Yugo Mauser project... advice?

[Kaylee]

First... let's get the "you're evil for destroying a museum piece" comments out of the way.

Second.. I really don't intend to change much at all externally -- the whole reason for asking BossMan to order me one to play on in the first place (other than having a relatively cheap starting point to learn some practices on) was 'cause I always liked the "stick of wood with a little metal at both ends" look and want to keep more or less the military appearance of it. I don't WANT a sporter here...

But I want to do a few things to it..

First, make it shoot as well it can with all that wood hanging off it. Aside from cleaning up the trigger and such if necessary.. what's a good idea there? Some kind of bedding procedure along the length of the stock barrel channel and inside the handguards to take out play? Or the reverse -- open up as much as possible in there and let the barrel float a little?

Second.. I'd like to glass it. I'm torn between finding some old-fashioned mounts (Zrak spendy!! ) and making it look like an old-timey sniper, or getting one of those "scout" type arrangements that swaps out the rear sight assembly. From what I've read this involves a little shaving of the forward handguard, and I might just order a replacement to do that work on so it can all go back to more-or-less stock if I change my mind. Still.. I'm really torn there and could use the advice.

I'm leaning towards the "scout" setup 'cause I've never used such a thing and want to see what the hubub is about, and I'd like to keep clip-loading as an option. But I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.

Thirdly... I'm considering slimming down the wood on it.. still staying with the same general profile, but cleaning off a bit extra to sleek the clunkiness down and take off some weight... after all I won't be doing bayonet drills with the thing. Presuming I ensure all the bands still fit... Bad idea? Are there critical areas (say, around the recoil lug/magazine areas) that need all the wood they can get?

If it thumps too hard I might fit a recoil pad to it, but since I don't have any problems with a relatively lightweight Remington in .30-06 I wasn't expecting much worse from a club of a rifle in 8mm... should I? I've one frind in TN who thought the pear shape butt of his Turk made felt recoil worse, so he slimmed it down to more conventional lines.. anyone have similar experiences?

Finally...**eventually** I might rebarrel the thing with a military countour barrel in .308 or .30-06 just 'cause it's that much less different ammo to look for, but that's not a prime concern right now.

So.... suggestions?

 

[Preacherman]

Kaylee, I have a spare Yugo stock already "trimmed" ahead of the rear sight for use with a Scout-type mount. If you want it, it's yours. Save the money!

 

[Kaylee]

Preacherman, you have PM.

Out of curiosity, now that I think about it... I know there's some pretty silly-lookin aftermarket stocks for the Mauser -- does anyone make a plastic/fiberglass aftermarket stock in the original military configuration, like the black plastic M1 stocks I've seen now and again?

-K

 

[Tamara]

Hrmmm...

I'm opposed to butchering old warhorses based mostly on A) their historical significance, and B) their scarcity. It's not like Yugo 98's aren't pretty thick on the ground right now or anything.

You gonna be back out TN way anytime soon? I think you should take a look at the Boyd's "some inletting required" stock on my Turk...

 

[buttrap]

by the time you get all the work in it to make a decent sporter out of it you probably would have spent less bucks to buy a new Ruger No-1 or 700 rem though.

 

[Kaylee]

dude.. no offense, but read the first post. I don't want a sporter.


besides, I'm doing all the work more or less myself for the education aspect (yes, with adult supervision ) so it's not like I'll be sinking a lot of cash into gunsmithing fees either.

-K

 

[jame]

To start off, I read some pretty silly "flames" when I posted a similar question about a month ago.

What I have learned in my very recent study is thus:

If you want to do ANY modification, and you can afford it, order two. That way you have spare parts if you mess one up, and if you don't, you can have one modified, and one stock standard to keep the purists happy.

If you're thinking of rechambering, look at the 7 x 57, 6.5 x 55 Swede, or just rebarrel with a better quality 8mm barrel. Stock/barrel kits are many times available at Midway or Brownells.

Buy the most accurate of the bunch. I leaned towards the K31 Swiss, but didn't do so because of ammo availability. I have a Yugo M48 on it's way from AIM.

I'm still in the very early learning stages, but that's just a bit of what I know so far. Good luck!

 

[cracked butt]

The yugo M48's can and will make a pretty accurate shooter.

For the stock to barrel fit, relieve any wood in front of the first inch or so of barrel- the stock should not touch the barrel in any place. Also check the fit of the handguard- it should also not touch the barrel- pay special attention to the front end of the handguard. The front end of the barrel will probably toch the metal cap on the stock and have a little upward pressure which is ok, but make sure the barrel does NOT touch the barrel band- you might have to remove a little metal from the inside top of the barrel band with a dremel tool in order to provide clearance for the barrel- take a little at a time, and don't overdo it.

On the receiver end, make sure the bolts are tight- tighted the rear bolt first then the front bolt. Some rifles resond well to shimming of the receiver by placing strips of thick paper (I use business cards) between the stock and receiver. I usually put a strip in front of the recoil lug and another under the tang to start with. If this doesn't shoot well, I take the one out of the tang, and try again, if this doesn't work I take the shim out of the front of the receiver and replace it with a thinner piece of paper. I usually come up with a combination that shoots well in a particular rifle- it justs takes some tweaking and experimentation.

The M48 will probably have more perceived recoil than a 30-06 depending on your stature. The oval buttt shape spreads the recoil out into a larger area on your shoulder almost like a recoil pad. The problem comes in if you are tall. I'm 6'4" and the stock is really short on me, so it really hammers me pretty hard with the hot surplus loads. If you are considerably shorter, then you shouldn't have any similar problems.

Lightening the stock- I'm pretty much against lightening any hunting rifle if it weighs under 10 lbs. More weight means better shooting with less recoil. My philosophy is that if I want to carry 2 fewer pounds around in the woods, its much easier and much more sensible for me to try to lose 2 lbs of body weight than 2 lbs of rifle weight

rebarreling- a .308 length cartridge would work well, but you would have a problem shoehorning a 30-06 into the receiver.

 

[Al Thompson]

I have one with the straight bolt - M48A? If I were going to make a "stealth" sniper rifle, I'd glass the recoil lug area and carefully fit the barrel into the handguard and stock. IIRC, when the brits did their Enfields, H&H used cork sheets to fit the barrels into the stocks.

 

[Cosmoline]

Get Darryl's mount for a scout scope. His production runs are small, but it's worth the trouble and possible wait. B-Sqaure mounts are AWFUL and more for show than use.

One thing about the stock. On a lot of old rifles, esp. with longer barrels, it's important to allow a bit of the wood out towards the crown to remain in contact with the barrel. My Argie '91 shoots much better this way. Not sure about the M-48's, but try it that way before you scrape out the wood.

I would wonder if the clamp-on top handguard over the barrel has a negative effect on accuracy. I know it had a negative impact on my M-48's blue!

 

[Poodleshooter]

I have one with the straight bolt - M48A?

Probably a Czech VZ-24.
Kaylee, the M48's don't kick very hard. The heavy weight and the width of that fat steel buttplate make up for the lack of a nice rubber buttplate.
Watch the stocks. The M48 is a small ring 98 IIRC, and most 98 Mauser stocks won't drop in, so be ready for inletting.
They're fun to play with. I'd bet a scout mounted pistol scope would make a fast snap shooter out of it.

 

[Kaylee]

Darryl's mount? link?

"get two" ... *heh* I hate to say it, but the idea's occured to me. After figuring out what I was gonna do to this one, other "kitty on meth in the machine shop" ideas started coming to me. But I'll restrain myself I think...

hrmm... sounds like there's different ideas on this point... corking/bedding or relieving the barrel channel... who did what when, out of of curiosity..

teee...this is gonna be fun.

-K

 

[444]

you're evil for destroying a museum piece

 

[Wildalaska]

Lightening the stock- I'm pretty much against lightening any hunting rifle if it weighs under 10 lbs. More weight means better shooting with less recoil. My philosophy is that if I want to carry 2 fewer pounds around in the woods, its much easier and much more sensible for me to try to lose 2 lbs of body weight than 2 lbs of rifle weight

Dang dude, ya must have never come up to Alaska to hunt yet..by the last day Im draggin both my 7 pound 338 and my fat butt

WildgotsmeaplumberscrackAlaska