8mm Mauser Rounds?

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  • Tankfixr

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 25, 2009
    1,396
    Harford County
    I have recently found a 1939 Oberndorf K98K in fine condition. Si stamped barrel.

    My question to those who are in the know is what is the difference in the 8MM ammo?

    On Midway's site I see the following:

    8X57 JS (.323)
    8X57 Rimmed JS
    8X57 Mauser
    8X57JRS Rimmed

    Any answers on what is safe to shoot through this particular rifle?
     

    jjbduke2004

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2008
    1,764
    Morris Oblast, NJ SSR
    I have recently found a 1939 Oberndorf K98K in fine condition. Si stamped barrel.

    My question to those who are in the know is what is the difference in the 8MM ammo?

    On Midway's site I see the following:

    8X57 JS (.323)
    8X57 Rimmed JS
    8X57 Mauser
    8X57JRS Rimmed

    Any answers on what is safe to shoot through this particular rifle?

    Rimmed/JRS is designed with a rim for break action guns (easy for the ejector/extractor to catch the rim).

    Standard '98 ammo is JS. That basically stands for Infantry, Spitzer (pointed). It's a "J" because script I and J are easily confused, someone miscopied it years ago. Hence there is no J Street in DC and there was never a Company J in the US Army (A-I +K in a 10 company regiment, A-I +K-M in a 12 company regiment).

    Older '88 rifles use 8mm I, a lighter load.

    Note that 8x57mm is also called 7.92x57mm.

    Confused yet?
     

    Chaunsey

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 28, 2009
    3,692
    brandywine MD
    8mm is reffered to by many names 8mm mauser, 8x57, 7.92x57, 7.90x57

    the JS is a mistake as JS is really IS and stands for "infanteriespitzgeschoss" meaning infantry pointed bullet. though a mistake the J still works out ok as the word jaeger is a german word for rifleman and a lot of people just assume it stands for that.


    most of the time people just leave off the JS because these days its not necessary as there is very little non JS in use.

    the reason for it is because prior to the mid to late 1890s the 8mm round used a round nose .318 bullet, the new bullet still used now is the spitzer round with a .323 diameter and the new round was loaded hotter too.

    the old ammo is reffered to as 8mmJ and the regular stuff is 8mmJS so that people dont make the mistake of loading modern 8mm into an old gew 88 or something.

    JRS further denotes a rimmed round, mostly used as a hunting round in germany.

    a lot of american commercial 8mm is actually loaded to SAAMI specs for the old ammo for safety sake to this day.
     

    midcountyg

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2009
    2,665
    Preston, MD
    I am ordering some 8mm Yugo manufacture, on stripper clips, 900 rounds to the case, Price should come in around $250.00 a case. Figured I would through that out there ;)
     

    Garand1957

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Sep 30, 2007
    2,634
    The War Room
    I am ordering some 8mm Yugo manufacture, on stripper clips, 900 rounds to the case, Price should come in around $250.00 a case. Figured I would through that out there ;)

    Is it 1970's or the 1950's ?
    1970's very good :thumbsup: Count me in !
    1950's not so much :tdown: No thanks , been there done that.

    14694.jpg

    14695.jpg
     

    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    The Armory in Annapolis is selling boxes of 100 rounds for 40 bucks. Sounds like a good deal to me.

    That'd be about .42+ per round after sales tax. That's an OK price for small quantities if someone only needs a few rounds and doesn't shoot 8mm much. Actually I can reload 8mm for about .40 per round. My hand loads are non-corrosive which is a plus. But there are still some decent prices on good surplus ammo that pop up for 25 to 30 cents per round. I feed several Mausers so I try to keep my eyes open for those deals - like this one (maybe):

    I am ordering some 8mm Yugo manufacture, on stripper clips, 900 rounds to the case, Price should come in around $250.00 a case. Figured I would through that out there ;)

    But I'm stocked up and don't really need more at the moment - but maybe. And hopefully it's not the stuff Garand1957 had bad experiences with:

    Is it 1970's or the 1950's ?
    1970's very good :thumbsup: Count me in !
    1950's not so much :tdown: No thanks , been there done that.
     

    Chaunsey

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 28, 2009
    3,692
    brandywine MD
    Is it 1970's or the 1950's ?
    1970's very good :thumbsup: Count me in !
    1950's not so much :tdown: No thanks , been there done that.

    14694.jpg

    14695.jpg

    maybe bad batch, the 50's yugo has an excellent reputation, not as good as the 70s no doubt, but you cant find the 70s stuff anymore, all the stuff you see on the market is 50's.

    of course at todays prices its laso not the bargain it once was at $50 a case.
     

    Garand1957

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Sep 30, 2007
    2,634
    The War Room
    maybe bad batch, the 50's yugo has an excellent reputation, not as good as the 70s no doubt, but you cant find the 70s stuff anymore, all the stuff you see on the market is 50's.

    of course at todays prices its laso not the bargain it once was at $50 a case.

    There have been posts about ruptured/split cases on the '50's Yugo 8mm ammo for nearly 10 years over at gunboards.com.
    These were mine but I have seen quite a few others.
    1955 seems to be the problem year.
    I would pay $250 for a case of the 1970's stuff even though I still have 3 left ;)
     

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