Mauser questions.

T

twoblink

New member
Heard Big 5 is having a Mauser liquidation... So I'm going to head over there tomorrow and buy one if it's really that cheap. I've always wanted a mauser, but don't know much about them. I shot someone's 8mm Mauser at the range last week, accurate, and easy to shoot, mild report, and easy to point and aim.

Question, how hard is the 8mm to get as far as ammo? The guy said it sat somewhere between the 308 and 30-06 in terms of if you packed it really hot as a load.. I have no idea, I haven't done any mauser research yet.

But I know the Mauser action is strong, and if his mauser is any indication of mauser accuracy, then I want one!! It was easy to point and shoot, and hit.

Thanks.
Albert
 
Modern 8mm factory ammo is anemic. The only way to make the 8mm shine is to handload your own. I don't mess with the surplus ammo because it is corrosive, but some folks love the stuff. Check the bore carefully before you buy one, someone may have shot the corrosive ammo and not cleaned up immediately afterwords. Your best bet would be a Yugo Mauser from Cole Distributing or some other importer. Mine is over fifty years old but like new!

Factory ammo, surplus ammo, brass, bullets and dies are plentiful. You should not have a problem finding anything you need.

Get one and enjoy!
 
twoblink,

A lot of the surplus 8mm ammo is corrosive, but it is also very cheap (7-8 cents per rd.) and loaded up to what the round is capable of in terms of velocity.

Don't be detered by corrosive ammo. After all, millions upon millions of rifles were fired with it and cleaned afterwards with no bad effects all the way up until non-corrosive became generally available in the 40's & 50's.

Chances are that Mauser you buy from Big-5 will already have had a bunch of corrosive stuff shot through it. All you have to do is just clean the thing after you shoot it and you'll be alright.

I now have 3 Mausers, all of which get fed nothing but corrosive surplus 8mm. Not a speck of rust or corrosion to be found on these beauties that was not there before I bought them.

Go here to see: www.swampworks.com/SwampysStuff-1.html

and here: www.swampworks.com/SwampysStuff-2.html

Best to all,
Swampy
 
Yugo Mauser...


That's the one I have. It is a great rifle!
I've shot about 600 rounds through mine so far. Most of it is corrosive surplus. I think 20 rounds was S&B. So far no problems. I find the surplus (I've shot mostly Turkish) to be powerful, accurate, and reliable.

When I get home from the range I run a solution of 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 hot water through the barrel from the breech. Then I run a bore snake through 2 or 3 times. These rifles clean up very easy.
 
"Modern 8mm factory ammo is anemic."

Thankfully, this is only true of AMERICAN factory loads, which have been forced to pre-1905 pressure levels by SAAMI. They are worried someone is going to drop a JS load into an old Commission rifle or very early '98, even though at this late date about 99% of active Mauser shooters are using post-1905 rifles. Anyone shooting a 19th century Mauser is going to know not to drop a JS load in there.

I have some modern Swedish loads from Norma that are JS+ and shoot very well. There's also some modern Czech ammo around. In Europe, the 8mm JS is like our .30'06--a traditional medium/big game hunting round.

Unless you've got a museum piece, I wouldn't worry about corrosive stuff. Just give the exposed parts a good clean afterwards.
 
Cosmo: odd you shoud mention that.
When I was 18, someone departing base was selling an "1892 Spandau."

It was a Commission Rifle, P-14 variant for Trukey, with Arabic numerals for the sights. It does have the "S" stamp, signifying in theory it can take smokeless cartridges. I did not know this at the time. Nor that bullet size had changed from .318 to .323.

So, I took the two included boxes of ammo to the local range ("gravel pit") and proceeded with my roommate to put rounds across the water and into jugs.

Old timer wanders by..."That's a Commission rifle!" He was most enthusiastic and I let him examine it. "But where did you get ammo for this?" he asked.

I showed him.

"YOU'RE NOT SHOOTING _THOSE_?!?!?!?!" :eek:
he exclaimed, leaping back about 6 feet.

"Yeah, why?" I replied. He explained that one should NEVER, EVER load a Commission Rifle with
military surplus ammo.

50s era.:eek:

Israeli.:eek:

Steel jacketed.:eek:

Made for machineguns.:eek:

Of course, everyone knows the Israelis don't hot load THEIR ammo.

I'd put two boxes of proof loads through it, basically. Didn't hurt it a bit.

Yes, Sir, the Germans make a FINE rifle.
 
The milsurp 8mm is hotter than milsurp .30-06 and much hotter than a .308.

The Turk milsurp is a 154 grain .323 bullet at about 3000-3100 fps. Compare that to a 150 gr .30-06 at 2900 fps or a 147 grain .308 at 2800 fps. Most of the rest is 196-198 grainers at about 2600 fps (compared to a 180 gr .30-06 at 2650 or a 180 gr. .308 at 2450 fps).

The S&B commerical ammo is 196 gr @ 2600 fps, is noncorrosive, and is boxer primed (reloadable).

Semper fi,
Bruegger out.
 
Careful! Mausers are...

...addictive! :D

There are several in our house: a 1943 byf w/no import marks, 2 Swedes (1 carbine and 1 rifle), an Arisaka (basically a Japanese-made Mauser, and quite possibly the strongest Milsurp bolt-action extant), a Spanish FR-8 (the pre-Scout Scout), and a custom being built on a Turk action/Lilja barrel/Kepplinger trigger in .300 Whisper.
 
Just for info, the Commission rifles with the S marking were not rebored or re-rifled. The only thing that was done was to rechamber them to the "S" specs for the chamber throat, so the case neck could expand properly and release the bullet without generating high pressure. This is far more important than the bullet diameter in creating excess pressure.

FWIW, there was no bore diameter change for the .323 bullets; the change was a deepening of the grooves. The bore diameter remained at .311. The Germans found that the original .0035 groove depth was not sufficient when the barrel began to fall victim to hot loads and corrosive primers, and deepened the grooves to .006. Forcing a .323 bullet down a .318 groove diameter barrel may not be ideal, but it will not "blow up" a well made rifle. The Germans issued many 1888 rifles, unaltered except for rechambering, to reserve units in WWI and even a few in WWII. They were issued with "S" ammunition.

Jim
 
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