My 8mm Mauser has a somewhat sticky bolt.

I used to have the same problem more often than not with surplus ammo, and occasionally with the little bit of hotshot I tried, but never had an issue with PPU brass cased ammo. It runs at or around $15 a box, which isn't too bad, and it never hurts to collect the brass for reloading down the road either.
 
I am convinced that very hot soapy water works quite well. The reason for the very hot water is it heats the barrel and then what does heat do to water?
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I also agree that hot soapy water works very well. Never said it didn't.

This is a Potassium Chloride solubility chart for water. Top line is degrees C bottom line is grams KCL/100grams H2O, all at standard atmospheric pressure.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 90 90 100
28 31.2 34.2 37.2 40.1 42.6 45.8 51.3 53.9 56.3

As you can see, the hotter the water gets the more KCL it can hold, but even cold water can dissolve 31.2 grams of the salt, and the amount of salt left in the bore is way less than 31.2 grams.

Heating the water and adding soap certainly doesn't hurt anything at all, but the amount of salt we are talking about is so small that I don't worry about temperature of the water. And the soap can help cleaning out other residues as soap sticks to non-polar compounds like soot/carbon. But in terms of salt removal, honestly any aqueous solutions will work fine. I haven't done a scientific study of cleaning time to see if any works measurably better or not, so no one should change a working cleaning routine on my account.

Jimro
 
If you are worried about ammo cost then start reloading. I load for 7x57 and 8x57 and even used to reform brass from 30/06 and 270 when proper brass wasn't available.

I also shoot BP rifles and for at least the last 20 years I have cleaned my bores using water soluble oil made for coolant in machine shop work. Its the same stuff in the Hoppes BP solvent. A gallon cost me $20 way back then and I still have 3/4s of a gallon left. A little goes a long way. Some have told me it doesn't work but I have proved them wrong. It will work on corrosive ammo just as well.

And yes it sounds like you have an ammo problem. The Germans made excellent rifles that were built to last. I would rather have a 98 mauser over a Garand or Springfield any day if I were looking for a SHTF rifle.
 
What 44 Amp said....
OP didn't ask about corrosive primer salts but good info above. Water... (then an oiled patch natch).
Frankly, with what surplus costs these days (and its all "inaccurate" ammo) I'm surprised anyone bothers with it over handloading. Makes no sense to me.
 
If you're using 1950's era Yugo surplus, then you're ok, minus the need to work out the corrosive salts. I had several WW2-era K98s and a Hakim and none of them had an issue with that particular 8mm surplus.

If you are using the Romanian lacquered steel, you might have an issue, but I have no experience with that.

I had a sticky bolt issue with my Mosin Nagant. I would seize up after about 3 shots at the range. The problem was caused by leftover cosmoline in the chamber and bolt.
I both:
=polished the chamber
=worked much, much bike chain lube through the bolt.

If you don't know how the previous owner lubed or maintained the rifle, you might have a similar issue.

Good luck with that; k98s are fun rifles
 
Take is toa smith...

and get the HEADSPACE checked, it maybe below MINIMUM headspace situation. The chamber might have to be lengthened.

Next, ammo must be brass case and at SAMMI recognized pressure levels.

If head space is correct then try chucking a .45 caliber bore brush in a drill and SHINE the chamber up.

AS far as "set-back" of the action, best way is to remove the barrel and inspect the faces.

Keep us advised.
 
and get the HEADSPACE checked, it maybe below MINIMUM headspace situation. The chamber might have to be lengthened.
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Below MINIMUM generally won't chamber live ammo, but exceptions can happen.

Ammo does not HAVE to be brass cased (Germany used a lot of steel cased ammo during the war) and SAAMI specs are US industry standards. A 1944 K98 Mauser would have been made to German standards. (and commercial US 8mm Mauser ammo is not the same as the WWII German stuff, its milder)

Brass cased and SAAMI spec ammo SHOULD be used, but aren't the only things that will work correctly.

Since the rifle has been sporterized, by someone else, taking to a gunsmith for a complete check out can't hurt anything.

Based on the OP, I still stand by the problem being the ammo, not the rifle. The OP said the problem happens sometimes (not every time, and not every so many rounds) so that means it is random. I don't know the steel cased ammo he is using, so I can't say about that. Surplus ammo from Yugoslavia? probably ok when first made, but even if it was, what has happened in the decades since???

Have the rifle checked (and ok'd) by a COMPETENT gunsmith, and shoot some QUALITY ammo. DO that, and I'd be amazed if you have to beat the bolt open "sometimes".
 
jrothWA said:
Next, ammo must be brass case and at SAMMI recognized pressure levels.
Click to expand...
and
44 AMP said:
Brass cased and SAAMI spec ammo SHOULD be used, but aren't the only things that will work correctly.
Click to expand...

Any SAMMI spec ammo will be woefully underpowered compared to the original military load the rifle was built around. The 1933 s.S. Patrone was ~198gr FMJBT @ ~2500 FPS.

When the 8X57 was introduced, it had a 0.318 bore, and was later changed to .323, and because of this, most of the ammo you can get in the US is crap.

US manufacturers were afraid some dimwit would try and shoot a full power .323 through their .318 bore Gewehr 88 and blow up the gun, and hurt themselves. Europeans figured if you don't know what ammo your gun can safely shoot, you are a moron and deserve whatever happens to you.

Regardless, there are two specifications for what we call 8mm Mauser, the US SAMMI spec "8MM Mauser", which has a max pressure of 35K psi, and the European CIP "8x57 IS" which has a max pressure of ~56K psi. To further muddy the waters, "8x57 IS" is often written as "8x57 JS, evidently because the Germans used a Gothic script, and the I looked like a J.

Generally, what you can get in the US is "8MM Mauser", and it the anemic SAMMI spec.

Privi Partisan actually makes both, if you look at their online catalog, they have entries for both "8MM Mauser" and "8x57 IS", with the latter having a higher velocity for the same bullet. For example, the "8x57" IS 198 gr FMJ is 2425 FPS, (essentially the 1934+ military load), but the "8MM Mauser" 198 gr FMJ is only 2180 FPS. Naturally, they only sell the wimpy stuff in the US.

Wolf Gold is a decent hunting bullet made by Privi and loaded to 8x57 IS specs, 196 gr SP @ 2461 fps, but I haven't seen it around in a while.

Remington's and Winchester's only offerings is 170 gr @ 2360fps. Federal's only option is even wimpier 170gr @ 2250 FPS.

Hornady and Nosler seem to be the only US folks making "real" 8x57 ammo, Hornady has two options, a 195 hunting bullet and a 196 gr match, both @ 2500 FPS, which is pretty close to the original military load.

Nosler has a 200gr AccuBond or Partition at 2475 fps, and a 180gr Ballistic tip at 2600 FPS, but they are really proud of them, at about $2.50 per round.

Seller & Belot and Norma both make a few 196 loads at ~2600 FPS, but availability is spotty, and while the price on the S&B is decent, the Norma stuff is up in the $2.50/round neighborhood.

That being said, if it shoots OK in your rifle, even the wimpy stuff should be adequate for just about any game animal in North America.
 
Thanks for all the responses. As for the corrosive argument, I've been using hoppes no. 9 for as long as I've had the gun, for 4 years. I've used corrosive ammo the entire time I've owned as well. I've never poured water, or windex down my rifle and there's no rust what so ever.
 
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