ammunition basics, surplus versus modern commercial

[pocketshaver]

I have to ask, not only do we have to make sure a rifle is safe to shoot, how much effort are people putting into making sure ammunition is safe to shoot?

Have a source for actual Yugoslavian surplus 8x57 mauser and its speced as 1 98 grain fmj 2182 fps@2072 lbs me

commercially made modern ammunition is speced at

197 grain fmj at 2500fps and 2741 lbs me

with the same bullet type and shape, and staying inside the same chamber pressure, how is that actually safe?

Information

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[bob q]

Well you kind of have to understand what you are doing and how things work . Yugo surplus is NOT under 2200 fps , all that I have chrono'ed is 2400 to 2500 depending on the rifle .

[Sunray]

"...the same chamber pressure..." It's not for starters. European commercial ammo operates under CIP(European version of SAAMI) rules. CIP spec tends to be a bit higher than SAAMI. Milsurp ammo is loaded to give a specific range of velocity at a specific pressure.
SAAMI spec for 8 x 57 is 35,000 PSI. CIP spec is 57,000 PSI.
And there's no guarantee the specs quoted by the assorted sellers of the Yugo ammo are correct either. One guy says it's a 196 grain bullet. Another 198.

[pocketshaver]

yes SAAMi still keeps things downloaded for the old .318/.320 version of the round.... but this isn't that type of ammo being discussed.

one is new production coming from Russia at full power, against actual Yugo surplus.

[pocketshaver]

even if taking into consideration something like barrel length and deteriorationg, the difference in listed velocity is well beyond what can be expected.

[Bruce McAskill]

I think you will find your information on the surplus rounds are suspect at best. Yugo should be as Bob said in the 2400 to 2500 fps velocity. Between the Russian and the Yugo ammo. The Yugo is the best but corrosive primed. The new Russian is not considered to very good at all but non corrosive. So take your pick.

[pocketshaver]

I actually cant seem to find a place that shows surplus Yugo ammo to be going faster then 2150. STRANGE......

I have only shot 5 rounds of jacketed 8x57 everything else has been cast lead. Kind of feels strange looking for jacketed ammunition for it. Nuts?

[tiriaq]

A chronograph might be better than the 'net...

[browningautorifle]

A chronograph

Otherwise you're guessing.

[Daan Kemp]

Also realise that military ammunition is intended for use in automatic firearms, for sustained dependable automatic fire. Thus once proofed they will be accepted for use in all military firearms of that calibre. This in general.

If you want to be more specific, the firearms we talk here are often ancient in years but evergreen in our minds and hearts, eg the newest Brit made no 4 is now 60, Israeli and other reworked Mausers similar. Therefore, your military surplus firearm is normally of unknown or little known heritage and it behoves the owner to do due diligence in the feeding of said firearm.

Normally the military won't sell surplus ammunition if dangerous, for litigation reasons, and will rather destroy. Unscrupulous dealers won't care.