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omgb
03-11-2006, 07:37 PM
I just finished cleaning my M48 and getting all of the cosmoline out of it. I used a large wooden box for a heat chamber. I placed a hotplate in it and used a bar-b-que thermometer to keep the temp at 160 degrees. After disassembling the rifle as much as I could, I cleaned the obvious gunk up using Gumout spray. Then into the heat box went everything for about an hour. I then took out the stock and wiped it down with a terry cloth rag. The bolt assembly was next. I broke it down and wiped it clean. Then I took a heat gun and warmed it up some more until the cosmoline ran out of it. A quick squirt or two of gumout and another wipe down. Back into the box it went. I did this every hour for about four hours. Finally, the stock was through sweating. Then I finished up cleaning all of the metal work using gumout and Ed's Red. The bore got sprayed with gumout and a few patches were run through. I almost had to hammer them through as the gunk kept grabbing the patches. Then I ran a wire brush through it using more ER. A few more patches and then Kroil. After a 20 minute soak, I ran some dry patches through and it was absolutely pristine! I dried out the bolt and trigger group and then reassembled them using Tetra on key friction points. The floorplate assembly was a mess as well. More gumout, more heat gun and some scrubbing with a tooth brush and it was spotless. Unfortunately, some clown had marred it up with a hammer at some point but other than that, it's very slick.

The barrel and reciever did have some exterior pitting but not where you can see it once the rifle is assembled. The action is smooth like butter and the rifling is crisp and sharp. The sights are excellent and the trigger pull is amazingly smooth and very predictable. The wood is dinged and scared. It does have some nice figure however. The guys who say this is teak either have different guns than I do or they don't know wood. There is no way this is teak. Some kind of hardwood to be sure but definetely not teak.

Tomorrow I'll give it a test at the range. So far, I think I got a heck of a gun for $119 bucks. No clips, sling, oiler or bayonet but a great looking gun that is well made and nicely finished. It's one handy carbine for sure. Now if it only shoots like it looks...

To any one contemplating cleaning up one of these I strongly recommend the heat box idea. It was fast, simple, and very effective.

If any of you has a .32 cal M die he wants to part with drop me a line. I'm interested.

jballs918
03-11-2006, 11:03 PM
im still waiting on my 32 expander, i had to send it back. what are you using for a mold. and are you going to put a scop on it

omgb
03-12-2006, 12:24 AM
I don't have a mould yet but hopefully will get one in a month or so. I still have a buttload of bullets from an earlier project. No plans for a scope. I just wanted a nice, clean milsurp Mouser to shoot cast boolets in.

omgb
03-13-2006, 01:17 AM
I got to the range today..had to drive through snow and ice to do it. Imagine that in SoCal.... Any way, I fired 100 rounds of the surplus 8mm ammo I got from SG. All but two fired. Groups at 50 yards ran about 2 inches. I thing the ammo was better than that but the front post sight does not lend itself to great accuracy with my bifocal eyes. Once sighted in, I could hit the 400 yard steel gong every time. Actually, I hit it 20 out of 20 times after three shots to zero in the range. This is a very nice rifle that will no doubt, be an excellent cast bullet rifle.

My Mosine Nagant was also in the groove today. I had some Winchester factory loads that were able to hit the gong 5 for 5 at 400 yards. On paper, they were able to stay under 3" at 100 yards. The CZ surplus I bought from SG was not so good. It failed to fire 3 times out of 50 and had one hang fire as well. It was all over the paper. Oh well, I can pull the slugs and use them and the powder.

My Garand was sweet indeed. I was shooting surplus Korean ammo I bought from SG. The gun was rebuilt by the Fulton Armory and is a real tack driver. I ran almost 300 rounds through it and it all fired. At 250 yards from a sitting position I could bang the hubcap gong all day long. Geez, I love that gun. Any way, I heartily endorse the 8mm surplus ammo. It worked and worked well.

Frank46
03-13-2006, 01:41 AM
omgb, If the surplus '06 you got from sg is PS stamped then its non corrosive, but if its stamped KA then it is corrosive. Some dealers down here seem to omit that little fact. The korean ps or ka carbine ammo is all non corrosive and just about has disappeared here in loosiana. Frank