Info on Israeli 7.62 Mauser K98
- Thread starter Saleen351
- Start date
Right on!
Just to clear up what I mean since I see now I worded it weirdly. You can use a full length die, but use it to resize the case just enough that it chambers easily, not using the die screwed in as far as the instructions say to return the case to "new" spec for every chamber.
I work with a guy that reload , he say he takes his brass , put them in the rifle with the bolt disassembled ( no extractor ) and he resize them slowly until the bolt just closes by itself , then set his dies and size all the brass. I understood the first time you didn't word it up weirdly loll
You seems to know a lot so my question would be : Headspacing for 308 call for a minimum of 1.630( go ) , and a max of 1.634 ( no-go ) and a field reject of 1.638. But headspacing for 7.62 calls for minimum of 1.635 and a max of 1.6405.
So a minimum 7.62 chamber is almost a max 308 chamber. Would you be worried to shoot 308 in a 7.62 chamber then ? Have you ever experienced a case rupture?
A lot of people here know a lot more than me, but I've been reloading for a while, including for the gun in question.
Not at all. Wouldn't worry me a bit. In fact I have, in quite a few 7.62x51mm chambered guns.
And yes I have experienced case head separation and cracking but we're talking sloppy chambered Norinco M14s that are probably way looser in chamber tolerances than the barrels put on Israeli Mausers. And it wasn't on the first firing cycle either.
I know that after the first firing , the brass will be stretched to the 7.62 size , then i wont have this problem for the future firings. But will the brass be too weak being stretched too much ? And this first firing , will it cause MAYBE a case separation ? Thats why i ordered the 1.638 field gauge to be sure but it was 135$ for a gauge that i will use 1 time . I figured for the peace of mind it is worth the price ( still wondering if i just bought this thing for nothing lol ). I dont have the reloading experience to really inspect my brass and say for sure. Next batch ill buy 7.62 ammo but i already have a lot of 308
Just because it is an M98 action ,,, and despite what you hear or read about their "extraordinary strength" caution is recommended with any of these Israeli Mausers before you use them. Most of them are probably great ... some maybe not .. as is the case with any 80 + year old rifle
As you probably know .. these rifles were based on war surplus rifles that were acquired by Israel from various sources. The rifles and actions had a varied provenance...some were produced to very high commercial standards and some to exigent war time standards late in the war under extreme conditions and production pressure and in factories that employed less than ideal labour and using available material - not always best quality.
Furthermore you will note that bolts and actions seldom matched ... which isnt bad as they were re-barrelled necessitating re-chambering and setting head-space ... I dont know the conditions under which they were 'repurposed' by the Israeli's BUT you could very easily have an action with improper heat treatment or vice versa with the bolt ... or you may have a sample that was used to train new recruits that didnt fully understand that firing the rifle with a muzzle full of sand might not be a good idea.
I have seen one of these rifles with lug recess set back .. just the one but it's the exception that proves the rule: proceed with reasonable caution. And be aware that 7.62 Nato operates at lower presssure than .308W
As you probably know .. these rifles were based on war surplus rifles that were acquired by Israel from various sources. The rifles and actions had a varied provenance...some were produced to very high commercial standards and some to exigent war time standards late in the war under extreme conditions and production pressure and in factories that employed less than ideal labour and using available material - not always best quality.
Furthermore you will note that bolts and actions seldom matched ... which isnt bad as they were re-barrelled necessitating re-chambering and setting head-space ... I dont know the conditions under which they were 'repurposed' by the Israeli's BUT you could very easily have an action with improper heat treatment or vice versa with the bolt ... or you may have a sample that was used to train new recruits that didnt fully understand that firing the rifle with a muzzle full of sand might not be a good idea.
I have seen one of these rifles with lug recess set back .. just the one but it's the exception that proves the rule: proceed with reasonable caution. And be aware that 7.62 Nato operates at lower presssure than .308W
The 7,62 cartridge has less taper in the body than the original 8 mm. That means it's a bit broader in the shoulder.
In a proper conversion the feed rails in the receiver should be opened up to accommodate this broader shoulder. In some of these rifles, it wasn't done, or done lightly. The rifle still works and feeds, but you might have trouble loading the fifth round in the magazine.
In the sixties, when Mausers were converted to varmint cartridges, the .244 Remington was often chosen over the .243 Winchester because the .244 matched the Mauser's feed rails closely, so no action work was required.
In a proper conversion the feed rails in the receiver should be opened up to accommodate this broader shoulder. In some of these rifles, it wasn't done, or done lightly. The rifle still works and feeds, but you might have trouble loading the fifth round in the magazine.
In the sixties, when Mausers were converted to varmint cartridges, the .244 Remington was often chosen over the .243 Winchester because the .244 matched the Mauser's feed rails closely, so no action work was required.
Some of you may have read my thread on re-using CBC Berdan primed brass. I loaded some up and fired five light loads, 10 gr. 700X under 160 gr. cast LEE. The empty fired brass chambered in the rifle it was fired in, no problem. Then I tried chambering it in its stable mate, another dou 45 in 7.62x51. Chambered perfectly! After initial full load firing, the brass was full length resized, so as to start with “new” brass. I will load the 5 again and just use a LEE collet neck size die. Be interesting to see how they chamber then.
I have lots of this brass, lots of 700X, and lots of tumble lubed cast bullets. This type of load makes for pleasant plinking and shorter distance target shooting. My taste for full house loads left me a long time ago. If I want to work off some excess frustration, I drag out one of my dear old 8x57 98’s and blow off some ugly old Yugo milsurp ammo.
I have lots of this brass, lots of 700X, and lots of tumble lubed cast bullets. This type of load makes for pleasant plinking and shorter distance target shooting. My taste for full house loads left me a long time ago. If I want to work off some excess frustration, I drag out one of my dear old 8x57 98’s and blow off some ugly old Yugo milsurp ammo.
It's generally called partial sizing. Works well, generally. - dan
