AIM Yugo Mauser M48A Report $100 is a STEAL!

[REDSTAR]

First off let me say I almost feel guilty taking this rifle from AIM for a mere $100!! I'll tell you why...

Now...AIM advertises these as VG-EX. They are boxed directly from Century with a Century grade of VG. Some may be better than others but here is a description of mine:

The rifle is brand new. I mean BRAND new. This rifle is in better condition than the unissued M48A I purchased from CDNN last year for $180. That CDNN rifle had some storage marks and some commie bastards initials carved in the stock. I took that with a grain of salt, they wearn't deep and I was still very happy with that purchase. Even unissued rifles will have storage marks most of the time. That CDNN rifle had some very slight tarnish on the bolt, That CDNN rifle had some blue wear. That CDNN rifle had some tarnish on the buttplate.

Not this AIM rifle.

ALL numbers match, bolt, floorplate, receiver, stock. AIM only guarantees the bolt and receiver to match.

110% blue if there was such a thing, it's deep and dark and it's everywhere.

Crown perfect. I mean perfect.

Bore perfect, mirror. This rifle has never been fired IMO. I ran two types of solvent through the bore searching for a hint of powder or copper residue, there is none. Just the initial two patches got some cosmo. I used shooters choice which always finds some residue if there is any and there wasn't. I also used Hoppes. Patches clean as a whistle after the cosmo.

Matching bolt is perfect. It's brand new, so shiny it looks like it was built yesterday. No wear marks on the guide or mag follower even.

Matching numbered Stock, oh what a beuaty. Teak wood of course. No gouges, no scratches. I inspected this rifle really close because I want to be accurate in this report and the only ding I could find was perhaps 1mm long and .5mm deep. One little ding. I've seen worse on new american rifles.

Buttplate!! So new I can see my reflection in the chrome finish. I've never seen a buttplate on a Mauser look so nice.

All bands, the cleaning rod, the high wear areas, they are all intact dark blue.

The rifle had a good layer of cosmo on it but nothing compared to the SKS rifles going around. I was able to clean it all off the exterior and chamber with some lemon oil, relatively quickly and easily. The bolt is full of it so I'll have to strip the bolt down later. I went to dry fire and it went slooooooowly: gllllooop, cccllllcik glorp. That's good, wont be any rust in there. I already know that because the outside is imaculate.

What else? I guess that's it. I can't post any pics till later in the week but I will.

Keep in mind, AIM probably doesn't look at all these rifles. Like I said they are in Century boxes, graded VG Century. I've found that VG from Century can and does range from VG- to unissued.Maybe my ticket just came in on this one, but all I can say is that if they are half as good as the one I got they are well worth the $99.95

They DO NOT come with accessories. However CDNN sell's Bayo for $18.99, pouch and sling set for $6.99, and cleaning kit with pouch for $3.99. They also sell rods for $4.99 but I think all these rifles will come with the rod. I haven't got a Mauser yet without one.

I give this my highest ***** rating. It's by far the best Mauser I own out of about 10 Mausers and I have some real nice ones.

I would recomend all you C&R newbies to forget about other purchases until you pick up one of these fantastic Mausers.
Thank you AIM for this deal! www.aimsurplus.com

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Some guys get all the luck....I would have expected this report from Neil though rather than you!:D

[neilwest]

1. every dog has his day, today is Redstars, I dont feel bad, I'll be posting my Broomhandle this weekend.:D

[REDSTAR]

I know! IT ABOUT FRIKKIN TIME is all I can say. It's always me who get's missing cleaning rods, initials, scratches, broken springs. Then my old nemisis ED4 get's unissued from good, matching numbers when there are supposedly no matching numbers, FRIKIN CLEANING ROD with 100 year old Mosins, etc etc. Then ED4 takes off and is replaced with neilwest, the king of sweet deals. :)

This rifle is even better shape than those FR8's we lucked out on last year 1PM. You need to get one, what's another $100? :D

[zouavexx]

I think I am either going to have to quit this board or get divorced!


Man that sounds really nice.

[REDSTAR]

Zouave, you know those very nice VZ24's we got from AIM last September??

No comparison to this one. Woo hoo! Can't wait to shoot it.

Remember my friends, VG-EX!! Don't call bitching to AIM if your's isn't as good as this one, and don't blame me either, but hell I bet there's a very good chance it will be.

These are going to go fast when the word gets around, I would not delay. I'd get another but two M48's is plenty.

[REDSTAR]

OK I came in to work early so I could download these pics. They don't turn the lights on till 6am so I was editing these in the dark, so they came out dark. Best I can do for now...

http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_36200280312AM0.3313105.jpg
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_36200280316AM0.5286022.jpg
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_36200280319AM0.7701314.jpg
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_36200280612AM0.5188867.jpg
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_36200280857AM0.3558313.jpg

If you see blemishes in the buttplate, stock that's lint. The rifle still has some oil on it.

[JES AR15]

looks very nice. but i will not order one. why ? yes, i would like to have one. but i ordered a few guns on the advice/recomendations of other on all the boards i visit. and well, my luck wasn't so good.

oh, have you tried to take a pic with that blue carpet as a backround ? it looks to me that it would give a better overall pic.
jmo

edit to say: no i'm not blaming anyone. its just my luck, or lack there of.

[REDSTAR]

It's happened to me too JES.

But if you don't roll the dice you can't win :)

You can minimize your risk of course by seeing how many people got good ones. There's several positive posts over at the GD version of this post on AK 47 net.

I haven't tried that yet with the carpet but will.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

AIM don't let me down...I even paid for a handpicked EX wood.....
Your report "forced" me to order one....You're going to put me in the poor house yet(Redstar & AIM).

[SenorBeef]

Are all the M48As reddish like that? The pic on aim's site shows blonde wood. Anyone know?

[dmzx]

Damn. Now I need one of these, you bastard.

Good looking rifle, man! :D

[Tracy]

I'd say, Redstar, that you just got lucky on that one. This is my first time on this forum so I'm figuring it out as I go along. Why am I here, you ask? Because AIM sent me here. You must be good advertisement for them. I sent them an e-mail to complain after I received my M48A. It looks like it has been to hell and back. The stock appears to be the same wood as my Turk--walnut, I think. Someone feel free to correct me as I'm no expert in woods. Let's just say that I was hoping for a date with Buffy and got Roseanne instead. There were scratches on the barrel and the trigger guard wasn't too hot either. Also, it looked like someone tried to force off one of the rings with a hammer and a screwdriver. The wood was also dinged up. It DEFINITELY didn't look like the one on the website. I cleaned it up, touched up the blueing, and rubbed the stock with BOL for about 3 hours. I decided to keep it instead of going through the hassle of sending it back and hoping for a better one.
They guy at AIM said to ask for a blond one, if that is what I wanted. He also said that they handpick the best ones from Century and that it is always possible that someone made a mistake. Actually, I do have to admit that I was impressed with their service--shipped the next day. And they answered my e-mail over the weekend! Usually, I don't even get an answer.
I'm new at this C&R thing, so I've got a lot to learn. However, I am impressed with your gun. It's kinda' nice to get the upper hand once in a while.
:bigdeal:

[REDSTAR]

Welcome to the board, there's alot of great info etc around here for the taking.

I'm sorry to hear you got a bad one. I'm surprised because so far other people I know of who ordered these got pretty nice rifles. Another friend of mine got one today and wasn't thrilled about the wood but was satisfied overall I think.

C&R collecting is indeed a gamble. I've gotten my share of junk from all the distributors; but overall I usually come out ahead. I do this by reading reports of others and from experience with the different companies grading/return policies.

Hope you stick around!

[SenorBeef]

Woo, I just ordered one.

[Tracy]

Thanks for the welcome, Redstar. Since I'm new at C&R collecting, I expect that I'll do a lot of reading and have a few questions. You guys sound like you know your stuff, so I expect this will be a good learning experience.

One question that I did have right off the bat was, "How do you post pictures?" I see an IMG button but I can't do anything with it. :confused: I suppose that I should ask if ANYONE can post pictures. Of course, too many would slow the website. Thanks in advance for your help.

[REDSTAR]

Let us know how it is when you get it senor.

Tracy, to post pictures you need to have them hosted at a site such as www.webphotos.com. That's a free hosting site. Once you upload the pics to the hosting site, pull up the full size image, right click the image, choose properties, copy the URL, come over to this site, start your post, choose IMG, paste the URL into the pop up box and hit OK. Now our site will know where to go get the picture and it will appear in your post. If you have any questions feel free to post them or email.

Currently there's also a way to directly upload the pics from your machine but that feature may not be around long and I don't know how to use it. Someone else may want to address that.

[Tracy]

:D Thanks again Redstar. I printed that out so I should be able to follow it without too many problems--hopefully.

[trotsky]

An Update: My $100 M48 from AIM arrived today...

It's not "unissued" - but it's damn close. Barrel took five swipes with an SS brush & Hoppes 9 - it gleams. NO pits, I doubt more than 10 bullets ever went thur it. Headspace is perfect.

Blueing: About 98%, some surface discoloration. Not bad at all.

Stocks: About 5 dings, greasy - should clean up nicely.

I have an unissued M48 that I got at auction for $225. This one is VERY close to being as good. I would suggest you get your orders off :)

[Tracy]

Here are a couple of picutures of my gun that I took when I got it. The resolution on my camera isn't so great.
http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/17/33239417tnbsCD_ph.jpg
Obviously, that's the stock. Ouch! That big gouge had to hurt! I'm guessing that a soldier beat another soldier's head in with the stock of that gun. Those are probably teeth marks in there.
http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/66/33239466AlwoWn_ph.jpg
I don't know if you can see the blueing, or lack thereof, on the barrell, but I managed to touch it up so that it looks pretty good. Also, after about 412 coats of BLO, the stock is looking better too. Is this what I should have expected, or did I hope for too much? I always get to drive a used car before I buy it, but purchasing over the internet makes that kinda' difficult.

:mad: HMMMMM. IT SEEMS THAT MY PICTURES ARE HERE; THEN THEY'RE NOT, ETC. HERE'S A LINK.

http://community.webshots.com/user/indianatlh

Maybe this will work. :whiner:

Just click on the picture to enlarge it.

[Falcon 17]

Mine was waiting at the door when I came home tonight. I t's not new , but nice shape. I'd say about 90% with matching #'s. I'll keep it.:)

[REDSTAR]

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/17/33239417tnbsCD_ph.jpg

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/17/33239417tnbsCD_ph.jpg

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/66/33239466AlwoWn_ph.jpg
http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v5/3/94/66/33239466AlwoWn_ph.jpg

I only got red x's on your pics so I tried to post them in this post. Then when I looked again your pics were there.

Anyway, your rifle must have been a mistake. I would have sent that back. Doesn't look to be better than good IMO. Maybe you still can and get a better rifle.

Trotsky- glad you got a good one thanks for the report, you too Falcon 17.

[Tracy]

:) Yeah, Redstar, I think that I was editing when you were viewing. I hate returns, even at Wal-Mart, who is just down the road from me. I'm still thinking about it.

[SenorBeef]

My report:

The wood has quite a few dings, more than I was expecting.. you could probably count 20 of them without counting the really small ones. Otherwise, the wood itself is nice, reddish brown, very solid, surprisingly light.

The metal finish is very good - there are 2-3 small blemishes on the blued area, but the rest of it is solid. Can I use a cold blue compound to touch this up?

I may have damaged the finish on my bolt, though - we used something galled Goo Off to get the cosmo out, and it said it was safe for all the surfaces (we didn't have any wd-40 handy), and it seems to have worked great on everywhere except the bolt, which now has a bunch of dark spots on it. Anyone know how I could go about polishing them out of the bolt?

The action is surprisingly smooth, and the rifle points surprisingly well... I just point it in the direction I want to, and the sights seem to line themselves up. It's a lot more easy to handle than my friend's full length 91/30, and I thought it was amazingly well balanced for a bigger rifle. The trigger seems very smooth, but I haven't worked out all of the cosmo yet, and because of that it's too heavy right now.

Anyway, 2 questions: Can I use a cold blue compound to touch up the blued surface, and if so, any recommendations? And... (and I'm pretty sure I did this myself) the bolt has a few dark blotches on it now, any way I can touch this up?

[REDSTAR]

Anyway, 2 questions: Can I use a cold blue compound to touch up the blued surface, and if so, any recommendations? And... (and I'm pretty sure I did this myself) the bolt has a few dark blotches on it now, any way I can touch this up?

For cold blueing I use Brownell's Oxpho Blue almost exclusively. It's an acidic compund and turns the metal black by just wiping it on. You wipe some on, let it sit for about 10 secs and wife it off. Then you buff with 0000 steel wool to give it some shine and then apply another coat. The more applications the deeper the blue. Works great for touch ups. One bottle will last a long time. I use it on Romanian AK's as well to get a nicer finish.


Weird on the bolt, I've used goo gone on parts like bolts and that never happened. Anyway, tarnish on bolts is easy. Get some finishing pads (even a scotch brand scouring pad will work), cut off a little workable piece, apply some 3 in 1 or gun oil to the pad and buff the bolt lightly. Tarnish will come right off. Wipe off the oil and you're set. If you're just doing a small spot don't get carried away of that spot will be shinier than the rest of the bolt.

Sounds like you did ok for $100.

I used about 15 applications of Oxpho on this AK:
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_216200230449PM0.6822931.jpg

[SenorBeef]

Yeah, I made out well for $100 (well, $150 after the tax, shipping, transfer fees.. damn, I need to turn 21 and get a c&r license...)

I forgot to mention that all the numbers (stock, receiver, bolt, mag bottom) match, and the bore looks perfect, although I have little experience in inspecting bores.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Mine also had quite a few minor dings,dents,scratches....I paid for handpicked EX wood,wasn't noted on the receipt,probably was handpicked for serials???....Handpick fee was turned into a store credit,gotta credit AIM for the no hassle credit....Definitely worth the $99 !!I've been debating ordering another,they are sweet for the price!
As far as I can tell all numbers match.....Lives up to advertisement for VG-EX for sure.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Originally posted by REDSTAR


For cold blueing I use Brownell's Oxpho Blue almost exclusively. It's an acidic compund and turns the metal black by just wiping it on. You wipe some on, let it sit for about 10 secs and wife it off. Then you buff with 0000 steel wool to give it some shine and then apply another coat. The more applications the deeper the blue. Works great for touch ups. One bottle will last a long time. I use it on Romanian AK's as well to get a nicer finish.


Weird on the bolt, I've used goo gone on parts like bolts and that never happened. Anyway, tarnish on bolts is easy. Get some finishing pads (even a scotch brand scouring pad will work), cut off a little workable piece, apply some 3 in 1 or gun oil to the pad and buff the bolt lightly. Tarnish will come right off. Wipe off the oil and you're set. If you're just doing a small spot don't get carried away of that spot will be shinier than the rest of the bolt.

Sounds like you did ok for $100.

I used about 15 applications of Oxpho on this AK:
http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000012251/1000012251_216200230449PM0.6822931.jpg

I like the look of those stocks on the SAR's.....But I think we're gonna have some sore shoulders this summer :)

[SenorBeef]

Originally posted by 1 Patriot-of-many
Mine also had quite a few minor dings,dents,scratches....I paid for handpicked EX wood,wasn't noted on the receipt,probably was handpicked for serials???....Handpick fee was turned into a store credit,gotta credit AIM for the no hassle credit....Definitely worth the $99 !!I've been debating ordering another,they are sweet for the price!
As far as I can tell all numbers match.....Lives up to advertisement for VG-EX for sure.

I also paid the price for handpicked nice reddish wood, but it's got more dings in it than I'd like. I'm happy with it, I was just hoping to get one of the really pristine ones that were reported earlier in this thread.

[Tracy]

:( How come we can't delete our own posts?