Yugo M48 barrel

[fritz]

I have unscrewed a few, albeit with more effort than the other Mausers. But today the one from Century advertised as good/dark bores was a challenge. I only bought it for the action.

 

Ha, ha! Easier said than done. This one was soaked in Kroil for a week, then heated a little on the receiver ring and tried to unscrew using the conventional barrel vise.

 

That was a joke. Then out came the stillson wrench. Still no give, even with a short cheater.

 

At last resort, I applied maximum allowable heat and used the wrench with a four foot cheater pipe on the action wrench. Something had to give, and for a time I thought it would be fritz.

 

But it gave way, then unscrewed easily by hand. What the hell is it with these Yugo actions? They are among the last readily available actions out there for sporterizing, but they pose a problem with removing their shot-out barrels.

 

Alternative? Pay Mitchell's Mausers the bloated price for a good one? At that price, I could buy a Savage at WalMart. But then I wanted to do the unmentionable (according to Bill) to one. Sporterize a Mauser.

 

Yes, and for that I will say 10 Hail Mary's and put $20 in the poor box. Even though I ain't Catholic. It goes to a good cause, I'm sure.

 

Does anyone have an easier way to remove the barrel from one of these relics? When Century advertises them as good/dark bores, they mean useless. They should sell them as u-fix-em.

 

fritz

[roscoedoh]

Fritz,

 

I understand your plight. It took my gunsmith a week of messing with my M48 to get the original barrel off it when I first started tinkering with it two years ago. Mr. B is a big guy and he said it took him and another guy his size leaning on a cheater bar to get the barrel to let go and when it did, it sounded like a 22 going off. He's been doing this since the 70's and has never seen anything like this. He almost had to resort to the lathe to machine the barrel off before it finally came loose.

 

I've read where there are other guys having problems with over tightened barrels. My theory is that since these barrels that have safety-breech cut to the barrel face, the barrels, especially the mis-matched ones, have to be over tightened to get that cut to line up properly.

 

I don't know what the solution to this is. I guess it just part of the hassle we'll have to deal with as part of our hobby?

 

 

[z1r]

Partly the same reason M1917's are so tight. The extractor groove is cut then the barrel screwed on and guess what, it don't match. So, the guy takes off the barrel, chucks it up in a lathe and adjusts it, right? No, what is more likely is that the guy tightens the hell out of it until it aligns.

 

Just try screwing that barrel on and you can prove it to yourself. It will get tight well before the extractor cut lines up where it should.

[Clemson]

My formula for removing tight barrels is rosin on the vise blocks, Kroil on the joint, both inside the action around the primary shoulder and on the outside barrel-action joint, and a large ball pein hammer to strike the action wrench handle with. The impact does a better job of breaking the joint than a long cheater on the wrench.

 

Clemson

[fritz]

Well, the whacking with a big (and I used a big one) hammer didn't work for me.

 

It has worked before, but not this baby. I was about ready to torch the thing to pieces. I did find a 1912 Chilean long rifle barrel (7mm) that headspaced perfectly onto the receiver. The sights don't quite align, but they are coming off anyway. I'm undecided which way to go with that barrel.

 

First, it will need to be shortened and recrowned. Then I could make a scout rifle out of it, install commercial open sights, or just scope it conventional style.

 

I'll worry about that after the storm.

 

fritz

[Vladymere]

If you are not going to reuse the barrel perhaps a relief cut in the barrel secondary torque shoulder right next to the receiver would help.

 

Vlad

[fritz]

I thought of that, but decided to try for total destuction first.

 

The barrel gave way with the four foot cheater. And the receiver (due to the design of my action wrench) did not distort.

 

fritz

[Tailgunner Dave]

I did one of these, a dark bore yugo k98, I used a BFPV (Big F_____n Pipe Vise).. lots of preload (elbow grease) on the receiver wrench, and a big mallet... It popped it loose, after quite a fight, the receiver looked better than I did...

 

I had to anesthetize shortly afterwards..(large MaiTai) This one has a heck of a hard receiver and the rear mounting hole is giving me hell..

 

 

[fritz]

Ain't we lucky that the last readily available Mauser actions are the Yugos?

 

I have unscrewed a lot of Mauser barrels in my 62 years, And I guess that makes me a relic, but these Yugo jobs are tough schitt.

 

I did find a barrel in my stash that headspaced perfectly with that Yugo receiver, so all was not lost.

 

No more Century good/dark bores for me, though. That means they were shot with corrosive ammo and NOT cleaned.

 

Even a few MNs I have got shoot better. They are in better shape, the bore is what it's all about!

 

fritz

[Cummins_4x4]

I've found an old trick I used on farm machinery helps get these barrels off fast. I heat the joint of the barrel and reciever some, not even till there's any red. I then take a piece of paraffin or I guess wax and put it on the joint. The heat draws the wax right down into the threads! The next day they seem to unscrew easily, or semi easily. Its really worked for me!

[fritz]

Thanks, I'll try the wax next time. I seem to remember that as being suggested a long time ago.

 

Heat is definitely needed, as the Kroil did not help this one.

 

fritz

[Guest TONEY]

mine came loose easy after using ZEP 45 . I used a 18 on the barrel ,just put my foot on it and it came loose . My VZ24 took a 4ft cheater but i did't use oil