Big 5 is selling these beasts for $70. I'm thinking of picking up one of these things to Bubba-ize. Any comments good or bad on this action, and is this a good price?

Good actions at a good price. Good for Bubba-sizing too, as they are usually mismatched, scrubbed of markings, with shot out barrels and beat to hell stocks.

Try to make sure there is no pitting below the woodline (sometimes tough without taking it out of the stock). Look for a crack in the left rail at the thumb slot (never seen it). Make sure the lugs on the bolt aren't beat up. Finally, take the striker assembly out of the bolt, and make sure it [firing pin] isn't broken. If the front ring has been scrubbed, look carefully to make sure too much hasn't been taken off. Not a bad idea to take a pair of scope bases and a flat / straight edge with you, to see how far off the heights of the front ring and rear bridge are due to scrubbing of the crest.

Good luck,
Todd

Where can I buy the VZ24 action at the prices I see mentioned here? Can someone give me a web site? I would be happy with a barreled action.

I have bought 4 vz24's from Big 5. One in AZ and three in OR. They are all going to be sportered to some extent or another. I have cleaned up one so far, and it looks good. At Big 5 they let my go through their stock to find the 3 I wanted. If you have a Big 5 near your keep your eye out for their flyer.

Kristofer

If you're going to Bubba-ize check the things Todd mentioned and one more...the bolt face to see if the firing pin hole was drilled off center. It may not mean anything to most but I find it very annoying.
I bought a scrubbed rifle only to find the barrel had lands'n'grooves sharp enough to cut! Stock was really pretty after it all cleaned up too. That is hanging in my rack at home now. Won't chop that'un.

I think i have some sort of illness. I just want too many military surplus rifles, picked up my first VZ 24 at big 5 today. The ones i looked at one almost all the blueing was worn off and the bore still looked pretty good the one i got The action and bolt look in excellant shape heck almost new but the bore i don't think was as good as the well worn gun. The gun i ended up getting had the crest or something ground off the top unlike the more worn gun i looked at does anyone know why this was done??? another question do these guns have a saftey, there is what appears to be a saftey on the back of the bolt but i can't get mine to move?? also the sights suck is there anything i can do to put better sights on mine???

Cowboy,

The flag is the safety. If yours won't operate, then it means the bolt is probably not original to the gun. I have found that when you swap bolts, often the relationship between the trigger sear, cocking piece, and safety is altered enough so that the safety won't function. What this means to you:
1) no safety
2) uncertain headspace (bolt not original)

I would suggest that you fire that gun using a remote rest or a tied to a tire the first few times, and measure the fired brass, or (much easier) see if it will eat a No-Go gauge.

If headspace is okay, you could try swapping triggers, or safeties until you get a combination that will function. I have had to do that.

Good luck,
Todd

BTW the crest was removed because the Communists after WWII didn't like relics of past governments. I would have taken the junker with the crest -- those are hard to find. Go buy it!

a couple questions for Todd or whoever. What is a go-no go head space gauge, and where do you get one. How well do these kind of guns usually shoot??

thanks

Cowboy,
Brownells and MidwayUSA, among others, can sell you a go / no go gauge set. If the rifle will chamber factory ammo, you know it will work with a go gauge, so all you really need is the no-go. The gauge should run less than $20.

I have several Mausers in factory mil-surp trim, and find that they shoot quite well for open sight rifles. Be aware that most surplus ammo is not reloadable, and is also corrosive primed, so you have to scrub the bores with soapy water after every range session. Sight regulation appears to be somewhat variable -- your rear ladder probably starts at 400 yards, but you never know where it will hit at 100 until you try it.

HTH,
Todd

You need to strip the bolt to feel the no go gauge. An alternative to the gauge is a disk of metal .005 stuck to the cartridge head with a dab of grease. That's actually tighter than the no go gauge since the cartridge is almost certainly undersize.

If the bolt closes without resistance on the shimmed case, you need to check the headspace properly. If it won't close without resistance, but accepts the unshimmed factory cartridge, headspace is OK or a little tight.

DJ,

What do you recommend for the piece of metal? I've tried that trick with heavy plastic tape, but didn't want to rely on it due to the 'squish' factor -- wouldn't be a problem with most metals. It gets expensive when you start buying gauges for every new rifle.

Todd

Century Arms International

Aim Surplus

SamCo

These all sell VZ-24's or similar Mausers, barreled actions, etc. Century often sells "cracked stock" Turks at 4/$100.

I just looked at Big 5's VZ-24's -- all scrubbed markings on the receiver, one was mediocre. The other was silver, no blue at all. I didn't look at bores.

These rifles are often counter-bored. The muzzle is bored out down into the bore about an inch. This "fixes" a worn crown.

The 98/22 Mauser is a nice gun. Well made, in good shape for the most part. The Turks are each a bit different. All seem to be "large ring" receivers, but evidently some variation in barrel thread size.

The 8mm ammo is cheap. $100 for 1000 rds for the most part. These old guns are damned accurate and powerful.

Todd,
Thanks for your help. I picked up one yesterday, and hopefully, it was a good one. Now the fun begins.

Old Fart,

If you plan on disassembling it yourself, here's a hint: you will never get the barrel off with a barrel vice and action wrench. Make sure you use a good action wrench that is well-tightened (try MidwayUSA, ~$40). Then use a pipe wrench on the barrel about 1" in front of the receiver ring. Or you could pay a gunsmith $20.

If you want some pointers on sporterizing Mausers, drop me an e-mail. Good luck.

Todd

What do you mean you'll never get the barrel off with a vice???? Use a pipe wrench??? That's like saying you'll never get that nut loose, use a bigger hammer!!! Forget it.

I've pulled the barrels off of every Mauser I've debarreled using a vice and action wrench. It helps to use a bushing that fits the barrel correctly and plenty of powdered rosin.

-M

Todd,

I bought a shim stock kit from Brownell's many years ago. It's mild steel and that's what I use.

Lacking that, I'd take snips and calipers to whatever was handy looking for something 5-6 thous thick.

I stone the edges a trifle to remove burrs.