Scoping a Yugo M48

K

Kharn

New member
I'm looking at getting a Yugo M48 Mauser for some cheap high powered fun. My plan is to get the Yugo, add a scope to it and change the stock to give myself a cheap shooter with power similar to a .30-06. I have an Enco mill and a tap kit with the most common sizes, how hard would it be for me to add the scope bases myself? Any recommendations on which bases to use?

I know I will be ruining a good peice of history, but I cant afford a Rem 700 right now (the stock I am getting is free, and since I own a mill, machine time is cheap) and my Ar15 isnt good enough beyond 400 yards for my liking.

Kharn
 
You can drill and tap the rifle yourself, but you will need an "uncommon" tap. The mount screws are most often #6-48. drill size is #31. It is a great deal easier to do this work on an action with the barrel removed. You will also have to modify the bolt handle to clear the scope, and the safety will need to be replaced.
 
If its a #6-48 tap, I believe I could use a #6-24 or other more common tap, the threads would just be bigger, and require some loc-tite.

Why would I have to modify the bolt handle? The Yugo doesnt have a straight bolt handle. Swapping the safety isnt that hard, is it?

If I used a two peice base and some high rings, would I still be able to use the stripper clips?

Kharn
 
We all have to start somewhere, so it is good that you are asking these questions.

1. The mounts come with screws, so you don't want to have to buy more. Use of fine threads, like 6-48, is intentional. The rear receiver bridge has very little "meat" to anchor a screw into. Buy 6-48 taps from Brownells. The coarser taps will leave you with an insufficient number of threads engaged to hold the mount.

2. The bolt handle may be curved, but a sporter with a scope has a reverse curve on the handle. Look at a Remingtion, Winchester, Savage, Browning, etc., and you will see what I mean. You might get by, with really high rings, with grinding relief for the scope ocular housing into the top of the current handle. It will look bad, and nobody with a normal-length neck will ever be comfortable shooting the piece. If you modify the bolt handle, either by forging it into a reverse curve or by welding a replacement on, you can use low or medium rings for much more comfortable shooting.

3. If you scope the rifle, stripper clips are out. There are no rings high enough to allow stripper clips. There are no reasons that I can think of for needing them for an 8mm rifle anyhow.

FWIW, in your original message you mentioned something about shooting beyond 400 yards. I would not recommend a M48 for long-range shooting. It was never intended to be a target rifle.
 
Mainly I need the power on target, I suck in the accuracy department. How complicated is a scout scope setup to do? I might not even get to keep the Yugo if my GF likes the gun.

Kharn
 
Unless you are a crackerjack machinist and have the proper equipment, better get someone with a jig to do the drilling and tapping. I have seen a lot of scope holes drilled without a jig and they tend to look like a drunk's footprints in the snow.

For a conventional scope mount you will have to modify the bolt handle or mount the scope so high you won't be able to use it properly. Putting on a low scope safety is simply a matter of disassembling and reassembling the bolt. A forward mounted (scout) scope would work OK but I don't like them and suggest you see if you can try one before investing money.

Jim
 
Brownells has a no-gunsmithing scope mount for the Mauser that replaces the rear sight, and lets you mount a scout scope setup. I'll go down to my dealer and see if he has any scout-type guns I could try.

Kharn
 
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