8X68
Is it possible, or advisable, to rechamber a 8X57 rifle for the 8X68? In particular is a 98 mauser action long enough to do this? I assume the barrel would not have to be altered.
0
-
Good Morning: My Suggestion is that You contact NONONSENSE, Moderator of the Ask the Experts Forum...This is right up His alley....Best.... 0 -
According to "Cartridges of the World", base and rim diameter are substantially larger then the 8 X 57. This means that the bolt/extractor and magazine rails are going to have to be reworked, besides rechambering the barrel. 0 -
And it is a good deal longer, too; about like an H&H Magnum without the belt.
I am not a gunsmith but I can see work required on:
Bolt face.
Action rails.
Magazine box length.
Magazine opening in action - Frank DeHaas says that reduces lower locking lug abutment.
Chamber - where is the case shoulder relative to the step in the typical Mauser barrel? Might get a little thin there.
How about an 8x64 Brenneke?
Or just an 8x63 (8mm - '06)?
Fascinating, nononsense. Those krafty Krauts figure out how to come out ahead after losing another war. I don't think they got it right every time, though. I saw a handsome Mauser sporter that would not eject a loaded .30-06 spitzer, max 3.34" It would go in the magazine, feed into the chamber and shoot, but if you changed your mind, you had to pull the bolt to unload.0 -
jptatum,
This is standard conversion for the M98 pattern Mausers. Thousands were converted after WWII when the German population was once again allowed firearms to use for hunting. The earlier cartridge, Post-WWI, used by the Germans to avoid prosecution was the 8x60S, another brilliant design which cleaned up the existing 8x57 chamber and added a little more power also.
The 8x68S cartridge was marketed by RWS in 1939.
The 8x68mm S rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge (the S means it is intended for 8.2 mm (.323 in) groove diameter bullets) and its necked down sister cartridge the 6.5x68mm (no S or anything else required) were developed in the 1930s by Mr. Sch?ler from the August Sch?ler Waffenfabrik, Suhl, Germany as magnum hunting cartridges that would just fit and function in standard sized Mauser 98 bolt action rifles. This is one of the early examples where a de novo rifle cartridge (the 8x68mm S and 6.5x68mm have no other cartridge as parent case) was developed by a gunsmith to fit a specific popular and widespread type of rifle.
"In particular is a 98 mauser action long enough to do this?"
This was the reason behind the development of this cartridge and the 6.5x68, to fit into existing magazines and function through the magazine and action. The Germans were masters of this concept.
OAL = 3.425" which is the maximum length that an M98 magazine will hold without resorting the additional manipulations of the feed ramp and extending the magazine box itself. It does require opening the bolt face and modifying the extractor hook. There's more but this is the gist of it.
As a reminder, the bullet diameter is 0.323" for this cartridge and chamber.
Consult a gunsmith who has the knowledge and understanding of these conversions and save yourself a lot of aggravation. Too many 'smiths are just parts changers these days and don't want to devote the time and energy to creating a proper firearm.
Post more questions as you think of them.
Best.
ADDED:
"I don't think they got it right every time, though."
No, probably not. It's rare indeed that one company gets everything right all the time. Mauser still stands at the upper end of the scale though, in my opinion. Maybe not the pinnacle but the upper part anyway. It's still my favorite design along with some of the imitators.
Best.0 -
Thank god for nononsense. I thought it could be done because I bought a mauser rifle chambered for the 6.5X68 about a year or so ago. It works just fine. 0 -
nononsense; I am confused by your answer re: this conversion. In about 1959 I bought a standard length German 98 action fitted with a 4-groove Springfield barrel chambered in .30/06 and made it into a hunting rifle. I bought some M2 ball ammunition from the local gunsmith (headstamp WCC 52) to shoot and use as brass for reloading. The cartridges were too long to fit the magazine so I seated them slightly deeper. Since that time I have acquired many more 98 Mauser actioned rifles and have found that 3.30" cartridge overall length is about all you can get to fit and feed reliably in an unmodified magazine. I just measured a few of my Mauser magazines and they check out 3.315-3.320".
With an OAL of 3.425 for the 8X68 there would be an interference fit in my magazines of almost an eighth of an inch. What am I missing here?0 -
I have found mauser 98 magazines in various lengths and slightly diferent shapes. I also have one in 30/06 that won't handle standard M2 ball. 0 -
Ambrose,
"What am I missing here?"
I think Mobuck has given the answer I would have given had I had the time earlier.
There are several variations on M98-style Mausers and several more variations on top of that for the magazines/trigger guards/floorplates. I have the factory drawings of bottom metal and magazine designs that allowed for modifications of the existing sizes and shapes to accommodate these cartridges. I did have access to one of the best collections of Mausers in the world and I can vouch for the fact that there are factory original rifles chambered for these two cartridges. And even if you can't or couldn't find the appropriate bottom metal currently, any the variations can be slightly modified to work with these cartridges.
American, German, British and European gunsmiths have been doing this work for 100 years and for bigger cartridges than these two. None of us have ever been side tracked by something so minor as a little magazine work or rails or follower for that matter. The Mauser design is very flexible in how it can be manipulated to get a job done.
Best.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments