vz-24 floorplate

S

stinger

New member
i can't seem to remove the floorplate. the instructions read:

insert medium drift punch in the hole at the rear of the magazine floorplate and depress the floorplate latch. move the floorplate toward the rear.

my problem is that the floorplate doesn't budge. i depressed the latch as much as possible, but the floorplate won't move back.

help!!!

thanks,

stinger
 
Hi, stinger,

The floorplate may be bent, but if the rifle is an old one it is more likely either rusted or gummed up with old grease.

If you can take the trigger guard and magazine box out, soak the whole thing in a good solvent and try again. If not, try a spray penetrant around the edges of the floorplate and let it set for a while. (I like G-96 Gun Treatment, but any good penetrant will do.) Then depress the catch and at the same time tap on the front edge of the floorplate using a piece of wood or plastic to avoid marring it. (This requires a second person or a vise to hold the gun.)

The intended, and less damaging, tool for depressing the catch is the bullet point of a loaded round. Still works better than a punch.

Jim
 
I generally use the rubber end of a hammer to bang on the front of the floorplate to budge it. Often, it helps to have one person hold the rifle and punch and the other use a non-marring tool to push the floorplate back. I rarely disassemble the rifle to this point... normally I just clean the bore, clean the bolt, wipe down the inside of the receiver, and lightly oil the exposed metal parts. 5 minutes tops. A detail strip is only necessary if you've just bought the gun or have reason to believe that it's got water or other foreign matter in it that will destroy the gun or interfere with the function.
 
VZ's are my favorite surplus Mauser to play around with. What I have found, along with the goo and rust that glues the floorplate to the trigger guard is many of these are not matched. When the mass marketed surplus rifles are at the arsenel for "refitting prior to storage", I think they took all the parts from several thousand rifles and tossed them in big piles. Then when they reassembled them, they took what ever was there and made it fit. After cleaning the plate and contact surfaces of the trigger guard, look at the locking tongue of the floor plate and the groove it is suppose to slide into. Even after cleaning you may very well find old coagulated grease in these areas. This grease usually has dried to the consistency of harden concrete. Dig that stuff out of there with a dental pick or similar tool. Now try to refit the floor plate. If it is still stubborn, using a flat needle file, relieve some of the metal on the floor plate tongue at the contacting surfaces, go slow, do not take too much off. It should be snug not loose. Also, look at the the face of the trigger guard where the floor plate rests. Look for dings or raised areas (I have seen this plenty of times. These were created by the guy putting the rifle together hammering the floorplate into position. I use a flat stone to clean these up. And third, look to the floor plate lock peg and string. Drift out the pin that hold them in the housing. Be careful, the pin and spring may fly out and fall into that trans-diminsional pathway that leads to the Nexus of Lost Small Gun Parts never to be seen again in our universe :eek:. You will find a gob of that hardened grease in there also. Again, dig that stuff out. There maybe enough down there to keep the lock plunger from going all the way down. Polish the plunger a bit add some Breakfree and put back in. I also slightly bevel the lock hole on the inside of the floor plate, not much, just enough to break the edge and get rid of any high spots.
 
badger arms has it right,BEAT IT!!!!!allways rust and that old cosmoline.you can do this job to the beat of mike jackson:barf:
or wild wood flower played by Flatt and Scrugges:D
 
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