A friend that knows I shoot wants me to give him the low-down on a rifle he just bought, but I don't have a clue. A daresay he doesn't either.

The facts in evidence are:
It's an 8mm Mauser.
He got it cheap at an auction.
He has not yet seen it.

I assume this must be an old military rifle that everybody has seen at auctions, since he says the price was so low. But maybe it was just in bad shape.

Anyway, can anybody provide speculation on what I will be looking at, whether an 8mm Mauser has any potential for game in the moose/bear category and whether he can get adequate factory ammunition?

kk

The following lists commercial ammo in 8mm Mauser
Mauser Ammo

Shouldn't be a problem if the rifle is in shootable condition (Have him take it to a reputable gunsmith for a once over before he shoots it the first time) for Moose, Deer and Black Bear. Grizzly it will work on but probobly isn't a guides first choice of rifle.

[ 11-22-2002, 20:05: Message edited by: amosgreg ]

If it was really cheap, it's probably a Turkish Mauser. As far as I know, there's nothing intrisicly wrong with these old guns, and provided it checks out, will be safe to shoot. Commercial ammunition is loaded to about .308 Winchester performance. With the military iron sights, he should be able to hit a deer within 100 yards or so.

There are a lot of rifles I would pick before this one for moose or black bear, but for the typical 50 yard shot on this type of game, if he can find it and hit it, he can likely eat it.

I agree, probably a cheap Turk Mauser. If the rifle is deemed shootable, it is actually a great, cheap hunting rifle.
The 8MM (7.92X57mm) cartridge has been available in excellent quality factory ammo for some time now. I know that S&B makes it and I am almost sure Remington is putting it out. It is a large, loud, and powerful cartridge and will kick quite a bit. If your buddy handloads, you can load this cartridge to impressive ballistics for hunting anything on this continent.
The key, as always, is shot placement. Since your buddy will probably not be scoping that thing, he needs to practice alot at 25 to 150 yards, using consistent loads, whatever they may be. Once he understands his ballistics, he should have no problems hunting with this rifle. They are generally very reliable and durable.

Good luck,
Ranger

We've picked up a few Turkish Mausers and they shoot outstandingly, groups are in the range of 8 inches at 500 yards on steel plates and minute of tiny icebergs at 1500 to 2000 yards with the factory iron sights too. They don't kick that hard either and ammo is cheap too. They are very fun to shoot at long range. The sights work very, very well!