Help identify this rifle please

[DWS1117]

Picked this up today for $150. Don't know if that was too much or not, but I like it. It looks to be in excellent shape. The bore is really nice. Most of the numbers match, but not all.

Well since I am a milsurp newbie I don't know much. The only thing I was told was that it is a vz-24 and that it was Chech.

 

[Bob R]

Try these sites on for size:

http://www.surplusrifle.com/brnovz24/index.asp

http://www.surplusrifle.com/brnovz24/fulldisassemble/pdf/vz24riflehs.pdf

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/4653/vz24.html

Would like to give some first hand knowledge and advice, but, I don't own one of these.

bob

 

[critter]

You have a classic Mauser 98 and one of the best made. Good price if the gun is in good shape. They shoot well as is and make GREAT sporters. Shoot it and enjoy!

 

[SDC]

Your rifle was made in Czechoslovakia after WW2 (the vz24/47 shows it was made according to the 1947 reworked specifications for the original Czech vz24 Mauser) at the CZ/Brno arsenal.

 

[DWS1117]

WOW thanks for the info!

I have had this posted on a couple of C&r/milsurp forums without any response. Posted it here and had 3 responses within an hour. This is why I love THR.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, DWS1117 and SDC,

The rifle started out as a VZ-24 ("Vzor" is Czech for "Model"), made in the 1920's or 1930's in what was then Czechoslovakia. Many of these were bought by Yugoslavia at the time. In the post-WWII period, Yugoslavia undertook a program to standardize their rifles, which were rather a mixed bag, even though most were based on the Mauser 1898.

That rifle was reworked in Yugoslavia in or around 1947; the old Czech markings were removed and replaced with the Communist crest (the flaming torch), the rifle was refurbished and reblued, and given a new designation, the M 24/47. A year or so later, Yugoslavia began production of its own rifle, the Model 48, which appeared in quantity on the U.S. market a couple of years ago. They are good rifles, but not as good as the VZ-24, reworked or not.

Just FYI, the Model 48 (the Model 48A has a stamped floorplate) is sometimes sold as a "K.98k", with stories about its use in WWII. It was not a wartime rifle, was not used by the Germans, and has little historical value. The receiver is not even a standard Mauser 1898, although the VZ-24 is.

Jim

 

[DWS1117]

Mr. Keenan

Thank you for the very informative post.

While continuing my research into the rifle I found this post on another forum:

1. First the M24/47 is not a re-arsenaled Czech Vz.24. The M24/47 is an intermediate length action rifle built originally by FN and later domestically by the Yugo arsenal at Kragujevac as the Model 24. FN delivered 50,000 M-24s during the 1926-1928 time frame and a repeat order for about 40,000 more a couple of years later. When Yugoslavia purchased their first batch of rifles from FN in they also purchased the tooling to produce them domestically. They were built at Kragujevac from 1928 until ?. The original M-24s were used throughout WW2.
The M-24s were re-arsenaled by the Yugos starting in 1947, hence the M24/47 designation. The re-arsenaling process was quiet extensive. The old Royal crests were removed and replaced by the new Tito Communist crest (The 1943 in the crest indicates the date the Communists came to power). The frames were scrubbed and most old markings were removed. Occasionally the side rail markings are faintly visible. During the re-arsenal process the rifles were apparently completely broken down into three groups, receiver, barrel and bolt. Once cleaned and repaired they were matched to each other and assigned a number (for lack of a better term I call them assembly numbers). The numbers usually appear on the underside of the bolt and on the barrel and receiver under the wood. After the three components were assembled and the rifle was re-finished it was assigned a serial number on the right side of the receiver, on the barrel and on the stock. During the process most, if not all, received new barrels and many received new stocks. I think that very few were issued after re-arsenaling.


This is the last post in this thread

Both explanations are very interesting.

The blueing on my rifle is about 98% and the bore is very very good. It looks af if it could be almost new.