Can anyone tell me more about this Mauser?

L

lockedcj7

New member
I bought this barreled action last year and just got around to cleaning it up a little. The rifling is very strong and the plan is to assemble a scout/truck rifle. I know there are easier ways to go about this but I really like taking orphans and returning them to service. This is my most ambitious project yet.

Can anyone tell me what kind of Mauser this is? Any information would be greatly appreciated. FWIW - It appears to be 8 mm since the muzzle swallows an M2 ball.


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While we wait for the real Mauser experts to arrive, I can tell you that it's a
Yugoslavian Model 1934. The Cyrillic inscription reads "Kingdom of Jugolsavia-Military-Technical Factory Kragujevats". It is 7.92 Mauser. I would see if a collector is interested, FWIW I would use a more modern action than a 60+ year old milsurp that saw lots of hard use. Just my $.02.
 
FWIW I would use a more modern action than a 60+ year old milsurp that saw lots of hard use. Just my $.02.
Click to expand...

Why? If it's in good shape, there's nothing wrong with a Mauser-actioned milsurp.
 
That rifle is not in any shape to be of much interest to collectors, and IMHO that is just fine for a truck gun, as a few scratches won't matter and there is no need to "baby" it. If the barrel is OK, it should be a decent shooter, and 8mm Mauser is a good caliber.

I would not spend a lot of money, though. I would look around the gun shops for a take-off military stock, and keep prettying up to a minimum.

BTW, that is the Model 1924 (not 1934), which means it is the same short action as the Yugo M48 and some standard 98 Mauser stuff like stocks and one piece scope mounts won't fit.

Jim
 
Thanks for the info guys. It's in pretty rough shape so I can't imagine a collector wanting it. The bore and crown look good though.

I'm going to try to beg, borrow and trade for the parts I need so that I have a minimum of cash in it. I've forgotten what I paid but I'm pretty sure it's less than $40.

Please check the Gear listings for WTT ads.
 
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Your 1924 Yugoslavian Mauser

You have a piece of history. Yugoslavia no longer exists. Replaced by Bosnia and Herzegovnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia

A good reference is Branko Bogdanovic's SERBIAN AND YUGOSLAV MAUSER RIFLES North Cape Publications

Your crest is illustrated on page 234

A lotta countries had their armories make Mausers under license when post WWI rules forbade Germany from making them

I have a Yugo M-48 as a representative of the K-98K design but I am making special low test cast bullet loads to shoot it. I ain't no kid anymore and I don't need to demonstrate my testosterone levels at the range ;?)

If you wanna go to Numrich to get parts to make it into a shooter, you might consider doing what I did to my Czech VZ-24, a rifle from the same era as yours.

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My gunsmith assembled it onto an aftermarket 7.62 x 39 bbl. for which I reload.

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I can shoot these all day !

yodar
 
For years I had been searching for a GEW 98 rifle. Like the long barreled beast that the Germans used in WWI.

I finally found one at Martin Rettings in Culver City (this is 20/30 years ago). The gun was pretty rough, but it was all there. The bore was pretty sharp except for a ring about a foot from the breech end.

I didn't shoot it figuring it was too old and weak. I didn't like the looks of that rusty ring in there either.

Just in front of the breech and immediately behind where the breech meets the rear of the barrel it had a tiny number stamped that recorded the size of the bore to the thousanth millimeter. Old Martin Retting was still alive. He looked a the gun, and that little number and told me that it had a good tight bore and would shoot great. Of course Martin was about 20 years older than the rifle, which was made in Amberg in 1915 according to markings on the top of the breech in front of the bolt handle. What seemed new to him, was very old to me.

20 years later I was shooting some surplus 8 mm ammo in one of my K98K's that is in new condition. I decided I'd shoot that old GEW 98 once or twice. So I tied the rifle to an old tire and loaded one round. (after scrubbing the bore for about half an hour with a wire bore brush) I pulled the trigger with a string. No problems.

So I took some shots for accuracy. Those rounds blew right by that ring in the bore and shot touching groups at 100 yds! Holding a fine bead, and shooting at six o'clock on the bull it shot just an inch and a half high. Yep, a 400yd battle sight zero all right.

Good thing that I wearing shooting glasses. I blew a primer that shot hot gas right through the bolt and hit my glass shielded eye.

So, in my experience I've shot an old 8mm Mauser rifle and it did not blow up and it shot better than most new bolt rifles. Not that yours won't let go however.
 
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Yugoslavia purchased FN Model 24 rifles and then made many more in their own factory at Kragujevac, the same factory where the M48 (and the Remington 798) would be made later. While the Yugoslavs used standard Mauser 98's and K.98k's, the Models 24, 24/47 and 48 are not standard 98 actions, being shorter and with a slightly different breeching system.

So, the M48 is not really a Model 98 Mauser and (Mitchell's lies to the contrary) is not a K.98k nor was it made in a factory set up by the Germans. The factory was set up by FN, as part of the pre-WWII contract for Belgian made rifles.

Jim
 
I disagree with those saying this action has no collector value.

Almost all M24s (100K made by FN and 650K in the Yugo factories) had their original crest removed and replaced with the communist crest so those original crest are worth more than the parts because they are now rare.

Not that it is worth a lot but I would say $100.00 more than if it was a Commi crested action.

One way to find out would be to stick it on Gunbroker at $175.00 start bid (no fee unless it sells) and with the money go buy a 24/47 (M24 refurbed with new barrels and with that commi crest) from Wideners for $129.00 complete

Wulfmann
 
I appreciate all the info guys. I'll go a lot better than $175. The first person with $50 can have it shipped to his/her FFL and it is C&R eligible. As much as I'd like to make a shooter out of it, I really don't have the time or money.
 
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