The value really depends on the condition, not the year it was manufactured. Earlier ones will have milled floor plates. Later ones will have stamped floor plates. I've never noticed this to have a large impact on value either but I imagine the milled type would be preferred by most. $300 seems to be a good average these days.
You won't find many in decent condition for less than that. $400 is about the max for one that looks unissued unless it's a Mitchells collector grade, they price them around $500 but its still only worth what it's worth based on condition so I would never recommend paying Mitchells premium. You can find beat up ones for $200-$250 and really bad ones for $150 but there really aren't many really bad ones. The letters before the serial numbers are a prefix. It is part of the serial number. They would start with 00001 and then work up to 99999.
If they needed more numbers, the prefix comes in, A00001-A99999, then B00001-B99999 and so on. Some would start with the A prefix, just depends on the country. Some countries also assign the prefix blocks to certain times or manufacturers so it may not mean that many rifles were produced prior. It isn't real helpful generally to tell when the rifle was made. In regards to M48s, it is not a prefix. But a batch number.
They are only present on the first 100,000 M48 rifles, then was dropped and just the numbers were given per model from that point on. The 'K' indicates that rifle was in that number batch. From the alphabet in Bogdanovic's book, would seem to be the 13th batch (judging the example he made in the book). With M48s, they did somewhere around 52,000 to 53,000 rifles in the first year of production (1950).
Your serial number works out to 1951 production, which was about 92,000 rifles. There are some discrepancies in the production numbers, which is mentioned in Bogdanovic's book. My M48A does not have a prefix. And is the 51239 M48A rifle produced. Works out to 1953 production.
In regards to M48s, it is not a prefix. But a batch number. They are only present on the first 100,000 M48 rifles, then was dropped and just the numbers were given per model from that point on. Download 2011 f150 owners manual pdf free. The 'K' indicates that rifle was in that number batch. From the alphabet in Bogdanovic's book, would seem to be the 13th batch (judging the example he made in the book).
With M48s, they did somewhere around 52,000 to 53,000 rifles in the first year of production (1950). Your serial number works out to 1951 production, which was about 92,000 rifles. There are some discrepancies in the production numbers, which is mentioned in Bogdanovic's book. My M48A does not have a prefix. And is the 51239 M48A rifle produced. Works out to 1953 production. Thanks so much guys for all the help.
The value really depends on the condition, not the year it was manufactured. Earlier ones will have milled floor plates.
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Later ones will have stamped floor plates. I've never noticed this to have a large impact on value either but I imagine the milled type would be preferred by most. $300 seems to be a good average these days. You won't find many in decent condition for less than that. $400 is about the max for one that looks unissued unless it's a Mitchells collector grade, they price them around $500 but its still only worth what it's worth based on condition so I would never recommend paying Mitchells premium. You can find beat up ones for $200-$250 and really bad ones for $150 but there really aren't many really bad ones.
You'd be surprised. Here in Texas at a gun show a few weeks back some old guy was trying to pass one off as a 'Yugoslavian WWII ' and asking $900 for it. He also had a couple of nice Lee-Enfield's that were decently priced, but at figures if he was trying to gouge people on a M48 and lying about what it was, I wasn't going to take a chance on anything else he had.
7.92 x 57mm (8mm Mauser) Rifling. 4-groove, RH Twist. 1 Turn in 240mm (9.4 in.) Barrel Length.
(590.2mm) Overall Length. (1095mm) Weight. (4.1kg) Magazine Capacity. 5 (staggered column) Qty Mfg. 238,515 Source.SERBIAN AND YUGOSLAV MAUSER RIFLES (2005) by Branko Bogdanovic - ISBN:1-882391-35-7 Canadian Collector Market Value Estimate: $ 1950-52 Model 48 Mauser Rifle (34 picture virtual tour) Observations: (by 'Claven2') Note: Pics of rifle provided courtesy of Milsurps.com moderator Claven2. During the second world war, Germany had absorbed the Yugoslavian government's inventory of Mauser rifles into its military and had stripped the Military Technical Institute, Kragujevac (fore-runner to the Zastava factory complex) of most useable machines for use elsewhere in the Reich's armaments industry. After the war's conclusion, Yugoslavia had effectively no remaining capacity to build complete rifles and the technology to do so would have to be re-developped and relearned by its craftsmen.
Re-armament began by refurbishing the German K98k rifles on-hand at the time of the German surrender. These rifles provided the Yugoslavian armed forces with the backbone of their equipment until a longer-term solution could be found. Beginning in 1947, many of the old rifles and barelled actions on-hand were upgraded and rebuilt into serviceable arms to further bolster the military and satisfy their need for equipment. The guns were converted using new and old parts and were stocked in new and used wood identical to pre-war Model 1924 rifle stocks.
In the cases where older stocks with VZ24 type side-swivels were used, the side-mounted hardware was removed and the holes plugged with dowels. These became known as the Model 24/47. Despite the continued availability of refurbished German K98k and M24/47 rifles, the further need for arms continued. Many of the necessary machines to manufacture rifles were acquired abroad, most notably from stocks of captured German machines in the Soviet Union.
Based on prototyping begun in 1948, in 1950 the Model 48 Mauser was finalized and adopted for service. The M48 borrowed on pre-war M1924 and wartime K98k features and combined both in the finished product. It was made entirely out of milled steel parts with wood stocks (walnut, beech and elm were used throughout production). The bolt handle was turned down like on a K98k, but there was no dish cut in the side of the stock. Instead, the bolt handle bend was less severe and the bottom of the bolt handle knob was flattened to give the fingers room and purchase on the handle during operation.
The receiver was shortened by 6.35mm to minimize bolt travel and the bolt stop was redesigned such that the ejector spring was integral to the bolt release spring. The K98k type of band and spring arrangement was used and no provision was made for a bolt-takedown mechanism in the stock. The M48 remained in production for only 3 years before being supplanted by a simplified version, the M48A. M48 production is broken down by year as follows: 1950: 52,002 1951: 92,037 1952: 94,476 The M48A which replaced the M48 was essentially the same basic rifle, but with production time saving changes involving the use of stamped sheet steel parts.
The M48A's chief difference from the M48 was the use of a stamped metal floorplate. Production of the M48A ran from 1953 through 1956 when it was replaced by the M48B. M48A and M48B rifles both have the same receiver crest and are both marked M48A on the receiver.
M48B's differ only in the use of additional stamped parts, the most obvious part being the trigger guard. The receiver side wall of the M48 series rifles will be stamped Preduzece 44 which is the marking used for the Preduzece Crvena Zastava (Red Flag Factory) and the cyrillic FNRJ which is an acronym for the Federal National Republic of Yugoslavia. Most parts will be stamped with a 'BK' surrounded by a circle. This is an acceptance/inspection stamp meaning 'Military Control' to ensure quality of manufacture. The issue bayonet was also marked Preduzece 44 and was carried in a blued steel scabbard with a leather frog.
Although the first batch of M48's was stocked in walnut (only a few thousand rifles), the expense of the wood blanks forced a change to more affordable species. The majority of M48 series rifles will be stocked in either beech or elm. All models of M48 can sometimes be found completely lacking all markings aside from the serial numbers. These models are collectively referred to as M48BO. BO = 'Bez Oznake' Which translates roughly to 'without markings'. These guns would have been sold or given as foreign aid to countries and organizations with which Yugoslavia did not want to be publicly associated. Collector's Comments and Feedback: 1.
Most Yugoslavian rifles the collector is likely to encounter in Canada were brought into that market by Marstar Canada in the late 1990’s, though the bulk of Marstar’s Yugoslavian rifle inventory was subsequently retailed in the United States through large Military Surplus retail stores and importers. Later exports from the former Yugoslavia have been, for the most part, exported directly to the United States by a variety of companies. Though some of these rifles showed considerable wear, excellent condition examples are not difficult to locate given that the majority of the import of these rifles lasted from the late 1990's through to about 2005. Some dealers still stock a few models, often in like new condition, but be forewarned - Yugoslavian arsenals were VERY fond of liberal application of cosmolene and it can be a real trial to remove it all. Special attention should be paid to leeching the preservative grease out of the woodwork to prevent damage during firing. Many Yugoslavian rifles have been refurbished once or even many times.
The easiest way to determine if your rifle has been refurbished is the remove the barreled action from the stock. On the barrel near the receiver will be a 3 or 4 digit number.
This is the assembly number. The same number should be repeated on the underside of the bolt handle.
If both numbers match, the rifle has its original bolt. If not, then the bolt is a replacement, even if the serial number on it matches the receiver (it's been renumbered). If there is a punch mark after the assembly number, the rifle has been refurbished. If there is more than one punch mark, then the rifle has been refurbished more than once. (Feedback by 'Claven2') 2.
I am the Moderator of milsurpshooter.net's Yugo Mauser forum and my user name there is nothernug, but I'm registered here as Jim. I was reading the write up on the Yugo M48 series. It's good as far as it goes. But this comment struck me. All models of M48 can sometimes be found completely lacking all markings aside from the serial numbers. These models are collectively referred to as M48BO.
BO = 'Bez Oznake' An acquaintance had conducted a study on these rifles and after reviewing over 2,000 assorted Yugo Mausers, observed that no BO's were configured as the model A. Plenty of M48 and more M48B's but not one M48A.
Since he gave me that observation, I have been watching and have not seen one either. Many have been reported but upon examination, all were misidentified M48B. If you know of a verified M48A-bo, we'd sure like to know about it. If, upon reflection, your observations match mine, you might want to edit that portion of the report. (Feedback by 'Jim'). A couple of years ago I got a M48 in still brand new condition in 7.62x51 Nato caliber. Accept for the caliber stamp on the righthand side of the receiver and the serial number on the on the left hand side there is no othermarkings on it.
The bolt handel is turned down and the action is fitted with swing off mounts for a telescope. As I had no way of aquiring the propper scope rings I replaced it with another scope mount drilled to fit on the original positions and fitted a 4x42 scope. The accuracy of this rifle is acceptional it shoots 11mm groups at 200 m.
I've got the idea that this rifle was produced as a sniper rifle. When I got the rifle the stock wood, (possibly birch) was grey and very dry, but after some almond oil treatment it turned into a light honey colour.
Contents. History After World War II, the Yugoslavs took this design and incorporated minor modifications. Although very similar in general appearance to that of the German rifle, many of the parts of these two rifles are not interchangeable, especially the and related action parts. M48s are usually distinguished from the 98k by the top handguard, which extends behind the rear sight and ends just in front of the receiver ring, although this feature exists on other models as well. The M48 was designed with a stock similar to the 98k, but it has a shorter intermediate-length action and receiver, as does the similar Mauser.
The M24 series Mausers were built from prewar Yugoslav Model 24 Mausers and then refurbished with newer Belgian parts, and usually have straight bolts, while the M48s have curved bolts. Most M48 stocks are made from thicker Elm or Beech wood and have a thick stainless steel butt plate at the rear of the stock. The M24/47 stocks are mostly made of thinner Walnut or Beech wood and do not have a milled stainless steel 'cupped' butt plate. The M48 was also designed to remove the follower from stopping the bolt from closing when the magazine is empty. M48's are regarded as a and can be collected in the United States, Canada and Australia at a generally cheap price due to the plentiful numbers recently imported from Europe, most of which had never been used in combat. Combat use Most M48s were put into government storage shortly after they were manufactured. Most M48s that are encountered in the United States and Australia today show only slight wear—usually from storage.
Yugo M48 Mauser Serial Numbers
Many rifles are sold with accessories, including bayonet, bayonet scabbard, leather bayonet frog, ammo pouches, cleaning rod, and field cleaning kit. The rifles are normally sold coated in the protective grease ' which needs to be cleaned out before the rifle is fired. The condition is frequently excellent due to a Yugoslavian maintenance program that cleaned and inspected the stored rifles in rotation every 5 years until that nation's breaking up. As such, the M48 only saw limited use in the. Often the M48 was used as the basis for a, drilled and tapped for the ZRAK 4x32 and mounts.
However, other than an experimental batch of approximately 4000 rifles, no official M48 sniper rifle was ever fielded by the Yugoslav Army. Serbian & Yugoslav Mauser Rifles by Branko Bogdanovic, North Cape Publishing, 2005) Syria also purchased M48BOs from Yugoslavia.
Yugo Mauser M48 Rifle Serial Numbers
Variants There are three main versions of the M48. M48: 1948-1952- The initial version of the M48, with full crest and all machined steel parts. M48 Crest M48A: 1952-1956- Inclusion of stamped parts.
The M48A used sheet metal stampings for the magazine floor plate. These changes sped production while lowering cost. The critical bolt and receiver which contain the pressure of the burning propellant within the cartridge case retained the same material requirements and design tolerances (i.e. Were machined from forged steel) in the A and B variations. M48B: 1956-1965- Additional sheet metal stampings incorporated. The most critical factor to understand about this model is that it continued to be stamped on the receiver ring M48 A. There was no change in markings.
The specific changes in parts is unverified but include stamped barrel and H-bands and the magazine spring follower. The most significant change and external appearance whereby the M48B may be identified is the trigger guard. Whereas previously, the trigger guard/mag well were machined from a solid billet of steel, it was changed to an assembly fabricated from stamped parts. The new trigger guard has a rib running around the exterior of both sides. While the exact number of changes made to this model have not been specified, the impact on production in 1956 were extensive and drastically reduced the number produced that year. There was a specific reason for this.
From 1956 on, all M48 production was intended solely for export. M48BO: 1956-1965- The 'bo' stands for 'bez oznake' and translates roughly as 'unmarked' or 'without markings.'
These were identical to and manufactured concurrent with the crested M48B but were not stamped with any national or manufacturer's markings. M48/63: manufactured the M48/63 sporting rifle which is a short barreled variant of the Model 1948 rifle. The production stopped as of 2013. References.
The Serbs were a Slavic tribe that settled in the Balkans around A.D. 600, and by the 12th century under their famous king, Stefan Dusan, they had displaced the Byzantines as the dominant power in the region.
But the Serbs could not stand against the might of the Ottoman Empire, and at the 1389 Battle of Kosovo the Serbian army was destroyed, resulting in almost 500 years of Turkish domination in the region. Serbian independence was re-established in 1878, and in keeping with the best traditions of Balkan tribalism and vendetta, Serbia soon found itself at odds with most of its neighbors, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1914, Bosnian-Serb nationalists, who were financed and armed by Serbia, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. These actions led to the First World War. While Serbia ws occupied by the Central Powers, the Serbian army was evacuated by the Allies, reequipped and continued to see service on the Thesalonikii front in northern Greece until 1918, After the defeat of the Central Powers, Serbia formed the core of the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, or Yugoslavia. The new kingdom had a mixed population of Serbs, Albanians, Macedonians, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians and Montenegrins who coexisted in a tense atmosphere acerbated by centuries of tribal and religious distrust.
Serbian Firepower Having a history so interlaced with warfare, the Serbs attempted to equip their army with the most up-to-date weaponry. In 1880, they adopted the Puška 78/80, a variation of Mauser’s Infanteriegewehr M.71 rifle. This was followed by a series of rifles based on Mauser’s M95 and M98 actions and chambered for the 7x57mm cartridge: the Puška 1899, the Puška 99/07 and the Puška 1910.
Supplemented with French, Russian and captured Austrian weapons, these were the rifles the Serbs fought with in the Great War. After WWI, Yugoslavia received Austrian, German, Turkish and Bulgarian rifles as reparations. In an attempt at standardization, Yugoslavia decided to adopt the 7.9x57mm cartridge, and the most suitable rifles were re-barreled for this round. Beginning in the early 1920s, the Yugoslav army sought new Mauser rifles, but Allied restrictions prevented their traditional suppliers in Germany from providing them.
However, Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium, and Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka (CZ) of Brno, Czechoslovakia, were both producing 98-type Mausers and were only too happy to sign contracts with Belgrade. Between 1924 and 1927, the Yugoslavs contracted 100,000 Fusil Ml3 1924 rifles from FN.
It was decided that rifle production would being locally, and the necessary machinery was ordered from FN and then installed at he state arsenal at Kraguyevac by 1927. In the meantime, an order for 40,000 vz. 1924 Mausers was placed with CZ. The rifle produced at Kraguyevac, the Pešadisjka Puška M.1924 (Infantry Rifle Model of 1924), was a copy of the FN Fusil Mle 1924.
The 7.9mm mtak za pušku M.24 was a copy of the German 7.9mm Patrone S and consisted of a rimless, bottlenecked case that was 57mm in length and loaded with a 197-grain, FMJ, boat-tail spitzer bullet with a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,575 feet per second (fps). World War II When the Wehrmacht invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, resistance, while fierce, was uncoordinated, and the Germans handily defeated the Yugoslav army and occupied the main population centers. Guerilla bands that had quickly formed in the mountains soon coalesced into two factions: the Chetniks, who supported the deposed royal family, and the Partisans, who were dominated by the Communist party.
Both groups apparently spent as much time and energy fighting each other as they did the German and Italian occupiers, who were aided by various ethnic and religious groups seeking revenge for past wrongs (real and imagined). In 1959 Kraguyevac began production of a copy of the Simonov semi-automatic carbine, followed in 1964 with a variation of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. While the regular Yugoslav army was equipped with these modern weapons, large numbers of Mausers were held in storage for use by the reserves. When Yugoslavia began its inevitable slide into anarchy, thousands of Mausers were used by Serbian paramilitary and police units in addition to the newly formed nationalist forces of the breakaway republics. A few years ago, I saw a television report about the Kosovo Liberation Army turning over some of their weapons to NATO peacekeeping forces.
Among the various arms on display were numbers of Puška M.48s. It made me wonder as to just how many of them are still hidden away in cellars, attics, barns and caves, in preparation for the next round of ethnic violence that has been the bane of the Balkans for most of recorded history. Test Fire Mitchell’s Mausers was kind enough to lend me a M48A Mauser to test. It had a stamped, metal triggerguard and an M.48B magazine floorplate but bore the Yugoslav crest and the “M48A” stamp on the receiver. Matching serial numbers were evident on the receiver, bolt, barrel, magazine floorplate and stock. Overall, quality of fit and finish were excellent, and the gun was graced with a fairly light, crisp trigger.
For test-firing, Mitchell’s sent along a supply of their 8mm Mauser ammunition loaded with 196-grain, boat-tail spitzer bullets. At my gun club, I placed a series of targets on the 100-yard backstop. Returning to the firing line, I set up my Caldwell Lead Sled shooting rest and proceeded to send rounds downrange. When I looked through my spotting scope, it quickly became apparent that this was a pleasingly accurate rifle.
Using a 6-o’clock hold, I was able to produce some very nice groups. I must have done everything right one time (or fate was smiling upon me): I managed to put five rounds into the 9 and 10 rings of one target, producing a group of only 2.62 inches with three holes touching, which is about as good as this child can shoot any iron-sighted military rifle!
Appraisal While the Yugoslav Pŭska M48A might not be as aesthetically pleasing as the pre-WWII products of Waffenfabrik Mauser that collectors swoon over, it is made well and of excellent materials. The one I test fired proved it could shoot alongside its predecessors anytime. If you are looking for a rugged, no-frills (and affordable) mil-surplus Mauser for shooting, my advice would be to check out one of these M48As. I think you’ll be pleased. Special thanks to my good friend Branko Bogdanovic. Check out Mitchell’s Mausers by calling 800-274-4124 or by visiting mauser.net.
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