Got me a Mauser!

C

cheapshot

New member
Yup, went to a gun show Saturday, looked at a whole mess of Mausers. Swedes, Turks, Brazilian etc. Was looking real closely at a Swede when from across the room I saw her. But she was in someone elses arms! Just in case, I laid down the Swede, and slowly made my way through the crowd, and as I approached, the other guy laid her back on the table (WHEW!). When I finally reached her, I realized that she was indeed, one of them M48's I'd seen on the web.

99.999% bluing (one very small rub spot on bottom of trigger guard), even the top of the magazine follower was still blued. Perfect crown, real pretty bore. The wood is almost perfect, a couple of easily repairable dings. All of her numbers match! I was instantly in love! I nuzzled her closely and proclaimeed her MINE! The way I felt, it was a good thing I wore a long coat ;)! I paid the man his $240, gave him my NICS info, and walked around the rest of the day with a big smile and cosmolene dripping from my nose :D.

I picked her up Sunday, and spent the last couple of days cleaning her up. The box it came in is marked "very good condition". The guy that graded it must've had a fight with his wife or something that day, cause it sure seems excellent to me. It came with some other stuff too. A bayonet (but not matching #'s), sling, ammo pouches, cleaning kit, etc. The leather was mildewed a little, but saddle soap took care of that.

All in all, I'm satisfied with my purchase. It feels neat to have something fifty years old, yet still brand new, in your hands. Trouble is, now I gotta go find another one. One that I won't mind shooting.
 
Uh oh. You've got it. The dreaded *Surplus Mauser Disease*. The sure sign of infection is that, right after purchasing one, you're already planning the purchase of another. The only cure is daily I.V. doses of Sweets 762 (or being clobbered upside the noggin with a Louisville Slugger by an upset spouse).

Congrats on the purchase!

Are you already clear on how to repair the dings in the wood? Hint: the answer isn't "lots of 40 grit sandpaper."
 
Yeah Matt, I'm now realizing, I probably could have gotten one cheaper than I did, but I'm still very satisfied. To me it's like finding a new "in the box" pre '64 model 70, for 200 bucks (fat chance of that!).

So there is no cure for SMD? I may have made a terrible mistake! My wife no longer has the need for a Louisville Slugger, now that I've taught her how to shoot!! I taught her to shoot and she taught me to dance. DANCE,BANG,DANCE,BANG, BANG!

As far as cleaning up the dings, first I'm gonna try steaming them out with a wet cloth and iron, then depending on the results, I'll try to color match some epoxy for them.

One thing I have to fix though, is the trigger. Don't like the two step thing, and it's kind of creepy too. Are there any available that an amatuer can install (without machining)? How do you take the trigger off anyway? I haven't tried yet, sometimes spring loaded mechanisms give me fits. Maybe somebody knows the trick. I want to polish the area of the receiver that the trigger rubs against (to get rid of the creep).
 
Hi, Cheapshot,

There are several triggers available that can be installed easily, and they all come with directions. If you are not too handy, a gunsmith should be able to install one for a few dollars. Triggers run from around $42 to over $150, depending on what you want. Check http://www.brownells.com for more information.

Be a bit careful in polishing things to reduce trigger pull. Too much polishing of the sear or the cocking piece can result in failure of the trigger to reset and the gun can fire when the safety is taken off.

Jim
 
I lightly polished the sear surface on the cocking piece and it greatly improved the smoothness of the trigger pull.

Have you tried removing the barrel bands and removing the action from the stock? I am still unable to get the the front barrel band loose.
 
Good job! Now get back out there and buy that Swedish Mauser, the next step in that affliction known as SMD. The "S" can indeed be interpreted as either Surplus or Swedish...

Truthfully, although it's not a large-ring 98 Mauser, the 96 Swede is a work of art in steel unto itself. Sometimes you can even find an Oberndorf 96 Swede, I bought one at Big 5 Sporting Goods in Sacramento a couple years ago, and it became my father-in-law's favorite rifle when presented to him as a birthday present.

Welcome to Mausers Anonymous, grab a styrofoam cup, coffee's on the back table, we'll start our confessions in a little bit!

(Hence my moniker)
 
Matt Sutton -- you asked about removing the barrel bands and removing the action from the stock.

You can remove the the front barrel band by the following procedure:
1. Soak that bad boy with liquid wrench and wait a few.
2. Get a strong dowel (or other piece of wood like a 1x2) and a mallet or hammer.
3. Hold the retaining band down with a clamp
4. Place the dowel against the "inside" lips of the barrel band and knock vigorously on the other end with the mallet. Work your way around the band, so you're pushing it off evenly. Once you have clearance between the bottom of the barrel band and the stock, you can work from that angle, too.

cheapshot -- You and I do the same sort of dancing. That's about the only way to get me to dance. About ironing the stock, if (after cleaning the stock if necessary) you soak the stock for about ten to fifteen minutes in the bathtub before steaming (not for much longer than that, though - you don't want to warp it), it'll work even better. Then some *light* sanding with very fine sandpaper and "OOO" steel wool will remove some of the smaller nicks and smooth things out. Let her dry and then you'll want to refinish with linseed or tung oil. Birchwood Casey sells a brand called Tru Oil which works just fine. Make sure you coat the insides and the butt end of the stock to seal out moisture. Apply it "once a night for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year for life."

Midway is another good source for affordable drop-in triggers for the Mauser http://www.midwayusa.com
 
I got "bit" a few years ago; saw an ad for Samco on the back of Surplus Military arms mag. Swedish mausers......then I read the article on the M38 in the same mag....I was hooked.

About 2 weeks later....Husqvarna M38 (dang, I wish I knew how to spell Husqvarna :)), made in 1941, this rifle was (is)real nice; and shoot? I'm no great shakes with a rifle but I'm always amazed at how well I do with my M38.

Have good success with Remington and Winchester ammo; PMC doesn't work too good...

Anyway, if you just have to have another Mauser.....a Swedish M38 will do the trick!

Mike M.
 
Sorry I didn't get back to y'all yesterday but I stayed home and shoveled snow and my home computer doesn't have my password cookied.

Bruegger, I have used the Tru Oil before on an old Stevens double barrel. Good stuff. Now that old shotgun looks like one of them expensive English shotguns. Now I haven't tried the Linseed oil. Does it work the same way?

Any body know if bedding the action and or barrel would hurt the value of the rifle? And Has anybody bedded the entire barrel, including the hand guard? Or would you just bed the reciever? I bedded the action and freefloated the barrel on an old .22 single shot one time just to learn about it, but with the stock arrangement on my mauser, freefloating the barrel can't be done, so I'm thinking I would have to bed the entire barrel instead. But I don't want to do it if it depreciates from the value. I'm just wondering if any of you guys have done it, and did you notice any accuracy improvement. Of course, I haven't even shot it yet, so I'm just thinking down the road a bit.

Jim, Breugger, I looked at Brownells and Midway, at their triggers, and I think I'll probably go with a Timney feather weight. They also offer one (deluxe) which includes a safety. Do you guys know what they're talking about? How it works? Why would I want one if my bolt already has a safety?

Yes, I am hooked on Mausers! There will be more! A Swede will be next. My SKS (Chinese)will be getting very lonely.
 
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