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8mm loads
calamitywood
Member Posts: 939 ✭✭✭✭
I have a turkish mauser that I'm completing a sporterizing job which someone else began. The barrel is in good shape and after asking some advice about the 8mm round I have decided to leave it chambered in 8mm. Today I was looking for commercial ammo for it and didn't find any except for military stuff. I want to use this rifle for hunting obviously so where can I purchase commercial hunting ammo for this gun or am I going to have to load my own?
Comments
You should be able to find some at your local gun store or you can order it online from Midway or Natchez or a host of others.
Keep in mind you will either have to change the military sights as the old Turks start at 300 meters but being you are sporterizing the rifle I assume you will mount a scope.
As for loading you might want a box or two of commercial to get the brass anyway as it runs darn near as much for new empty 8MM brass as new commercial ammo. You can also reform 8MM from 30-06 brass.
Wulfmann
"Fools learn from their own mistakes. I learn from the mistakes of others"
Otto von Bismarck
For commercial rounds, I still see Remington and Federal making them. Any dealer who carries those brands could get some in for you. You will probably have to pay full MSRP, but you shouldn't have to spend any extra on shipping if they move it through their regular channels.
I will warn you though they are loaded pretty weak. A {EDIT: I first said 150} 170 gr. bullet claiming to do about 2400 only getting 2100 or so out of my rifle. My handloads run a lot higher than that and are much more accurate. I guess that kind of goes without saying. The Turk military stuff, with the soft steel tip...really does run close to 3000.
There are the online places that usually carry it. Wideners, Grafs, Natchez Shooters supply and Sportsmans Guide. The best stuff I saw there, and not just price wise, is the Wolf Gold.
-good luck
Reason:
The 8MM was first a .318 bore in the Model 1888 Commission rifle through early 20th century.
The Germans cut the grooves to .323 bore and made more powerful ammo and added the letter "I" to the ammo. This I looks like an English J (I was for infantry) so we call it the JS.
Because it is possible to load this same round in an older gun and if you do so in Europe you the shooter will be held responsible for being an idiot here in the everyone else is responsible for my stupidity USA the manufactures loaded down the 8MM JS .323 so it would not blow up an older model .318 bore rifle.
You can buy Seller & Bellot, Hirtenberger or Privi Partisan 8MM that is loaded to proper JS pressures and reload their boxer brass or you can enjoy the lighter reduced recoil loads of the US rounds which while light for an 8MM will still take about any game but a big Kodiak or Polar bear on our continent.
Wulfmann
"Fools learn from their own mistakes. I learn from the mistakes of others"
Otto von Bismarck
The US commercial 8MM are loaded very light.
Reason:
The 8MM was first a .318 bore in the Model 1888 Commission rifle through early 20th century.
The Germans cut the grooves to .323 bore and made more powerful ammo and added the letter "I" to the ammo. This I looks like an English J (I was for infantry) so we call it the JS.
Because it is possible to load this same round in an older gun and if you do so in Europe you the shooter will be held responsible for being an idiot here in the everyone else is responsible for my stupidity USA the manufactures loaded down the 8MM JS .323 so it would not blow up an older model .318 bore rifle.
You can buy Seller & Bellot, Hirtenberger or Privi Partisan 8MM that is loaded to proper JS pressures and reload their boxer brass or you can enjoy the lighter reduced recoil loads of the US rounds which while light for an 8MM will still take about any game but a big Kodiak or Polar bear on our continent.
Wulfmann
How do I tell which bore my rifle has? I think it is the .323 but I guess I need to make sure.[:D]
What make and model rifle do you have?
Wulfmann
"Fools learn from their own mistakes. I learn from the mistakes of others"
Otto von Bismarck
Few American imported 8MM Mausers 98s were anything but .323.
What make and model rifle do you have?
Wulfmann
mine is a turkish mauser model 38 made in 1942 at ankara
I am not aware of any military Mauser made after 1905 or so that was not 323.
Some commercial Mausers were made in 318 after WWI but no military.
The Turks converted their 1891 7.65MM Mausers to 8MM in 1937 and those were also done at the Ankara arsenal and were 323.
The model 38 is a 98 action.
Does it have a 7.9 7.01, 7.92 on top of the barrel right next to the action?
Wulfmann
"Fools learn from their own mistakes. I learn from the mistakes of others"
Otto von Bismarck