Avoid the Turk.
Why We Don’t Use Turkish 8mm Surplus
www.forgottenweapons.com
Romainian is ok
Yugo is good, primers can be a bit hard.
Pretty much all 8mm surplus is Corrosively primed.
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8mm mauser recommendation
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www.forgottenweapons.com
Romainian is ok
Yugo is good, primers can be a bit hard.
Pretty much all 8mm surplus is Corrosively primed.
We simply have different standards and requirements of our iron sights.
I ask mine to shoot as well as I can see, which is a LOT larger on any target with the Mauser front, than it is with a square blade.
The pointy bit SEEMS like a good idea, and it might be so, with an aperture rear, but with a U/V/Square rear leaf, it sucks for precision work beyond "pointing" range.
But...then you have rifles like the Schmidt Rubin -11 and -31. THOSE are irons you can begin to shoot well with, at distance, but retain all the speed of an "open" design.
I've not had any issues with any of mine. Turk ammo can be "hot", but it's not usually a problem with the bolt action rifles as long as they're in good working order. The Romanian is the "mildest" of the 3.
how about greek's?
Avoid the Turk.
Why We Don’t Use Turkish 8mm Surplus
Romainian is ok
Yugo is good, primers can be a bit hard.
Pretty much all 8mm surplus is Corrosively primed.
High number of duds (click, and nothing)
The standard barleycorn front sight is miserable for accurate shooting at range. Sights like the 1903 (or A3) Springfield, M1917, K31, etc. will spoil you.
The Turk surplus is to be avoided, as mentioned. Erratic and high pressure with cracked necks from seating bullets in brittle cases. I know, because I bought 10,000 rounds of it when it first appeared years ago. Cheap is too expensive.
The Turk surplus is to be avoided, as mentioned. Erratic and high pressure with cracked necks from seating bullets in brittle cases. I know, because I bought 10,000 rounds of it when it first appeared years ago. Cheap is too expensive.
A friend gave me a bunch of Turk ammo that was in really bad shape - lots of corrosion on the cases, etc.. I ran them through my tumbler and then pulled the bullets and dumped the powder. Got two quart jars full of powder that I haven't done anything with (and probably won't, unless I dump it on my lawn).
you're so organized!
While its unsafe to use for reloads, it’s fun to poor it in a long line on the ground. Makes a good demonstration when the end of the line has a tiny bit of black powder.
If the powder still hasn't broken down yet, why would it be unsafe?
Because it came out of Turk ammo with a questionable storage problem
For the most part all of the mil spec pull down powder thats been for sale over the last 60 years has had unknown storage data. I believe 60-70 of what I have loaded inthe past 30+ years is repackaged pulldown powder from WW2 through VM ara.
Powder kept in conditions that are unfavorable to its storage will have deterioration with that powder. It will have a bad smell, be chunky, have fungus growing in it. If its going bad in a metal can you will get a red dust in it like cinnamon.
You will know its going or gone bad.
Kalashalite
Plinker
If you know how to inspect a rifle for bore condition, you can't go wrong with just about ANY Mauser action rifle chambered in 8mm. If it has a great bore you can rely on the rifle to perform well as long as you know how to do your part.
But luckily this is quite possibly the largest world of military rifles of all time. Damn near every country from China to Argentina adopted one in one form or another. The most popular cartridge was the 8mm Mauser round. The list of countries goes on and on.
The beginner Mauser is the Turkish 1903 Model, it's a $300 rifle and good examples can make good shooters. Along with it are the Spanish M43 rifle and some of the various South/Central American models that can be had for less than Germans.
8mm is the last "cheap" surplus ammo. You can still find bulk cases of the stuff. Yes it's corrosive, yes some of it is of dubious quality. Don't let people scare you out of shooting corrosive, you can just properly clean the rifle and you will be fine.
There's also some really good stuff like Portuguese and the infamous Yugoslavian M75 ball.
For the best shooting, use handloads or PPU 198 SP/FMJ (It comes in a blue box)
But luckily this is quite possibly the largest world of military rifles of all time. Damn near every country from China to Argentina adopted one in one form or another. The most popular cartridge was the 8mm Mauser round. The list of countries goes on and on.
The beginner Mauser is the Turkish 1903 Model, it's a $300 rifle and good examples can make good shooters. Along with it are the Spanish M43 rifle and some of the various South/Central American models that can be had for less than Germans.
8mm is the last "cheap" surplus ammo. You can still find bulk cases of the stuff. Yes it's corrosive, yes some of it is of dubious quality. Don't let people scare you out of shooting corrosive, you can just properly clean the rifle and you will be fine.
There's also some really good stuff like Portuguese and the infamous Yugoslavian M75 ball.
For the best shooting, use handloads or PPU 198 SP/FMJ (It comes in a blue box)
If you're not afraid to re-barrel a Mauser with a bad barrel, they can be great shooting rifles. The biggest thing to look for is corrosion/pitting on the receiver as well as bolt lug setback on soft receivers that creates unsafe headspace and hard opening bolt issues. I've put new barrels on a couple. On one I re-barreled in 6.5x55 Swede and installed a Timney trigger along with a commercial bolt shroud. It's a great shooter and I use it for deer hunting occasionally. There are tons of aftermarket parts for them (stocks, triggers, etc) so they can be fun to play around with.
Thank you! I'll probably go with the PPU 8mm for now. You advices are very helpful!
Thanks! Should I go to my gunsmith and let him check for the headspace when I pick up to rifle? I've shooting my mosins for a few years and it kept getting loosing that I have to tighten the screws after every time I shoot.
A once over by a gunsmithing sounds to be the correct route in your case, especially for piece of mind. I've only had 1 firearm that I was suspicious of (an attic find I cleaned up) and was pretty sure it was out of headspace. Gunsmith confirmed it and was apologetic. I reassured him he need not apologize because I was suspicious and brought it in in the 1st place. I'd rather not have something grenade in my face.
I agree with Ballstater. If you don't have headspace gauges or know how to use them, it would be a good idea to have someone check the headspacing, especially on an old military rifle where bolts might have been switched around.
Large ring Mausers (K98, Yugos, VZ24's, etc) are usually pretty safe, as they have a 3 lug bolt and have a gas port to redirect gases should you have a brass failure. But it's still not a bad idea to be on the safe side.
