Mitchell's Mausers Mitchell\'s Mausers 98k 48 Rifle Instructions Manual

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Mauser 98k - Model M48
Unloading Your Rifle:
If you change your mind and choose not to shoot, just follow these
simple instructions.  Keep the rifle pointed safely down range.  Raise the
safety lever to the vertical position.  (If the rifle is not cocked, lift the bolt
handle first, then put the safety on.)  Open the bolt and extract the loaded
round.  If there are cartridges in the magazine, you may unload the maga-
zine by cycling all cartridges with the bolt while the safety lever is still in
the vertical position.  Just cycle the bolt for as many cartridges as remain
in the magazine till the magazine is empty.
Cleaning Your Rifle:
Your rifle has fifty years of preservative in it and on it. It must be
thoroughly cleaned before use.
Disassembly:
1. Unload your rifle and remove all ammo from the area.
2. Remove the Bolt. (
Rifles are shipped with the bolt already removed.)
Point the rifle in a safe direction.  Put the safety lever in the vertical
(upright) position.  (If the rifle is not cocked, lift the bolt handle first,
then put the safety on.)  Open  the bolt and pull it to the rear.  It will
stop against the bolt-stop.
On the left side of the rear part of the receiver is a spring loaded,
hinged, release lever, which will release the bolt stop.  It swings from
the front, being hinged in the rear.  Swing
it all the way out and that will allow you
to pull the bolt out of the rifle.
3. Remove the Magazine Floor Plate and
Follower.
a. Turn the rifle upside down so that you
can see the magazine floor plate.  At
the rear of the floor plate, near the
trigger guard you will see an opening
that provides access to a small, spring
loaded plunger.  To remove the floor
plate, use a brass rod that is about the
size of the little button plunger and
fully depress the plunger as far as it
will go, about 1/8
th inch.  While hold-
ing the plunger depressed, slide the
Magazine
Floor Plate
Release
Plunger
Trigger
Guard
Fig 2 Magazine Floor Plate. 
						

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floor plate and the rod firmly rearward.  The floor plate will move
back about 1/8th inch only.
b. Release the pressure on the plunger and the floor plate will come
away from the rifle by the force of the follower spring.  Lift out
the whole assembly as one piece, the floor plate, the follower and
the follower spring. (Well take it apart later.)
c. Now thoroughly clean out the magazine well with a good quality
solvent.  Wipe clean the inside of the receiver (where the bolt
goes) with solvent and make sure there is no trash or shipping ma-
terial residue anywhere in the receiver or magazine well.
d. Take the follower assembly apart for cleaning. Simply slide the
flat spring out of the base of the follower and slide the other end
out of the top inside of the floor plate.  (Thou shalt pay close at-
tention to what thou art doing as the spring will go back into the
floor plate and the follower in only the same way they came out.)
If you put it back together wrong, the follower may jam the car-
tridges during feeding and that is a bummer (it could also be dan-
gerous!).  Make sure you do it right!  After youve cleaned all
three parts, you can re-insert them into the rifle.
4. Clean the Barrel Thoroughly:
Use a good solvent and keep going at it until you get a clean patch
through the barrel.  Change patches every time; use one patch one
time only.  Look through the barrel from the breech end and the barrel
should be sparkling clean with the spiral grooves clean and sharp!
This is a tribute to the quality of your rifle.  The cleaning rod under
the barrel is screwed into position.  It alone, is too short to clean the
barrel.  Soldiers, together, screwed two rods together, to make one
long one and then cleaned both rifles as the rod is too short by itself.
We suggest you simply buy a one piece rod to clean the barrel and
leave the original one screwed in tight, right where it is (and where it
belongs).
5. Clean the Receiver.
Thoroughly clean the trigger sear, the locking lug recesses, the slide-
ways and all of the surfaces inside the receiver.
6. Disassemble and Clean the Bolt:
The preservative grease inside the bolt will cause the rifle to fail to
fire.  To clean the bolt, you must become knowledgeable about its dis-
assembly and reassembly.  You may require some help here as this is 
						

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Mauser 98k - Model M48
somewhat difficult (it requires some strength in your hands and you
are dealing with a very powerful firing pin spring, so pay careful at-
tention).
a. Check the position of the safety lever.  It should be in the vertical
(upright) position.  If it isnt, put the bolt back in the rifle and
close it.  Swing the safety lever up to the vertical position.  Then
remove the bolt from the rifle and proceed.
b. Separate the firing pin assembly from the bolt body as follows.
Observe the small spring loaded plunger on the rear of the bolt
opposite the bolt handle.  It is the Bolt Sleeve Lock Plunger.
Grasp the bolt in your left hand and with your left thumb, push in
the plunger.  With your right hand, grasp and turn the whole rear
assembly counter clockwise.  After one or two complete turns, the
rear assembly will turn easily without pressure on the locking
plunger.  Unscrew the assembly and lift the firing pin assembly
out of the bolt body.  You will likely find it covered with protec-
tive grease, which would likely cause a failure to fire. Soak both
the entire empty bolt body and the firing pin assembly in solvent.
c. Notice that the bolt body has two gas vents in the bottom of the
bolt body.  These serve two purposes.  First, they serve as the pri-
mary gas escape holes in case of a cartridge failure and second,
they are two lubrication ports giving you access to the whole bolt
internally because you wont want to take it apart very often.
d. Clean the bolt body:
i. Swab the interior of the bolt body.  Make sure there is no
dried grease left inside.
Fig 3.  Bolt Assembly, Bottom View.
Third Lug
Cocking Piece
Bolt Sleeve
with Gas Shield
Gas Vents
Full Length
Claw Extractor
Sleeve Lock Plunger 
						

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ii. Clean all of the little nooks and crannies.  A tooth brush is
handy.  Carefully inspect everything.
ii. Observe the long claw extractor.  It should easily rotate
around the bolt through the full range of its guide slot.  Do
not remove the extractor.  Simply clean it.  Restore it to its
original position in line with the locking lug, otherwise you
wont be able to get the bolt back into the rifle.
e. Clean the Firing Pin Assembly:
Notice that the firing pin is in cocked position, the very powerful
firing pin spring being compressed and held in position by the
safety lever.  Do not attempt to release the safety.  Normally this
assembly can be cleaned without further disassembly.  Soak the
assembly in solvent and then wipe, brush, and blow it clean.
Further disassembly is difficult and not normally necessary.  Also
there is some risk of bending the firing pin.  Skip the following
italicized steps unless you have a real reason to completely disas-
semble the Firing Pin Assembly.
f. Disassemble the Firing Pin Assembly, which consists of the Firing Pin,
the highly compressed Firing Pin Spring, the Bolt Sleeve, and the Cock-
ing Piece.
i.Caution:  Notice that the firing pin protrudes about 2 beyond the
front of the compressed spring.  Be careful not to bend it when
compressing the spring.  Do not apply force to the tip of the firing
pin.  It is best if you have a work table or a block of wood with a
small hole into which the front of the firing pin will fit, right up to
the squared off enlarged portion just in front of the spring. (If this is
not available to you, do not proceed.)
To compress
spring, apply
force hereBolt Sleeve with
Gas Shield
Cocking Piece
in cocked position
Safety
Lever
Firing Pin Spring
Firing Pin
NEVER Apply
Force Here 
						

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Mauser 98k - Model M48
ii.Caution:  From this point on you will be dealing with a highly com-
pressed and powerful spring.  You must wear eye protection.  If you
dont have it, stop the procedure until you get eye protection be-
cause you will be decompressing and compressing the spring (in the
re-assembly process).
iii. Compress the spring: With the firing pin inserted into the work
table hole, firmly grasp the bolt sleeve while leaving the cocking
piece free to move.  This takes considerable pressure and strength.
Exert downward pressure on the bolt sleeve, compressing the
spring until the cocking piece can be freely turned 90 degrees in
either direction (you may well need some help here).
iv. Remove the cocking piece:  With the cocking piece turned 90 de-
grees, you can slowly relax your downward pressure on the spring
tension and the whole assembly will come apart.  Note which side of
the firing pin is up, so you can reassemble it the same way.  The
firing pin and its spring will come apart (you can see how powerful
it is) as well as the bolt sleeve and safety lever.  Swing the safety
lever over to full right (otherwise it won’t come off) and then pull it
straight back.  It will come right out.
v. Now you can clean everything in detail.  You wont want to disas-
semble the bolt too often (for obvious reasons).  You can see that
the firing pin and its spring live deep inside the bolt body so you
want a light film of oil over the entire surface of all parts; espe-
cially inside the bolt body.  Never use grease inside the bolt, it
could cause a failure to fire.
g. Re-assemble the firing pin assembly.
i. Insert the safety lever into the bolt sleeve with the lever going in at
the full right position (otherwise it wont go) and then swing it up to
the vertical position and keep it there during bolt assembly.  The
vertical safety position is necessary for bolt assembly, and in that
position it can be used as an additional surface to apply force when
compressing the firing pin spring in the next step.
ii. Put the firing pin spring back onto the firing pin and put the firing
pin tip into the worktable hole.  Slide the bolt sleeve assembly over
the rear of the firing pin.  It can go on only two ways, because the
firing pin has flat sides.  We suggest that you should always re-
assemble it with the same side up.
iii. While you hold the spring almost fully compressed, install the cock-
ing piece over the firing pin.  It too will slide on two different ways,
but after you rotate it to lock it on, the sear must be oriented so that
it slides into the corresponding slot in the bolt sleeve. 
						

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iv. Make sure the safety lever is in the vertical position.  If it is not,
compress the spring again and turn the safety lever to the vertical
position.  The bolt is now cocked because the spring is compressed
and ready for installation into the bolt body.
Now that you have seen some of the internal parts, you can appreciate
the superior engineering and extra strength built into your rifle.  Now you
can begin the reassembly process.
Reassembly:
1. Reassemble the bolt:  Make sure the firing pin assembly is cocked
with the safety lever in the vertical position.  Insert the firing pin as-
sembly into the bolt body and turn it clockwise until the bolt sleeve
stop plunger engages the bolt body and prevents further rotation.  On
the one or two final turns, it may be necessary to compress the plunger
so it will clear the bolt handle.
2. Re-install the Magazine Follower Assembly.  Fit the follower through
the magazine well.  Notice that the front of the floor plate has a lip cut
into the leading edge.  This lip will fit into the front of the lower edge
of the magazine well when assembled.  There is a similar arrangement
at the rear of the floor plate around the plunger hole.  To assemble it,
position the floor plate slightly to the rear of the assembled position,
press down on the rear of the floor plate to compress the plunger, and
slide the floor plate forward so that both the front and rear lips of the
floor plate engage the slots in the magazine well.  The plunger should
spring into the hole in the rear of the floor plate, thereby locking the
floor plate in place.  Only moderate pressure is required to do so.
3. From the top, make sure the follower is in position and moves up and
down freely.  Its job is to lift cartridges so it must be free.
4. Re-insert the bolt assembly into the rifle.  Make sure the claw extrac-
tor is lined up with the right-hand locking lug, or it will not go in.
Confirm the proper working of all functions: bolt open and close,
safety lever in all positions, and trigger.
5. Wipe all sections of the rifle free of preservative grease in and around
the rear sight and the forward metalwork.  Carefully wipe away all
preservative grease and lay on a thin film of oil; even on the wood.
Among famous rifles, your Mauser is a Crown Jewel! 
						

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Mauser 98k - Model M48
Original Accessories Included:
Some rifles come equipped with all the acces-
sories intended for soldiers over fifty years ago.
1.Bayonet, Scabbard, and Frog.  Your rifle
comes with a standard issue bayonet and
scabbard.  The bayonet is brand new (but
over fifty years old) and is very sharp.
The frog (the leather belt hanger) is a safe
way to carry a bayonet, should you choose
to do so.  The frog stud on the side of the
scabbard fits into the small hole in the frog
(yes it will fit, but it will be a bear to re-
move).  The bayonet fits into the scabbard,
and the strap on the frog goes around the
hilt of the bayonet.  Easy to get to and you
won’t lose it.  Check local laws before car-
rying your bayonet.
Although you could theoretically use your
bayonet for some practical purpose, its main
purpose now is for display and collecting.
It is original to your rifle and has a unique
historical value because it is unused.  Keep
it that way.
2 Field Cleaning Kit:  The field cleaning kit
consists of a bag containing an original
metal oil can, a standard issue cleaning rope,
a bore brush, and the steel bore guide.
Perhaps the rarest accessory included with
your rifle is the spring loaded bore guide
This item is rare in Mauser collecting.  It is
designed to fit directly over the muzzle of
the rifle and hooks directly and securely be-
hind the front sight base.  It protects the
muzzle crown from inadvertent damage
with cleaning rods.  Never fire the rifle
with the bore guide in place, because you
can do serious damage to the rifle muzzle or
worse, injure yourself or those around you.
Fig 5.  Bayonet with
Scabbard and Frog
Fig 6.  Cleaning Kit 
						

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A cleaning rope is something we don’t see very often any more.  The
rope is small enough to easily pass through the bore.  Each end has a
lead weight so it can be easily dropped through the bore.  In the mid-
dle is a loop that is designed to hold a swab soaked in oil or solvent.
You’ll probably want to keep the cleaning rope in its original condi-
tion for its historical interest.
3.Leather Shoulder Sling:
The sling has two important devices
associated with it to make it function
properly.  The first is a sling keeper,
which is a metal plate covered with
leather with a brass stud, designed to
hold one end of the sling and keep it
from slipping through the slot in the
stock.  The other device is a simple
brass stud that is used to attach the
sling to itself to make an adjustable
loop at the forward end.
To install the sling, proceed as follows:  First, install the sling keeper
on the rear end of the sling, the end with fewer holes.  Insert the end
of the sling through the keeper from the bottom, insert the tip of the
sling under the strap, and then work the hole in the leather down over
the stud as depicted in Fig 7.  Then run the sling through the slot in
the stock so that the keeper ends up on the right side, nestled into the
recess in the stock.  Finally, run the
loose end of the sling through the sling
attachment loop in the left side of the
rear barrel ring.  Adjust to desired
length and secure with the brass stud.
You can carry the rifle with the sling or
use it as a very good shooting brace, if
you choose.
4. Cartridge Pouch: A leather double
ammo pouch that will conveniently hold
a box of ammo in each side and can eas-
ily be carried right on your belt.   Fig 8.
Fig 7.  Sling with keepers
Fig 8.  Double
Ammo Pouch 
						

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Mauser 98k - Model M48
Modern Optional Accessories:
You may now purchase the following newly designed accessories for
your rifle.  They will permit you to selectively “modernize” your rifle
for hunting purposes and then restore your rifle to its original military
configuration any time you please.
1.  Long eye-relief scope mount:  This mount fits securely into the base
of the rear sight and requires no gunsmithing.  You can do it yourself
and you won’t alter your rifle.  Just follow the detailed instructions
that come with it.  It replaces the ranging ladder in the rear sight, and
you can restore the ladder at any time.
2.  Long eye-relief scopes:  Two models, actually.  One is a fixed 4
power scope and the other is a 2x7 power variable.  Either one will fit
the new scope mount and give you long range capability.  Only the
very newest rifles made today utilize this long eye-relief system, but
your rifle was designed for it more than fifty years ago!
3.  Sporting Stocks:
· High quality reinforced fiberglass made in the style of modern
varmint rifles.  It is extraordinarily strong and totally weather-
proof.  Your rifle action will ‘drop-in’ solidly.  Then you can re-
store your rifle to its original military condition any time you
please.
· Beautiful walnut stock made in a modern sporting design includ-
ing a cheekpiece as found on better hunting rifles.  It, too, is a
drop-in model.  No fitting is necessary.  Just follow the instruc-
tions included and you’ll really have two rifles in one; a military
collector and a hunter, and you can switch back and forth as
needed.
4. Other Accessories are constantly being developed and made avail-
able to our customers.  Contact us.
To purchase any of these extra items, simply contact your local dealer or
you may, if you wish, purchase them directly from us.
Mitchell Manufacturing, Inc. (714) 964-1837
P.O. Box 20855 www.MitchellSales.com
Fountain Valley, CA  92708 [email protected] 
						

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Rifle Specifications  —  M48 Mauser
Action Type: Large Ring Mauser Bolt Action,
Striker fired, Magazine fed,
with Long Claw Extractor.
Action Bedding: Pillar Bedding with locking screws
and Cross-bolt Recoil Lug
Magazine Capacity: 5, with Controlled Round Feeding.
Caliber:  7.9mm (8x57JS Mauser)
Bullet Diameter: 0.323”
Barrel Length:  23¼”
Rifling:  4 groves, right twist.
Rear Sight:  Standard V-notch, adjustable to
2,000 Meters.
Front Sight:   Hooded, inverted V, forming a
clean sight picture.
Stock Material: Oil-resistant Teak Wood
Over-All Length:  42.7” (without bayonet).
Weight: 8.8 lbs.
Mitchell’s Mausers(714) 964-1837
Mitchell Manufacturing, Inc. fax (714) 979-7238
P.O. Box 9295 www.MitchellSales.com
Fountain Valley, CA  92728 [email protected]
Collector Grade Mauser Rifle
The M48 rifle represents the peak developement of the K98
Mauser style infantry rifle.  It’s superior design incorporated more re-
finements and it was constructed of superior materials, not having
been subjected to material shortages like the rifles built in Germany.
Only an accident of history has preserved this fine rifle for your en-
joyment.
Your rifle is over 50 years old.  It is an heirloom and will last for
many generations with just a modicum of care.  Keep it clean, keep it
oiled and keep it safe from children.  In time, you can pass it on to
them.
Copyright© 1999 by Mitchell Manufacturing Corp.  All rights reserved.