I recently picked up a M48 Yugo Mauser--from one of the famous unissued lots. I was half expecting the Croatian parts to revolt and separate from the Serbian parts, or visa versa. So far, though, the rifle has been performing well. I've fired about 100 rounds through it, and will be firing another batch tomorrow. What have others' experiences been with these rifles?
So far, I've noticed:
PROS:
-There's a good selection of commercial 8 mm ammo around, from light loaded US stuff to cheap Turkish to powerful European. The powerful stuff is about equal to the .30'06, so it's a good hunting cartridge. The Turkish stuff has corrosive primers, but I've heard this is OK as long as you clean the barrel before you leave the range.
-Very moderate recoil, even with the heavy loads. It's got a steel plate instead of a recoil pad, but I still felt no pain at all.
-A tough stock and durable design, just like many other Mausers. I attacked a few trees today full-force, but the stock held together just fine. Many other rifles would have been torn apart by such abuse.
-The bayonet is a real nasty piece of work. When fixed to the rifle it's an extremely deadly weapon. I sharpened it up and gored a few of those same trees today. Since it cut into living spruce about half way to the hilt, I expect it would have no problem running a man through. They weren't just for show!
CONS:
-VERY ANNOYING front sight guard. It's absurdly tight and next to impossible to take on and off, yet it will still pop off at odd moments, flying through the air. Does anyone make a more realistic front sight guard, perhaps one that uses something more than umpteen pounds of pressure to hold it in place?
-Somebody way back when set the windage (there's a mark scored across the front sight to indicate it), but they got it wrong by a little bit. Easy to fix.
-Cosmoline sucks. The solution seems to be very hot water and soap, followed by a drying and oiling.
-Somewhat heavy and long for the thick stuff.
-A bit too much trigger pull and too much "grit," though some of that grit has turned out to be rogue cosmoline.
All in all, it was a hell of a bargain for $195.
So far, I've noticed:
PROS:
-There's a good selection of commercial 8 mm ammo around, from light loaded US stuff to cheap Turkish to powerful European. The powerful stuff is about equal to the .30'06, so it's a good hunting cartridge. The Turkish stuff has corrosive primers, but I've heard this is OK as long as you clean the barrel before you leave the range.
-Very moderate recoil, even with the heavy loads. It's got a steel plate instead of a recoil pad, but I still felt no pain at all.
-A tough stock and durable design, just like many other Mausers. I attacked a few trees today full-force, but the stock held together just fine. Many other rifles would have been torn apart by such abuse.
-The bayonet is a real nasty piece of work. When fixed to the rifle it's an extremely deadly weapon. I sharpened it up and gored a few of those same trees today. Since it cut into living spruce about half way to the hilt, I expect it would have no problem running a man through. They weren't just for show!
CONS:
-VERY ANNOYING front sight guard. It's absurdly tight and next to impossible to take on and off, yet it will still pop off at odd moments, flying through the air. Does anyone make a more realistic front sight guard, perhaps one that uses something more than umpteen pounds of pressure to hold it in place?
-Somebody way back when set the windage (there's a mark scored across the front sight to indicate it), but they got it wrong by a little bit. Easy to fix.
-Cosmoline sucks. The solution seems to be very hot water and soap, followed by a drying and oiling.
-Somewhat heavy and long for the thick stuff.
-A bit too much trigger pull and too much "grit," though some of that grit has turned out to be rogue cosmoline.
All in all, it was a hell of a bargain for $195.
