question 8mm

H

hnusz

New member
Friend of mine said he has a couple of coffee cans of 8mm rounds. Sold the rifle years ago. They have been sitting in his garage for a long time. He said some of them are furry:eek:. Should I try to pull them for what components I can save or have them disposed of he said they are all brass cases.Thanks
 
I used to have cases of 8mm surplus ammo.
After some bore rotting incidents, I pulled the bullets and powder, because the primer were corrosive.
Then I gave up on the bullets and the powder.

Over the last 20 years on issue after issue I have been learning, don't waste time with cheap scopes, cheap barrels, cheap scope rings, cheap recoil pads, cheap scope bases, cheap epoxy, cheap bore cleaning patches, cheap drills, cheap bullets, cheap powder, cheap shoes, etc.
 
He said some of them are furry.
Click to expand...

No clue what is meant by furry ammo. I will not assume the ammo is surplus, reloads or new factory ammo that was never fired. I have ammo cans of 8mm57 surplus cases I pulled down for the powder and bullets.

When fired the 8mm57 surplus ammo had problems, some left the barrel at 2,900 fps +, too many of the cases took on the appearance of having been fired with shaped charges. For cases that had never been fired there ability to be formed was zero.

F. Guffey
 
Furry ammo sounds like the verdigris(copper coming out of the alloy) has gotten out of hand.
I'd pull the bullets and pitch the rest. You have no idea what the powder is. Throw it into your garden/lawn.
Corrosive primers aren't a big deal, but there's no shortage of 8mm Mauser(assuming that's what it is) brass or ammo.
 
Yep 8mm Mauser. I will pull the bullets if any of the brass is usable I will save it. It's surplus ammo don't know how old it is.
 
I'm interested to see what you got.

Surplus bullets can range anywhere from the 150gr range (Turk) up to the 198gr range (German) with all sorts of other European and South American thrown in.

Jimro
 
Old, old ammo...

Hnusz--I take it that your friend has given this old ammo to you. IMHO: You state that it has been stored in the garage. (No temp nor humidity regulation. No guarantee against actual dampness, either.) Therefore: (1) The powder is too old to mess with. It will make good fertilizer. (2) The bullets are of indeterminate weight and construction. If you load them it will only be good for "blasting" ammo. Waste of time and effort. (3) The brass is also old and possibly "furry." And therefore possibly brittle. Dangerous to re-use.

Conclusion: Pull the bullets and give them to the scrap dealer. Add the powder to your roses. Add the brass to your scrap brass, but warn the scrap dealer that the primers are live. Some scrap dealers regard that as no big deal and will pay for the brass anyhow. Use the proceeds to buy some brand-new shiny brass, brand-new dependable powder, brand-new primers, and brand-new identifiable bullets, and get on with your reloading.

You may have gained the impression that I don't trust old, badly stored, ammo. That would be the correct impression.
 
Sounds like a good idea smokey Joe. I will probably cut the bullets with a bolt cutter after I pull them throw them in the lead pot. I cast my own for handgun.
 
Bullets take a long time to go bad. I have some Turk pulled bullets from the 40s still in storage because I haven't gotten around to using them, but I will. It's easy to weigh bullets. And it's pretty easy to track down country of origin from brass headstamps.

I'd say if you have an 8x57 rifle to load up the bullets as long as they aren't corroded. Load them up real light for a new shooter who isn't used to recoil (13gr of Red Dot, aka "The Load", is famous for that) or sell them, or trade them.

But cutting them open with a bolt cutter to melt down the core seems like way more work than necessary for lead. Easier to find someone with a bucket of wheel weights for trade.

Jimro
 
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