K98k mainspring question.

[Daan Kemp]

Clean the bolt thoroughly, oil lightly, before replacing the spring. It should improve the functioning.

Not all ammunition are made the same. 1948 is 70 years ago, erratic functioning should be expected. Your Czech ammo probably has hard primers; if they really are steel they will be very hard I think.

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[Fruler]

Clean the bolt thoroughly, oil lightly, before replacing the spring. It should improve the functioning.

Not all ammunition are made the same. 1948 is 70 years ago, erratic functioning should be expected. Your Czech ammo probably has hard primers; if they really are steel they will be very hard I think.

Thanks... Excellent advice. I stripped the bolt completely as you said and cleaned it. I found a thin layer of rust starting at the bolt face, that stops at the two gas relief ports machined into the bolt... The rust is inside the bolt body, not on the outside... Outside is still in the blue. I'm actually not too surprised of this finding really... The bore was a bit rusty when I bought it. I attempted to clean out the bolt rust with various methods and have had limited success so far. I may try boiling the bolt body in water next.

The previous owner of the rifle claimed he hadn't shot it in many years but when I purchased it he said he fired blank ammo through it to confirm function recently... So his story changed somewhere between first speaking to me and me purchasing it. The rust looks to me like it's been there for decades... But I'm not a rust expert, it's certainly not newly formed though.

As for the ammo, I assume the primer is steel, it attracts a magnet... But I'm not an expert in the the field of metals... I do know it's brass cases. I don't expect perfect ammo from 1948, sorry if I wasn't clear on that. I just want to be sure my rifle is performing the way it should be and I want to attempt to eliminate as many variables as possible.

I have removed the barreled action from the stock before and there is no rust on the underside of the barreled action. The stock is in great shape in terms of proper fitting.

Thanks for your reply, I wouldn't have stripped the bolt if you didn't speak up.