Is all 8mm Turkish ammo junk?

GreenLantern

I picked up 210 rounds of Turkish 8mm ammo today at the show and when I got home and inspected it, a surprise! It's almost all garbage. Almost every case was cracked or the bullet was loose. I'm afraid of even trying any of it that might remotely look decent. Well, I'm only out $21, so lesson learned. Might as well save the stripper clips and the pouches. Can anybody recommend a good brand?

jonk

Well, I bought 700 rounds and most are fine. But if you want another, Ecuadorian surplus, available from sportsman's guide, is in good shape and very accurate. Runs about ten cents a round.

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"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

Hans Grueber

I'm not sure what brand I get at Herb Phillipson's, I think its turkish? Anyway I've been buyin' the 70 round bandoliers for some time now and I've never had a problem with any of it. I just bought 210 rounds for $19 and change last week. I always give a few stripper clips a quick inspection before I take it up to the counter.[This message has been edited by Hans Grueber (edited 03-23-2002).]

kimberkid

I bought 1440 rounds of Turkish from J&G Sales ( www.jgsales.com ), I've had a few dud's but that can be expected with 50-60 year old ammo; for the most part it kicks like a pissed off mule nothing like what you describe. It cost about $110 delivered ($79 + freight & haz-mat fee) but they do offer smaller quantities.

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Here's a thought: Let's make criminals responsible for their crimes ... ...Not blame society and the tools they use!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com [This message has been edited by kimberkid (edited 03-23-2002).]

Iconoclast

No offense GL, but you really have no one to blame but yourself. Unless you did something strange in transit, the defects would have been just as evident at the point of sale, and as others have noted, in general people seem to have good luck w/ this ammo. As a rule of thumb, always, *always,* check the condition of older ammo before buying. Components & storage conditions can vary enormously even between what sometimes to appear to be identical lots, possibly resulting in very different quality & performance.[This message has been edited by Iconoclast (edited 03-23-2002).]

chemeng

Just put a hundred rounds of 1943 Turk downrange today, no duds or split necks. Ran it through a Turk Mauser and a Yugo M48, just love the way they shoot! I have heard some of the 1950's stuff really lack quality control but haven't bought anything that new.

GreenLantern

Luck of the draw? Maybe I jumped the gun. First bandolier was junk but I was able to salvage 10-15 rounds. The other two were pretty good but I did have to throw out a stripper or two total. So out of 210 rounds I was able to find about 155 what were tight with no cracks.

jonk

You know, never pitch components outright! 8mm bullets run about $12 plus per hundred. Even pulled bullets are good enough for the budget minded shooter. If you have more duds or misfires, let someone have them for reloading!

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"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

schutzenuts

I got some Turk 8mm a couple of years ago and had horrible experiences with it. It was very inaccurate and I even had one bullet separate from the jacket in flight! I was shooting at a gallon can at 25 yards and it looked like I had shot it with a shotgun, but had one neat little hole where the core went through. I now shoot the Ecuadoran surplus and it is accurate and all have been sure-fire. I got it for $80 /1000 shipped.