8mm Mauser?

RAOUL DUKE

RAOUL DUKE

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A friend of mine has had an old mauser style action rifle which belonged to his grandfather sitting in his safe for many years now and I recently had an opportunity to have a look at it for him, which left me with a couple of questions;
1) after removing the stock the only caliber markings I could find at all is a rudimentary stamp on the left side of the reciever reading "7.9" and nothing else. Does this mean 7.92x57 (more commonly known as 8mm mauser am I right)?
2) The stock has been cut down and re finished and I'm pretty sure the barrel has been chopped and re done as well so there is not much to go off of in terms of ID, original sights are gone and a scope has been mounted but on the top above the chamber there is a stamp which reads 1942 and has a crescent moon and some lettering I can't make out (Turkish or something maybe on account of the moon?) Thanks for any input!
 
Skippy said:
Sounds like 8mm to me.
The wartime K98k's were stamped with a "7.9" or "7.91" or "7.92."

All meant 7.92X57.
Click to expand...

Almost there. "7.9" is not the same meaning as 7.92x57. "7.9" means the land, as measured by the Germans or Turkish when the rifle was made, came out to 0.3110 ". 7.91 = .3114 " and 7.92 = 0.3118 ". i have even seen some as high as 7.95. You are correct that you can use 8mm Mauser provided the barrel has not been modified to some other caliber. How does the bore look overall ? If it is dark or fouled, I would clean it out before firing anything through it.

Crescent moons, as far as I have seen on Mausers, were exclusively used by Turkey on their domestically made rifles and rifles that were given to them, mainly by Germany, during WW1 that are re-built in the post war years.

Hope this helps.
 
I second Nabs, crescents are Turkish markers. If its a 1942, probobly the home made K.Kale. Serial number between 66952 and 113321 ?
T.C Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Republic of Turkey
ASFA Askari Fabrika Military Factory
ANK ARA Ankara Ankara (City)

Makers:
K. Kale Kirikkale Tufek Fabrikast Kirikkale Rifle Factory
ATF Ankara Tufek Fabrikast Ankara Rifle Factory
 
In case it helps, my Kar98k has a land measurement stamp of "7.9". I haven't slugged the bore on her but I have fired 7.92x57mm Mauser hand loaded rounds through her in the past without incident. The barrel matches the receiver as well.
 
Lol, Nabs, without incident eh...

Who would have thought you could fire shells in your rifle, that are the same calibre that it was desined for.... ;)

Of course a Kar98k is going to be in 7.92X57, that what the 7.9 etc. means... Did you think the Germans were going to issue special ammunition for a bore that's out by .01 or even .03...

Don't confuse the poor bastard into thinking that 7.91, or even 7.95 is unsafe for normal 8mm rnds...
 
I don't wish to confuse, just to clarify. It confused me for a long time and I was corrected on another forum by a gun smith as I had the completely wrong idea as to what the land measurement stamp meant.

Just goes to show no German Mauser is identical to another.
 
If your buddy was firing 8mm Mauser through it, chances are it will work just fine for you then.

Post a range report when you do take her out for a shooting.
 
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