Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Back on the 8mm

I’ve shot a lot of the Yugo stuff, probably three or four thousand rounds at least and I can’t say I ever heard of that problem or had any misfires.

Where are you going to get berdan primers

still regret not buying a Rem 700 Classic in 8x57.

they weren't very popular nor very expensive.

yeah ... no !

you're thinking of the 7,65x53 Argentine that uses .313" bullets
the 7.92x57 Mauser aka 8x57 has been .323" for over 100 years ,

where you been ?

Some of the early gew 1888 rifles in 8x57, had .318 barrels.

Why wouldn't you just buy and load 8mm brass?

Occasionally messing with one of the hunting camp founder's 8x57 JR. It was made a bit before the first world war with the old groove diameter.

.318 was the original caliber of 7.92 x 57. When they when to the 150 grain Spitzer, they upped the diameter to .323. and converted nearly every rifle already in the arsenal to that. These rifles will have an S on the receiver. Only a few of the 1888 so-called Commission Rifles that likely somehow left service before the modification might still be .318 and more likely, some civilian sporters. I believe that there were some gunsmiths who for whatever reasons preferred the .318 barrels and made them that way on purpose.

They made the change about 1905. That’s why the 30-03 was so short lived here. As soon as the Germans changed from a heavy round nosed bullet, we figured we had better too.

Some of the 50s Yugo ammo had case defects that caused it to split at the base of case and up with side. I bought a case of it anyway because it was cheap and "it won't happen to me". Well, it did. about halfway through the case I had one split from about halfway down and across the base into the primer pocket. gas and particles on my forehead and glasses, felt the blast on my face. It also etched the bolt face. Could have been a lot worse if it hadn't been an M98. I pulled down the rest of the cartridges, evened out and lightened the powder charge a grain or two and reloaded into commercial cases with new primers. It's worth the trouble since the ammo was practically free by today's standards.

They split all the time. But I never felt anything. A split case is a complete non-issue with a 98. It was literally designed to handle split cases with absolute aplomb.

I got a couple of boxes of 190 grain .318 round nose bullets from a friend in New Zealand to load some ammo for a friend who had a 98 Mauser commercial sporter that was a wartime bringback by a WW II vet. The thing kicked like a whizzed-off Missouri mule! I reground a .308 lubersizer die to .318 and made some reduced velocity 150 grain cast handloads for it that tamed the kick down considerably. I'd hate to think what it would do to someone's shoulder if they fired a full house .323 factory load through it!

I picked one up at the time, and it is still my favorite hunting rifle.

you better research that a little more.... in WW 1, their bore was 318, with a 227 or so grain bullet...
they went to the 323 bore after WW 1.

Last deer I shot was with a Czech made 98 Mauser, about 1924 product period....

I load all the 8mm Mauser ammo I use... have made some by necking up 06 brass to 338/06, and then neck down to .323 and trim...

but I've got some Rem and Winchester brass for it... I don't shoot the three I have very much...

the only bullet I use, and what I prefer is the Speer 170 SMP, and my powder is 4198...

usually 35 grains of it... resembles a 32 Win Special, in a bolt action, with a little bit more zip and punch to it...

before that, my powder was SR 4759, but the jerks at Hodgdon quit making it....

each season, I like loading up one of the old 8 x 57s with open sights and walk out in the woods with it, for nostalgia reasons....

reliving what it must have been like out hunting with a WW 2 bring back rifle from Europe, back in the 1950s.....

Sometimes went out in the back country hiking, I'll take the 24 inch barrel Czech one, and carry it just in case a bear shows up, and wants a ruckus between him and me.

my other two have the 29 inch barrels, and the Turk one, came with that bayonet also...

when I have them out when I am doing shooting merit badge with some of my scouts... EVERY ONE of the boys gravitate to that Turk, with the Bayonet and want to shoot that one....at that time I load those cases up with 20 grains of SR 4759 and that 170 grain Speer.... doesn't kick much, but that bullet will certainly tear the hell out of a mazanetta tree... even at those low speeds.

I like mine as well, bought it when they were cleared out as non sellers was told by more than a few guys that a lot of them got bought to be rebarreled. Their loss....mb

Converting an '06 based case is so easy I wouldn't consider Berdan primers. I just got done converting 75- 25/06 to 8x57.