8mm mauser price rising?
- Thread starter deanyang
- Start date
Now it is more than $1.5 a round, tried ammo searcher, same result.
Sigh
I picked up 1750 of that Swedish 8 x 63... think I'm good til after the 2nd coming now.
Knocked 250 rounds down... can shoot a lot for a spell now.
Be better to grab a reamer and open one up...next year.
If you don’t currently handload and depending on the volume you shoot, if you just want a couple of boxes every month, you can’t go wrong with a LEE Loader set ($60). You can put together 60 rounds in an hour sitting at the kitchen table for the price of the components.
will this be enough: https://www.amazon.ca/Lee-Precision...keywords=lee+loader+8mm&qid=1633449575&sr=8-6
sorry total noob here...
That’s exactly what I did and have tons of components to load up 8mm mauser
It was a bit of a pain to break it down but worth the effort
To answer the question of the other poster Marstar had this stuff for sale and it was cheap
Don’t know if they have anymore or not as it was a couple years ago
Unfortunately no, you'll need to get a press to use those. I haven't seen a Lee Loader in 8mm in a while. To get a good idea of what you need to get started, this video is pretty good:
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Be aware that PPU loads TWO different pressure levels. If the box of ammo is labeled 8mm Mauser, that is the SAAMI name for it and they have much lower pressure. The European name is 8x57JS (or sometimes written as 8x57IS) and CIP sets a much higher pressure level - so about 200 fps difference, or more, for many bullet weights - same case, same bullet - one is North America standard and one is European standard. PPU one of few makers that I know that load both levels, and they label their products correctly. Most Federal, Winchester, Remington, etc. that I see in store is labelled 8mm Mauser - that is the low pressure stuff.
If you are going to reload, make sure to check which data you are using - if you fired factory "8mm Mauser" and then use "8x57JS" reloading data, you will be quite safe in a rifle with a .323" groove barrel, but the loads are going to be much warmer - much faster velocities.
I use PPU brass in several ex-military cartridges, and have no complaints about them at all. So far as I have experienced, PPU knows, or at least knew, how to make very serviceable brass. I just looked at the bags of new unfired PPU brass that I have - they say "PPU 8mm Mauser" on the head stamp - same as it says on the label on the PPU bag. I do not know if they make "8x57JS" brass or not, or what is the difference?
That "I" versus "J" thing - apparently might be a difficulty of translating a character from a German script into a modern English script? Or someone mis-read hand writing? - there are several "reasons" that I have read for the variation.
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- Location
- Western Manitoba
The original cartridge (1888?) used .318" bullets. About 1904 (?) / 1906 (?) Germany changed to deeper rifling and .323" bullets. The "hole" - the top of rifling to top of rifling, stayed same size. Most military rifles were re-done for the "new" stuff, but .318" groove barrels were used by gun makers into 1920's (?) Original in Europe is named the 8x57J (8x57I), with the .318" bullet. The larger diameter one is 8x57JS (8x57IS), with the .323" bullet. American SAAMI solution was that North Americans too stupid or something to read the difference in labels, so set pressure very low so that what SAAMI called "8mm Mauser" with .323" bullets could be fired in an 8x57J (8x57I) rifle, likely without blowing it up. In Europe, apparently, the shooter is expected to identify his rifle and to correctly identify the cartridges that it uses.
I am hoping this works - a picture of some bullets that I received for the 8x57I cartridge - note diameter, etc. on the label.
I am hoping this works - a picture of some bullets that I received for the 8x57I cartridge - note diameter, etc. on the label.
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The problem with 8mm anything is that it's never been very popular in most of North America.
The 8x57 is pretty much the equal of any given similar bullet weight in the 30-06, with the same results on target.
If the OP is talking about "surplus" offerings, the 8x57 was pretty much dead in the water as a military standard by the end of the Yugoslavian Crisis.
A few Middle East nations might have a few arms and ammunition held in reserve, but that's about it.
Even Pakistan converted all of their old 8mm firearms to 7.62x51. Not an expensive or difficult changeover.
If you're talking about commercial loads, $1.50 per round isn't that much out of line with any other decent ammo.
It's next to impossible to find Premium 8x57 ammo, made in North America. There is some very good European manufactured 8x57 but you need to know what you're going to get.
You need to know the difference between 8x57J and 8x57JS. Some don't call it "8mm" they refer to it as 7.92mm.
I have a few crates of 7.92x57 Yugo on hand but it's not for sale.
Likely will be when gun shows start up again. It's just to much hassle/to expensive to ship.
I've got an open crate, which I use as components for other 8mm rounds, like the 8mm Lebel. The bores on those are all over the place, when it comes to diameters.
I use the bullets from the 8x57 for the 1915 Carbine and the bullets from the 8x56R for the other rifle, which has a .329 bore, in pristine condition.
That large bore is likely why it's still pristine, no one wanted to be issued the rifle and it likely spent most of its duty time on parade.
The 8x57 is pretty much the equal of any given similar bullet weight in the 30-06, with the same results on target.
If the OP is talking about "surplus" offerings, the 8x57 was pretty much dead in the water as a military standard by the end of the Yugoslavian Crisis.
A few Middle East nations might have a few arms and ammunition held in reserve, but that's about it.
Even Pakistan converted all of their old 8mm firearms to 7.62x51. Not an expensive or difficult changeover.
If you're talking about commercial loads, $1.50 per round isn't that much out of line with any other decent ammo.
It's next to impossible to find Premium 8x57 ammo, made in North America. There is some very good European manufactured 8x57 but you need to know what you're going to get.
You need to know the difference between 8x57J and 8x57JS. Some don't call it "8mm" they refer to it as 7.92mm.
I have a few crates of 7.92x57 Yugo on hand but it's not for sale.
Likely will be when gun shows start up again. It's just to much hassle/to expensive to ship.
I've got an open crate, which I use as components for other 8mm rounds, like the 8mm Lebel. The bores on those are all over the place, when it comes to diameters.
I use the bullets from the 8x57 for the 1915 Carbine and the bullets from the 8x56R for the other rifle, which has a .329 bore, in pristine condition.
That large bore is likely why it's still pristine, no one wanted to be issued the rifle and it likely spent most of its duty time on parade.
very detailed again! Thanks for that. I am new to firearms, not sure if this ammo is J or JS: https://www.gotenda.com/product/ppu-8mm-mauser-198-grain-full-metal-jacket-ammunition-box-20/
Wonder if it will work on an M48?
- Location
- Western Manitoba
A perfect example. Read what it says on the box - 8mm Mauser, made by PPU. So is made to North American low pressure level, or should be. And has a .323" diameter bullet, or it should. So it is not 8x57J ammo, nor is it 8x57JS ammo, it is 8mm Mauser ammo. So this box is to sell to a North American customer who has something he calls an 8x57 - whether "J" bore or "JS" bore. "8x57" is not a correct name for the cartridge by either CIP or SAAMI - they use different names for it. Is not the "top performing" stuff that is sold in Europe, and is presumably labeled correctly - this is the stuff made for North America.
Not certain what is your "M48" - was made how many years ago, and may have had barrel swapped in its lifetime - so nobody but you can say if it will "work" or not.
This ammo should fit and fire fine in an original M48 Mauser that was chambered in 8x57, or 7.92 or whatever that maker called it at the time - might even be stamped on the very top of the barrel ring, right in front of the receiver - the original rifle was designed to work with cartridges of the same size as these, but much higher pressures. If in good shape, your rifle will fire these cartridges fine, but because of likely differences in muzzle velocity, bullet weight and bullet shape, the sight adjustment increments may be showing large errors - might have to use a 300 yard or 400 yard setting for a 100 yard target, for example.
There was a "thing" for a while, where people believed that the 8x57 was very much weaker than the 30-06 - and brass was hard to find, so many of these rifles had their chamber reamed out to a wild-cat 8mm-06 - so could reload them using 30-06 cases and .323" bullets and achieve pretty much a smidgeon more than the normal hand-loaded 30-06. I believe that came mostly from US gun writers who only had access to SAAMI 8mm Mauser ammo - it is "weaker" - I do not think they would have same opinion if they used full power European 8x57JS and compared to the 30-06. There were a few older writers who had been shot at and strafed by 8x57JS during WWII, who had a ton of respect for it, but there was only a few of them and apparently their articles did not sell as well as those written by the guys with the "other" story.
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