Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 8mm Mauser for hunting.. anyone ?!?!

My first deer rifle was '44 BCD K98, all I could afford at the time. I still have it. Original 8mm barrel. It provided meat in the freezer for many years. As others have said the US factory loads are rather weak, as they have to load to the lowest level. The 8X57 had two size bullets, 3.18 and .323 (J) and (S) European factory loads will be much hotter. Loaded to what it can do, it is about the same as a 30-06 and can take the same game. An oldie but a goodie.

Mine is quite accurate. This groups is average for the rifle, not exceptional.
PC070001 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
It has the original military barrel in it, but I cut it at 19" and tapered the steps out of it.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

This guy became meat in our freezer with the help of the old M98 8X57.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

Nice old round and can be loaded to decent velocity with modern powders. I load the 180gn Ballistic Tip in mine with H4895 for 2670fps (21" brl). It is a great bullet for deer and pigs. Love it.

It's good enough they based the -06 on the 8 X 57, just lengthened and necked down. satx gave the correct reason 8 X 57 is loaded so weak in the US and gnoahh's assessment of the cartridge with cast bullets couldn't be more correct. My immediately post WWI Strover '98 sporter in 8 X 57I is a tack driver with an Accurate 205 gr. cast bullet and I defy anything from elk down to walk away from it if well hit.

I got this Persian Mauser 8mm a couple of years ago, made in 1931, all matching numbers with no import marks and unissued. I took it out one season and killed a deer with it using S&B 196 gr rounds. I've been meaning to get some dies for it to reload that brass.

We took my custom small ring Mauser 8x57 to Africa some years ago using the 180 gr Ballistic Tip. It worked fine on plains game.

YES!!! Get some Hornady Custom or S&B 196gr factory ammo OR roll your own to get the most out of it. A 200gr Speer Hot Cor at 2600fps+ is a FANTASTIC hole puncher. Not hard to do, if you load to CIP spec instead of SAAMI(which is frankly ridiculous @ 36000PSI).

It will do anything a 30/06 will do, and do it with class.

I use several different 8x57's for hunting. My all time favorite is a well used and somewhat abused Husqvarna 1640. It racked up an impressive dozen moose before I got it. I have taken some whitetail and hogs with it since. I big chunk of the stock broke out from behind the rear tang. I had been previously repaired and that repair was failing when I got it. I repaired it and have been enjoying it ever since. probably the ugliest rifle I have but it is ridiculously accurate and a proven killer. Sadly, I have no pics on hand.

My next favorite is one of the first rifles I ever built with my own two hands. An excellent condition Yugo M48A I got from Big 5 for $50. I built it for hunting Hogs in Central Cali. I made an aperture sight for it, stocked it with a Boyds JRS Classic stock, added a barrel band swivel and rust blued it. A nice light, handy rifle, and accurate to boot.





I have several Husqvarnas built on 98 actions, here are two:





Another favorite is this Brno carbine. Light and handy. I may restock it Mannlicher style someday.



So, yes, I suppose you could say that you can hunt with the 8x57.

Those ol' Husky's are just good rifles, great value for the money. I'd like to have a nice, round half dozen of them.

sharps4590,

For some reason or other there seems to be a LOT of "Husky" rifles in several calibers right now in the south TX gun-shows for LOW prices. = Most are on Model 93 or 95 Mauser actions. The furniture varies from "plain Jane" to downright handsome.
(At the last "big" SA Gun-show, one vendor had at least 25-30 of them at 199.oo plus tax.)

yours, tex

Yes..unequivocally..

killed my first kudu with an 8x57....and a few deer...

Those would be built on a 96 action. Got some of those too.

I remember a few years ago when the internet was flooded with NIB 700 Classics in 8X57MM and 300 Savage. Seemed like nobody wanted them.

My one Husky is on a '96 and chambered in 9.3 X 57 from between the wars, 1930's I think. I do like that cartridge. Another pre-war in 6.5 X 55 would put a smile on my face, '96 or '98. Simpsons Ltd. usually has quite a selection but you have to wade through a bunch to find a really good one. That and someone must sit on their doorstep waiting for the truck to arrive. Seems the best ones are already sold by the time I find them.

Locally I sure don't see many. There's a gun show today and I doubt there will be one on any table. However, I will get bored out of my skull at all the black rifle stuff.

Only caribou with my 8x57; a 50s vintage BRNO using the 200 grain partition. Worked just fine

sharps4590,

I just about STOPPED going to gun-shows for a good while because all that there seemed to be for sale was OVERPRICED new firearms (at MORE than MSRP!) & "black rifles". - For some reason or other, I'm now seeing more NICE/traditional firearms around the San Antonio gun-shows, as well as a considerable number of antique firearms/gear.

yours, tex

Nice rifle .......... I like that one!

i hunted cow elk this year with my 8x57 Husqvarna but couldn't get the elk close enough

My Remington 700 classic 8x57 firing a Nosler 200 grain accubond at just shy of 2500 fps worked well on a NH bull moose!