• Please make sure you are familiar with the forum rules. You can find them here: https://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/index.php?threads/forum-rules.2334636/

Yugo Mauser

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
A

Avenger

Grizzled Veteran
Mar 24, 2006
497
0
#1
The local Big 5 store is advertising Yugoslavian M24/47 Mausers for 99 bucks. I've never owned a gun before, so what do I need to look for when I go look at this one? Is this a good price? What do I need to know about ammo for target shooting?

Thanks in advance to all the gun nuts.:D
 
#2
Avenger said:
The local Big 5 store is advertising Yugoslavian M24/47 Mausers for 99 bucks. I've never owned a gun before, so what do I need to look for when I go look at this one? Is this a good price? What do I need to know about ammo for target shooting?

Thanks in advance to all the gun nuts.:D
Click to expand...

I paid $119 for mine. They are great rifles. Go for the one with the best bore if your a shooter. Or get the one that looks the best if your not. Either way you will enjoy it!:D
 
Upvote 0
#4
Check the bore, and make sure things like the firing pin are in working order. I know someone who picked one of these up, only to find the firing pin was broke... not a really big deal, but....

Also know that if you're NICE, Big 5 employees will happily let you pick through whatever rifles they have there. Ask if they have more in the back to look at. Remember, BE NICE!
 
Upvote 0
#5
Most of the cheap surplus 8mm ammo (which you WANT to buy since it allows you to shoot off more for less money) is corrosive. What that means is that the primers will leave residue in your rifle after you fire. If you leave your rifle the way it is, you'll get all kinds of nasty stuff developing in the bore, but that can be easily rectified by cleaning the actions and bore with hot soapy water, but I'm sure theres cleaning solvents out there meant for the corrosive residue now.
 
Upvote 0
#6
any black powder solvent will be good for the initial cleaning... if you can find some the old USGI bore cleaner is the holy grail of milsurp cleaning solvents you can find it on ebay or some will occasionally pop up at a gunshow

note on the USGI bore cleaner the stuff specifically made for corrosive ammo is in a thin metal can (and says "POISON" in large letters on the label) NOT a plastic bottle
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
#7
Yeah, that stuff's carcinogenic. I just use Windex, and keep running patches until they start coming out gray instead of black. Then I Windex up one more patch, wipe off the boltface, and then run a dry patch and resume patching with plain old gun solvent/lubricant.

Anyway, my main checklist:
1. Bore (might not be applicable due to cosmoline; the Yugoslavians generally preserved their rifles pretty well, though)
2. Trigger (look for one that's crisp and not creepy for the second stage letoff)
3. Wood (look for ones with less dinging, and I'd generally not bother with one that had a cracked stock; if it has a nice trigger and bore, I can overlook a cracked handguard)

That's about it, really. The Yugo Mausers didn't get used in any major wars that I know of, so they're all in pretty decent condition.
 
Upvote 0
#8
Here's a good link that will give you information on cleaning your rifle after shooting corrosive ammo. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu13.htm

And here's one that will give you some good tips on cleaning all of the cosmoline off. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu23.htm

You don't have to go as extreme as Ol' Painless when it comes to removing the cosmoline (aka you don't need to refinish the wood unless you really want to, it'll shoot fine, that's just cosmetics), but MAKE SURE you remove any and all cosmoline from the bore. When your done cleaning the bore make sure there is no cosmoline hiding in the rifling of the barrel. You also want to get rid of any cosmoline in the bolt.

One more tip, when running a bore brush or patch through the bore with a cleaning rod, always run it from the chamber toward the muzzle and not the other way around. If you nick the crown of the muzzle with your cleaning rod it can significantly reduce accuracy.
 
Upvote 0
#13
USMC_Recruit said:
Here's a good link that will give you information on cleaning your rifle after shooting corrosive ammo. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu13.htm
Click to expand...

OP has loads of great info. I just wanna point out that you don't have to use Windex to clean out the bore. Water works great, followed by some oil.

I use water, since that way I can just wet patches from the drinking fountains at the range instead of bringing yet another bottle of stuff with me.

With my CZ52, I strip the pistol and usually just hold the barrel in the water from the fountain for a few seconds, patch clean, patch dry, oil and re-dry and it's ready to go home.

I've also noticed that with the dirty dirty ex-commie ammo I shoot in my Mosin, it helps a LOT to do the cleanup at the range. I do it with the barrel still hot, makes the cleanup work that much better. Hot water can absorb more stuff (like salt, which is what is the corrosive crap in the barrel) than cold water. As an added bonus, you won't miss any water in the barrel and get rust, since it'll evaporate faster. :D
 
Upvote 0
#14
I use Hoppe's black powder solvent to neutralize the salts. Followed by Hoppe's No. 9 oil. It usually only takes a few minutes per weapon. Unless the bore is already frosted. Then its a ***** no matter what you do. The black powder solvent still stops the rust.

When I used to use boiling water. I would ocassionally find a little rust forming in the bores. Thankfully, I cleaned them again before any visible damage was done. Since I started using black powder solvent. I've yet to have this problem.

I have my range in the back yard. So I dont have to carry the extra bottle to the range.;)
 
Upvote 0
#15
Well, I took the plunge today, but I ended up getting a Mosin instead. The deciding factor was that the Mosin was an original 1942 model, giving it genuine historical value. If I want a Mauser later, I'll drop the bigger bucks and get a real German one for the same reason. In the meantime, I've got a lot to learn about these rifles and how to shoot them.
 
Upvote 0
#16
Congrats! Mosin's are a great starting rifle. Loaded with history, and plenty of cheap surplus available, they are hard to beat.

M24/47's and M48's have history too. Just not WWII history. They were involved in the Yugoslav civil war.

Of course I bought a German 98K first for the same reason you plan to.:)
 
Upvote 0
#18
Avenger said:
Well, I took the plunge today, but I ended up getting a Mosin instead. The deciding factor was that the Mosin was an original 1942 model, giving it genuine historical value. If I want a Mauser later, I'll drop the bigger bucks and get a real German one for the same reason. In the meantime, I've got a lot to learn about these rifles and how to shoot them.
Click to expand...


Pictures?


P.S. You can also get some really cheap 7.62x54R surplus ammo for the Nagant. It's corrosive as well but as long as you clean properly you'll be fine.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Community News
Forums
Merch
Menu