8mm Mauser

matttric said:

178 gr PSP BT

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That would be Berdan primed and reloadable. Get (obtain) an inexpensive LEE bullet mold and shoot cast bullets forever, as those cases should last forever. Reduced cast bullet loads will be very fun and pleasant to shoot.

I am a big fan of 8mm (.323) rifles. I highly recommend a good-shooting 8x57 if you can find one. The most common are milsurp but there are other options out there. Remington chambered it in their 700 Classic one year. I've also come across some (mostly European) other hunting rifle options in 8mm Mauser.

Once you get into 8mm stuff, it's hard to stop. Check out the 8mm Rem Mag, 325 WSM, and 8mm-06.

Ugly Sauce said:

That will drop a deer, elk, moose or black bear every time.

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Indeed.

And those are suitable targets for the 8x57.

Absolutely. There is some commercial ammo that is loaded very soft, the old Remington loads come to mind. They are more on par with the .30-30, which can kill all them things. Otherwise, the 7.92X57mm will do anything and everything the .30-06 will do.

theotherwaldo said:

I don't know about it being foolish to buy an inexpensive milsurp - even if no one gives you ammo to go with it... .

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Yup, aint too many inexpensive 8mm Mausers any more, at least not in serviceable condition. Then there's mismatched bolt and excessive headspace issues to watch out for in that arena as well. Also wanna avoid rebored Turkish small-ring guns.

I dunno, unless you have a strong desire to invest in a really nice Mauser, Id steer clear. There are just too many pitfalls and landmines waiting in the wings if you're trying to get into an 8mm milsurp on a budget these days.

But......if you do take the plunge, we need pics!

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Yup, aint too many inexpensive 8mm Mausers any more, at least not in serviceable condition. Then there's mismatched bolt and excessive headspace issues to watch out for in that arena as well. Also wanna avoid rebored Turkish small-ring guns.

I dunno, unless you have a strong desire to invest in a really nice Mauser, Id steer clear. There are just too many pitfalls and landmines waiting in the wings if you're trying to get into an 8mm milsurp on a budget these days.

But......if you do take the plunge, we need pics!

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Agreed, but in light of what you get for your money, some of the classic 7.92x57 Husqvarna sporters at Simpsons can still be pretty good deals, provided you watch and wait.

The better examples there seem to start at around five Benjamins -- the pre-HVA Mauser 98s with FN actions can be particularly nice.

https://simpsonltd.com/search-results-page?q=husqvarna 8x57

I bought the 7.92x57 Husqvarna in the middle of this photo at an LGS a few months before the pandemic for just $300 -- mint bore and excellent metal and wood. Evidently it sat there awhile without any takers.

My most recent 8mm Mauser is a Spanish Model 43 that needed a butt plate and a barrel band.
It cost under $200, replacement parts included.
They're still out there.

Dave DeLaurant said:

Agreed, but in light of what you get for your money, some of the classic 7.92x57 Husqvarna sporters at Simpsons can still be pretty good deals, provided you watch and wait.

The better examples there seem to start at around five Benjamins -- the pre-HVA Mauser 98s with FN actions can be particularly nice.

https://simpsonltd.com/search-results-page?q=husqvarna 8x57

I bought the 7.92x57 Husqvarna in the middle of this photo at an LGS a few months before the pandemic for just $300 -- mint bore and excellent metal and wood. Evidently it sat there awhile without any takers.

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You were fortunate as the action alone warrants the cost ,Now days .

Having been around the block better than 7 decades now ,Not certain everyone wants to hear how much Mil surplus or attic yard sale buys were back then but you can imagine . Those old enough to remember ,will also remember when the postman walked up to your door with a long cardboard box !. Exactly how I bought My 1 St. Springfield 03 , $44.72 .
It's just harder and harder to find REAL DEALS any longer . IMO The DEALS were in 1950-85 .

As one of My Closest friends was a LGS owner 60's-85 ,wheeler dealer extraordinaire ole Tim was . Those were the days of the " DEALS "

Try authentic Russian SKS's 1948-59 vintage for $27.50 with decent bores . I was offered #35 of them for $24.50 each in the late 70's and they would run circles around the junk being offered today at $349.00 + .

A Prize Mauser which I purchased MANY years ago is one of the infamous 1941Totenkopf aka SS Death's Head K98's . What I still regret to this day was selling my Artillery Luger ; Of all the Stupid things I've done that ranks WAY up there !.

BushMaster-15 said:

Having been around the block better than 7 decades now ,Not certain everyone wants to hear how much Mil surplus or attic yard sale buys were back then but you can imagine . Those old enough to remember ,will also remember when the postman walked up to your door with a long cardboard box !. Exactly how I bought My 1 St. Springfield 03 , $44.72 .

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My dad bought three Interarmco rifles through the local Monkey Wards, sometime around 1960: a mint post-war Czech Brno K98k, a well-used No.4 Lee Enfield and a clean 1893 Ludwig Loewe Spanish Mauser.

I think he paid around $20 apiece for them, though that was in far more valuable US currency. I'd guess those prices would translate to something like $400 each in current dollars, but feel free to disagree; I can state that dad had proportionally less disposable income at that time than I have today.

The supply and variety of surplus arms in the pre-GCA 68 postwar era were something I'm sorry I missed out on. There's plenty still in circulation today, but in ones and twos instead of by the shipload and at relatively higher prices.

someguy2800 said:

the nice thing about used rifles is that if you don't ruin them, they are worth the same money tomorrow as they were yesterday. So if you think a mauser would be interesting to you, buy one, shoot your ammo, and if it turns out that it didn't do anything for you then you can just sell it and not be out on anything.

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I think you could say with a fairly sure stance of being ture is most of these unmolested surplus rifles will be worth more tomorrow over today. The sporters unless VERY well done are what they are and don't seem to go up in price like unmolested military guns. Just ask any bubba that butchered his Remington Mosin in the 90's, to see that sub $90 rifle of 20 years ago tickle a grand today, and can't for the life of him figure out why no one will give him $400 for his bubba special.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Yup, aint too many inexpensive 8mm Mausers any more, at least not in serviceable condition. Then there's mismatched bolt and excessive headspace issues to watch out for in that arena as well. Also wanna avoid rebored Turkish small-ring guns.

I dunno, unless you have a strong desire to invest in a really nice Mauser, Id steer clear. There are just too many pitfalls and landmines waiting in the wings if you're trying to get into an 8mm milsurp on a budget these days.

But......if you do take the plunge, we need pics!

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I think you are hard pressed of getting into ANY milsurp on a budget today. Even the last holdouts of Italy and the USSR are getting into real money.

Those days are long past us.

The gift of several hundred 8x57IS rounds is a good opportunity for a person to dive into the Karabiner 98 market. I have one Mauser K98k left and with Portuguese surplus ammo and reloads could get MOA groups from a bench but most people have a problem with the triangular front sight and that is the reason why the Portuguese K98s with the blunt front sight is preferred by competitive shooters. Even though I still have over a thousand rounds of various 8x57IS surplus ammo, the G33 in .22 l.r. gets shot more lately than my K98k. The Anschutz G33 was actually acquired by the BW as a training rifle to improve shooting skills and I believe that concept works.

While we are talking about this, has anyone come across these:



I have one, that came with a Czech bring back. Old guy wanted to keep the wooden box, as it had his # on it, but I convinced him to let me have it if he could change a 1 to a 9.

Can you imagine that being your ONLY rifle. He used it for deer as well as squirrel. Hauling that heavy thing around hunting tree rats.....more man then I am.

I have never shot it with the kit in it.

Remington1911 said:

I think you could say with a fairly sure stance of being ture is most of these unmolested surplus rifles will be worth more tomorrow over today. The sporters unless VERY well done are what they are and don't seem to go up in price like unmolested military guns. Just ask any bubba that butchered his Remington Mosin in the 90's, to see that sub $90 rifle of 20 years ago tickle a grand today, and can't for the life of him figure out why no one will give him $400 for his bubba special.

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Even the bubba jobs are appreciating in value slowly from what I see.

someguy2800 said:

Even the bubba jobs are appreciating in value slowly from what I see.

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Agree, and depending on the "damage" to the rifle. If it is fairly easy to make it back to "normal" those seem to do a bit better, where as the really destroyed versions.....well why bother if a savage axis will out shoot it for half the money.

Remington1911 said:

Agree, and depending on the "damage" to the rifle. If it is fairly easy to make it back to "normal" those seem to do a bit better, where as the really destroyed versions.....well why bother if a savage axis will out shoot it for half the money.

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Yeah the typical sawn off barrel and cut down military stock ones are bottom of the barrel that I won't touch. Too much money and work to either return them to original or make them into presentable sporters. I like nice sporters but I can't afford the real expensive custom jobs so I look for the ones that have been fully converted over with scope bases and new stocks, but are low value because they are in poor aesthetic shape or need some mechanical work. These 3 below are all pawn shop pickups that were less than half of what a custom sporter or original military condition rifle would sell for. The enfield is awaiting metal refinishing because I can't decide what I want to do with it.

PzGren said:

<snip> the G33 in .22 l.r. gets shot more lately than my K98k. The Anschutz G33 was actually acquired by the BW as a training rifle to improve shooting skills and I believe that concept works.

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Very nice Anschutz -- congrats on a good investment! Simpsons sells a lot of German (and other) rimfire trainers like this, but prices for most in good condition seem to be well into the kilobuck range at present.

https://simpsonltd.com/german-22-trainers/

I picked up a cheap alternative from Numrich/GPC when they had a batch on sale back in 2020: a Mauser-branded Diana .177 spring piston air rifle.



Obviously not an 8mm, but it makes a nice stablemate for one. BTW, the air rifle is about the same weight as the McCoy, but it seems even heavier in the hands because the balance is further towards the muzzle.

someguy2800 said:

Yeah the typical sawn off barrel and cut down military stock ones are bottom of the barrel that I won't touch. Too much money and work to either return them to original or make them into presentable sporters. I like nice sporters but I can't afford the real expensive custom jobs so I look for the ones that have been fully converted over with scope bases and new stocks, but are low value because they are in poor aesthetic shape or need some mechanical work. These 3 below are all pawn shop pickups that were less than half of what a custom sporter or original military condition rifle would sell for. The enfield is awaiting metal refinishing because I can't decide what I want to do with it.

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I have the ugly step child of your Krag. I love your Krag and if mine did not have family value I would change mine.

Ugly Sauce said:

That would be Berdan primed and reloadable.

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Do you actually reload Berdan cases or did you mean Boxer?

I have a Yugoslavian M-48 that I bought in the 90's. New ammo is rather expensive. You can if you try hard find 1950's Yugoslavian surplus 8mm online. the best is the 70's vintage Romanian, which is soft on the shoulder and the one I like best. If you want very cheap surplus there is some 1940's era stuff out there, like Turkish and Greek, but with those you may get some duds and hang-fires.

I just passed on a Yugo M-24/47 that someone lost the magazine floor plate on and tried to replace it with one from an M-98.
Otherwise a nice rifle.
I just don't need another 8mm Mauser... .

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Yup, aint too many inexpensive 8mm Mausers any more, at least not in serviceable condition. .

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I saw a K98 in a gun shop today, late-war model. The stock was decent enough but there were beginnings of corrosion on some of the metal. There were no two matching numbers anywhere on the rifle. It was a consignment and the owner wanted $1500; the shop owner advised him that was asking way too much for what the rifle was, but he refused to budge. The rifle has now been in the gun shop for two years.....

Remington1911 said:

I think you are hard pressed of getting into ANY milsurp on a budget today. Even the last holdouts of Italy and the USSR are getting into real money.

Those days are long past us.

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Not just the rifles are getting pricey. The supply of cheap milsurp ammo has dried up; there are guys on every gun forum that like to talk about buying 7.62x54r or 8x57 surplus ammo for under a dime a round back in the day. Now, good .22LR ammo costs more than that.

Dave DeLaurant said:

Do you actually reload Berdan cases or did you mean Boxer?

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Dang. I meant Boxer. !!!!

allisd17 said:

The rifle has now been in the gun shop for two years.....

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Hey...seven more years or so, and he'll get his price!