Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles trying to find an intermediate length Mauser...

...as described by Brownell's: "...1910, 1924, 1936 Mexican, and the 1924 Yugoslavian..."

Would prefer to find one already sporterized, with a decent stock, where I could rebarrel it and wind up with what I want.

So, there are two distinct categories in those models you mentioned:

The 1910, and 1936 Mexicans are intermediate length but also small ring 98's. The bolts and extractors are unique to these models.

The 1924 FN, and Yugo 24, 24/47, and M48's are Intermediate length large ring 98 actions.

Some are safety breeched so there is more involved in rebarreling than simply screwing a barrel on. Get up to speed on the differences before you buy so you know what's involved.

A Yugo M48:



Shoots pretty good at 100 yds:

What rear sight do you have on M48 and how tall is the front ?

I've got a Yugo...
She shoots pretty good.
I've got the rear sight. Just not mounted.

Don't overlook the intermediate length LR 98 Heym commercial action.

24/47's are the ones i find for sale these days.

I have one in the 8MM and the few times i have shot it it feeds and ejects slick.

Now i need to determine what to do with it.

I made a copy of the XS Sight. I made the front to whatever height I needed to bring it into zero. No idea off hand what height it is. It's about as tall as those Swedish Mauser sight blades that were being sold some years back.

What do you want to rebarrel it too? Post an ad, maybe somebody has what you want. I have a 24/47 heavy barreled 308 that I dont have wood for yet. I built it for my mechanic but then he decided he wanted a 7 mag.

Would a Swede work? My Jim Wisner built 7x57.

I have a small ring 98 Mexican mauser 243 AI, Boyd's classic stock, lilja SS 10 TWIST barrel with about 200 down the tube, shoots minute of prairie dog at 310 yards with 55 grn bt's. For the right funds I'd be willing to split it up.

Best of the bunch, but I'm partial to the Heym!

I've got 4, all 24/47 Yugos. I've sporterized two and will sporter one more. I'm leaving the best one in Mil Surp form. The first one I sportered I had the bolt bent, drilled and tapped, Installed a Timney Trigger, a 3 position safety (don't remember the name, maybe Dewey), and a new aftermarket firing pin spring to improve lock time. I dropped it into a Boyd's Classic Walnut Stock. It wears a Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14x56 Scope in Leupold (Redfield Style) Dove Tail front with windage screws rear mounts and Leupold one piece base. I had it rebarreled with a Shilen Match SS 26" heavy sporter barrel chambered in .257 AI. It shoots. But if I had it to do over I wouldn't chamber it in Ackley Improved. I would use the RCBS improved ream. The RCBS has a little less shoulder angle but from what I have read, and looking at ballistic tables it doesn't give up anything to the Ackley. And it gives less issues with feeding due to less shoulder angle. However, the Ackley looks cooler and I suspect that has something to do with its popularity.

The second one I sportered I did all the things I did to the first with the exception that I had the rear sight and platform (which is sweated on the barrel) removed and I kept the Mil Surp stepped 8x57 barrel on it. It shoots amazingly well, especially for a 70+ year old military barrel. It's killed deer and hogs. I love the 8x57 cartridge, which gives up ZILCH to the .30-06. I dropped this one into a Boyd's Classic Pepper Laminate Stock.

I would recommend the Yugos because you can get them quite a bit cheaper and they are nothing but a shorter 98. The intermediates are perfect for cartridges derived from the 57mm case which include the 7x57, 8x57, .257 Roberts and 6mm Remington. This case has also been necked down o 6.5 as well. My next build which will be on my last Yugo I will sporter, will be a 6mm Remington. I had one for almost 20 years and loved it. I lost it in a divorce and have wanted another one ever since.

Also, if you want a .260 Remington that beats the Creedmoor the Yugo is your ticket. Some will say the Mauser isn't accurate enough for long range. That's partially true, but if you put in the aftermarket firing pin spring it will speed up the lock time. That's a big chunk of the accuracy issue right there. Then when you're rebarreling spend a little extra and have your gun smith blue print the action. Have everything trued up. The mauser is very rigid and is capable of good accuracy. And the longer length of the Yugo, longer than a 700 short Action which you would buy a .260 Remington in, will allow you to seat bullets out there and take advantage of the larger case over the Creedmoor.

After WWII the 98 Mauser was king of the custom world. They were cheap as dirt and a great platform for sporterizing. But after a few years the supply started drying up and as it did the prices began to go up. Now a 98 isn't cheap and they're getting hard to find. I wouldn't sporterize one if I had it. Nowadays that would be like butchering history, sort of like taking one of the WWII Battleships and making a cruise ship out of it.

After the Iron Curtain came down and the Soviet Union dissolved, thousands of Yugos within became available for export. The Yugo became the 98s replacement as a cheap platform for a custom build. However, their supply is now, after nearly 30 years, beginning to wain also and the prices are going up. Eight or nine years back I got my 4 24/47s for an average of around $150 each. Now I see them over $200. That's still not bad for what you get; and that's a good solid platform to build your dream gun on. But I would get one soon before they skyrocket in price.It won't be long and they'll be $300-$400 each. That's about the same price you could buy a Remington 700. It's only a matter of time. It's time to make the leap if you want one.

You mean the one made by Zastava?

Got a spare currently unused.

Pawn shops and gun shops around here are crawling with Yugo Mausers in varying states of trim. Smithing quality is usually pretty poor, though.


Okie John

Look for a Monkey Wards model 720 or 721 not sure of the correct model number!

Heym intermediates.

I have an intermediate , no crest , no writing , just serial # and that 1 in a square . is that Heym's marking? has thumb cut , not drilled or taped

That would most likely be a Yugoslavian M48BO. The 1 in a square is a Zastava marking. Heym did not make their intermediate actions, rather they purchased them from Zastava. The Eagle over N (Nitro) marking is German and added when Heym built the rifles on the Zastava made action.

My 7x57 was built on a 24/47 action and it has given excellent service. If you don't already know a stock built for a model 96 Mauser can be easily modified to fit these actions with the only real difference being large ring instead of small ring, not a big reach for many of us to open up and glass bed.

That I did not know. Thanks for the info, always assumed Heyms were Heyms and Zastava's were not.

Just parted with a Herter's XK3 that was marked Made in Yugoslavia and had the floor plate release in the hasp. Have another in route with the lever release as pictured on you "Heym" actions. Though the inbound one has the Heym style bolt release, different than those pictured.



Kent

Yeah, be careful there. Some 96 stocks can be used, it depends on how they were cut, The magazine release/bolt stop sits further forward on the 96 than on the intermediate. So, on some stocks you will have a pretty unsightly gap. All depends on how the stock was cut. Same problem exists when trying to use a std SR stock on a SR Mexican 98. if you are having someone duplicate a stock for you , let them know the intended purpose. But just ordering a vendor's 96 stock may not work out the way you planned.

I have a Herter's stock.

PM me if interested.

It did work perfectly in my one example but without doubt I could see things not playing fair. So I pulled my 7x57 (named ugly) out to look and see just how unsightly the gap actually is. It is there but would only be noticeable if you knew what to look for. That said it looks like ugly could use another coat of paint!

Realize this is a year old.
The lower action in the first picture......is that bolt handle from Heym?
How old are these?

PM sent.

Z1r- What stock is on that rifle? Is that a Boyds? I like the lines on it better than what I see on their website.

Yes, thank you, that is an earlier Boyd's stock, they used to call it the JRS classis. I think it morphed into what they call their Classic. I shortened the fore end because like most stock, it was too long and a I rasped the hell out of it to reduce the girth and make the grip a little more open. I actually would have continued with that process but I had a hunt coming up and wanted to use that rifle so I called it good and went hunting. I like it much more than the as-issued Boyds stock.

Nice work z1r! Beautiful rifle.