Yugo M48

[rikman]

Anybody load for 8mm hugo mauser? I found Hornady 8mm .323 did bullets SP and I measured the commie rounds I bought with gun and they measure .320-.321. I thought they were either .318 or .323???

 

[Smokey Joe]

Yugo 8mm Mauser...

Rikman--The Yugo M48 should have a .323" bore diameter. The commie rounds will obviously fit down the bore, but accuracy will probably be so-so. Military 8mm Mausers haven't had .318 bores since before WW I. (Some commercial Mausers were made between WW I and WW II with .318" bores, but not military.)

The Hornady bullets should work fine (No experience here w/8mm Hornadys.) I load my M-48 with Nosler Accubonds (diameter stated to be .323".) Last year I shot a deer with that--you never saw a deer's engine room more thoroughly ruined!

I like the M 48 very much. Not least because, not being a WW II relic, it has no history to ruin if I decide to Bubba it. But also, it is sturdy as any military Mauser, dependable, and there are some retro parts available for it.

(Bear in mind, though, that the M-48's receiver is shorter than a k98K's so much of the vast array of retro parts for the 98 will not fit the M-48. One nice exception being Timney's very good trigger.)

So, enjoy yr M-48. And shoot .323's.

 

[offthepaper]

Good info Smoke.
I love my 48. Like you said, as solid as any military rifle.
Mine is a pretty good shooter to.

 

[billyjoe]

I use hornady's .323" bullets in my m48 and they do good. IMR 4895 and 4064 are good powder choices.

 

[rikman]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the info !

 

[denton]

53 grains Varget, COL 3.000", CCI200 primer, S&B brass, 175 grain bullet, gave me 2750 FPS at a measured 53.8 KPSI. Military rifles vary considerably in internal dimensions, and your results in your rifle will surely be different.

But the point is, it makes an extremely capable hunting rifle.

I sold my M48, and occasionally find myself shopping for a really good deal on a replacement.

 

[NCsmitty]

53 grains Varget, COL 3.000", CCI200 primer, S&B brass, 175 grain bullet, gave me 2750 FPS at a measured 53.8 KPSI.

You need to be careful disseminating load data that exceeds the listed maximum at the powder manufacture's site or their manual.
www.hodgdon.com lists 50.5gr as the maximum for Varget using a 175gr bullet in the 8x57 Mauser.


NCsmitty

 

[denton]

Caution is a good thing, but that particular SAAMI spec is very overly cautious.

The SAAMI 8x57 pressure spec is low because of the availability of older and weaker actions. If you don't have one of those, there is no reason to stay below that limit. And that Hodgdon load is well in excess of the SAAMI limit. Hodgdon has set their own limit.

The European standards organization, CIP, rates the 8x57 at 57 KPSI, and their rating carries as much weight as SAAMI. After all, they invented the cartridge.

53.8 KPSI is a very conservative 8x57 load for a large ring Mauser in good condition.

 

[ssyoumans]

Quickload show 53.0gr Varget with a Sierra 175gr SP at 3.000 generating 65.1psi. This is 15.1% over the CIP standard. I read that you measured much less, not sure what accounted for that with your brass/chamber/gun configuration, but still it is very hot. I recommend extreme caution before loading close to this hot. Note: It is a significantly compressed load with a 107.1% fill.

I'm not attacking anyone here, just agreeing with NCSmitty that a note of caution is called for here with this hot of a load over published specs. No doubt it worked out well for you with your rifle.

Hodgdon's 50.5gr max load runs as 55.9k PSI, which is just a hair under CIP of 56.5k PSI. I don't think Hodgdon's data is conservative. It is true 8mm JS loads.

Quickload isn't 100% accurate, but it's usually pretty close with bottleneck rifle cartridges and it happens to align well with Hodgdon's data.

 

[denton]

Quickload show 53.0gr Varget with a Sierra 175gr SP at 3.000 generating 65.1psi.

Actual physical measurements take precedence over computer models, and in this case we have two such measurements that confirm my statement. Both muzzle velocity and pressure measurement confirm that it's a safe load in my firearm (long since converted to 6.5x55).

As I said:

Military rifles vary considerably in internal dimensions, and your results in your rifle will surely be different.

It's quite likely that Hodgdon did their testing in a pressure test barrel. That will give results that are much more conservative than loads developed in typical military and lever action barrels. The difference tends to be roughly 2-4 KPSI. So if those assumptions are correct, my load in my barrel is consistent with Hodgdon's load in a pressure barrel.

I'm probably the most conservative reloader you know. I generally run my 30-06 3-4 KPSI below spec, don't run my 308 even close to max, run my small ring Swede at 52 KPSI, and so on. But there is no physical reason why the 8x57, 7x57, and 6.5x55 cannot be safely run at 30-06 or even 308 pressures in large ring Mausers. We put 30-06, 270 (65 KPSI!), and 308 barrels on them all the time, without incident. The gas in the chamber can't read the headstamp. It only "knows" how much brass and steel is between it and outside air. If a configuration will handle 60 KPSI in a case marked 30-06, it will handle 60 KPSI in the same case and chamber if the headstamp reads 8x57. My load is a respectful 10% below that level.

 

[Coffeeguy]

I went out today to work up a deer-hunting load and tried 180-gr Nosler Ballistic tips, over 42 grains H335 (just because that's what I had), Winchester Large Rifle primers and using once-fired Wolf brass (BRASS brass, not steel)...averaged about 2500 FPS, and shooting offhand w/iron sights at 100 yds averaged 10-inch (UGH!!!) groups and pretty high. The max load was about 43 grains on Hodgdon's website. Some surplus Turk ammo I had chrono'd at around 2900 FPS, and shot nice 4-inch groups dead center. Yugo surplus shot 6-inch groups at around 2550 FPS.

It seems for the heavier bullets the M48 likes higher velocities to stabilize them better; this was a quick test but I want to play with other powders to see if I can get 2900 FPS safely with the 180-grain loading. If not, will try the lighter bullets, and need to pull one of my Yugo surplus rounds to see what the bullet weight is. Anyone have any pet loads with 170-plus grain bullets?

 

[Beak50]

In my M-48 I use 200gr.Nosler accubond's with 48.0 gr Varget.With Nosler 200gr. Custom Competition's with 52gr.BLC-2,I use cci 250 mag primers and remington brass.However I got a bag of Winchester brass I haven't loaded yet.I want to see if it make's a difference.Plus all I can do is target shoot now day's so unless my son want's them I wont load anymore Accubond's,but I do love Nosler Product's.

 

[Maj Dad]

I measured the commie rounds I bought with gun and they measure .320-.321

If you measured the bullet diameter at the top of the case neck it is likely not the maximum - pull one & check it below the ogive. I haven't seen one less than .3225" but it's a jungle out there...

 

[rikman]

Major dad sir, you are correct! I just pulled a commie round and it measured exactly .3225.

 

[soloban]

Use a 200 gr Sierrra Match King and push it as fast as you can per the load data. You can also make 8mm from 30-06 brass very easily.

 

[rikman]

Soloban

I bought those Hornady's last year and had a hard time finding them. Where do you get your Sierra's? I don't see much for 8mm on store shelves.. Ihad to buy the brass online also..