Mauser conversion from 8mm to .308?
What parts of Mauser 8mm have to be replaced to convert it to .308? The Barrel I assume, the bolt face or entire bolt? magazine? ???
0
-
The bolt face is the same for the 8mm as it is for the 308. The magazine may or may not need some work on it, probably not though. And yes it needs to be rebarreled.
AlleninAlaska
Delta Firearms & Supplies
http://canadianfirearmsexchange.com
Buy firearms on the installment plan and Play while you Pay.
aglore@gci.net0 -
I re-barreled a Mauser to 22-250 which is close to the same length as the .308 ... for the magazine I cut down the Mauser follower and picked up a Remington 700 magazine spring; tweeked it a bit to fit on the Mauser follower. Then I made a small block from a piece of plastic, fit and pinned it in the back of the mag well and it works great ... I can now load 5 rounds in the mag and have reliable feeding where before the magwell was too long and the rounds would slide around and jamb up.
===========================
Chance favors the prepared mind
kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com0 -
You may have to have the feed rails touched up some. It will feed 308's as is, but not with the proverbial Mauser "slick as oiled glass" smoothness.
Pick an experanced smith for feed rail work, cause it's real tough to put metal back once you take to much off.
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
There are surplus Mausers that have been converted to .308 on the market.
I have no idea about the quality of these arms but if Arsenal converted-you stand a chance of getting a good one-maybe. This would
perhaps save you the effort of a re-work. The other responders make
absolute logic in a conversion.0 -
I believe the converted mausers are 98ks that the israelis used. 
Go Army Beat Navy
IF you wanna have fun join the cavalry0 -
There is also the small ring Gaurdia Civil that was made by the Spanish.
If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!0 -
hughes, it would help if we knew to what your shooting plans were for this rifle. There is a big difference between a cheap shooter and a custom built hunting or target rifle.
First, you need to recognize that 7.62x51NATO is not the same cartridge as the .308 Winchester. Specs for the 7.62NATO are different from the specs for .308WIN; there are slight differences in case dimensions and thickness, and in the chamber specs. SAAMI specs also allow substantially greater pressure for .308WIN than NATO standards for 7.62NATO. While the differences may seem small, and some modern rifles may digest them both relatively safely, the potential for problems is much greater with old bolt-action battle rifles.
The old large ring Mausers that have been re-chambered by arsenals are 7.62NATO. Those small ring Spanish Mausers were re-chambered to 7.62CETME, which was a lower pressure spec than the 7.62NATO. They were never designed to handle the pressures generated by 7.62NATO, let alone .308WIN. Giving an old Spanish small ring Mauser a steady diet of .308WIN is like shooting a steady diet of "proof" loads, and in a chamber that may be out of spec for .308WIN. They can, and have, suffered catastrophic failures when so abused. No offense to anyone here, but I consider it a dangerous practice.
Just because an old battle rifle has been re-chambered to 7.62NATO doesn't mean it is safe to shoot. In fact, some third world armories have built old design rifles in 7.62NATO, and some of those aren't safe. And even if they don't blow up on you, they may be damaged beyond safe use if you shoot .308WIN in them.
If you want to shoot a lot, and use cheap milsurp ammo, the cheapest way to go is to find a large ring that has been re-chambered to 7.62NATO. Have it examined by a competent gunsmith for proper headspace for the 7.62NATO. Then test fire under safe conditions until you are certain that the rifle can handle the pressure safely. (You will have to educate yourself about safe testing techniques and signs of excessive pressure/headspace.) Do not shoot .308WIN in the rifle.
If you want to build a custom gun in .308WIN, there are better, more modern actions to use.
And just how badly do you want to shoot cheap milsurp? Stop and think. Do you really believe a cash strapped third world army is going to surplus out ammo it believes is still usable? While some milsurp is fine, the really cheap stuff often doesn't shoot that well. Some of it wasn't that good when it was new. If you want a reasonable degree of accuracy, you will wind up paying more for better ammo, or reloading, in which case the whole "I want a 7.62NATO rifle so I can shoot cheap surplus ammo" idea is mooted.
hughes, give us a little better idea of your goals, and we can (hopefully) provide you with better, more pertinent info. If the thread gets too long for this board (10 post limit), just re-post over on the General Discussion board.
And, once again, in the interests of safety, I plead with the more knowledgeable to refrain from using the terms .308 or .308 Winchester and 7.62NATO interchangeably. It promotes a misconception that is potentially dangerous.
redcedars0 -
Thanks for the good information, I think I'll stick to the 8mm and forget the conversion. I can probably buy a Ruger bolt action in .308 for the same overall cost of converting a Mauser. The 8mm ammo seems abundant enough and is still made by most current manufacturers. 0 -
Gentlemen;
While the the responces to this question have been correct, I must take exception to one responce. While there may be more modern actions, they are all, essentially, copies and variations of the Muaser design. I have been building and shooting customs on 98 Muaser actions for over three decades and have NEVER had a rifle explode. I just completed a safari grade custom for a customer in .458 win mag. I build on FN large ring 98 actions in short standard and Magnum length. The large ring Muasers have been and still are the standard by which all others are judged. A rifle that is properly squared fitted and headspaced will only show excess pressure signs if overcharged ammo is used. this is unsafe regardless who's action is used. An 8mm Mauser large ring 98 is perfectly safe to convert to .308 or 7.62 nato. You cannot re-chamber an 8 to either, You MUST re-barrel the action. 7.62 and the .308 are both .308 dia. The 8mm is .323. You can re-chamber the 8mm the fire the 8mm-06, I know I've done it. The 98 Mauser action is as safe as ANY other out there. It also has the gas devertion ports, in case of a punctured primer, the some MODERN action lack. Just because it was designed over a hundred years ago, makes it no less a viable action on which to build a QUALITY rifle. I've built over three hundred customs over the years, and never had a rifle returned due to failure of a componant or the action. As a side note, no Mauser rifle left the factory that would not fire MOA @ 200 meters. Muaser was a bit touchy on this point. Heat treatment of the large ring 98's was VERY consistant and quality of fit and finish extrodinary for any military rifle. I would not put my stamp on a custom built rifle I did'nt think safe, reliable, and ACCURATE, regardless of caliber. And yes, the .308 and 7.63 nato rounds do differ in some repects. Nato ammo will not work in my customs due to the tight chambering I employ. But then, I don't build a .308 cutom to shoot surplus Military ammo. Sorry about the rant. I happen to be fond of the large ring 98 action.
Kill all the lawyers and the world will be much better for it.0 -
hughes, a lot of folks have come to the same conclusion. Nothing wrong with the 8mm Mauser cartridge, it is powerful enough for most NA big game and accurate enough in a good rifle.
Python, didn't mean to suggest that a solid large ring Mauser action isn't safe to convert, just that you need to know what you are doing. I am aware of reports of the small ring Spanish actions coming apart when subjected to .308 Win, and that is what really got my attention on this thread. In my opinion, if you are going to build yourself a nice rifle, there are better starting points than an old beat to sh** milsurp action that has been subjected to God only knows what kind of abuse. Having said that, I should also say I have a .220 Swift on a '98 action myself. I have no doubt that the rifles you build are solid and safe, but you obviously know what you are doing. And I agree that not all more modern designs are better designs, but not only design but metallurgy has advanced in the last 100 years. It is a tribute to the quality of Mauser rifles that more of them don't suffer catastrophic failures, given the abuse they often suffer.
redcedars0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments