Finally Gave up on Stripper Clips (Chargers, or whatever you want to call them)

[sop2510]

I made one more effort to try loading from stripper clips in my M91/59. No joy.
I've been through at least four different types, even some provided by a forum member that seemed the best of the bunch. Used every loading technique I could find on U-tube. Tried staggering the cartridge heads like I do with my Lee-Enfield No. 4. I still keep getting the top round behind the head of the second round and have to dump the magazine. Maybe stripper clips were only designed for right-handed shooters.

[Art]

Have you actually tried to feed a cartridge from the magazine after loading from a stripper clip? The top cartridge should feed regardless of the position of the rims of the cartridges in the magazine.

Because:

The Mosin Nagant has a built in solution for your problem, it is the cartridge interrupter mechanism that takes spring pressure off the top cartridge in the magazine. If you look at 7.62x54r military cartridges you will notice the base of the rim is beveled and this, together with the interrupter, is supposed to solve the problem. If a rim of the top cartridge is behind the the rim of the cartridge under it and hangs up just give the back of the bolt handle a little rap and it should feed. If you run into repeated failures to feed the top cartridge due to it hanging up on the rim of the cartridge under it you may have a problem with your interrupter mechanism

Mosin Nagant clips are in my experience anyhow one of the least friendly models when it comes to re use and they do deteriorate. After a few uses the light spring steel starts to lose tension and a lot more thumb pressure is needed to load. Stripper clips are supposed to be expendable of course and some, like the Mosin Nagant clips, are more expendable than others and the after market ones I've seen are an almost total loss.

[sop2510]

[QUOTE=Art;177317]Have you actually tried to feed a cartridge from the magazine after loading from a stripper clip? The top cartridge should feed regardless of the position of the rims of the cartridges in the magazine.

That has been the most frustrating part, Art. I can see the interrupter in there and it looks to be in perfect condition. Short of beating on the bolt handle with a sledgehammer, I cannot force that first round to load. I will post a photo of the interrupter this evening and perhaps you can tell if it's been damaged or is defective.
When I handload the rounds I never have a problem.

[sop2510]

Short of beating on the bolt handle with a sledgehammer, Art, I have not been able to force that top round to chamber.
The interrupter is there and looks to be in good condition.
I'll post a photo of it this evening and you can let me know if it looks damaged to you.
Everytime I use a stripper clip I imagine 300 Germans charging across the field toward me while I'm trying to slide five rounds into my chamber. Now I know why the Russians took so many casualties in WWII. ;-)

[Rick]

I don't know if you can do this but when I load a few by hand mine wont feed right unless I push the shells down in the magazine and run the bolt home. You don't have to push the handle down and lock up the action. When it comes back it load perfectly.

Going to have to try and load some again with the stripper clips. Right now I'm not sure exactly where I stored the rifle let alone the ammunition and stripper clips. For trigger time all I have been shooting is my Model 10 Remington. I have ammunition for the high powers but I'm too cheap to shoot what is too expensive to replace.

[Art]

SOP2510;

After writing my post I got my M44 carbine out, loaded from a stripper clip and the rifle functioned without a hiccup. Tried it again and sure enough the top round fed smooth as silk. It sounds like you probably have a problem with the interrupter mechanism. I am not a gunsmith and certainly not one with expertise on the unusual aspects of the Mosin-Nagant action of which there are several but your rifle should not have this malfunction.

If the interrupter mechanism is working properly you should actually be able to wobble around the top round with your fingers because, as I said, it is disconnected from the cartridge beneath it and therefore there is no upward spring pressure.

[sop2510]

Here are photos of my M91/59 showing the interrupter. Does it look correct? (At least I think that is the interrupter you're referring to)

[Art]

The interrupter looks ok. That does not mean it's functioning ok. If you are getting feed jams I almost guarantee it isn't functioning ok.

One of the myths about the Mosin-Nagant system is that it's "crude" nothing could be further from the truth. It's actually very sophisticated, to the point of being overly complex for manufacturing purposes. I suggest taking the rifle to a gunsmith, preferably one that has delt with these weapons. A bit of a bummer with a rifle you probably don't have $150.00 in.

[sop2510]

I can single-load a lot of 7.62x54R for what a gunsmith will charge me.
I'm not sure if anyone out my way is proficient with the M-N.

[Art]

I just got my copy of Gun Tests in which they test two Mosin Nagants, a regular 91-30 and a sniper model. The standard model worked fine but sniper model had a defective interrupter which in this case made feeding from the magazine impossible. I've never encountered this problem before or heard of it before but obviously defective interrupters happen and are out there and it is something to check when buying one of these rifles.