Not sure but I beleive the M48 is milled and the M48a is stamped.  Anyways, I too just ordered an M48 for the shooting collection.  Don't forget the window cleaner!

It is my understanding that the M48 is an all milled rifle where the M48A has some stamped parts. Magazine & trigger housing maybe? Sounds like the M48As can generally be found in better condition than the M48s. Been considering an M48A myself, Wave, let us know what you think when you get it.

The M_48A's have a stamped sheet steel trigger guard and floorplate as well as a stamped barrel band. The M-48A's are a cheaper version of the M-48 which have milled parts.
This info was taken from a post my Jeff7mm, a moderator on the C&R forum. I haven't bought a Yugo, yet.
Jim

One thing I have heard folks say to do is to set the stock in direct sunlight on a hot day. This will sweat the cosmo from the stock. You will need to wipe it down every once in a while. I have also heard of folks setting them in the oven but I guess it stinks things up pretty good.

Sounds like you got a winner, congrats.

One way to get the cosmo out is to use a couple of those 500w rectangular work lights. They get very hot and set close enough they will cook it out.
There are other ways, using various cleaners. I have read about using driveway cleaner, oven cleaner, etc. to get most of it out, then cooking the last of it out. You will have to take some time to get it all out, or else it will sweat on a hot day at the range.
Look around at the different forum boards that are just for curio and relic firearms. Some have very good info on stocks, some are better for ammo, etc.
Jim

Wave,

All you could ever imagine about ways to degrease stocks are here..
http://pub113.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm34

This site also provides a wealth of information on just about any C&R weapon.

I have numerous 48 & 48A's in my C&R collection. They are one of the best shoting C&R's out there. I recently took one of mine out at 50yds and put a 5 round group inside of a half dollar size hole with 3 rounds touching using milsurp ammo.

Great fun!

If you read the Parralax site and have any questions, feel free to shoot me an IM or Email.

Clean the stock with Purple Power and it will not hurt any metal you might have to leave on, like the recoil cross bolt.  Spray it on, let it sit for an hour, wipe it down with Windex.  Stubborn spots can be done with a cloth soaked in PP and laid over the spot for a couple of hours.  Repeat as needed until the wood does not "color up" when buffed with 4/0 steel wool.  If the color comes back when buffed, there is still Cosmoline in the wood and it needs more treatment.  When the wood stays bleached looking, treat with Tung oil and the color will come back splendidly.  I've done 6 this way with excellent results.  

i sold my m48A when i was laid off..kept my m48 though since it's in awesome condition.  floorplate and trigger guard are beefier (milled).  good shooters and nice to look at.  ask about scope mounts on the parallax boards, it was my understanding that some of them (b square)were made cheaply and the threads stripped out when tightened.  iron elite is supposed to be good but i think it's over $100.

Anyone know of a company that has both the Yugo SKSs and Mausers in stock?

Century has "Bosnian" M48's and SKS's in stock.
www.centuryarms.com/dealer/store/
J&G also has themcatalog.jgsales.com/

Yes but if they have your C&R on file then you will also have a dealer code.

Wave and his M48(really excellent!) in action:

Your target is the one with the big hole in the center, right?  

Quoted: Wave and his M48(really excellent!) in action: photos.ar15.com/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?iImageUnq=14726

Hey is that Calverton?

I purchased an M48A about a year ago.  It came with all the support equipment and the serial numbers all match.  It was only half cleaned so I spent a few hours getting all the cosmo out.

My son, a finish carpenter and mega-gun nut like me, completely stripped the rifle and we cleaned metal and he re-finished the wood...then it was off to the range the next day.

After a few shots, I was very disappointed because I had NO idea where my shots were going.  After about 15 rounds, I finally realized that I was shooting way high and right.  We function-checked everything, verified the sights were ok and as close to center as possible but still no go.  I believe the rear sight was set to a minimum of 200m.  (I have read that German soldiers were taught to shoot at 200 then use Kentucky windage to correct for shorter or longer shots.  I was shooting at 100m but the shots were way too far off center for that to be the cause.

After trying several things in frustration, I finally followed the advice of some of my fellow ARFCOM'ers and purchased a Mojo sight.  Damn thing shoots SWEET now!  Hitting the 8" bullseye at 100m is easy now.

FWIW, today I finally saw a brand new, in the box Mitchell's Mauser.  DAMN that was one FINE kit.  The rifle was absolutely flawless, as was the rest of the kit and even the packaging and manuals were superb.  If that rifle shoots half as good as it looked, that will be one happy man.

Greetings.

Regarding Mitchell's, I am seriously considering purchasing either one of their "Collector Grade" M48As at $295. (which includes accessories that I would want with the rifle and do not want to try to acquire separately) or a "Service Grade" at $175 without accessories (interestingly, I couldn't purchase a "collector grade" from Mitchell's without the accessories if I wanted to, so they do getcha).  The "Service Grade" rifle without accessories is priced at $175.00 (sling alone is about $40., putting the total at appx. $215 -- $80. for the additional accessories?  Well hell, alright).  According to Mitchell's, this would still mean a "military new" condition, with original matching serial numbers on receiver, bolt, stock, and floorplate.  The condition of the wood seems to be the only variable in pricing.  For me, the price for the "Collector Grade" seems worth it, considering quality and convenience.  

What I am really interested in at this time, is optic-mounting options.  I have seen the sporter extended eye relief set-up at the rear sight location, but I really want a regular set-up at the receiver.  If anyone could direct me to some specific information about what's available with little to no rifle mods involved, I would be greatly appreciative -- I've spent quite a few hours googling and have not really come up with anything on point.

Again, thanks in advance.

O'DubhGhaill, out.
Force Recon Association regular member #2259

Didn't mean to hijack this thread, so I will post my optic query as a separate topic.

Mitchels Mausers is the biggest rip off in Muaser collectables ever.  All they do is strip, and rebuild junk Mausers, and charge you a fortune.

They have no collectability as they are completely rebuilt and restamped.

As for the Yugos, why pay that much for a rifle you can get in that condition almost anywhere.  I picked up an M-48A with everything, including military cleaning jags and other stuff I have never seen with a mil-surp for $185 last month. M-48 Mausers have no collector value, and if any real collector found that it had ever been through Mitchels, they will walk away fast.

L.Wilde, German military doctrine was to engage with small arms at 600M.

If you just want to scope up the rifle, any gunsmith can drill and tap very easily.  You can try a place called Darnells scout mount page.
Personally, the thing looks very unstable, ugly, and would leave your scope very open to damage, but people swear by them.

O'DubhGhaill, don't jump and buy one of the Mitchell's Mausers. They are very overpriced. You can find an unissued M48, which is what Mitchell's sells, for much less. There are some for sale that actually have the Mitchell's stamp on them selling for about half. I think someone bought a rifle from CDNN stamped that way.
Most mauser rifles will need some mods to mount a scope. The bolt handle needs to be bent and the stock relieved . The receiver will need to be drilled and tapped. A receiver mounted scope may interfere with loading and ejection. Check on several of the boards that are mainly curio and relic under sporterizing. I won't post competing boards urls here, but you can email me if you need more info.
Jim

obershutze916, thanks for your response.

You posted some serious allegations and strong opinion about Mitchells, e.g., "...All they do is strip, and rebuild junk Mausers...They have no collectability as they are completely rebuilt and restamped...if any real collector found that it had ever been through Mitchels, they will walk away fast."  

"Doug," at Mitchell's, assured me that their M48A "collectable grade" is original and military new, not arsenal refinished, reblued, rebuilt, or restamped, guaranteed.  All their literature sets the same in writing.  Are you speaking from specific personal experience?  Yours is the first such comment I have read about Mitchell's -- most others have limited comments to mention of overpricing while others raved about the quality of their products.

You asked, "As for the Yugos, why pay that much for a rifle you can get in that condition almost anywhere?"  That's the problem, I cannot seem to be able to find them in the condition advertised anywhere.  Because of my work schedule, I rarely am able to attend gun shows here in New York and places like AIM, CDNN, etc., are not offering these right now.  I did mention convenience as a factor that weighs on my decision.  In light of your comments, however, I'm going to make a few more enquiries.

Also, thanks for the info about "Darnells scout mount page;" I will certainly check it out.

pepperbelly, thank you too for your response.  The receiver-mount sounds like a great deal of work.  How have you (or others) found the extended eye-relief set-up to work?  If it works well, I'd be willing to try it over a receiver-mount and would greatly appreciate comments about the best rear-sight-mounted optic set-up.  Thanks very much for the information -- I may very well be e-mailing you soon.

O'DubhGhaill, out.
Force Recon Association regular member #2259

I have not tried a scout mount scope setup myself, but several have posted their results on our C&R forum. It apparently works well- better than aperture sights but probably not as well at long range as a receiver mounted scope.
The big advantage I see to a scout mount scope, which uses a pistol long eye releif scope, is a fast pickup of the target. It makes keeping both eyes open feel more normal increasing field of view.
There are scope bases that allow a receiver mounted scope on a mauser. I may have made it sound like too much trouble. It isn't, but a good gunsmith can racommend the components that will work best.
Is a scope necessary for the shooting you will be doing? A company named Mojo sighting systems make a very good aperture sight that really helps old milsurp rifles. Well, it really helps old milsurp shooters. Eyes after 40 make issue sights difficult to use. An advantage to the Mojo sight is that it is reversable, which is important to those who believe milsurp rifles should not be altered- read bubba'd.
Let me know if I can help. If I don't know an answer I'll try to help find someone who does. Check out the forum I linked to in the other post. It has a lot of good info on it's many pages, and I have bookmarks to several other sites.
Jim

I will clairify my statement.  Mitchels Mausers have no need to rebuild the M-48 rifles as finding them in new condition really isn't that hard. I ahve bought the same thing you are looking for at AIM several times.  I simply just had to hand pick carefully.

All of Mitchels Mauser K98's are as I described. Despite what they may say. They are rebuilds. Their workamnship is second to none, but they are still rebuilds with no value.

Either way, they are still overpriced, and any Mitchells stamp on the rifle will take away from its value to any serious collector.  i.e. you will never get out of it what you paid for it should you sell.
Talk to anyone on a serious Mauser forum and you will hear the same thing.
You should have seen the crap the guy at bulletfest took when he told the group around him that his rifle was from Mitchels!

If they are the only place you can find a Yugo, go ahead,you will get a fine rifle, but you are paying too much, and loosing any small amount of collector value the rifle might have had.

obershutze916, I am not trying to start anything, but something needs to be corrected in you post that may have been unintentional. Mitchel's Mausers are advertized as 98k mauser rifles, and many people repeat that, but MM sells M48's, not 98ks. The 98k is the only German Mauser, whether it is a RC- russian capture, Yugo rework98k, or one of the other flavors. But the mauser rifles Mitchel's calls 98k model 48 are simply M48 Yugo intermediate action length Mauser rifles.
This has caused some hard feelings when someone tries to sell it and it gets pointed out that it isn't what he thought, and had paid for.
Jim

pepperbelly, you are correct in regards to the differences in the Mausers.  I  don't always give the simple easy explanation.

Anyway, I have bought the same rifle, once with more accessories than MM advertises for $175 from AIM.

MM is not a bad outfit, but they sell to a lot of people who do not know otherwise. At least what you get is a nice looking good quality weapon.

Thanks to you both, pepperbelly and obershutze916 -- I did some more research (excellent forum at Yugoslavian Rifles you referred me to pepperbelly) made some calls, and ultimately spoke with "Jerry" from CDNN.  This guy was an outstanding customer service rep., answering all my many questions with eager interest, not just thinly-veiled patience like some places, Mitchell's included.  I put my order in for the Mitchell's Mausers $495.00 Premium Grade M48A that CDNN is selling for $219.00!  As if he wasn't helpful enough, Jerry offered to find me a Premium Grade with milled floorplate and trigger guard (long story how some M48 items were used on the M48As and still come clean and un-issued with all non-forced, matching numbers)!  

I don't plan on ever selling this rifle, so the only "collector" who will value it will be me.  I plan on using it for target and deer hunting for as long as I can foresee right now.  I consider this purchase a tremendous value and wouldn't have found it if you all hadn't cattle-prodded me away from Mitchell's.  So thanks again!

O'DubhGhaill, out
Force Recon Association regular member #2259

edited to add:  I plan on using Olympic 8x57 JS FMJ 190 grain I found on sale at AMMOMAN.COM for $119.00/400rds. delivered -- any comments on ammo for the M48?