Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Will a mauser bolt ever loosen up?

I'd like to be able to cycle the bolt from my shoulder, but can't so far. I am shooting a Zastava m70 6.5 swede.

Get some JB Bore Bright, smear it in the action and work the bolt for a few evenings. It'll slick up.

Thought about that but didnt want to hurt anything

I have a couple of pre WW 2 Mausers...

their bolts are more than loose enough...

Polish and lightly grease the cocking cam.

If you choose to do this, do NOT close the bolt. Just work the rails. Closing the bolt with rouge or Flitz or the like can change the mating faces of the bolt and not in a good way. Let the pro's true the action and mating faces - main reason being is that they know when to stop.

As an aside, I have an earlier model Montana 1999 action (i.e.: rough!) that I did this with. I used Flitz, working the bolt (*but NOT closing it) on the rails 100 times a night for 10 straight days. That action is still quite tight but it is amazingly slick and smooth.

You might want to examine the bolt surface under the extractor collar. It is sometimes quite rough and some judicious polishing can work wonders.

If it's like my mini-mauser I think the problem lies in the contact between the bolt and rear receiver ring near the junction of the the bolt and bolt handle. I plan on gunking it up with JB and definitely closing it various times. There's no rail issue, it's a bolt/receiver issue.

Would anyone mind clarifying where points are. I'm looking at my rifle, but I'm not sure what the terms are referring too.

The extractor collar is the metal band extending around the bolt body, which secures to extractor to the bolt and allows the extractor to remain stationary on the right side of the receiver in the bolt raceway while the bolt itself is turned to lock and unlock.

First remove the extractor by turning it until it comes out of the slot in the bolt head and then pressing it toward the head of the bolt. The collar is split where it fastens to the extractor, and has to be bent open enough to allow it to be removed. The shallow groove it rides in is often roughly machined and causes the collar to resist allowing the bolt to turn under it.

The collar should be clamped with a machinist's clamp, vise-grip pliers or a vise when reassembling the bolt.

In this schematic, the extractor and extractor collar are parts 1 and 2. https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Mauser-33384/Rifles-37349/98-39207/PartsList-34392.htm

Yes, as far a bolt lift goes, if that's the concern, this is a major area to attend to.

MM

My Zastava M70 373h&H was having a bit of a sticking problem when cycling the bolt. Found the rear screw securing the action to the stock was sticking up a little high. I inserted a small washer under the head of the screw and bolt now slides fine.

pabucktail, you have a PM.

I've slicked up a Mauser action with Remington 40X bore cleaner. Worked great and took all of 5 minutes. Like someone said, don't turn down the bolt as you don't want to lap the lugs.