Zastava M48 The Zastava M48 is a post World War II Yugoslavian version of the Belgian Fabrique Nationale designed Mauser Model 1924 short rifle which was produced under contract by the " Kingdom of Yugoslavia " beginning in 1928 and ending with the Nazi occupation in 1941 . After World War II , the Yugoslavs took this design and incorporated modifications based upon Germany ' s Mauser Karabiner 98k . Although similar in general appearance to that of the German rifle , many of the parts of these two rifles are not interchangeable , especially the bolt and related action parts . The main difference between the M48 and the K98k is that the M48 uses an intermediate - length receiver . They are usually easily identified by the top handguard , which extends behind the rear sight and ends just in front of the receiver ring , although this feature exists on other models as well . M48 ' s are regarded as a military surplus firearm and can be collected in the USA , Canada and Australia at a generally cheap price due to the numbers recently imported from Europe . Combat use . Most M48 ' s were put into government storage shortly after they were manufactured . Most M48 ' s that are encountered in the United States and Australia today show only slight wear — usually from storage . Many rifles are sold with accessories , including bayonet , bayonet scabbard , leather bayonet frog , ammo pouches , cleaning rod , and field cleaning kit . The rifles are normally sold coated in the protective grease ' cosmoline ' which needs to be cleaned out before the rifle is fired . The condition is frequently excellent due to a Yugoslavian maintenance program that cleaned and inspected the stored rifles in rotation every 5 years until that nation ' s breaking up . As such , the M48 only saw limited use in the Yugoslav Wars . Often the M48 was used as the basis for a sniper rifle , drilled and tapped for the ZRAK 4x32 telescopic sight and mounts . However , other than an experimental batch of approximately 4000 rifles , no official M48 sniper rifle was ever fielded by the Yugoslav Army . ( ref . Serbian & Yugoslav Mauser Rifles by Branko Bogdanovic , North Cape Publishing , 2005 ) Variants . There are three main versions of the M48 . M48 : 1950 - 1952 - The initial version of the M48 , with full crest and all machined steel parts . M48A : 1952 - 1956 - Inclusion of stamped parts . the M48A used sheet metal stampings for the magazine floor plate . These changes sped production while lowering cost . The critical bolt and receiver which contain the pressure of the burning propellant within the cartridge case retained the same material requirements and design tolerances ( i . e . were machined from forged steel ) in the A and B variations . M48B : 1956 - 1965 - Additional sheet metal stampings incorporated . The most critical factor to understand about this model is that it continued to be stamped on the receiver ring M48A . There was no change in markings . The specific changes in parts is unverified but include stamped barrel and H - bands and the magazine spring follower . The most significant change and external appearance whereby the M48B may be identified is the trigger guard . Whereas previously , the trigger guard / mag well were machined from a solid billet of steel , it was changed to an assembly fabricated from stamped parts . The new trigger guard has a rib running around the exterior of both sides . While the exact number of changes made to this model have not been specified , the impact on production in 1956 were extensive and drastically reduced the number produced that year . There was a specific reason for this . From 1956 on , all M48 production was intended solely for export . M48BO : 1956 - 1965 * - The " bo " stands for " bez oznake " and translates roughly as " unmarked " or " without markings . " These were identical to and manufactured concurrent with the crested M48B but were not stamped with any national or manufacturer ' s markings . M48 / 63 Zastava Arms ( 2011 ) manufactured the M48 / 63 sporting rifle which is a short barreled variant of the Model 1948 rifle . References . Edit references : The Serbian & Yugoslav Mauser Rifles , Branko Bogdanovic , North Cape Publishing , 2005 Personal communication with the author , Branko Bogdanovic . Article , The Anonymous Yugo - The M48B , Military Rifle Journal , July 2008 , Michael Cornell & James Golub