Need some help guys. I just bought a sport stock K98K rifle with a 20" barrel, bent bolt and "DOT" on the recriver. The guy I bought it from said it was a 8MM and sold me 70 rounds of 8MM amo in stripper clips marked 7 3-3 on the case. The bolt will not close with the amo in chamber. Do I have the wrong amo or is the rifle something other than 8MM??
Thanks

My first suggestion is to take the wood off and study the receiver under where the barrel screws in. This is where the proof marks are usually found. Tell you who proofed it which is usually a good indication of where and when it was made. De Haas had a rule of thumb. No "hot" rounds, .243, etc. for Mauser made before 1920. 7x57, .250 Savage, etc. o.k.

20 inch barrel? Butchered? Iron sights? Scope? Is the bent bolt bent for scope or just turned down by the factory. Common in WW II production.

The most sure is to "cast" the chamber. You can get machinists metals that melt in boiling water, Brownells calls theirs cerrosafe. Midway stocked it. Or use "garden sulfur." Sulfur is a standard but a bit brittle. No big deal. Break it, do it again. Melt. Outside is better. If it catches fire (no risk of explosion) it stinks. Slip the lid on the pot to put out the fire and let it cool a bit. Melted, Pour into chamber after plugging barrel with tight patch. Squirt of WD 40 or other not a bad idea. Move the patch back a bit and you can examine barrel throat part of cast too.

With this cast you can compare to other rounds. 8x57 is numerous but there were many others. 7x57. 7.65x53 Belgian. Etc.

I am not thrilled with your seller. Might be a lot more careful in the future. Ammo with the gun that won't fit... Now some old widow... but any man? Luck. Happy Trails.

Getting old. Forgot the most simple. Take a round and gently shove the bullet into the muzzle. Work it a bit to get some marking on the copper jacket of the bullet. Just hold a marked bullet up to a ruler is a start. .25 is, obviously, about 1/4 inch. (7mm x 57) .303/7.65 is 5/16's I think. 8mm/.323 is gonna be bigger than that. If you can find a gun nut with a collection of cartridges you should be in the ball park of what to slip in and see it if fits. You don't need to close the bolt. Should drop in and drop out, unfired. etc. LUCK.

PICTURES.
All rifles marked dot were originally 8mm and made during WW2 in Czechoslovaka. It could be a 98k or a G33-40. Need pics. . Post pics of your rifle barrel markings and ammo. Is the ammo original military, or reloads? If it is the original barrel it is definitely 8x57.

Bolt will not close with the ammo in the chamber... Are you loading from the magazine?

Good call; on 98 Mausers you can't feed directly into the chamber; the bolt must pick up the rim from the magazine; you risk breaking the extractor if you try it.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Good call; on 98 Mausers you can't feed directly into the chamber; the bolt must pick up the rim from the magazine; you risk breaking the extractor if you try it.

Yeah . . . good point. I'd forgotten.

Back in the day (mid-'50s), I ran into just this problem.

I solved it (before having broken my extractor) by beveling the extractor with a file and then polishing it.

That M98 action has worked well for decades.

You got lots of good pointers here. Without photos and more details we are all kind of guessing.

A good cleaning of the chamber wouldn't hurt either to make sure you're not dealing with some hardened grease/oil.