JG Snow Wolf M24 as a base rifle

[volkssturm]

Anyone have any experience with the JG Snow Wolf M24 as a base rifle? Is it just a variant on the VSR? I notice it has a slightly different, smaller capacity magazine. Different bolt handle. Is it just cosmetically different or is it an improved springer?

www.evike.com/products/37280/

[brownien]

The mag looks like a L96 type, so it could be a variant of that, that just is made to look like a vsr10

[aj czarkowski]

It's an APS2

[volkssturm]

Dec 6, 2013 18:29:38 GMT -5 aj czarkowski said:

It's an APS2

Is that good or bad? I'm not familiar with it either.

[aj czarkowski]

Dec 6, 2013 22:06:10 GMT -5 volkssturm said:

Dec 6, 2013 18:29:38 GMT -5 aj czarkowski said:

It's an APS2

Is that good or bad? I'm not familiar with it either.

To be honest I'm not familiar with it either

[volkssturm]

Got too much time on my hands and too many credit cards. I bought a springer Kar98 and a boneyard Echo1 M24. Just eyeballing these things it looks like it shouldn't be too difficult to drop the M24 into the Kar98 stock. I like the way they did the mag on the M24, with the guide and putting the latch on the magazine. The receiver on the M24 is wider and longer than the VSR10. It's actually just a little longer than the Kar98. The M24 was in the boneyard because of an apparent broken sear. Should be fixable. Actually, the sear looks OK, but a piece is broken off the piston. Replaceable.

[shiftysgarand]

Let us know how it turns out!

[2nd Bat]

Boneyard VSRs make a lot of sense as typically (90% of the time) the trigger seer breaks and needs to be upgraded anyway. I'm sure they made that asumption. I wish I knew more about this particular M24 variant but I have never used it. All of my conversions have been the AGM001 or the JG Bar 10. I'm sure you can marry the two up. Good luck with the project.

[CharleyNovember]

My very first conversion was based on an APS2. I actually prefered it but VSR's were cheaper and more available.

[2nd Bat]

CN, What were the things you preferred about the APS2? It looks like the magazine is smaller, which is nice in a lot of ways. Incidently, I drew more inspiration from that first conversion you did (way back when) then probably anyone else. Schmitty projects were so beyond my capability that it was more intimidation than inspiration. Yours looked doable for me and provided the courage to tackle a custom gun.

[CharleyNovember]

The mag catch is on the magazine not a separate piece you have to fiddle with. That one thing made me happy...lol. It was fixed hop up though but it threw .43 bb's downrange very well and people would tell me it sounded like a brick when one of those BB's zoomed by you...lol

[shiftysgarand]

Has anyone used an L96 to make a WWII bolt action?

[volkssturm]

Making some progress on this with my usual slow pace. I've got the stock pretty much inletted.



It's been a pain trying to figure out what to remove to get the action far enough. I think it's still a little bit too high.



The mag well on the M24 fits pretty good. The front end sticks a little beyond the stock, but it doesn't interfere with the triggerguard, like the VSR10



The barrel on the M24 is longer than the VSR10. It's actually maybe 3/8 inch longer than the barrel on the Kar98, so I had to move the outer barrel forward a little.



Barrel stud and wood block to hold barrel stub in place.

[volkssturm]

The M24 was a boneyard special. The plastic piston was broken. What caused it was that one of the screws that holds the action in the stock is threaded right into the bottom of the receiver. The hole goes all the way through. Someone tightened the screw down far enough that it put a small dent in the bottom of the bolt. So I ended up with a new bolt and an upgrade kit with a metal piston. It would probably have been cheaper to buy a new M24. Anyway, I put a new screw up in front of the magazine where it won't interfere with anything.

[2nd Bat]

You will probably be happier with the metal piston anyway. Your progress looks very promising and it would appear that you are enjoying the project.

[volkssturm]

Anyway, getting back to this project. Dealing with the bolt handle kind of scared me off for a while. I found that a piece of 3/8 in pipe nipple made an almost perfect bushing. there's a little bit of play, but not too bad.



I sanded down the shaft on the end of the bolt a little bit and the bolt sleeve was a press on fit, held with a screw through the cocking piece.

[volkssturm]

I had to cut some material out from the slot that the Kar98 safety rotates through to make that work. Then I put the bolt back in the M24 and, rats!



I had to remove some material from the back of the M24 receiver to make clearance for the bolt sleeve, on both sides. Also, when I put the trigger mechanism back on the bolt sleeve on the right side interferes with the M24 safety, so that part of the sleeve needs to be cut back a little.

I get everything assembled. The bolt closes, but then I can't open it again. There's a little notch on the bottom of the M24 bolt handle that needs to be carved into the Kar98 handle.



Hey, it's a learning experience.

The problem here is that there's a spring loaded plunger. It has to be up in that notch to release the trigger. It also keeps the bolt from backing out. Turning the bolt handle depresses the plunger so the bot can be withdrawn. The Kar98 bolt handle is slightly smaller in diameter than the original, so when turned it doesn't depress the plunger enough. Is this unique to the M24 and not the VSR10s?

[2nd Bat]

By sharing your adventure we all get the advanced heads up and along with it the inspiration and confidence to tackle the project. It sounds like this base rifle has quite a bit of power right out of the box and if the ad is to believed a true metal trigger seer. If the trigger seer proves to NOT require replacing this might be a better base rifle to use then the BAR 10 VSr.

I used it in most of mine simply because they were fully upgradable with readily available replacement and upgrade parts. The effort and your visual journal are much appreciated and will no doubt earn you the coveted "sticky"

[volkssturm]

Moving along, I ended up doing a pretty sloppy job getting the bolt to work.



The bolt has to depress that plunger to open. I added a piece (cut out of the M24 outer barrel) with JB Weld. It was still a hair too low, so I added another piece of metal (cut from a cat food can). Not sure about the durability, but so far it works.

So, I've got it assembled. Amazingly I haven't lost any parts in the six months since I took it apart.



One of the problems I ran into was that the M24 safety hit the flange on the side of the Bolt Sleeve. I had to cut off part to clear it.



The magazine isn't completely flush, but it's OK. One of the nice things is the M24 mag is short enough it doesn't interfere with the trigger guard and the latch is built into it.



And this is why we measure twice. The end of the M24 receiver came back too far and I had to cut some away. I cut too much.



Still need to put the rear sight back on and put on a dummy bolt release. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother with the thumb cut out on the receiver. Meanwhile, my Dremel tool died, so I'm not doing much more until I replace it.

[Dracul]

Just by looking at this, one thing I am really liking about the M24 here, is how there is a magazine well built into the internals. This will make life much easier during mods. Though, this just gave me an idea for my springer Kar98, building a magazine well on the base rifle internals.  

I might invest in these specifically for future conversions.

[volkssturm]

I've kind of let this one sit for a while. I'm having problems with the bolt handle from the Kar98, specifically the collar part that goes between the cylinder and the tailpiece. I'm thinking of trying to use the collar part of the bolt handle from the M24, maybe cutting the bolt handle off the Kar 98 and fastening it to the M24 collar. I'm a little worried about just how strong the metal is. Anyone have any experience doing something like this. It would be so much easier if the guns came with 98 style bolt handles.

[2nd Bat]

Redoing th bolts is a challenge although there are several approaches taken. Mine is certainly not ideal as visually it is a bit off. I use the provided bolt and simply shave down the moden tip nd replace it with a drawer knob cut in half and JB welded into place. the final shape is by no means perfect but functionally everything is as it was and it has proven to be robust and reliable.

[volkssturm]

All in all, I like the Snow Wolf. The built in magazine housing with the latch on the magazine itself and a small spring assist to eject the mag is really handy. The magazine housing also makes a convenient lug to brace the gun against the force of pulling back the bolt. It's also far enough forward that it doesn't impinge on the trigger guard. If I was going to do another conversion I think I'd skip the Dboys and go with a real wood stock and metal parts. I'd also go 2nd Bat's route and just live with the stock bolt handle, or use the Gun Parts Co. bolt handle. Transferring the Dboys bolt handle to the M24 added work and problems and I'm not sure how sturdy it really is.

[Dracul]

Now knowing that using an M24 for the Kar98 is possible, its making me really want to do a conversion with it. I also read a lot of good things about the APS2 system, as the 90 degree sears are much more rugged that VSR-10's 45 degree sears. And can take higher springs and just last a lot longer. I've also read the A&K M24 is more reliable that the JG Bar-10, and its not a rifle that you have to worry about upgrading out of the box at all.

And there is a whole science behind the 90 degree vs 45 degree sear/piston set up thing, haha.

[brownien]

By the way, do these m24 mags fit inside the kar98k pouches?

[volkssturm]

Unfortunately no. They're too big.

[Jerry-ADK]

Dec 16, 2014 10:15:58 GMT -5 brownien said:

By the way, do these m24 mags fit inside the kar98k pouches?

I know that Insterburger was able to get them to fit in his pouches with some modification of the k98 pouches.  I think he may have cut a new hole for the lug that holds the covers closed so he could accommodate the extra length.  He may have also got the leather wet and streched them a bit too.