The Usual Subject - Ammo

[Ce41]

I have been experimenting with ammo types for my 1941 Kar98k and have not been satisfied yet. I have used both Winchester and Remington 8mm mauser ammo and I am not sure if this is a good match for the rifle. I have also used surplus Turkish ammo from 1955 which only ended in burst case ends and rounds that just would not fire. However I fired three rounds of 1944 steel cased German surplus ammo just fine. (Decent accuracy).

Any suggestions on fairly cheap, accurate ammo?

Thanks,
Kev

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[Patrick Chadwick]

Fairly cheap, accurate ammo? For 8x57IS? You have a problem.

Get yourself a Swiss rifle in 7.5x55. The Swiss surplus ammo costs 30-40 euros/100, depending on quantity, and produces unbeatable accuracy.

However, that does not solve your Kar98k problem. You will have to reload, as I do for every one of my rifles apart from the Swiss. And even then, you will not get much better than about 3" groups at 100 yards, unless you fit a scope. The Mauser open sights, which are no better for the 98k than for the M1871 (yes, the foresight blades even fit!) will limit the achievable accuracy, regardless of ammo quality.

Patrick

[Ce41]

Fairly cheap, accurate ammo? For 8x57IS? You have a problem.

Get yourself a Swiss rifle in 7.5x55. The Swiss surplus ammo costs 30-40 euros/100, depending on quantity, and produces unbeatable accuracy.

However, that does not solve your Kar98k problem. You will have to reload, as I do for every one of my rifles apart from the Swiss. And even then, you will not get much better than about 3" groups at 100 yards, unless you fit a scope. The Mauser open sights, which are no better for the 98k than for the M1871 (yes, the foresight blades even fit!) will limit the achievable accuracy, regardless of ammo quality.

Patrick

Fairly cheap can range anywhere below a dollar per round, I am just wondering what surplus ammo people are getting nowadays. If I can hit a target at 100m, I consider that accurate enough to have fun.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Don't set your sights too low, in the accuracy sense!

ALL milsurps should get 100% within a 4" group "out of the box" at 100 yards/meters, that is to say cleaned up but not tuned, with new factory ammo (NOT some prehistoric surplus where you have to scrape off the green muck before you can fire it).

3" requires some effort, often hand-loaded ammo. 2" requires a very good "tuned" example with mached ammo. Better than that is very, very difficult to achieve consistently.

Patrick

[Pelago]

fairly cheap, accurate ammo

can not use the same two words in the same sentence......

and is it the ammo or the rifle?? i also have several german rifles some shoot quite well and the others, well lets say they shoot

[Calif-Steve]

Turk 8mm is best down-loaded. I pull the bullet and dump 5-8 grains out. I find 35 gr. and up works well in a bolt gun. Corrosive, for sure and soap and water is a cheap clean up.

[Alfred]

Best milsurp 7.92X57 I've ever used was Canadian manufacture. They made this for the BESA tank MG and for Chinese contracts.
It was Boxer primed and reloaded easily, the necks were annealed at the factory with visible heat zones.
I'm not sure but I think it was non corrosive, I never got any rust when using it and cleaning with Hoppes No.9.

[Pelago]

USING VARIOUS SOURCES I LOAD PRACTICE AMMO FOR 308 AT ABOUT 18CENTS A ROUND, is it national match, no but it holds 1" or so at 100 yards

this could be applied to just about every caliber including 8mm just have to look

8mm dies pretty cheap,