[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

Hello all, I have always enjoyed shooting my mausers but am not an expert on the rifles or the ammunition.

I have a Kar98k, a Zastava sporter, and a 98/22 I shoot occasionally.

Recently I've seen a batch of Turkish ammo on bandos, yugoslavian 8mm, and Romanian brass ammo all for around 60 cents per round.

I'm inclined to buy the turkish stuff because I've shot it before. Any thoughts on what is commonly available?

 

[Dan44]

70s Yugo has a good reputation

 

[Masonhaggerty3]

I just bought this Portuguese ammo from the mid 1970s. Great stuff I've heard. Non corrosive. If you ever see it get it. PPU ammo is pretty expensive now.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

I just bought this Portuguese ammo from the mid 1970s. Great stuff I've heard. Non corrosive. If you ever see it get it. PPU ammo is pretty expensive now.

Is there any around right now that's commercially available?

 

[Coues106]

At $0.60 a round there's always the argument to buy PPU brass cased stuff when you find it and then just reload. PPU has always shot well for me, plus you get the benefit of non-corrosive which for your k98 can be beneficial. Comparing PPU to turkish, PPU is definitely $0.40 better.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

At $0.60 a round there's always the argument to buy PPU brass cased stuff when you find it and then just reload. PPU has always shot well for me, plus you get the benefit of non-corrosive which for your k98 can be beneficial. Comparing PPU to turkish, PPU is definitely $0.40 better.

PPU doesn't seem to exist anywhere right now, and I haven't seen it less than $1.00 per shot in about 2 years.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

At $0.60 a round there's always the argument to buy PPU brass cased stuff when you find it and then just reload. PPU has always shot well for me, plus you get the benefit of non-corrosive which for your k98 can be beneficial. Comparing PPU to turkish, PPU is definitely $0.40 better.

Sorry, misread your post in my first response.

I agree buying PPU is a good option, but it looks like the factory just hasn't turned any out recently.

 

[wwgunsguy]

1950's Yugo heavy ball is 70 cents a round now.

Bought some when it was $0.10/round in '05.

It's corrosive, shoots way above POA in a K98k at 100m, and doesn't group particularly well.

But it does go bang.

It's not "stock up" ammo for me but YMMV.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

1950's Yugo heavy ball is 70 cents a round now.

Bought some when it was $0.10/round in '05.

It's corrosive, shoots way above POA in a K98k at 100m, and doesn't group particularly well.

But it does go bang.

It's not "stock up" ammo for me but YMMV.

I'm still leaning toward the Turkish. I'm seeing a variety of Yugo but only the 50s stuff not the 70s.

 

[Big Coulee]

Instead of buying ammo at a $1.00 a shot why not invest in some basic reloading equipment and load up ammo you know what you are shooting.? I've bought over the ;past 15 or so years surplus ammo 30-06, 7.62x57mm, .30 Carbine, 9mm luger, .45 acp etc. when it was just a fraction of its cost today. All that is stashed back in its hidy hole now. The stuff I'm shooting now is of my own makin's. For what you'd pay for several hundred rounds of good non-corrosive surplus stuff today you could get set up with good basic reloading equipment & supplies.

 

[wwgunsguy]

8mm boxer brass isn't cheap but it can be resized from .30-06 if one has a supply of that.

70s-80s Yugo in the .90-$1 range now.

 

[limpetmine]

Turk 8MM should only be used in bolt guns. It's hot.

 

[BlackPowder]

There’s no great option at the moment. If you’re starting from scratch you’re going to be paying $$$ for primers, powder, brass, and projectiles to reload, and still will probably have to buy it “as it becomes available” and watch suppliers like a hawk. It’s a big project in itself and won’t be cheap, to say nothing of equipment and learning curve.

If you just want it to go bang Turk is ok but it is very hot, kicks like a mule. 70s-80s Yugo or Romanian should be ok, but of course it’s corrosive so cleaning will be necessary. PPU is nice but it’s basically not available right now.

Anything that’s $0.60/rd in this market is worth picking some up, IMO.

 

[z1r]

Turkish ammo is hot, and, in my experience, it had a high rate of cracked necks. Me, I'd shy away from it.

I too prefer PPU. Very good shooting, non-corrosive, and reloadable. If I needed to have something on hand, I'd grab either the Yugo or Romanian cuz it is a good price these days.

 

[JQMD]

Some of the best ammo I've fired through mine was Czech from the late 40s. I've never had a problem with it. The only downsides are that it's corrosive and steel core, so you have to be careful shooting at plates. Unfortunately you can't really find it anymore. Well... you can because I have some listed on the trader, but outside of that, it has all but dried up. A lot of it was imported on WWII German clips.

 

[Dallased]

Complete reloading outfit and all components.

 

[markmcc201]

I thought reloading components were difficult to come by. I would hate to be trying to stock up on anything right now with the current prices. I agree with others Turkish ammo is hot and some years are much worse than others with lots of cracked necks.

 

[allisd17man]

Recently I've seen a batch of Turkish ammo on bandos, yugoslavian 8mm, and Romanian brass ammo all for around 60 cents per round.

I'm inclined to buy the turkish stuff because I've shot it before. Any thoughts on what is commonly available?

Any of those you listed are better than no ammo at all. Trying to find reloading components can be hit or miss and primers are particularly expensive.

I've shot all those you list, except the only Romanian ammo I've shot was steel case. They all go "bang" pretty reliably. None of them group all that well; 3-4 MOA is about the best I can do with milsurp ammo. Some people report cracked necks with Turk; the only year I have had a problem with is 1947, and just with a small percentage of those.

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

Any of those you listed are better than no ammo at all. Trying to find reloading components can be hit or miss and primers are particularly expensive.

I've shot all those you list, except the only Romanian ammo I've shot was steel case. They all go "bang" pretty reliably. None of them group all that well; 3-4 MOA is about the best I can do with milsurp ammo. Some people report cracked necks with Turk; the only year I have had a problem with is 1947, and just with a small percentage of those.

Any experience with the Greek 8mm from 1940 or thereabouts?

 

[Cmdr. Gravez0r]

Thank you all for the input so far.