M48 Mauser question

[Chupathingy]

 I bought an M48 Mauser a while back and have read that most commercially loaded 8mm ammo is unsafe to shoot in Mausers other than K98's. Is it safe?
 
 
 Chupa

[Mikey]

Chupathingy:  Nope, not so.  The first 8mm ever produced and manufactured throughout WWI used a .318 bore and I believe is marekd as the 8x57mm J cartridge.  The Germans changed that to a .323 diameter bore a bit later and designated it the JS cartridge.  Your M48 fires the .323 cartridge and any 8mm Mauser/7.92x57mm Mauser JS round made with the .323 diameter bullet is safe for your rifle.  Firing a 323 bullet down a .318 bore is neither recommended or suggested, and accuracy is terrible. 

American made 8mm Mauser ammo is not worth spit, or the $ the US ammo makers think it's worth.  It is underpowered and runs somewhere in the 30-30/32 Special power range.  Sellier and Bellot, PRVI and Norma all make 8mm (7.92x57mm) JS Mauser ammo to original European specifications, in .323 bore, which puts it right at or better than 30-06 loads (I have never seen any factory 30-06 loads pushing a 200 gn slug to 2500'/sec).  I believe that the .318 diameter 8mm J ammo is still manufactured in Europe but the ammo I recommend and use is the Sellier and Bellot 8x57mm JS.

My M48A loves the Sellier and Bellot ammo, so does my Husquavarna 98 Mauser in 8mm and so do I.  I cannot handload the 8mm to shoot more accurately than the Sellier and Bellot ammo  nor can I handload for my 6.5mm Swede to shoot more accurately than the Sellier and Bellot 6.5 Swede ammo shoots from my sporterized M38 mil-surp.  It's just great stuff. 
Sometimes Cheaper'n Dirt or Sportsmans Guide carries good deals on bulk 8mm ammo from Sellier and Bellot.  If you plan to hunt with it (which the rifle is excellent for), the S&B 196 gn cutted edge soft point is simply a excellent hunting round.  If you are just going to shoot mil-spec then the S&B 196 gn fmj would be my choice.  HTH.

[mauserand9mm]

...Most American made 8mm Mauser ammo is not worth the $.  It is underpowered and runs somewhere in the 30-30/32 Special power range.  ...

I agree. One large American brand also uses 0.321" projectiles instead of 0.323" - doesn't help with accuracy either.
Down here the PRVI stuff is sold under the name HIGHLANDER, and is generally good and very well priced. We could once buy the 198gn FMJ BT 8mm Highlander projectiles, and these are very accurate in both my 8mms (and were also very inexpensive), but, alas, there wasn't a big enough market so the importer stopped importing them. 8mm isn't a popular calibre here.

[Chupathingy]

I only hunt predators and hogs, but every rifle I own has taken a coyote and I would like to do the same with this one. I know that it's over kill for a coyote, don't care, I don't save pelts. Sounds good for hogs though, although a pig to tote around.


Chupa

[Mikey]

Actually, with a proper sling they tote very easily.  And for predators and hogs, the 8mm is perfect.  In Europe, the 8mm is known as a caliber for Bear and Boar. 
About the best thing (imo) you can do with one of those M48s is to scope it, which means re-bending the bolt so it clears a scope and drilling and tqpping for scope mounts.  This is basic gunsmithing work and should cost you less than $100 (at least in my neck of the woods..).  I would also bed the stock and install a Bold Trigger with its own safety.  Basically what I would do is sporterize the rifle while still in mostly military configuration. 
If you do not want to do that you may find you will need better iron sights.  My M48A wore typical Mauser sights which gave a poor sight picture when hunting.  I replaced the front sight with a Swedish Mauser front sight target blade, which was square (I had to file it down to get it to hit to poa at 100m) and squared off the 'V' rear sight with a Swiss file.  That gave me one of the best sight pictures I have ever seen on a Mauser.
BTW - the Sellier and Bellot 196 gn cutted edge soft point ammo is incredibly effective on hogs.  It's a bit over the top for coyotes but drops them on the spot.  HTH and good luck.

[Chupathingy]

Already done most of that, well it was actually done by the isreali's for me. This is one of the M48's that was converted to a sniper rifle and then crated up never to be fielded.



 
Chupa

[mauserand9mm]

The M48s were built with the turned down bolt handle, and Israelis never got a chance to get they hands on them - most were crated up after being made and put into storage by the Yugoslavian government. There was an experimental sniper model but only 4000 were made and they were not official army issue.

[Mikey]

Chupathingy:  Hey, that's a pretty nice lookin' M48 and should shoot very well.  Once you get your ammo laid in let us know how she shoots. 

[Chupathingy]

Mauserand9mm:

So the isreali's didn't do all that stuff? It was actually done by the Yugo's? What do I have then? I thought I had my history on this rifle straight.

Mikey:

Thanks for the help with my questions and thanks for the compliment on the rifle. The stock is kind of grainy feeling but intact and I need to find a way to raise the comb to get a proper cheek weld and sight plane. I think I found a piece at Cabela's that velcros on that will do this for me.


Chupa

[mauserand9mm]

There'll be more info on ParallaxBills C&R Forum. They do have a sub-forum there for the Yugo rifles.

[prairiedog555]

Just shot my Yugo M 98/48. 
I had some problems as I was shooting very bad cheap surplus ammo and the cosmoline type gunk in bolt would not let firing pin strike hard on primer.
I installed Boyd's trigger, (very nice) and got a youtube video and took bolt apart, cleaned it well.
Now the ammo I have is still crappy, most times have to hit it twice to fire, but it shoots great.
I have open sights, but at 25 yd. all holes touch!

Is the 98/48 a mid length action or a long action?  I want to get a scope mount since it shoots so well.

[mauserand9mm]

What's the ammo that you are using?
The two strikes to fire could be because of one, or more, of the following:
1. Old ammo with slightly deteriorated primers (not necessarily an issue with age, but more how it has been stored over time);
2. Machine gun ammo - these will have harder primers;
3. Weak firing pin spring;
4. Excessive headspace (to some extent).
I have some 1980s vintage Romanian ex-mil machine gun ammo (green laquered steel cases), and it fires first go in my tight headspaced Portuguese Verguiro, but sometimes needs a second strike in my Turk Mauser. The Turk Mauser firing pin spring is okay but the rifle does have more headspace than the Verguiro (extra 10").

[Mikey]

prairiedog:  mauserand9mm are right about your firing pin strikes.  You may need a new firing pin spring or even a new firing pin - no problem replacing either. 
 
The 98/48 is not the long action; the bolt is not interchangable with a K98 bolt, it's a tad shorter.  I think the measurement taken is between the stock screws to determine the length of the action.  If your local gunsmith does not know then I would run the question past the gunnut69, the moderator on the Gunsmithing Forum.  HTH.

[Frank46]

Take your bolt apart and really clean it well to remove any old grease or oil that has probably turned hard. That may be the source of your light strikes. Hope this helps. My m48 loves the S&B 196 grain fmj's and the soft points.
Frank