8mm Mauser reloading

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Mvoshell

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Hello all,
I'm new to the forum and am looking for some advice. I have done some reloading for 308 in the past but would not call myself truly experienced at it. Moved from Florida to Tennessee and have not had the space until now to get back in the reloading seat. Anyway, I have an 8mm Yugo Mauser I purchased several years ago. It's my second Mauser, having given the first one to my oldest son when he expressed interest in it. I can't seem to get it to group well at the range. I was using WWll ammo I purchased when I bought the first Mauser. My thinking was two fold. Either the barrel is shot out or the ammo is. I purchased a new box of ammo at almost $2.00 a round to try but haven't gotten to the range yet. I'm thinking of taking all the old rounds apart and reusing the bullet itself in new brass, with new primers and powder. I have ordered dies to reform 30-06 brass to 8mm brass and have once fired brass to use. I am planning to try shooting the factory rounds first and see what kind of results I get. If I can get it to group O.K. than all is good. If not, my plan is to get the rifle to a good smith to check it out and make sure the barrel is not bad. Any suggestions on reforming/reloading the once fired brass into usable rounds will be greatly appreciated.
Mike
 
What do you consider to be “shooting well”? Have you thoroughly cleaned the barrel with a good copper solvent? The accuracy issue could be fouling - many older military rifles weren’t cleaned well by past owners because “they’re just old army rifles”.

Or the ancient surplus ammo could be the problem. I would not bother taking it down to reuse the bullets, most old military ammo isn’t know for accuracy. Put the WWII stuff away.

There are plenty of load books covering the 8x57, most is at moderate pressure. And unless you have a need for more power, stick with the published data, easier on the gun and the shooter. Bullets in the 150-175 grain range are good for most uses, most heavier bullets are meant for the 8mm magnums. Years ago I hunted moose with my sporterized M98 using 185-grain CoreLokts. Plenty of recoil for sure, but one shot one moose.

.
 
Welcome to THR.

Clean the barrel really well. JB Compound is great, plus a copper solvent. When you aren't getting dirty patches anymore (this will be a lot of work, and many, many patches), visually inspect the throat and bore best you can to see if there's any pitting or obvious throat erosion. If nothing obvious, make a chamber cast that included the throat and the first 1.5" of rifling (need: cerrosafe, a big steel spoon or ladle, a source of flame - not hard, many YouTube video how to). Then do a cast of the 2" of rifling below the muzzle. If there are no clear aberrations and there is still rifling at @ .323 grooves, there is nothing wrong with the barrel. Then try the newly made 8x57JS ammunition you purchased. If you are getting decent groups, the surplus ammo is the problem. If you still aren't getting decent groups, you may be struggling with the sights. If you know someone accustomed to and proficient with military iron sights, have them shoot with the modern ammo to see if they can group shots.
 
The key is what size groups are you getting. With open sights and my mauser heck I am happy if I can hit an 8 inch gong at 50 yatds
 
Depending on the headstamp, your WWII ammo may be worth considerably more to a collector than it'll ever be worth as components. As was already said, the bullets are unlikely to be target grade anyway.

If you reform from '06 brass make sure the case necks aren't too thick. It's unlikely to be a problem with any military 8mm Mauser, but check before you shoot.

I lucked out 15 or 20 years ago and bought a bunch of old 170 grain Winchester "8mm" Silvertips really cheap. Although labled 8mm, I think they were probably designed for the .32 Winchester Special since they're only .322" diameter and flat nosed.

20200517_175952.jpg

The bore on my M-48 mikes .224", but these bullets shoot about as well as I can hold with the Yugo irons.

They work great on pigs loaded to about 2400 fps, plus they don't beat up your shoulder.
 
I shoot a ‘44 K98 Mauser that looks good but the bore obviously wasn’t properly cared for back in the corrosive ammo days. It has light pitting near the throat. The bore has strong rifling but I’ve never been able to get it to shine.

Anyway, I started out shooting it with surplus ammo that felt really hot. I didn’t like it and neither did the rifle. I finally started loading for it using both 8mm brass and reformed 30-06. (Never had an issue with the latter.) I’ve figured out a comfortable shooting load with IMR 4064 and 150 gr Sierra bullets. It’s still no target rifle but it’s respectable considering the lousy Mauser sights and my ever aging eyes. And it’s actually a lot of fun to shoot now.
 
I also use 4895 and 150 gr Hornady interlock bullets in my turkish Mouser 8mm. Dont know what the difference is between turkish and yugo Mausers but mine really likes 150 gr bullets.
Some countries purposely sabotaged the accuracy of the rifles they were forced to build under occupatio, but I think that was Poland built rifles.
 
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