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8mm Mauser ammo
Nott Sure
Member Posts: 8 ✭✭
I was wondering if anybody out there can tell me just how bad it would be for my Mauser if I fire old (corrosive) Turkish ammo in it. My gun is a Yugo type and not a collectibe, but I would like to keep it in pristine condition. I'm concerned about the corrosive nature of the ammo. I have no experience with it and I don't know just how badly or quickly the residue would damage the bore, or if there are any other potential problems to consider. Would appreciate any help.
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I recently aquired a mod 98 8MM German mauser.
will the 8MM Turkish mauser ammo work properly in this gun ?
If not,why not,what's the difference and what do you suggest is the best ammo to use in the mod 98 8MM German mauser?
Thanks...............WhiskeyPete
WhiskeyPete
There is no reason what-so-ever to prevent you from handloading the 8x57. That case will load up or down and do everything you need it to. As far as ammo off the shelf is concerned, I would handload because American shelf (liability-proof) ammo is anemic. Not worth the money to buy it unless you can't find brass anywhere.
That said, what kind of range and trajectory are you looking for? Because, from what I've found through handloading it with various weights and styles of bullets, is the high BC 200's will give you the best overall range. However, if looking for a flat trajectory within 440 yds. the 125 yields the best results. Any bullet in 8mm loaded with the right powder will get you out to 500 yds without issue.
Edit:
As I see you are in single digit posts, Welcome to the Forum! Hope you stick around a while.
You will need to check the brass you have to see if it is boxer or berdan primed. Shine a light into the case and look at the flash hole. Berdan has two holes and boxer has just one. Unless you're willing to buy a special decapping tool, you're going to want boxer.
As was already stated, there's every reason To reload for the 8x57. It's the best way to realise the full potential of such a great cartridge.
You will need to check the brass you have to see if it is boxer or berdan primed. Shine a light into the case and look at the flash hole. Berdan has two holes and boxer has just one. Unless you're willing to buy a special decapping tool, you're going to want boxer.
Not all berdan has 2 holes. But most of it does. I know for a fact that the German 8mm does, so that's out for reloading.
Proper brass is available at a number of retailers, or you can resize and trim 30-06 quite easily.
I've never loaded 125 grainers but don't see a huge issue. I would think it would perform best in a long Mauser, originally cut for the 150 gr load. How it would work in the short WW2 era guns with rifling optimized for the 198 gr load is anyone's guess.
I've had best luck with 4064 and 4350 in this cartridge. I'd probably go with the former for a lighter bullet. One note though- some, not all, but some reloading manuals have fudged the data to recreate the anemic US loads (like Lee). I shoot a 185 Remington out of my 98s with 46 gr of 4064. I would GUESS- and do some homework to verify this- that about 52 gr of 4064 would be about right with the 125 as a top end load.
125 gr. bullets will stabilize just fine in your 1-10" twist. When they get out a ways they become less predictable, because they are actually 'over-stabilized'. But for short range what you have will work just fine. By short I mean the range I gave you in my first post.
I have to ask though, how did you get hold of 2k German WWII rounds? That's really premium stuff. Back before WWII, the Germans decided they would rather have a long range ballistic rifle bullet. So they went back up in weight from their WWI weight of about 150 gr. That decision was really more based on a machine gun being the primary weapon and rifles to support it. These are about the best ballistics of any combat round ever. At least rounds that served in combat. BTW, I never knew the whole story on German bullet weights until I got to this forum.
Could you add/send pics of the boxes and loaded cartridges?
And yes FWIW, you probably already know this but those cases aren't reloadable.
For cleaning, I know some use hot water and soap. I like to use solvent to help nuetralize the corrosive residual in that ammo.
Lighter bullets start out faster, true, but due the the lower BC they also slow down much quicker. At some point the slower starting high BC bullet will actually pass the faster one.
It doesn't matter what bullet you're using, at 500yd your going to have to crank in some elevation.
All that said, life is a compromise, so find a decent mid range (150-180gr) with a good BC and work on finding the load combo that your rifle prefers to shoot small groups. Once you have groups it's easy to dial in your sights.
Lighter bullets don't have more "reach" than heavier ones (common misconception)
This is true. They shoot flatter, but the poorer ballistic coefficient also means they slow down faster. Heavier bullets retain energy (speed) longer at distance.
Biggest advantage of lighter weight bullets here should be less recoil.
The American loads have always been weak for liability reasons. I think its in part because the loads can chamber in older Mausers that can't handle them. Also, I suspect its in part for nationalistic pride reasons. . .we can't have some EURO load outperforming our classic 30'06 gosh darn it!. [:p]
For simple plinking/informal recreational shooting, I'd say the surplus ammo is the best. NOT scarce German WWII Nazi ammo (which has some collectors value), but the more common Turkish, Yugo, and Romanian surplus.
Yes, you can certainly load up ammo that is more accurate, probably more powerful, and also more specialized (ie you can pick your favorite bullet weight, type, and velocity). If you want to wring the most of your gun, or increase its versatility, this is the way to go.
But I doubt you're going to be able to do it for less COST. Right now the 8mm ammo is still readily available at about $0.28 per round in bulk. Someone else can point me to a source, but I kind of doubt you're even going to be able to find 8mm bullets for less than $0.20 each. Add in primer cost, powder cost, and value of your time, and for simple plinking, I don't think its worth it. To me an extra 10 minutes cleaning the gun after firing corrosive ammo is really not a big deal.
By the way if you can hit anything whatsoever a 5 gallon paint can at 500 yards using open sights, I think you're doing pretty good!