Hunting the German K 98 8 mm mauser

As Richard said call Ben, he is a good guy.
I bought 10 24/47s and all but one had a new barrel and the one did not need it. Everyone shot milsurp at 2-2.5 inches.
Best 8MM buy for the money right now.

The Yugos are good tools and if you want a shooter that is the way to go.

K98ks, however, are the Darth Vader, dark side, bad boys in black, historic rifles that will always have a mystic.
And, an early matching smooth as silk one with a good bore that shoots is both beautiful and deadly accurate about hunting quality not target.

Wulfmann
 
I was on the market for a nice K98, and about two weeks ago I found one at a local gunshow. It is Nazi marked, DOT code, made in Brno, Czec., with the front sight hood, cleaning rod, and trigger housing lock screw still there, for $240. It was in excellent shape. It was too good of a deal to pass up.
I have seen Russian captures, missing the front sight hood, cleaning rod, and trigger housing lock screw missing for $250, so I had to pick it up. It is a good shooter. I have put about 100 rounds through it so far.
 
The 98 mauser is a great hunting rifle. It is on par with the 30-06 when you use the European loadings that are offered by Privi Partizan, S+B, wolf gold and a number of others. The American loadings are in the 30-30 range. I have used a few different 8mm mausers for quite a few deer and it works just fine. I do handload my hunting rounds so that its potential can be used. With a 150 gr bullet at 2800 fps with a 200 yard zero, the difference in drop between a 30 cal and the 323 is less than a half of inch. If you reload, there are all kinds of good 323 bullets to fill any hunting need.
 

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For hunting, the 8x57 is and excellent cartridge. It compares favorably with the 06 and 7.62x54R. The 06 does have a slight advantage, but not a lot.
 
I found this K98 sporterized in a pawn shop.
I shoot a couple deer every year.
I might shoot one with this rifle.
 

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When I was a kid in Park County Wyoming, my Grandad would often take supplies to a shepard way up in the Bighorn Mts. This shepard was named Pedro and he lived out of a covered wagon. His only rifle was a German Mauser but didn't seem to be handicap. Pedro shot elk and mule deer whenever he wanted to with that older rifle.

American ammo is somewhat similar to 32 Special levergun cartridge.

Jack
 
Holy thread resurrection Batman!!!!
maybe it would have been politically correct to do so 4 years ago, I would never do it with a nazi stamped mauser(too valuable) if it was a cheap yugo mauser from big 5 or one that bubba got his hands on that's beyond restoring then yeah I wouldn't hesitate.
 
.592 BC

196gr 8x57JS has a .592 ballistic coefficient. It should do 1000m with ease, and is probably very accurate if you had a modern rifle to fire it in.

The 6.5x55 swede is another old timer with a fantastic BC of .630 (!).

A 190gr .300 win mag is .530, a 220gr is around .625 in the 220gr 300 win mag military round.
 
Good hunting rifle

I've been hunting with k98s for nearly fifty years. They are accurate and reliable. I used one with 123 gr. bullets -- around 2900 ft/sec -- on groundhogs, 170 gr. handloads -- 2,600 ft/sec. -- on deer, and Sellier and Bellot 196 gr -- 2,600 ft./sec.-- on deer. All rounds are good for 1" at 100 yds. The Sellier & Bellot are fantastic rounds. Loaded to full military specs. I pay around $25 a box. I've been hoarding them in case we get some import restrictions on ammo. You won't do any better than a Mauser. They are relatively cheap, and as good or better than some guns of modern manufacture. Good hunting, guys.
 
Used one now and then with 220gr Sierras. It is silly to compare a modern hunting rifle to a stock or sporterized military weapon for hunting purposes. There is no doubt the military rifle is better. We REALLY hunt hard. I don't need some prissy new factory rifle riddled with plastic. A normal day of hunting for us usually involves somebody rolling or sliding down a slope covered with rocks, logs, and brush. I am partial to Arisakas because they weigh less, but have clocked quite a few hours with Mausers and other military rifles.
 
When the 8mm Mauser was introduced, the largest military vehicle at the time was the horse.
If you took that cartrdge hunting, you should be fine.
For a couple of years, I took a stock K98 or a stock Spanish M43 elk hunting as my back up. I did actually take each out into the woods for a couple days each.

Although I didn't see an elk, each was very easy to carry. They balance well and tote pretty well, once you get past the initial 8 lbs or whatever.

I had no doubts that the 8mm was fully capable of dropping an elk. I would expect for deer they'd be more effective.
 
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