yesterday I started cleaning my mosin nagant 91/30 1940. After wiping the action I started noticing shiny metal flakes. Most of the flakes sharing similar color to the casing above. Anyone else having this problem by change?

Also believe the patch is showing I've got rust in the barrel.

beantownshootah

Never noticed that particular issue before of tiny metal flakes, though I'm not all that concerned about it. especially if you're only finding them on the outside of the guns' action during a wipedown. Anything that causes visible wear to the external part of a case (eg rough extraction) could do that.

Yes, I agree the patch seems to show a bit of rust, though if you cleaned the gun right after shooting it, its almost impossible that the rust in question occurred between shooting and cleaning.

Most Mosins on the market now are heavily used WWII era guns with corroded bores, so this is pretty typical. Some of the bores on these guns are "sewer pipe" like nasty, full of fouling, rust and pits.

Also, as you probably know already, *ALL* military surplus type Mosin ammo is loaded with corrosive primers and will corrode your bore if you leave the gun uncleaned for too long after firing.

So make sure you clean your gun after shooting EVERY time. You don't have to break any speed limits on the way home, but the sooner you clean, the better (ie don't let the thing sit for two days first!).

When you do the cleaning, make sure to clean not just the bore, but also the inside of the receiver and all the external bolt surfaces too, because those are also subject to corrosion from corrosive primer salts (unfortunately learned this the hard way).

317wc

Brand new to you, gun? The metal is brass shavings, its not really anything to worry about with a Mosin. They were rushed out by the millions and are not as well refined as a commercial sporting arm. You can take the gun down and give it a once over deep clean/inspection, you can probably find where it is coming from specifically.

Also can be from some variation in the brass dimensions.