thought on the ole 8x57 mauser

brian923 · #1 10-06-2007, 11:09 PM

hey guys. wanted to know what you guys thought of the 8x57 for all different kinds of purposes. both hunting, and long range target shootin

i have a mauser that i hav just "sporterized" and am thinking about changing caliber. but...... there is a certain nestalgia (sp)
about the 8x57, so i dont know if i want to really change caliber. i cant really find a lot of info on the internet other than that the 8x57 was usd by the germans (dah) against the allies in WW1 and WW2.
i also know that the american loaded, or factory loaded ammo is not loaded to the cartridges full potential. i have shoot remington corlocked out of her when she was still in her origonal turkish mauser apperacnce, and she could put 4 rounds in an 1.5" hole at around 75 to 100 yards. i know that thats not benchrest accurrate, but for being a turk millitary rifle that was still full of not all, but some cosmoline, not to shabby.

tell me what you guys think about this round. i have seen that sierra has some really good bullets in the .323" catagory.

i have not shot thi rifle after getting her finished up, but i will hopefully soon hit my grandfathers field, and when i do, ill let ya know how i shoots. ill also try to get a pic posted here soon.

thanks guys, brian

royinidaho · #2 10-07-2007, 08:34 AM

Brian,

Though the 8mm is not the most popular cartridge on this side of the pond, it you like it there is no reason not to use it. I would think that it will do anything that the '06 will do and that's a lot.

Make sure the bedding is good and the barrel floated and give'er a go.

Keep us posted. It should be interesting.

specweldtom · #3 10-07-2007, 09:58 PM

Brian, the 8 x 57 is a very effective round. Many years ago, I hunted with a WW2 German Mauser. I killed a barren doe with it at about 90 yds. in medium cover,with the battle sights. What impressed me was the hit was a little high, and a piece of hide about the size of my hand flew 10-15 feet up in the air. Never saw that before or since. The bullet was a 170 gr spitzer flat base. I don't remember what make. That rifle cost me $25 at Vic's in Galveston, and was all original and all matching #'s. It's probably worth about 40 times what I gave for it now.

I don't know much about the Turks, but I think they are German made contract guns, so in good condition, it is probably better than the sights, unless it is scoped.

Be careful if you shoot military ball ammo, look for some that is not corrosive and Berdan primed. I don't know if commercial ammo is still available, but I think it is. Good brass, boxer primers, and 150 to 170 gr bullets. If you load for it, as Roy said, there are a lot of good bullets available.

Word of caution; some of the very early Mauser 8 x 57's were .318" bores, before they settled on the .323" diameter. To be absolutely certain, you can get cerrosafe from Brownells and cast the bore.

Brings back good memories, when a $25 rifle was a luxury, and when just seeing a deer on public land was a rare treat. Thanks, Tom

Steve Shelp · #4 10-09-2007, 10:37 AM

brian923,
My neighbor bought an 8x57 and had it sporterized about 5-6 years ago. All original steel is there just recrowned the barrel and he put an aftermarket synthetic stock on it and had to drill/tap it for scope mounts.
We glass bedded it and worked up a load. It will easily shoot under an inch at 100yds. He kills deer just as dead as my 30-06. Randy uses 185gr Rem Core-Loks (sp?). Your right the 8mm Mauser is an classy round that still works. Just like my trusty 30-06 does.

The load I used for Randy's rifle is with IMR4064 with a WLR primers with the Rem CL 185gr bullet just seated into the lands. It's pretty mild load because we didn't want to push the pressure curve.
I probably couldn't do it again in my life-time, but the day we were working up the load, Randy was nervous and wasn't shooting great. So he asked me to shoot the last 2 sets of 3 rd test loads. The first set of 3 rds went about 1/2" to 5/8". The last and heaviest charge was 3 shots that we could cover with a fired 8mm case head. Again... I'm not saying that rifle will do that everytime. But ever since then Randy himself has always shot under an 1"/100yds with it. I have never put it on the bench again myself to shoot another group. But Randy won't take his own 30-06 hunting anymore. He killed a whitetail in Missouri at a little over 300yds with the 8mm 2 yrs ago. That is the furthest he has ever killed an animal. You can't pry that rifle out of his hands now. ;^)

Have fun with the old classic and don't look back!

Steve

brian923 · #5 10-10-2007, 10:33 PM

thanks guys, i took my rifle to my grandmothers house and did a little shooting just at 50 yards. off one knee i was able to shoot a rapid 3 inch group. i was thrilled , but ran out of light, so... at 25$ abox, i figured i will come back and try off a bench on a nice day. so, ill keep ya posted. thanks again, brian