8mm Mauser

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Remington1911 said:
IMHO it really comes down to the OP's interest.

If he is interested in this "family" of rifles, and just never had the money or got lucky in finding the "right" one, go for it. If he just is not "into" these old fudd guns, fine as well.

I have friends that are "gun people" that just hate all things old, and with the power of these old rifles. We all like different stuff.
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I’ve always been slightly interested in them, not enough to hunt one down, but also I’ve never come across one of those great sales that made me just jump at these. I like guns, but I’m not.a collector of all things gun. I’m on the fence, and have appreciated the feedback on this thread.
 
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!:D
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I appreciate the feedback. If I do jump in, I’ll update with pics!
 
Looking at the sale prices of K98’s and K98k’s on gunbroker it seams they have gotten quite a bit more valuable since I last looked. I have a yugo M48a that I got for a steal a few years back that I’ve been holding onto until I had a chance to get a K98k.
 
Mk-211 said:
If you don't, my Mauser likes 8mm!;)

If you're anywhere near SoCal and want to try out a Mauser, let me know. If you want to try out a hundred year old Springfield 1903, we can do that also.
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Unfortunately, I’m across the country in GA. Otherwise, me, my ammo, and few other guns would gladly take you up on that!
 
matttric said:
I’ve always been slightly interested in them, not enough to hunt one down, but also I’ve never come across one of those great sales that made me just jump at these. I like guns, but I’m not.a collector of all things gun. I’m on the fence, and have appreciated the feedback on this thread.
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By you saying this I would say give it a go, you might take one shot and go....oh my hell with this. Positive side to that is you very likely will not have issue in selling it off.

On the other hand if you shoot it, and watch that steel plate really swing and get that little grin, a little he he he, in the back of your head......well we can't be held responsible for a new found addition.

I would say if you are drawn to history and like to experience it first hand this is a fine way to do it. I enjoy them, I have several safes of "old guns" and while they all don't get a trip to the range every week, they do get shot often enough to keep them.

Generally for me a topic like this will come up and I will think you know it has been a while that I have shot my X, I will take it out of the back of the safe and remeber why I like it.
 
allisd17 said:
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.
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So very true, and I strongly suggest if you want to play with these old war horses you really need to get into reloading. If I did not reload I would not have half of what I have.......on second thought that might be a good reason not to get into reloading.
 
Remington1911 said:
So very true, and I strongly suggest if you want to play with these old war horses you really need to get into reloading. If I did not reload I would not have half of what I have.......on second thought that might be a good reason not to get into reloading.
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in my 8MM I found varget and 175 gr spitzers were very accurate
 
the simpson imported comercial 8mm rifles from sweden built with FN 98 comercial actions are very good deals, i have four and all have ex bores with no rust, only minor blueing wear and some stock wear.
 
My Yugo M48 Mauser was an excellent rifle except for one thing -

I hated the type of iron sights they used. To provide background, all 20 or so of the rifles ( I have owned) have Never had any type of scope.

But if you decide to buy a Yugo, the sights might appeal to you.

If having a supply of 8x57 ammo were Not the starting point, instead of a Mauser I might try to justify (the price) buying a true Finnish M39 Mosin.:cool:
 
Got a few 8X57j Mausers, one is set up for competition, I just bought it that way and with reloads it is very good.
Really don't shoot it that much, made lots of rounds but didn't get around to shooting them into low numbers.
The others are WW2 and very original K98 rifles, just made sure they shoot then clean and set them up.
I like military rifles in 30.06 much better, feels more American I guess, and I shoot them a lot more.
 
I have had my German '42 Mauser since around 1981. Bought it when I was stationed at Ft. Hood.
Loved shooting the cheap surplus ammo at steel targets on the range there. Even 300M with the iron sights was not a problem.

Honestly, it kicks a heck of a lot less than my '37 Mosin Nagant.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, the cheap surplus is gone and I'm down to my last spam can of 8mm (Romanian 151gr light Ball),
so I started reloading for it in 2020.
A lot of the surplus I used over the years was steel cased, but 8x57 brass is available.
The M1903 is a copy of a German Mauser and 30.06 cases can be reformed to create 8mm Mauser and I successfully did that when I could not find brass cases or brass cased ammo.
My Kar98k especially likes the heavier bullets. My best results so far have been with PPU 196gr SP bullets.

Like you, I like to have more than just a range toy.
I'm old now and my eyes are not what they used to be, so I added a scope.
I did not want to tap/drill my rifle so I bought a mount from BadAce Tactical that replaces the leaf sight and mounted a Vortex 2x7x32 Scout Scope (long eye relief) for hunting.
No permanent modifications to the rifle and I can put it back to original if I want.

IMG_E6476.jpg
 
BudrowBob said:
I have had my German '42 Mauser since around 1981. Bought it when I was stationed at Ft. Hood.
Loved shooting the cheap surplus ammo at steel targets on the range there. Even 300M with the iron sights was not a problem.

Honestly, it kicks a heck of a lot less than my '37 Mosin Nagant.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, the cheap surplus is gone and I'm down to my last spam can of 8mm (Romanian 151gr light Ball),
so I started reloading for it in 2020.
A lot of the surplus I used over the years was steel cased, but 8x57 brass is available.
The M1903 is a copy of a German Mauser and 30.06 cases can be reformed to create 8mm Mauser and I successfully did that when I could not find brass cases or brass cased ammo.
My Kar98k especially likes the heavier bullets. My best results so far have been with PPU 196gr SP bullets.

Like you, I like to have more than just a range toy.
I'm old now and my eyes are not what they used to be, so I added a scope.
I did not want to tap/drill my rifle so I bought a mount from BadAce Tactical that replaces the leaf sight and mounted a Vortex 2x7x32 Scout Scope (long eye relief) for hunting.
No permanent modifications to the rifle and I can put it back to original if I want.

View attachment 1090336
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I have my M48 set up the exact way. I can put the rear sight back on at any time. Despite the tall tales about them being submoa laser guns a low powered optic helps even the bad surplus shoot a little tighter and hand loads respectable.
 
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Anyone that is new to the game and messing with the 8x57 do your homework- most factory loads are loaded way down to accommodate for the older tighter barrels- ....you really don't want to shoot the .323 stuff in the older .319 guns.....BUT.... if you have a .323 rifle and the ability to handload the 8x57 is a wonderful cartridge and a very capable big name cartridge.
 
I have bought guns to shoot some ammo that was previously acquired. :)

Yugo M24/47 and M48's can be great affordable shooters. Depending upon bore condition of course.

TrailBoss and cast bullets make nice gallery loads.

I reload both boxer and Berdan brass. Berdan primers are very hard to come by now.

Yugo3a1.jpg
 
arsterling180 said:
I have my M48 set up the exact way. I can put the rear sight back on at any time. Despite the tall tales about them being submoa laser guns a low powered optic helps even the bad surplus shoot a little tighter and hand loads respectable.
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I would never claim mine to be sub-moa it's a service rifle, not a sniper rifle, however,
I was both surprised and happy at the results I got with handloading vs. factory ammo (new or surplus)
Once I found a sweet spot.

100yds, 196gr PPU SP w/BLC(2) powder.
196-PPU-49-BLC-2.jpg
 
Booood-row!

Dandy one inch group with in one inch of center! what more could anyone want out of a service rifle?

(Dang that pony still ain’t made It across that road!)

-kBob
 
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