[IndianaBoy]

Can a czech K98 copy 8 * 57 handle the loads listed in my loading manual? Is load data for this cartridge limited to ~ 35,000 CUP to make it safe for older/weaker actions? I'm not a velocity hound, but I'm curious as to the strength of my barrel. Who reloads for their original k98 that can let me know what type of recipes they cook up? I've got some hornady 150 grain bullets to load, I was surprised at how much shorter they seem than a .308 150 grainer. Maybe that is because all I had on hand to compare them was 165 BT .308 bullets.

Anyways, anyone who knows about the strength of a good condition mauser let me know. I'm not going to try and turn it into a magnum with a few extra grains of powder or anything.... but I want to know if the data in load manuals is lighter than necessary due to older/weak 8 * 57 guns out there.

Thanks,

Greg

[oldfart]

Generally, the loading data in modern loading manuals is written by lawyers rather than shooters. The reasons are twofold:
1) There are some weak actions out there, most noteably the small-ring ones from Spain, Turkey and some others. While there is some anecdotal evidence of "kabooms" when using these actions with modern loads, it's hard to find documented data. Since my small-ring Turk seems to shoot more accurately with a lighter load I don't worry about it.
2) Early Mausers had bores of .318 inches rather than the present .323. A modern load, firing a .323 bullet at high pressures through the smaller barrel could very well lead to a "kaboom." These smaller bore rifles are pretty rare and getting even more so. I seriously doubt your rifle suffers from this but you can be certain if you slug the bore or have a gunsmith do it for you.

[Clark]

I have done lots of pressure experiments, and the best gun I have ever seen is the 1898 Mauser design.
It is very strong compared to the brass, and if the brass gives way, the 98 routes the gas into the magazine and not my face.

Imagine how John Browning felt after he looked at a 98 Mauser.
After that, he just had to keep trying harder.

[Jim Watson]

The Czechs had one of the best arms industries in the world, their Mausers are as good as anybody's. Maybe better, in the good old days of cheap surplus the VZ24 and the light weight G33/40 (German designation) were much favored for sporters. Since there was no Czechoslovakia until after WW I, and they did not start manufacturing Mausers until 1924, it is unlikely that they made any military rifles with J bore barrels. Germany had made the change in 1905.

Hodgdon, Accurate Arms, and Vihtavuori show load data at the 48,000 CUP level. Velocities are not enough different from .30-06 to matter.

The 35,000 CUP data from IMR and the comparable factory loads are a throwback to the old Remington Special 8mm load with a bullet just large enough to take the rifling in a .323" S bore but soft enough and lightly loaded enough to be safe in a .318" J bore gun.

I don't think Mr Browning looked very hard at a Mauser. He did not design a centerfire bolt action, at least nothing that was ever manufactured, just a couple of .22s so Winchester could compete with the various Stevens single shots. He went straight from lever actions to automatics.