How is 8mm?

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351 WINCHESTER said:
If you really want a kick get some Turkish surplus.
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You are right. That Turkish stuff can be hard on the shoulder. I still have a bunch of it.
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Prvi is indeed currently the best source of nearly all non-US WW2 ammunition including .303, 6.5 Carcano, 7.7 Jap, and all the Mauser calibers.

My only worry about them is that, being in Serbia, any trouble Putin stirs up in the Balkans or if the filthy EU tries to stick their fingers into ammunition exports, may quickly shut off our supply. Yes, the domestic makers will probably pick up some of the slack for a few batches of .303 and 7.92, but they still wont be cheap or easy to find.

I faced the same dilema the OP did, and found this to be a good answer-

View attachment 858157
The excellent Spanish FR8 (I think this is actually Gunny's gun, lol). These were newly made (or arsenal converted from low-mileage actions, there is much debate), and use the large ring 98 Mauser action mated to a CETME .308 barrel. They are handy, accurate, and use a unique and very nifty click- aperture rear sight. IMO, this is the best .308 Mauser out there.

Some will whine and complain that the FR's were made for the less-powerful 7.62 CETME cartridge- I dont buy it. There was an FR7 made from older M93/95 small-ring actions which I consider iffy, but the FR8 is plenty strong for commercial .308 ammo. Do your own research and decide for yourself, but I shoot the snot out of mine with no reservations- and this is coming from someone who wont shoot low-numbered M1903s.

Another option for you might be a .308 Ruger M77. These use a 98 action and nobody gripes about the Ruger being too weak to handle it, despite being made largely of investment castings rather than the supposedly stronger Mauser forgings. Always thought it would be fun to find a cosmetically challenged M77 and put it in a full military stock.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
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Yes, that is one of my FR8's. That's what it looked like when I first got it. I removed the shinny finish and put a proper oil finish on it.
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One thing you can do with reloading that you can’t get with factory loads is true reduced velocity loads. While the American loads for 8mm run about 2200-2300 for ~170 gr bullets. Loading with H4895 you can get 150 gr bullets going around 2000 FPS or less. That’s a light 30-30 load level. Stout enough to kill deer, but light enough to shoot all day.
 
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My shooting buddy bought a M-48 Yugo. Shot lots of S&B and PP factory ammo. Then I started reloading for it using the cases. With reloads he was easily able to hit clay pidgeons at 100 yards (4 out of 5 times) off hand. A sweet deer gun for brush.
 
I've managed to accrue an Ishapore 2A and also an Israeli Mauser, both in 7.62 NATO. They both shoot well.

I began taking an interest in 8mm several years ago, after reading this Chuck Hawks' article, detailing the inherent versatility of the caliber, using commonly found "light" domestic loads and the hotter European loads.

Just make sure you don't have the older .318 bore rifle before loading up the hot stuff.

Article:
https://www.chuckhawks.com/forgotten_8x57.htm
 
My memory of S&B... 196gr SPCE @ 2500fps... it shot closely enough to the K98k's 100m sight setting to repeatably nail a clay bird at 100yds. (BTW, that's about 10yds difference, but not much when we're talking about a 5" disk.) Recoil wasn't near as bad across the bench as that Turkish magnum.
 
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