European 8mm vs US

GreenLantern

October 16, 2003 07:05

How much hotter is the 8mm loaded by European standards than US?

Can I buy the hotter stuff in the US or do I have to hand load?

I have a 1916 German small ring mauser, kar98. The dealer I bought it from checked the headspace but is there anything else that need particular attention if I was going to shoot some hotter loads through?

Thanks.

GL

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  rufe-snow

  October 16, 2003 08:05

  Due to U S ammo manufactures fear of liability problems, vis a vis using their ammo in the few surviving original rifles chambered for the J Patrone ( .318 grove diameter ), to my knowledge all U S commercial ammo has been underloaded.
  Your going to have to get European commercial ammo ( Very Expensive), or load your own.

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  p3skyking

  October 16, 2003 09:10

  Norma is the only company that I know of that loads ammo hotter than it's US counterparts. They load the .323 and .318 bullets so you have to specify. It is a bit more expensive to hunt with than US ammo.
  
  A man who starts imagining that others think good because he does is simply out of his mind
  It behooves one to be wary when among strangers and not to trust too much L'Amour

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  GreenLantern

  October 16, 2003 10:23

  I remember some other posts referencing .318 vs. .323. How do it determine which can be used in my rifle?

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  trstone

  October 16, 2003 10:45

  As far as the .318 vs. .323 issue goes---if your rifle is a Mauser made later than 1910, it's a pretty safe bet that it uses the .323" bullet. If it dates from 1920 onward, you DEFINITELY have nothing to worry about, since around/slightly after 1910 the bullets were made in the larger .323" diameter. (Actually, the conversion to the larger bullet may have started in 1905.)
  
  If your Mauser dates from WWII or later, you're DEFINITELY using the larger bullet.
  
  I believe Sellier & Bellot's 8mm Mauser ammo is the smaller diameter, which functions nicely in my WWII 98K.
  
  Pick up a copy of "Rifles of the World"---I think it has a pretty good discussion of the J vs. JS bullet issue....

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  MPinkston

  October 16, 2003 10:47

  The .318 bore is pretty rare but to be sure, slug the bore. Use a soft piece of lead and push it down the barrel. When it come out, measuer it's diameter. I've heard of someone using a jelly bean.
  
  aguncollector@prodigy.net

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  trstone

  October 16, 2003 10:58

  D'OH!
  
  I meant "Cartridges of the World".....

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  aglore

  October 16, 2003 13:13

  Anything pretty much after 1905 should have the .323 bore. I could be wrong and probably am but weren't all mauser made in 8mm after the conversion to the .323 bore built on the large ring?
  
  AlleninAlaska
  Delta Firearms & Supplies
  http://canadianfirearmsexchange.com
  
  Buy firearms on the installment plan and Play while you Pay.
  
  aglore@gci.net

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  rufe-snow

  October 16, 2003 13:26

  Karabiner 98 AZ, i.e.( Engineers Carbine), had a smaller diameter receiver ring then the standard Gewehr 98. They were manufactured in great numbers, and used extensively during the First World War.

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