Tell me about the Yugo M48?

[JesterGrin_1]

I tried the search but it has changed so I did not really come up with anything.

I have seen a few of these Yugo M48's online and I am a bit intrigued. So I am looking for opinions on them along with component availability?

And where would be the best place to purchase one?

I watched this video on a Yugo M48 set up as a Scout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA_E7rLznZg

[lefty o]

they are decent rifles based on the 98 mauser, they are however a shorter length action than a standard length 98.

[BigDaddie]

I have an M48A that I fitted a Lyman receiver mounted peep sight to - shoots wonderfully. It was one of the brand new barrel jobs that were stored in cosmo for a while. Great rifle to shoot cast in although the 198gn J boolits tend to rattle the teeth a bit!

[TNsailorman]

I have never owned a 48 but I do have 2 of the 24/47's and they are excellent rifles. Both accurate and well made. They are not quite as smooth of an action as some of the other 98's but then they are practically new and have not been shot enough to smooth up yet. Both had been rebuilt and were in "as new" condition when I traded a shotgun for the both of them. The actions are what is called and "intermediate" length action, being only slightly shorter than a regular 98. Just out of curiosity one day, I slipped one out of its stock and tried to see if a turk stock I had would fit. It was close but the turk was about a 1/8 or slightly more too long for the action screws to go into the stock. Close but not quite fit. I have seen a couple of 48's and they were very well made also. They and the Turks just might have been the best buy on the used 98 market. My experience anyway, james

[kungfustyle]

I got an M48 from a gent that bought it from Mitchell's Mausers. They are way overpriced on their website. Keep a look out on Weidners has them for 269+shipping. It is a great shooting solid rifle. http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000268&dir=700|701|1029
I've shot mine with the Ed Harris load of 16g of 2400 powder and it was like shooting an sks as far as recoil. Now I shoot the Lee 175 g .324 rn over 25.5g of SR4759 and have fist size groups at 100 yards. It's a little stiffer but that's what I wanted. I also have a peep sight on mine, Lyman or Williams make them but the Williams sight is about 40 Lyamn you can get used on e-bay for $50 or so. Bottom Line: Fantastic gun, built like a tank and very cool looking. Adding the sight doesn't detract from the looks either.
IF you want to change it to another caliber barrels are under $100. Buy a form and trim die and you can convert 30-06 brass into the 8mm Mauser.
Full house loads are available from S&B and PPU. With these the recoil is similar to an 06 shooting 150g or 125g rounds.

[mac60]

I tried the search but it has changed so I did not really come up with anything.

I have seen a few of these Yugo M48's online and I am a bit intrigued. So I am looking for opinions on them along with component availability?

And where would be the best place to purchase one?

I watched this video on a Yugo M48 set up as a Scout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA_E7rLznZg

I'm aware of several "variants" of a Yugo M48 mauser rifle. The m48 with all machined parts, the m48a with stamped parts (floorplate) and the m48bo with stamped parts and no crest (meant for commercial export sales). Someone with a little more expertise might know of others. As for an opinion (well, you did ask) - pick up an m48 Mauser rifle and hold it in your hands and compare it to a modern production rifle, not a Cooper or semi-custom gun - just a standard production rifle - and imagine if the Mauser rifle were produced today - what it would cost. I think they're works of art myself. As for best place to buy - J&G shows them in stock as well as SOG, it would be my guess that you could find them available elsewhere too. Components? Well brass for reloading is out there, but can be easily made from .30-06 brass. I'm a milsurp guy and the Mauser variants are my favorites.

[Uncle Grinch]

The M48 also has an "improved" breech or chambering for the 7.9x57 cartridge. While the barrel has the same threads and size of the standard 98 Mauser, they have a groove or ring cut into the face of the barrel for the extractor to allow deeper chambering. These barrels are not a straight forward replacement for other LR Mausers. They have to be refaced to remove this groove in order to be fitted to standard LR Mausers. Headspace is also affected and will have to be checked.

[Love Life]

A M48A Yugo was the first rifle I legally purchased and cost me $88.00 out the door. I still have that rifle and love it. It was pristine and all matching numbers. The barrel looks like a sewer pipe now thanks to being 18 and not very knowledgeable on corrosive ammo...

It still hits man size targets with ease out to 400 yds using the Hornady 170 gr RNSP.

Great rifles if you can get one under $300.

[JesterGrin_1]

I know nothing about Milsurps to be honest. I did like the length of the M48. But really do not know how it compares to others.

I did find J&G but could not figure out SOG? But it looks like Widener's has the best M48 at a pretty good price?

[clyde-the-pointer]

Southern Ohio Guns

The M48 uses the intermediate or commercial mauser action. There are some good buys out there.

[UBER7MM]

..... Now I shoot the Lee 175 g .324 rn over 25.5g of SR4759 and have fist size groups at 100 yards. It's a little stiffer but that's what I wanted. I also have a peep sight on mine, Lyman or Williams make them but the Williams sight is about 40 Lyamn you can get used on e-bay for $50 or so. Bottom Line: Fantastic gun, built like a tank and very cool looking. Adding the sight doesn't detract from the looks either.
IF you want to change it to another caliber barrels are under $100. Buy a form and trim die and you can convert 30-06 brass into the 8mm Mauser.
Full house loads are available from S&B and PPU. With these the recoil is similar to an 06 shooting 150g or 125g rounds.
.
+ 1 for 8x57 cast and SR-4759 loads. Relatively speaking, SR-4759 is a reduced velocity, but not a reduced pressure load. That's why you're experiencing more perceived recoil with your cast load.
.
Peep site is a definite improvement over the Mauser 'V' notch rear site. I'd also suggest filing the sides of the inverted 'V' front site to make a blade, if originality is not a criteria.
.
Caution regarding Yugo re-barreling cartridge choices:
.
30'06 length cartridges for an Yugo conversion are not advisable. The intermediate FN length (Yugo) action and magazine of the are is short. One of the 308 family would be a better choice. There will be fiddling with the magazine & action rails to get the shorter & straighter bodied 308 cartridges to cycle properly. Converting an Yugo 8x57mm to a 7x57 or 257 Roberts is less work.
.
The 8x57 loaded to European specifications can/will do the same job as a 30'06 and makes a good deer rifle caliber. Harder to find ammo at Walmart, though.

[offshore44]

I have an M48 and it's predecessor the 24/47. They are good to great rifles. The 8mm is a good cast boolit round as well. My M48 with a pretty trashed bore shoots cast into about 2" and the 24/47 is more accurate than I am. They seem to like heavy boolits better than light one's and reformed 30-06 cases better than 8mm factory cases for accuracy. The chambers are pretty generous. The bore is usually close to spec. (0.313" x 0.323")

All in all, nice rifles. With a little action polishing, they are as smooth as silk. By polishing, I mean metal polish, not stones and emery paper. You just can't buy this quality without going to a custom or semi-custom rifle anymore.

[JHeath]

Are there any aftermarket '98 parts (triggers, bolt-shroud safeties, etc.) with which the Yugo actions are not compatible?

Sounds like magazines and floorplates might be different.

[phaessler]

Have several, and they were $99 when I last bought them (3) at a gun show (2008) with matching numbers, and good bores. Turned one into a .22-250AckleyImp. Feeds well, and looks perfect.
Others are still 8X57 and shooters to boot. Slick actions and decent fit/finish.
Also have a Mitchell's (ugh) and its not half the quality of the ones I found on my own...

Pete

[offshore44]

Are there any aftermarket '98 parts (triggers, bolt-shroud safeties, etc.) with which the Yugo actions are not compatible?

Sounds like magazines and floorplates might be different.

Yes, there are lots o' aftermarket goodies that fit the Yugo Mausers. You can pimp one out almost as much as an AR. Every time I get the urge, I go shoot my 24/47. That usually cures the itch.

[Animal]

This is a great thread. I am curious about this rifle to. I haven't heard a whole lot of comments about the expected accuracy of this rifle though. Does anyone have an idea of how to compare accuracy at 200 yards to something in say... oh, maybe a Remington 700 platform? Obviously, certain factors such as optics and bullet weight will play in here. I hope the OP doesn't think I'm threadjacking, but it seems that we could both enjoy input in this area. I am interested in purchasing my first bolt-rifle and am not partial to modern factory rifles or surplus... just a straight shooting bolt-gun that I can mount a modern optic on and shoot good ole'fashioned cast.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Most Mausers, like most milsurps of the WWII era, if in good shape, will do around 2" at a hundred yards without much work if your eyes are up to it with the iron sights. If they're not, add a scope, a little tuning and reload your own cartridges, you should be able to get sub 2" without killing yourself.

For the original poster: There are surplus new old stock Yugo Mauser 8MM barrels available, so if you get one with a bad/damaged barrel, you have option of rebarreling.

Also be aware the stocks can be quite heavy due to the wood they're made of. Some will need some cleaning of heavy greases and may need some trimming of excess wood (mine did). I had to fit around the rear sling swivel and the trigger guard, as there was way too much wood. Also ended up having to bed the stock as the wood had gotten soft and crushed due to oil/cosmoline saturation in the receiver area. But not all stocks were like the 48A I had.

If I were to do over, I would buy a 48 with as good a trigger group metal as I could find, replace barrel, drill/tap for scope and install it into an aftermarket custom stock. I would keep the 8MM caliber though, as it's fairly easy to reload/cast for.

[IROCZ]

I own an M48 and a M48B, plus several 24/47's. They are excellent rifles. You just can't beat that solid wood and steel feel. When you work the bolt on a Mauser 98 type there is a satisfying snickety snack of machined metal that you just don't seem to get on a modern Savage or Remington. Wideners has new M48 barrels for like 55 dollars if you need one. I picked up several spares for later and have 2 in service now. They prefer heavier bullets, about 170gr. or more but can be very accurate. Most all of the 98 aftermarket parts fit like safeties and triggers. The only real difference is the action length. These and the Mosins appear to be the last good affordable fun surplus you can get these days for under 300 dollars, but be advised...they are habit forming.

[seaboltm]

I like them because they are intermediate length actions. I have one customized to 308 winchester. Intermediate actions are somewhat rare. They should be snatched up and if already bubba'd they should be converted to 220 Swift, 6mm Rem, 257 Roberts, or 7x57 Mauser. Add the excellent 8x57 Mauser, 9x57 Mauser, and the 9.3x57 Mauser, and you have an unbeatable family of intermediate calibers that will take virtually any game on earth.

[blixen]

I've got one that bubba put a recoil pad on. (Did a good job). It's a shooter! Put a non- invasive pistol scope mount on it. I got the Lee 8x56 mold and honed out a sizer to .326" and it shoots 2moa. I have a lyman peep I might mount on it, but I hate to drill holes in it.

[Combat Diver]

The last Mauser Rifle (not made from parts or a rebuilt) produced by Yugoslavia at the famed Kragujevac arsenal, the Model 1948 98k Short Rifle or otherwise called the Yugoslavian M48. Based in design on the German 98k Mauser and the Yugoslavian Model FN 30 and 24 Carbines and Rifles.
The M48 is a little shorter in overall length in the barrel and the overall length of the rifle in comparison to the original German 98k it is modeled after.
Manufactured all of the way into the 50's they became obsolete with the onset of the Semi-Automatic battle rifle. So they were packed up and stored away for the past 60 years.
The Yugoslav M48 Mauser rifle was manufactured from 1950-65 at the Zavodi Crvena Zastava (Red Banner Works. Zastava was known as "Preduzece 44"--meaning Enterprise 44, from 1945-52. In 1952 it was renamed Red Banner Works.) The M48 series came in four versions--the M48 (all milled parts) M48A (stamped magazine floorplate) M48B (increased use of stamped parts) and the comparatively rare M48BO (the BO=bez oznake, meaning "without markings.") The M48BO versions were new manufactured M48s as well as numerous captured, reconditioned and "scrubbed" German Kar 98k rifles (sometimes the latter were called M98/48N, the "N" standing for "Njemac," which is Serbo-Croat for "German.") The M48B/M48BO versions were made chiefly for export--and most of these were sent to Egypt, Iran and Algeria. by Jamie Mangrum

I acquired a M48BO back in the early 90s along with about 1000 rds of Egyptian and Israeli surplus. Used to ring steel (iron maidens) out to 675m with iron sights at Ft Campbell with it.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/M48_BO.JPG


CD

[Echo]

Hmmm... It seems that I'm getting a lust for an M-48. Any suggestions?

[Nicholas]

To Echo, simply lie down until the feeling passes. Works for me concerning these mausers, much less so for a lot of wwII era military bolt actions which I would much rather have.

[frnkeore]

Thank you for that Jamie Mangrum article. I have a BO that I got in '93. It's was in like new condition but, I drilled and tapped it for a scope, cut the forend down to the rear band and floated the barrel. Yes, I know what I did :( but, I knew nothing about them then and I only payed $65 for it. For years I thought that it might have been a Chinese made rifle because of the lack of markings.

Mines has the tightest chamber of three 8x57 barrels that I have. Resized LC '06 brass gives a slip fit with a .325 cast bullet.

Frank

[Hardcast416taylor]

To celebrate my surviving a heart attack and having a 6-way bypass and still being on the top side of the sod I bought a Mitchells Mauser M48 about 15 years ago. Yes, I knew it was over priced - but I liked the wood color and all the "stuff" that was in the box with it. As of today I have yet to shoot it, that is because of too many other Mausers I have that I enjoy shooting. I have cleaned off a literal ton of cosmoline and it still is slightly greasy. Who knows I might actually shoot it before I turn into worm food?Robert

[JesterGrin_1]

To celebrate my surviving a heart attack and having a 6-way bypass and still being on the top side of the sod I bought a Mitchells Mauser M48 about 15 years ago. Yes, I knew it was over priced - but I liked the wood color and all the "stuff" that was in the box with it. As of today I have yet to shoot it, that is because of too many other Mausers I have that I enjoy shooting. I have cleaned off a literal ton of cosmoline and it still is slightly greasy. Who knows I might actually shoot it before I turn into worm food?Robert

Ed's Red will clean that Cosmoline Right Up. :)