Mausers in the wood pile...

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freedomintheskies

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On a sand bar in the Atlantic Ocean.
Just received an unfired M48 Yugo Mauser this week.
The wood is quite rough, but provides a great non slip surface. The thing was absolutely soaked with cosmoline, but it does what it's supposed to.
I'm contemplating putting a ZRAK M76B scope on it to turn it into a bit of a Yugo sniper. The only thing I am not sure of doing is using ZRAK scope rings, since they require drilling and tapping the receiver. It would not be original, but I'm told the combatants in the war did this with great results. I picked up a leather 3/4" cheek piece to provide a better cheek weld. I'll put pix up once I have it all complete.
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[/URL]20171109_213007[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]

It has a nice companion to hang out with too.
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[/URL]20171109_220434[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
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[/URL]20171109_220612[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
It's completely up to you what you do with your rifle but ten years down the road you will be kicking yourself. As soon as you drill and tap that action the rifle is worth less than half of what you paid for it.

IMHO you should consider looking for one that's already been done. Likely cheaper in the long run.
 
I just restore a swedish mauser commercial rifle made by Husq. it was cut down from military m96 and put a side mount which was used by m41b sniper mauser. It came with sporter stock but I bought a set of original military m38 stock to restore it. Now it became M41/38B Sniper rifle, one of kind. If you wanna modified it, please make it looks like sniper version, otherwise it will be another death of milsurp.
 
I really don't want to ruin the rifle by adding on or drilling into anything. If it can be done to be exact and correct, would it affect the collectability of the firearm? I've seen these rifles with this optic/mount system in action during the Balkan Conflict.
Here is a link to the ZRAK M76B scope and mount...


And here is a link to a completed M48 Mauser sniper variant with this configuration
 
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freedomintheskies said:
I really don't want to ruin the rifle by adding on or drilling into anything. If it can be done to be exact and correct, would it affect the collectability of the firearm? I've seen these rifles with this optic/mount system in action during the Balkan Conflict.
Here is a link to the ZRAK M76B scope and mount...


And here is a link to a completed M48 Mauser sniper variant with this configuration
Click to expand...


Yes, it will effect the price of your firearm which will be valued at the sum of its parts after mucking with it.

Like I mentioned. Place an ad in the EE for one already put together.

There were a lot of different firearms used as snipers in Yugoslavia during the conflicts. Many of them were assembled in home workshops. Most of them were effective in the right hands.

There are other alternatives to get what you're looking for, including non drill and tap mounts that utilize the rear sight platform. Cheaper and in the end you still have a complete and correct rifle that will not only retain its value but will increase in value over the years.

I see a lot of such rifles all the time that someone decided to turn into their dream of the moment. Sadly, those dreams are those of the creator and not many others are interested and if they are informed at all, they most certainly won't pay up for it.
 
freedomintheskies said:
I really don't want to ruin the rifle by adding on or drilling into anything. If it can be done to be exact and correct, would it affect the collectability of the firearm? I've seen these rifles with this optic/mount system in action during the Balkan Conflict.
Here is a link to the ZRAK M76B scope and mount...


And here is a link to a completed M48 Mauser sniper variant with this configuration
Click to expand...

It's an M48, not exactly a collector's piece.

If you do up a repro sniper with Zrak scope/mounts, and it can be done well, I say: go for it.

The joy you get from shooting it may be more valuable than the rifle in the long run.


Also: what's the deal with the other mauser in the wood pile? Lots of barrel past that stock. Is the stock short or the barrel long?
 
Tyler said:
It's an M48, not exactly a collector's piece.

If you do up a repro sniper with Zrak scope/mounts, and it can be done well, I say: go for it.

The joy you get from shooting it may be more valuable than the rifle in the long run.


Also: what's the deal with the other mauser in the wood pile? Lots of barrel past that stock. Is the stock short or the barrel long?
Click to expand...

Looks like an Israeli .22lr trainer conversion.
 
Thank you to all who have contributed.
I've decided that I should not perhaps drill and tap for rings. As many have said, it would spoil the rifle's collectability. With all of the non drill options on the market, it should be fairly easy to mock up a replica M48 sniper to shoot "good time oldies" with the fellas at the range. As a plus, the Bosnians and Serbs had no real standard other than the first choice ZRAK systems.

Here are a few options for those who may be looking...

https://www.accumounts.com/k98-dual-purpose-mount-additional-photos.html

https://brassstacker.com/mauser/Mauser-See-Thru-Scout-Scope-Mount.html

http://www.thecountryshed.com/mauser_scope_mounts.htm

http://www.p-a-distributing.com/optics.html

My favorite method so far is the brass stacker accu point series. It attaches on the front site base and (non- permanently) replaces the recoil lug in the stock to provide a solid rear mount.
https://brassstacker.com/images/D/Brass-Stacker-Mauser-Scout-Scope-Mount-14-02.jpg
 
Tyler said:
It's an M48, not exactly a collector's piece.

If you do up a repro sniper with Zrak scope/mounts, and it can be done well, I say: go for it.

The joy you get from shooting it may be more valuable than the rifle in the long run.


Also: what's the deal with the other mauser in the wood pile? Lots of barrel past that stock. Is the stock short or the barrel long?
Click to expand...


Yes I remember my uncle told me same thing when he Bubba Lee Enfield. Now he is talking same about SKS and Mosin. I guess I should buy some of SKS to make extra money in future.
 
Those long eye relief scope looks ugly even it works.
My Mosin had a Aimsport LER scope and it is capable about 1.5 inches, but it is too ugly to shoot. I take the scope off, and keep shooting it with iron sight. The best I can do with iron sight is 3inches but I am happy I did not drilled it, which is good thing about that scope mount. You should try iron sight. Once you hit something with it, you will love that feeling.

In my opinion, if you like looking of WWII rifle, then bubba it to what you wanna it looks like in the history, like sniper version. If you just wanna put a weaver picatinny rail for scope, why dont you buy a Savage axis for $300, which is same Mauser action, but everything is better than a mauser sporter.
 
bonan said:
Yes I remember my uncle told me same thing when he Bubba Lee Enfield. Now he is talking same about SKS and Mosin. I guess I should buy some of SKS to make extra money in future.
Click to expand...

The difference is that the Lee Enfield or Mosin Nagant (if made before 1945), likely saw war service. An M48... not so much.

For what they're selling M48's for, any depreciation in value is going to be minimal, especially if the work is well done and the OP gets good use out of it.


A well balanced investment portfolio of ETF's and bonds is a better money making instrument than owning old guns.
 
So..... I did the dirty.
Went to https://brassstacker.com/mauser/Mauser-See-Thru-Scout-Scope-Mount.html and ordered one of these mounts. It is totally non invasive and can be removed within. It appears that the rail will extend far enough to the rear that I can use my SWFA 16x SS scope on it. -It sucks getting old and not being able to see well.

Now, who has a good recipe for 196gr FMJBT 8mm cartridges?
I've also ordered a 175gr mold, sizing die and gas checks to load cast boolits as well.

Had the .22 trainer out to our indoor range yesterday evening too. It shoots very well and the accuracy is pretty fair!
 
So I could not wait till the mount arrived and the weather was just amazing yesterday and I decided to fire up the quad and pop down to my shooting bench to try out the M-48.

The bolt must have a bit of cosmoline still floating around as I had a few fail to fire event, but they all fired the second time around. - I figured it may have been to cold because the rifle worked well when I did a few 5 round strings.

The sights are well; Mauser and my eyes are not what they used to be. I'll have to wait until another warm day to go out and try to work on the calibration based on my hand-loads.

Anyways, I was quite happy with the group size. Especially with the open sights. a 3 shot string measured in at a nominal .6" (.9" overall). I'll take it.


When I took the rifle out for a good cleaning today, I DID get a bunch of goo out of the bolt and I polished the shank of the firing pin with JB bore clean. It had some etching on it where it sat in contact with the bolt shroud for the past 60 odd years, so it should work better in the future. The bore prior to shooting was a bit dull looking and it had what looked like machining marks in the lands. After firing and cleaning, it looks like a mirror!
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[/URL]20171122_142904[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
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[/URL]20171122_145829[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
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[/URL]20171122_144952[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
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[/URL]20171122_150006[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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That rifle is too nice to drill, looks new!
When I get the itch to make up a sniper I set out for an already drilled one, then you will actually increase the rifles value if the sniper cloning is done right.

Beautiful rifle and beautiful range!!!
What is it about 2-300m (miles) range?

Here's one I did a couple years ago, receiver was drilled in the side so I made it a SSR (short side rail) sniper.
As you can see, it is no longer only worth $450. :)
4vgwfq.jpg
 
jonh172 said:
That rifle is too nice to drill, looks new!
When I get the itch to make up a sniper I set out for an already drilled one, then you will actually increase the rifles value if the sniper cloning is done right.

Beautiful rifle and beautiful range!!!
What is it about 2-300m (miles) range?

Here's one I did a couple years ago, receiver was drilled in the side so I made it a SSR (short side rail) sniper.
As you can see, it is no longer only worth $450. :)
4vgwfq.jpg
Click to expand...

That Mauser looks great! How does it shoot?

I'm going to use a Brass Tracker mount on mine. It attaches to the rear sight groove and replaces the recoil lug on the stock, so no drilling is required and it can be removed in minutes.
The range is in my back field. I have 400M that is shootable without breaking any laws but I tend to shoot mostly at 100M to keep the noise down close to other homes in the area. The sound travels out across the bay and away from locals. I try to minimize using it though just to keep the peace since the PEI Provincial Rifle Ass'n range is only 4 km away. Nevertheless, it's good to have the option.

Cheerz!
 
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