The best inexpensive milsurp 8mm ammo?

DaMan

Wow, I had no idea 8X57 had gotten so scarce! I checked my usual outlets for milsurp ammo, (SOG, Coles, WGA, etc, etc) but nothing! I guess the days of 140 round bandoliers for less than $5 are gone for a while. Samco's got some Portugese for 30 cents a round. Samco.com If I turn up something else, I'll post it for you.

Century has Yugo 198 gr. $99/case of 900, it's corrosive. AIM has Romanian $33/380 rd. can, or on stripper clips for $35/340 rounds, it's 1970's production so not sure if it's corrosive or not. SOG has some also but I can't find my flyer right now.

i think J&G still has the bandoliered turkish and cheaper than dirt does - or did last time i was in there and my recollection is their's would have been under $50 for 10 bandoliers, or very close to it anyway. some website i've been on in past week had czech stuff and the turk as well but i can't remember whose and don't seem to have bookmarked it.

I've got a case of the Romanian 154gr.? (which is '70s production and corrosive)and a case of Yugo 198gr. '50s production.

I haven't tested either because frankly...... the cases they came in were so cool, I didn't want to break the seals! I know that sounds strange but you've got to see them to believe them!

I finally opened the Yugo. I paid like $55 plus $20 shipping for a case of 900. I had to wait about 6 months for shipping, but it was well worth the wait! Wish I had ordered more at the time!

The Yugo is the sSpitzer (heavy Spitzer). The wooden case alone is worth what it cost. Inside is a lead sealed tin with a pull opener. The rounds are brass cased (Berdan)and annealed with copper jacketed bullets on steel strippers. 15 rounds per box.

If these shoot halfway decent, I think this was a really good bargain. If Century has the same stuff at $90 per case, it is probably still a good deal.

I've been shooting a lot of the Turkish stuff and have been quite pleased with it too. Pretty accurate and loaded pretty hot. It uses a lighter 154gr. bullet and they come on brass strippers (not as nice as the steel). I've only had one failure to fire with this '30s and '40s vintage stuff and that was in my Turk 1903/1938 beat to hell mauser. Not a single hiccup in my M48 Yugo.

I've seen the Ecuadorian sSpitzer (heavy) advertised but I've heard bad things about it. But that's hearsay info only.

The nice thing about 8mm ammo is that you can get good ammo (although corrosive) for really cheap! This situation is probably not going to last.

If anybody has shot the Romanian or Equadorian and can give a report, I'd appreciate it.

DaMan

You can't go wrong with the Romo. Its accurate and mild mannered. It seems a new shipment has come into the U.S. I intend to buy a LOT more.
I like the Turk also but you wont see me firing 100 rds. of that off the bench on a sunny afternoon. I have no personal experience with Equadorian ammo but some shootin buds claim that WHEN it shoots it shoots well. Go for the Romanian, you wont be sorry.
Regards Jeff

Thanks for the info on the Romanian 8mm. I've got a case of it, but haven't opened it yet. Glad to hear it's more "mild mannered" than the Turkish stuff..... and accurate too.

DaMan

Ammoman.com has good deals once in a while

If you plan on reloading the cases you might check to see if they're boxer or berdan primed. I think much of the ammo from Europe and elsewhere has berdan primers. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

quote:

If you plan on reloading the cases you might check to see if they're boxer or berdan primed.

Cal, I'm not looking for reloadable stuff or non-corrosive. I'm just looking for the best cheap and accurate 8 x 57mm military surplus available.

Currently in the US there is a good supply of various military surplus ammo in 8mm.

It's about as cheap to shoot as .22 rimfire!

Cleaning up after the corrosive stuff is a bit of a chore....... but well worth it!

DaMan

Yesterday I was at the range checking out an unissued M48 Mauser I had recently purchased from Cherry's. It is the Bruno model. I had the cronograph along just for grins and giggles to see how consistent the Turkish ammo would shoot. Both in accuracy and FPS. Either my Oehler cronograph is WAY off or those bullets are cooking. I pulled one bullet to check weight and also measured the powder. Of course without knowing the brand/manufacturer of the powder weighing it didn't tell me a whole lot. Anyway, the bullet weighed 154.5 grains. Powder weight was 48.3 grains of "whatever". Now for the questionable part. My cronograph showed those bullets traveling at 3751 to 3768 FPS! That seemed extremely fast, also consistant, to me for a military round. In addition to the reading on the cronograph, I had to whack the bolt handle with the palm of my hand pretty good for extraction. Not a good sign by any measure. I checked primers for backing out (figured since it was military and probably crimped it would show anything). It was still seated okay. I checked the cases for cracks but nothing. Questions: (1)Has anyone experienced the same conditions shooting this ammo?, (2) Does anyone know who produces this ammo?, (3) I wonder if I could cut the load down after pulling the bullets to say between 38 and 42 grains for starters? The cases have the military crimp for the bullets so would have to be neck sized only. By the way, I also had a M48A that had a problem with the bolt being hard to open. If I remember correctly it was the same ammo. However, my Persain Mauser did not have the hard bolt opening using the same stuff. Thanks, Mike

Mike, I've been reducing the Turk ammo too 44 grains with good results. I use the Lee factory crimp die to hold the bullet. The sticky bolt problem disappears. Also, I cut a lot more black with the reduced load. Try it, you'll like it!

My cronograph showed those bullets traveling at 3751 to 3768 FPS!

Well, that seems next to impossible....but next time you go shooting, take a .22 rifle and fire a few rounds across the Chrony and see what it says.....should be around 1200 fps. Then fire a few rounds of 8MM and see what it registers. Also, make sure you have the Chrony at least 15 feet away.....muzzle blast sometimes causes weird readings.

Jumpstart, I'll use the .22 cal as you suggested. And, I do agree that the mentioned 8MM readings were extreme. I would think any military round clocking over 3000 FPS might be suspect to rechecking. I also talked to Oehler, Inc. concerning my findings. I wanted to know if I needed to send the cronograph back for repair. I stated I was using a three (3) foot distance between screens. And, I had a little more than fifteen (15) feet distance from shooting bench to first screen. The individual I talked to at Oehler said more than likely the ammo was over 3000 FPS and if that was the case, I needed the screens placed at the four (4) foot spacing instead of the three (3) foot. He also added that if the spacing was too close that the second screen could be picking up the shock wave behind the bullet or ahead of it. I can't remember which. However, when I get the next chance to go to the range I will try the four (4) foot spacing AND the .22 caliber and see what happens. Thanks for the input. Good shooting! Mike

Mike, check this site out! Revo430 is on to something.

Downloading 8mm Turk

Jumptrap, Sorry for the delay in posting results. The following is my results so far: (1) I shot some .22 cal Federal in the Model 61 across the Crono and for 6 rounds my mean spread was +/- 16 FPS; the top being 1149 FPS and the bottom 1133, (2) Turkish 154 grain loads 2978 top and 2933 bottom with +/- 45 FPS spread, (3) reloaded Hornady 150 grain SPT, 51.3 grain H4895 for 2950's but terrible accuracy even though spread was good, (4) these results were from same cronograph however I placed the box back to the side of my shooting position on a stool, (5) I reloaded some Turkish ammo with CCI primers (had to fingernail polish them to stay in on some since I cut too much of the military crimp away-lessons learned) and never had a mis-fire on the reloads with good overall spread on velocity. Soooo.....with heavier boolits AND correct Berdan primers, without the wallowing out of the primer pockets, maybe I can reload this brass? Any information on the primer pockets DO's and DON'Ts appreciated. And, where is the best/cheapest place to buy Berdan primers? Thanks, Mike

Hi all, I just received my Berdan Primers today. I ordered them through Graf, Inc. Nice people to do business with by the way. They fit perfectly into my Turkish and FN brass. Thanks for the help in finding them. Good shooting! Mike

The Turk stuff can be quite hot. If you have the time/patience to download it to 44 grains it makes for a decent mil-surp round.

I like the Romanian and Yugo stuff. Cleaning up after corrosive primers is not that big of a deal.