M24/47 8mm Mauser Questions

I have an old mauser (Yugo M24/47) that I inherited. I was told that it shot well but it doesn't. I have never seen such big groups with a rifle (6-9 inches at 25 yards).

I have cleaned and scrubbed the barrel a dozen times or more but it hasn't helped. The bore looks dark/black and not shiny and smooth. The rifling is visible and crown looks undamaged. Slugging the barrel resulted in .323 to .324 inches in diameter and the rifling was visible in the slug.

I have run modern factory ammo through it and reloads but nothing shoots well in it. I thought the mausers were known for accuracy but apparently not this rifle.

Does it sound the like the barrel is shot out or corroded?
If so, would it be worth rebarreling or should I just hang it on the wall?

The rifle is in okay cosmetic shape but isn't worth much. I don't want to sink any more money into it if it sounds like it is a lost cause.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

You could try counterboring it. That's something you can do on your own if you're careful. I did a Swedish mauser that had a quarter inch of severe rust right at the barrel end and it shoots great.

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Originally Posted by Bigguy01

.323 to .324 inches in diameter

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If these are the high spot measurements then the bore looks okay, but remember the slug will show the tightest section of the bore. dark bores can have an effect on the accuracy of the rifle, but I've yet to see one that is 6-9" @ 25. With the bore size eliminated that leaves the crown and headspace. On these older Yugo's it nor uncommon to find crowns that were worn from the use of the steel cleaning rods they were issued with or owners that didn't know the proper method of cleaning. So as Aragorn243 said, you can counterbore the barrel or have it recrowned. You might want to have the headspace checked by a smith or if you want to invest in tooling get the GO/NOGO gauges and do it yourself.

M24's are really nice Mausers in my book and its got a strong action, I would be a shame to make it a wall hanger. You could also consider selling it and getting a rifle you like with the money.

Headspace has nothing to do with accuracy that poor . Only a major problem with the barrel will cause 9 inch groups at 25 yards . Smoothbores will shoot that well . Look for a bulge in the barrel near the muzzle , or some other major muzzle problem .

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Originally Posted by bob q

Headspace has nothing to do with accuracy that poor .

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I’ll have to disagree with you on this one. Mauser bolt ugs lock in the receiver and since this rifle was put together with parts, the barrel may not be timed to his bolt. If the bolt is set back, there would be increased end play in the chamber and the cartridges position will change with each round. This will cause poor accuracy. (And other bad stuff)

This is just my opinion and what I have seen happen in the past so take the advice or not.

But the fact remains that this rifle was built from parts and regardless the headspace should be validated for safety reasons alone

To disprove the headspace myth I once Fired 10 rounds of 308 out of a 30/06 bolt rifle . That is about an extra HALF inch of headspace . Besides moving the shoulder forward nothing else happened . Also the rifle did shoot about a 2 inch group at 50 yards . A watched a guy fire 10 round of 7.7mm Jap out of a 8mm Mauser , it still did about 6 inches at 50 yards . All he did was turn the 7.7 cases into 8mm case , that is called fire forming . I do run 0 headspace on my benchrest rifles as that will help the accuracy by about a .1 at 100 yards , not what would be 3 feet at 100 yards . All military rifles where made with a lot of extra headspace .

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Originally Posted by bob q

To disprove the headspace myth I once Fired 10 rounds of 308 out of a 30/06 bolt rifle . That is about an extra HALF inch of headspace. Besides moving the shoulder forward nothing else happened

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That experience really doesn't disprove anything, it's just simply YOUR experience. I had already written is that it was "My Opinion" which is like buttholes, everyone has one. But since you would like to toss stuff out and it seems we are talking apples and oranges, I'll add my 2 cents.

The base of the .308 and .30-06 are dimensionally the same .473" since the bolt of your rifle can close into the chamber with the correct "Breaching Limits" (the distance between the bolt face and the chamber face) then the cartridge case would be lined up to the bore and hit the lands somewhat even because the bolt is holding it forward and the base of the cartridge and most of the .308 case is supported by the chamber walls. I am not talking about the headspace of a known good rifle between the bolt face and the shoulder of the cartridge or the Free space between the bullet ogive and the barrel lands ("jump").

If the bolt is sitting back because the breaching limits (headspace) between the bolt face and chamber is excessive (checked with a headspace gauge), then the cartridge would have no support and can move at all angles in the chamber as well as forward and back in the bolt even though it is held by the extractor, as a matter of fact, the extractor will cause the cartridge to cock to the side. The angling of the cartridge in the chamber will cause the bullet to enter the bore at an angle and since it would not be repeatable, each round would enter the chamber at a different angle. In addition, the primer strikes would differ on each firing. ALL of these factors and the other unknowns with his rifle will affect the accuracy (cumulatively).

I would like to know, however, what the reason was for firing 10 rounds of 308 out of a 30/06 bolt rifle. Were you conducting an experiment or just didn't like your rifle much?

As stated, I fired the 308 to prove a point . Also it did nothing to the rifle . I can guarantee headspace is not causing his excessive accuracy problem and that buying gauges and/or headspacing the rifle is a waste of time and money for the accuracy problem . Your explanation does not fit with real rifles and how they work . There are so many examples and not enough time or interest to list then all .

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Originally Posted by bob q

I can guarantee headspace is not causing his excessive accuracy problem and that buying gauges and/or headspacing the rifle is a waste of time and money for the accuracy problem ... Your explanation does not fit with real rifles and how they work .

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What part of the rifle was built from parts or exactly " inherited (literally) a box of 8mm mauser parts which I was able to reassemble about 95 percent of a rifle from." did you not understand? It's more than just headspace I told him it was a safety issue.

Since I do not have the time or the desire to give a lesson in physics and smithing, I'll leave you to your opinions as that is all they are. Besides, anyone who would chamber cartridge of a different caliber in a firearm then what a rifle was made for, "just to prove a point" *might* have logic and judgment skill issues; leaving anything they write or say in question.