BsChoy
Member
Please correct me if I am wrong but was the 1940's combat round of the Reich a 150 spitzer at 2900 fps?? Trying to get my Mauser to shoot POA with the correct settings on the sights.
German 8x57 combat load?
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Cosmoline
Member
I think it was 154 grain spizter at about 2,800 - 2,900 fps. depending on barrel length.
Hud
Member
Cosmoline is correct on the velcities for the 154 gr. bullet, but that was the earlier S-type cartridge .323 bullet. The primary German combat round in WW2 as the sS-type with a bullet wt. of 198 gr. and a velocity of approx. 2500 fps.
Regards, Hud
Regards, Hud
Cosmoline
Member
That's right, I forgot about the upgrade. Brute of a cartridge, either way.
BsChoy
Member
I had heard it was the other way around and they went from the 195 grain to the 150-154 grain to keep up with the 30-06 and the 303 as they were flatter shooting?
toecutter
Member
The German 98's (large ring) have been loaded with two types of bullets, during WW1 they were loaded the same as the machinegun ammo, with a 194gr FMJ-BT bullet. This was the standard for most of the war.
Later, when they moved to the 98K, the germans started making bullets in 154gr since it had lighter recoil. This was standard through WW2, the machineguns continued to use the 198gr FMJ-BT bullet. I think muzzle velocity in both was close to 2900FPS.
For the most part though, few people offer bullets that are ballistically close to either. Most bullets for the 8mm are flat base, soft points. There is currently a large amount of resurgence in 8mm with the great availability of surplus mausers from Big 5 and other places. Most of the big gun stores in the area carry some type of cheap surplus-ish 8mm ammo. The days of endless supplies of turkish 8mm ammo at $4 a bandolier are pretty much over. Cheaper than dirt, and a few other places still have yugoslav surplus ammo available in 900rd tins. This ammo is basically identical to the machinegun ammo. It's 194gr FMJ-BT that is punishing to shoot. There are a few other manufacturers doing new runs of 8mm mauser. From what I've seen, most of this is made by Prvi Partisan (I think they're yugoslavian). And it's available for around $6-$8/box.
If you are interested in reloading something that is "period correct" for this rifle, you may be able to find projectiles made by Prvi that are of the 198 or 154gr variety. This would be the best place to start.
Realistically, the range table on most of the mausers is a guideline at best. Even out to 300 yards I've never had to adjust my sights in a way that was close to the range table to hit what I was shooting at.
While I load 8mm occasionally, I typically reload overstock 8mm soft point bullets I get from a local gun shop who seems to get a lot of odd-lot bullets. Prvi might be a cheaper solution for plinking bullets than buying OTS bullets.
Later, when they moved to the 98K, the germans started making bullets in 154gr since it had lighter recoil. This was standard through WW2, the machineguns continued to use the 198gr FMJ-BT bullet. I think muzzle velocity in both was close to 2900FPS.
For the most part though, few people offer bullets that are ballistically close to either. Most bullets for the 8mm are flat base, soft points. There is currently a large amount of resurgence in 8mm with the great availability of surplus mausers from Big 5 and other places. Most of the big gun stores in the area carry some type of cheap surplus-ish 8mm ammo. The days of endless supplies of turkish 8mm ammo at $4 a bandolier are pretty much over. Cheaper than dirt, and a few other places still have yugoslav surplus ammo available in 900rd tins. This ammo is basically identical to the machinegun ammo. It's 194gr FMJ-BT that is punishing to shoot. There are a few other manufacturers doing new runs of 8mm mauser. From what I've seen, most of this is made by Prvi Partisan (I think they're yugoslavian). And it's available for around $6-$8/box.
If you are interested in reloading something that is "period correct" for this rifle, you may be able to find projectiles made by Prvi that are of the 198 or 154gr variety. This would be the best place to start.
Realistically, the range table on most of the mausers is a guideline at best. Even out to 300 yards I've never had to adjust my sights in a way that was close to the range table to hit what I was shooting at.
While I load 8mm occasionally, I typically reload overstock 8mm soft point bullets I get from a local gun shop who seems to get a lot of odd-lot bullets. Prvi might be a cheaper solution for plinking bullets than buying OTS bullets.
Hud
Member
For a good overview of of German 7.92x57 cartridges go to this site.
www.mausershooters.org/k98k/k98kframe.html? Click on 7.92x57mm info.
Regards,Hud
www.mausershooters.org/k98k/k98kframe.html? Click on 7.92x57mm info.
Regards,Hud
Deanimator
Member
The old Hanson/Prvi Partizan FMJ load was an equivalent to this. In my experience, it shot pretty well, and elevation was where it should have been in my KAR98k.
Don't know about the current Prvi Partizan ammo. I'd bet it's similar.
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