Yugo M48 "Mauser" rifle
 

It's probably the cheapest Mauser style rifle on the market. It's hard to believe a milled gun of this size only worth ....

I had traded in one M48 in the past, but found 200 rounds 7,92m/m ammo leftover. Fortunately, I met another one from the same dealer! The price of low-end is also tumbling these days, this M48 is a little bit cheaper than my previous one although it's in much better shape, coming with leather sling, bayonet, and muzzle cap, etc. Original finish, mint bore, importer stamp. I spent a few hours to clean up the cosmoline.

Will run to the range, and post pix after I come back :)

I have one. It was brand spankin' new when I got it and came with all accessories.
Yeah, I spent a few hours cleaning it. I swear they dipped the whole rifle in cosmoline.
It shoots great, the action is a little stiff. I guess it needs some use to loosen it up!
My only "complaint" about the rifle is the cosmoline-soaked stock.
I've left the stock out on the deck in the Texas heat for several consecutive afternoons and it continues to sweat
cosmoline.
Compared to the somewhat more svelte and collectible K98's the M48 is a bargain.
I shot a lot of that really crappy, dirt cheap Turkish 8mm that was going around a few years ago.

I have the similar M24/47. Couldn't agree with you more, great reliable and accurate shooters.

Just enjoyed 40 rounds. In general, it works great except one issue, I am thinking how to fix it -- at the first 20-25 rounds, the empty cartridge shells were extracted but did not fly out, I have to use fingers to take them out from the bolt front. Later on, the situation improved a little bit, the shell "rolled" out when the bolt was open, still missed energy. Any idea why?

I can see what looks like cosmoline residue in some of your photos.
When you cleaned the rifle did you completely disassemble the bolt?

My rifle was so soaked with cosmoline I had to take the rifle completely apart.
I found the bolt was full of cosmoline and there was a LOT under the chamber/barrel and in the magazine.
I use spray carburetor cleaner to remove cosmoline. It works great and doesn't harm the finish.

I disassembled and cleaned up the bolt in garage last night. Almost frozen there. Everyone yelled "horrible smell" except me :) Will shoot it again today.

A few more pix on this beauty.

"I've left the stock out on the deck in the Texas heat for several consecutive afternoons and it continues to sweat
cosmoline."

Wash the stock in "Dawn" dishwashing detergent with a soft brush and warm water. Repeat a couple of times. Let it dry naturally. Buff it lightly with 0000 steel wool, and wipe it down with a light coat of Tung Oil. I have restored numerous military stocks over the years. It works very well on Luger grips too.

Ron

Ron, thanks for the tip. I just happen to have some Dawn right there by the kitchen sink!

Alvin, looking good! My leather sling and frog were also soaked in cosmoline and don't look nearly as nice as yours.

I like it too. Since it's "buy back", I required it being better than my previous one. Shell ejects correctly now. Thanks for the help.

I am not sure the function of the "muzzle cap". Just a few days ago, one advertisement on gunbroker.com sold same thing claimed it's used to align the cleaning rod with the bore during cleaning! I still could not make sense out of the statement.... why would the rod needs this device for alignment.... make any sense ?

Alvin -

The purpose of the "muzzle cap" is just to keep dust, dirt, and moisture out of the barrel when the rifle is being stored.

I suspect the other item you saw advertised was actually a "bore protector" if it was advertised as being used to guide the cleaning rod during cleaning. If you clean the bore from the muzzle end, the metal rod can wear the rifling near the muzzle. So someone came up with the idea of a device which would fasten to the end of the barrel, with a hole in the middle so that the cleaning rod would not actually touch the rifling at the muzzle. You already know that all these military Mausers had cleaning rods that were too short to extend the entire length of the bore. So frequently the idea was to screw the metal cleaning rods end to end so that they would be long enough to clean the entire length of the barrel.

There are lots of styles of muzzle caps, but I was not aware there was a bore protector for use when cleaning the Yogo Model 48. It looks like the one in your picture has this hole which will allow the cleaning rod to be used and protect the rifling at the muzzle.

Mauser720 - Ron

Alvin,
When you shoot it next, watch the "button" at the back end of the bolt. If it starts to leak brownish stuff you still have cosmo in the bolt. Took me two good efforts to get it all out. I found soaking the bolt in a bucket of boiling water, before the carb cleaner, worked really well.