What a Difference an Eighth Makes

[Blu]

A while back I posted a photo of a Yugo M48 8MM Mauser that I fixed up the stock on and finished with tru-oil. I hated the the iron sights on it what with my old eyes not being what they were so I had the rifle drilled and tapped and scope mounts added. The mounts that were put on didn't work out well as I was running out of windage when boresighting and couldn't get it to zero on the boresight.

M48 2.JPG

To cure that I bought a set Leupold mounts, the ones for the Mauser 98 fitted just fine and they worked a treat so I boresighted it and off to the range I went. Well for the last couple of weeks this rifle has been making me nuts, no matter what I did, no matter what powder or bullet weight I used and I tried lots of different bullet weights and powders I just could not get this rifle to group. I even tried changing scopes but to no avail, nothing would work, hell my shotguns shot tighter groups than this thing.

Well the other night after cleaning the rifle I am sitting there looking at it and wondering wtfwtf . Now then if you look at the photo above you will see that just behind the rear sight and just in front of the receiver there is a bit of a hump on the stock which all Yugo 48's have. The wood and the front bell of the scope were touching and I knew about this but I didn't think it was the problem, I had done everything I could think of to make it shoot so I thought wtfwtf and out came the file and I took an eighth of an inch of the wood which was just enough to stop the scope touching the wood.

Yesterday I took it out to the range along with another rifle I was load testing for and because I wasn't expecting anything different I only loaded up five rounds for it. Well I shot those five rounds and I was gobsmacked, the group was so tight I could have covered it with a quarter, all five rounds were touching in a nice wee tight group. Man I was just made up, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and just to make sure it wasn't a fluke I have loaded up another fifteen rounds which I plan on shooting tomorrow. it will shoot just as well again. So there you go, what a difference an eighth makes.

Blu

[ovenpaa]

Nice shooting Blu and good to hear you persevered and found the cause of the issue. All of a sudden it sounds like a real keeper.

[Charlotte the flyer]

Blu, what scope are you using? I'm thinking of scoping my Mauser as well. Was yours drilled on the top of the receiver or at the side? Mine has been drilled on the top previously but with some really cheap mounts.

Nice post subject btw, thought I was on the wrong forum for a minute!

[Blu]

Blu, what scope are you using? I'm thinking of scoping my Mauser as well. Was yours drilled on the top of the receiver or at the side? Mine has been drilled on the top previously but with some really cheap mounts.

Nice post subject btw, thought I was on the wrong forum for a minute!

Howdy, the rifle is drilled and tapped on the top and I have a Leupold 4x12x40 scope on it. As for the mounts, that pair were put on when the rifle was drilled and tapped but didn't work out so I bought a set of Leupold mounts and they worked out great. What type of Mauser have you got?

BTW, exactly which type of forum did you think you had stumbled onto?

Blu

[Blu]

Nice shooting Blu and good to hear you persevered and found the cause of the issue. All of a sudden it sounds like a real keeper.

Hi Dave, I tell you mate I was about to buy a new barrel for the rifle and have it blued and fitted, there is a place over here that sells un-issued still in the cosmoline M48 barrels for $69 a pop. It was a case of being the very last thing I expected it to be, will just make sure tomorrow when I'm back at the range again. If I remember I'll post a pic of the target after the shoot.

Blu

[Charlotte the flyer]

Hi Blu,

I have a German 1943 Mauser from the Steyr factory, it's Russian capture and has an electro pencilled bolt, shoots well though. Mine has been drilled on top but the mounts don't look very goood so I've only shot it on irons so far. I think I'll try a scope and see how it goes.

Your ref to an eighth made this spring to mind : http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eighth

[huntervixen]

A question for those that know, It is generally considered that a matching bolt on an old "Military mallet" is regarded as desirable and a good idea.

Now, I always thought that this is because of the intimate relationship that is set up between the bolt and receiver when it's proofed from the factory.....So, as Soviet capture K98's had their bolts removed immediately on capture (in case of German re-capture) and were subsequently post war refurbished and fitted with a bolt that headspaced adequately, is there a difference in accuracy between capture and non capture examples in general??

Or does the UK re-proof re establish this relationship?

I ask this for a reason, I have bought (and seen several others) a deac capture K98 that has been UK (Birmingham) Nitro proofed...then deactivated!!

Also is there a difference between "re-bolting" a rear lug and front lug rifle, ie Enfield and Mauser type?

[Gaz]

In accuracy terms I thought the key attribute was ensuring the bolt locking lugs bear evenly on the corresponding surfaces in the receiver, which I'd think is something a decent gunsmith could sort out regardless of the bolt's origin. Peter Laidler wrote a neat guide to setting up a No.4 action which includes some details on ensuring even bearing of the locking lugs through using engineer's blue.