Just got my Yugo M48

[jsalcedo]

My package from Century arrived last night.

It was a Yugo M48 8mm mauser. I had gone ahead and bought the one with a dark bore for $69.87.

The wood is in really good shape. It seems they didn't finish them smooth
back then, I guess it would help with keeping a grip on it in muddy conditions.

The bluing is still dark and although being very very dirty the bore and action cleaned up fairly well.

The bore still has very pronounced deep rifling although it is
rough from corrosive ammo and poor maintenance.

Century was also selling 8mm ammo in 70 round bandoliers for $5 each.
I opened one and found all the case necks cracked with bullets and powder falling out. The ammo was dated 1947.

Century gave me a return # and promised they would inspect the next batch they send out. So just a heads up on this stuff

 

[Okiecruffler]

Some of that Turk surplus ammo can be pretty nasty. I've been getting mine from Cheaper Than Dirt and only losing a couple of rounds per bandolier. Congrats on your new Yugo, very fun rifle, especially for the price.

 

[Damnathius]

jsal,

I once ordered a 1440 round case of the Turkish 8x57mm, and although there were no cracked cases, I did notice a LOT of primer flattening and kicked out primers after firing. After about 30 rounds I decided to get rid of the stuff, as primer problems like this are certainly dangerous to say the least.

I then decided that the reason it is so "cheap" is that, well, it's cheap! I have since been using the FNM 8x57mm surplus ammo from Samco, and have found it to be very clean, reliable, and to have no indications of pressure problems. It is $119 for a 400 round case, and comes on nice steel 5 round stripper clips. The stuff I got is 70s manufacture, which is a heck of a lot better than the 40s Turkish stuff.

Even though you have an inexpensive rifle, there is certainly no reason to subject yourself (or the rifle) to a potential mishap with that crappy Turkish ammo.

Here's the link to the Samco ammo page:

http://www.samcoglobal.com/ammo.html

Regards,

Dave

 

[NEtracker]

M48 ammo

I use Turk 1943 that I can get local, so I can look at what's in the bandos.
I also use Romanian 1970's stuff in my M48. Got a case (2 cans) from Interordnance.

 

[Cosmoline]

There's modern ammo, older ammo that's somewhat corrosive, old stuff that's very corrosive, and then there's Turk 8x57JS. I once fired off about fifteen rounds of the stuff from a VZ-24 with a very nice bore. I made the mistake of waiting a week to clean it and the bore was flaking with rust! I've never seen anything like that. It's like acid. I would only use it with a rifle you don't care about destroying.

 

[JohnKSa]

The Turkish stuff is good EXCEPT for the 1947 vintage which has a horrible reputation.

All 8mm surplus should be considered corrosive.

Most of the surplus shooters don't even wait to get home, they put a few patches of whatever solution they like down the bore at the range dry it and also wipe down the boltface. Then they go home and clean. Then they check the next day and again the next.

 

[Feanaro]

Most cheap ammo is cheap for a reason.

 

[Damnathius]

"The Turkish stuff is good EXCEPT for the 1947 vintage which has a horrible reputation. "

Regardless of how much you might like a particular product, you should keep in mind that many that come here for advice are limited in experience in particular areas and might not know what to look for regarding this ammo and it's problems. The Turkish ammo I used that had pressure and primer blowout problems was '45 vintage, and for the record I did not have this problem with any other 8mm ammo in my particular rifle.

It's great to save a few cents a round, but not at the expense of safety.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I've never had a real problem with the Turk stuff, and I've shot case after case of it thru 3 different rifles. But then again I'm one of those guys who gives it a quick once over at the range, and then cleans it religously as soon as I get home. It's more accurate than anything else I've found, but I'm too cheap to try the Norma stuff, so you never know. Once it's all gone I'll probably just reload. I doubt I would recommend it to someone who might not clean the weapon for a few days, I've heard tell it's nasty enough to eat thru a Sherman, given enough time.

 

[NEtracker]

If worried about the Turk stuff, try the Romanian 8mm.
I have had no problems with Turk '43, but have seen others at the range with bad primer in Turk, just wouldn't go bang.
After shooting with any of this surplus, I use Windex with Ammonia at the range while the barrel is nice and warm, dry it out, then apply CLP.
Do the same for the bolt face, & muzzle area.
Then I go home and do a real cleaning. Check barrel again in a day.

 

[JohnKSa]

The Turkish ammo I used that had pressure and primer blowout problems was '45 vintage, and for the record I did not have this problem with any other 8mm ammo in my particular rifle.

Apparently this ammo isn't safe in your rifle, but that doesn't mean that it's not safe in all rifles. There are numerous reasons why your rifle and this ammo might not be a good mix, while it might work perfectly well in mine.

You are right though, surplus firearms and surplus ammo generally require a somewhat higher level of caution by the user than modern equivalents. You're taking ammo made anytime in the last 100 years, and a rifle made sometime in the same period, in any one of a large number of countries and an even larger number of factories. Standards vary widely with time, geography and regimes. Obviously, there are going to be some combinations that are unsafe. A person who doesn't want to accept a higher level of responsibility for determining the safety of their particular ammo/firearm combination shouldn't use surplus.

 

[telewinz]

Try the Yugo or Romainian suplus 8mm at AIM, great ammo. I've gotten both brands and at $27 for 380 rounds I stocked-up, they shoot just fine in my FN49 and Kar98k.

 

[Damnathius]

Apparently this ammo isn't safe in your rifle, but that doesn't mean that it's not safe in all rifles. There are numerous reasons why your rifle and this ammo might not be a good mix, while it might work perfectly well in mine.

Yes, that's correct. The primary reason I was focused on was headspace, and the fact that no other (newer) surplus ammo that I've fired through this rifle has indicated any problems in this area with this rifle. Of course, as you mention, there are other variables to be considered.

 

[JohnKSa]

The Turk is reputed to be very hot (not unsafe, but I think some of it is probably the hottest of the 8mm surplus). It could be that there is a developing or marginal headspace issue that's not showing up with lighter loaded stuff. Or maybe that year of the Turk is a little undersize and your chamber is a bit on the long side. Hard to say.

On the bright side, I think you can sell what you have left with a good conscience. I've never heard anyone make any statements about the Turk 8mm being unsafe. Even the 1947 stuff that everyone avoids is more of a misfire problem than anything else.

 

[standingbear]

i use some s & b 8mm-fmj.i dunno where the guy got his for his shop-its plain green box and boxer primed but he sells it for 7 a box.ive looked everywhere on the web,including a s&b website,for this exact same stuff but???im guessing its non corrosive.any ideas?shoots durn good in my m48.i got the unissued m48 from cherrys collectables.the bore is excellent as are all the parts.paid alil more but hey..its so much fun and its a great shooter.i almost sold the gun because i thought there wasnt any good ammo available cheaply nuff for it.

 

[Feanaro]

Sellier and Bellot(sp?) is non-corrosive. Current production. AFAIK(As Far As I Know) it's not that underloaded crap Remington and Winchester sell. That usually travels around 2400 FPS with a 160 grain soft-point. Most foreign(S&B, Igman and Olympic) ammo will throw a 180 grain FMJ at around 2800 FPS, sometimes even about 3000 FPS. I prefer Olympic FMJs but S&B is still pretty good.

 

[Okiecruffler]

S&B is good stuff, loaded to normal pressure rather than that 30-30 powered American stuff. Only problem is if you reload it can be a bear to resize.