1888 mauser commission rifle question
got a old 1888 commissiom rifle but was told that they couldnt handle the modern surplus 8mm ammo. just wanted to shoot maybe 10 rounds or so to help clean up the barrel a little bit. anyone have any experience shooting surplus ammo through these guns. or if just shooting a few rounds through it would be ok, thanks
0
-
We have no way of ascertaining the safety of your rifle over the net. If you have any doubts about it take it to a competent gunsmith for inspection, chamber cast, headspace check and test firing. 0 -
There are 2 types of 1888 comm. rifles. Bore size differs. Does yours have a "S" stamped on top of the chamber area?? If so then it was rebuilt for the "newer" 8mm Mauser round.
If you must shoot it, I recommend NOT using surplus ammo, there is a lot of HOT loads floating around out there. Buy a box of Win/Remington light hunting loads. Almost all commercial 8mm ammo is downloaded to be safe in old guns.0 -
yes, it does have an S and also 8mm stamped on left side of receiver. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by redman.com1
yes, it does have an S and also 8mm stamped on left side of receiver.
Then it should have chamber end cut for the newer type "S" pointed bullet as used in WW1 and WW2. The older guns had a .323" to .328" bore if I remember right. Yours may have the smaller .318 common 8mm bore.0 -
i know that turkish steel core surplus still has alot of bullet showing when you stick it in the end of barrel, if that means anything. but in your opinion, would you worry about shooting a few rounds through it. 0 -
Lot of good info here but unfortunately a lot of misinformation too!
First off, it's not a Mauser. Mauser had nothing to do with it, other than provide the design for the 7.9X57I round.
Second, the S stamp means nothing other than that the receiver was reworked to reliably feed the newer 7.92X57IS rounds. It MIGHT mean that the barrel had the later stepped style stronger design and/or the throat was lengthened to allow the fatter later bullet to swage down into the original bore. It might not. See, in the world of Gewehr 88s, there exist re-worked rifles with a nominal .323" bore, original specimens with a .321" bore (I've slugged a lot of these and have not heard of the original gun ever heaving a .318" bore, the ammo measured .318" for reasons I'm not going to get in to here), and then the odd Czech reworked rifle with a .316" bore! Some need stripper clips, some need en-bloc clips.
With the removable Mannlicher bolt head, no gas shield, no third locking lug, split receiver, and 1880s-90s metallurgy, you should regard the gun as slightly stronger than a US Krag and limit pressures to about 38,000 psi. That's true whether it is an S conversion rifle or not.
Some surplus generates up to 55,000 psi, too much for the 88. No the receiver won't likely fail, but it will possibly stretch; or the recoil lug might shear off the botton of the receiver (I've seen pics of this).
So you see it isn't just a question of bore diameter. In point of fact with a generous throat and mild load, even an oversized bullet will swage down without issue.
So no, don't shoot surplus out of it. Just because the Turks and the Germans did doesn't mean you should- if they cracked up a rifle so what?
US made Winchester is loaded on the light side with deference to the 88 and would be fine if all else is good. Judicious handloading using medium to slow burn rate powders and velocities under 2100 fps (38 gr of 4064 under a 185 gr Remington works well) is really the way to go, or cast lead is fine with any reasonable load.0 -
thanks for all the great info guys. 0 -
UPDATE! went and shot it with 170GR federals soft points. gun shot good groups with no signs of damage to the gun or me, although before i shot, the box read do not shoot in 1888 commission rifles? so i guess it was updated to do so? what i dont understand is that if it was, why cant you shoot the surplus ammo out of it, because that is what the soldiers were using. and the gun is the same now as it was then. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by redman.com1
UPDATE! went and shot it with 170GR federals soft points. gun shot good groups with no signs of damage to the gun or me, although before i shot, the box read do not shoot in 1888 commission rifles? so i guess it was updated to do so? what i dont understand is that if it was, why cant you shoot the surplus ammo out of it, because that is what the soldiers were using. and the gun is the same now as it was then.
American made 8mm is based on the 8mm Remington Special which was loaded light to go easy on surplus 88's in the 1920s. Even though the load remains light, the liability of shooting an old worn gun is too much for the company lawyers to allow.
The soldiers with 8mm "S bore" ammunition and 88 rifles were mostly support troops and last ditch reserves. They didn't do much shooting. And if an 88 broke down under the stress of hot 98 ammo, there were plenty left in the warehouse.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Hawk Carse
quote:Originally posted by redman.com1
UPDATE! went and shot it with 170GR federals soft points. gun shot good groups with no signs of damage to the gun or me, although before i shot, the box read do not shoot in 1888 commission rifles? so i guess it was updated to do so? what i dont understand is that if it was, why cant you shoot the surplus ammo out of it, because that is what the soldiers were using. and the gun is the same now as it was then.
American made 8mm is based on the 8mm Remington Special which was loaded light to go easy on surplus 88's in the 1920s. Even though the load remains light, the liability of shooting an old worn gun is too much for the company lawyers to allow.
The soldiers with 8mm "S bore" ammunition and 88 rifles were mostly support troops and last ditch reserves. They didn't do much shooting. And if an 88 broke down under the stress of hot 98 ammo, there were plenty left in the warehouse.
Here's why you don't shoot it.
http://www.turkmauser.com/ammo/mhbTurk.aspx
Your Federal ammo with a 170gr tip goes about 2360FPS
There is surplus ammo out there that with a 196gr tip flys out at 3000 fps.
The extra strain {higher pressures} will sooner or later blow up you and your rifle. It maybe the second shot you take or the 12,000 th shot. It seems you are going to do it anyway.........good luck.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments