My First Mauser - Yugo 24/47

I was first introduced to the wonderful world of Mausers because I was discussing the purchase of my first Mosin Nagant with a friend in a college class several years ago. Another fellow student overheard the conversation and asked if I was interested in Mausers. I didn't know anything about Mausers at the time, but of course, I knew what they were. This guy said he had one for sale, the first number he threw at me was $250. I told him I was interested even though I had yet to lay my eyes on the rifle.

Several days later, he invited me to his house to come take a look at the rifle. It had quite a bit of rust on all the metal part but the stock looked good, save for a few minor knocks and dings. The seller let me take the rifle for a few days to have a good look at it before I decided. My first move was to take the rifle to a local gun shop to have it appraised and inspected. The gunsmith was less than impressed with the condition of the Mauser, which I also learned was a Yugo 24/47. I asked how much it was worth, and the gunsmith replied that given the condition it was in and the amount of cleaning it required, that an offer of $50 was fair. Mind you, the barrel was in fine shape, this Mauser had just been sitting in a closet not getting the care and attention it needed. So, I sent the seller a text message and offered $50.

A few minutes later I received a text back from the seller saying he could just clean it up himself, thanks but no thanks on the offer. I figured I'd lost the negotiation and was about to up my offer when we sent me another text caving in. "Fine, you can have it for $50. I don't have the time to clean it up".

SCORE!

To be honest, it was a real joy spending time with my first Mauser, learning to disassemble, cleaning her up and getting the metal back into nice condition. You sort of bond with your rifles that way.

It took me about 4 hours of cleaning to get her in to shooting condition. I plan to spend more time cleaning the metal when I get back from this deployment.

Below is a before photo, you can clearly see the rust. Most of the metal parts were covered with the same amount of rust. I used fine steel wool to scrub it off.

And here is the "after" photo of that same exact part. The difference is plain to see. She cleaned up real nice.

And here are a few more after photos...

Taking her out to shoot was a real pleasure. She packs one hell of a kick. I found that I really enjoy the simple act of cycling the bolt action for each shot. Something about the sound and feel that's just so awesome!

I was hooked on Mausers. Now I justify every Mauser I purchase by telling myself, "Well, I only paid 50$ for my first Mauser, so I can afford to pay a little extra for this next one...".

As a result I now own a total of 4 Mausers including another Yugo 24/47 which will be delivered to me after I return to the states in late June. I also have a 1946 Spanish "La Coruna" and a 1938 Czech vz24, both of which I have yet to shoot. I'm going to put a new stock on the vz24 and it's missing a front band spring as well, for which I have already purchased a replacement.

I guess now is as good a time as any to show you some photos of the Spanish and vz24...

First the 1946 Spanish "La Coruna", as you can see it's in excellent condition.

Here's the vz24. Two things to take note of: first the stock is made for a bent bolt, but this rifle has a straight bolt and secondly, the missing front barrel band spring. I have purchased replacements for both. I'll be documenting my restoration of this rifle on video and it'll probably be the first video for my "My Gun Diary" YouTube channel.

Although my Mauser collection is now at 4, what I don't have is a German/Nazi Mauser k98, but believe me, it's tops on my current wish list and I will have one before too long.

Stay tuned for more Mauser news and updates.