Yugoslavian Model 24.

[Anzac15]

Managed to find an unrearsenalled Yugoslavian Model 24 at the funshow last weekend. All matching, no import marks. It is my understanding that these are a bit more desirable than the post war communist era Yugoslavian Mausers that seem to everywhere now. Any truth to this? The stock bears the crown and Roman numeral 2, (King Peter?) barrel is marked 16AE in a box. Any thoughts on it will be welcome, as this is the first Yugoslavian Mauser I've owned. Thanks!

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[mdrim13]

Pictures would be helpful

mdrim13

[Anzac15]

Yeah, have to get over to my friend's for that. This rifle sports the crown over T marking on bolt handle and barrel. Barrel is matching also, BTW. I'll get some pics up hopefully tomorrow.

[m4a3sherman]

In my experience, Yugo 24s that aren't rebuilt are fairly desirable but not quite rare. I think it's something that if you're into Yugoslavs or perhaps mausers, it'll matter, but if you want a Yugo as an example, then it doesn't. I got mine for $85 from a guy who said he'd rather go buy a Turk rifle than the Yugo he had inherited. I happily abliged. In short, if you got it for as much or less than an m24/47, you did well and I suspect as these rifles all dry up, we'll see the 24s gain more notoriety and inturn, more value.

[Anzac15]

Here are finally some pics of my Model 24...http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s421/enfield3/IMG_2870.jpg

[Jim]

Actually, there are two levels of thought about these Yugoslav rifles. One, that they (ALL of them) are nothing more than shoddy communist trash only fit for sporterizing. They are wrong too.
Then there's the rest who realize that the Yugoslav manufactured rifles are high quality firearms second to precious few and that short list does not include the hi almighty K98. The Czech Brno rifles are especially known for smooth bolts and accuracy. And of course there's the superb Mauser contract long rifles. But, then, little can compare to those anyway.
Prices for post war Communist Yugoslav Mausers are approaching $300 though they can still be found for less in small quantities here and there. The M1924 routinely exceeds $300 and some variations bring more. I saw a CXC rifle sell for $650. (Perhaps as few as 18,000 made.)The carbines often sell in excess of $350. With a Type I bolt, who knows what it would bring because I haven't seen one offered for sale in over 5 years.

The market is beginning to realize that there are different Yugoslav Mausers and that some can be 'rare' and desirable to collect. This is especially true of German Mauser collectors getting frustrated by high prices and ever more difficult to spot fakes. They also tend to bring deep pockets driving up prices for items they want. The flip side of that is that some rare models can slip by quite cheaply simply because people very often have no idea of what or the actual value of a thing they are looking at. They had in point of fact "dried up." It was a rare day when one came to auction. The current economy seems to be bringing them out.

The Yugoslav M1924 is Belgium's FN company's M1924. They provided Yugoslavia with a factory and trained the workers and the Yugoslavs made them from 1928 to 1941 when the Nazis invaded and closed the door. Like other milsurps, the rifles went through a number of different marking and model variations.

What you have, is a m1924 type II carbine... yes, I said "carbine." Note the additional side sling swivels? Those were not typical of the 1924. There were three primary variations- the rifle, type I and type II "carbines." Dimensionally there is no different in the there, In Yugoslav military parlance, the sling arrangement determined the classification of the weapon. Classic bottom only swivels were "rifles." Bent bolts and dual sling swivels were "type I carbines" for cavalry. The "type II carbines" retained the rifle's straight bolt but carried the secondary side swivels. These were intended for "mounted troops other than cavalry"; engineers, artillery and the like. There are no records on specific production numbers .

The crown-over-T is the Royal Yugoslav proof stamp. The left side on the receiver ring is for "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" and the siderail is for "Military Technical Institute, Kragujevac" (though the translation into "Institute" is open to debate). The stock cartouche is that of King Peter II Karagorgevich who came into power in 1934. Your serial #puts you rifle manufactured in 1936. That is also consistent with known examples of T.II carbines.

The surface condition is pretty rough. I'd call it no more than worth $200.

[Anzac15]

Thanks Jim for all the info. Very interesting. I had been having some difficulty dating it, glad to finally know!