Very Unusual Yugoslav M24 Mauser

Description

The history of this gun is hard to determine.  It could be a late war rifle made by Yugoslav partisans or yearly post war Yugoslavian desperation rifle or something else.  It was cobbled together from parts from several guns.  The crest and factory information on the receiver are from an M24.  The receiver has a royal proof mark.  The straight bolt has a royal stamp on it, but the serial number does not match the receiver’s.  The rear sling loop also has a royal stamp on it.  The stock has a couple of pristine stamps with the Cyrillic В, Т, and З, which would be VTZ in the Latin alphabet, inside a triangle.  That stamp was used by the Yugoslav factory before World War II.  Otherwise, the stock has no serial number or other makings on it, and does not match any stock that I am familiar with.  There is no bolt disassembly tool like on a K98K.  The distance between the rear handguard band and the front handguard band is not typical of a Yugoslav stock.  The rear barrel band looks like it came off a German K98K or maybe a Yugo M48.  It looks like someone scratched out a an earlier acceptance stamp and added a Yugoslav acceptance mark that looks like a Cyrillic п, (p in the Latin alphabet) inside a triangle.  That factory mark was used by the communist government from 1947 to 1970.  The front barrel band is of unknown origin.  It has been packetized, and shortened to fit the stock and the barrel band spring.  The barrel band spring is 93mm long, the same size and style as on a German K98K, but shorter than any single Yugoslav spring that I am familiar with.  The screws on the trigger guard are not original and do not match German or Yugoslav Mauser screws.  The rear screw has an asterisk on it, possibly from an Argentine Model 1891 Mauser.  They do not have the dimples for retaining screws.  The stock was never drilled for a cleaning rod.  The bayonet lug has a Latin Z inside a circle, which may mean it came from Zbrojovka Brno in what is now the Czech Republic.  The barrel has no markings of any kind.  It also has a hooded front sight which M24s did not have.  The rear sight is particularly interesting.  It starts at 100 meters instead of the usual 200 meters for German and later Yugoslav sights. There are no calibrations on the back of the sight, and the hinge only allows it to be raised to about 45 degrees instead of the usual 90 on German and later Yugoslav sights.  This may also indicate that the barrel and sights are of Czech origin.  I am guessing that someone took a blank stock and modified it to work with the parts available. The rifling is in very good shape.

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