[wilson180]

I have been looking for 8mm surplus ammo and all I can find is Turkish from the 1950s. I have read that Turkish 8mm is hot and I am wondering if I will have problems using it in my Yugo 24/47, 24/52c and M48 mausers. I started collecting only a few months ago so I have a lot to learn and I am hoping someone with expertise can help me.

Thanks

 

[Ronbo6]

Turkish 8mm will be fine in any Mauser bolt-action rifle.

The biggest problem with the Turkish stuff is they used a slow-burning powder in the ammunition to optimize its use in rifles with 30 inch barrels.

The overall maximum pressure the powder generates in Turkish ammo isn't actually all that bad, but the pressure CURVE you get as the bullet passes down the barrel is just all wrong for gas-operated rifles. It is such that you get much higher-than-designed-for gas pressures at the gas ports (typically about 12-15 inches down the barrel) of the gas operated semi-autos (FN49, Hakim, G43, etc.) and the resulting too much gas entering the gas system overdrives it.

You could do much the same thing using very slow-burning powders (say, IMR4831) in full power 8mm reloads for those rifles or, for that matter, in Garands.

I didn't know this when I was buying $5 bandoliers of the stuff (a LOT of $5 bandos!) a few years ago, and as a result I have a G43 that Turk 8mm managed to crack the firing pin carrier at the hole where the crosspin that holds the firing pin in place was drilled. It pretty much ripped the rear portion of the firing pin carrier off.

Knowing what I know now, I shudder at the force that was being used to push that (cast) G43 bolt carrier steaight at my face. The G43 is repaired now, but the lesson was definitely learned.

I still shoot the Turkish ammunition, but only in my bolt guns.

 

[me26245]

Turkish 8mm can be inconsistant, but you should not have any issues firing it in the firearms you listed as long as they are in good condition.

 

[wilson180]

Thank you both for your replies.

 

[samnev2]

In any 8mm rifle that I have fired that was designed to fire heavy ball (198 grains) like all of the Yugo and German Mauser's that I or my friends have fired the sights had to be set at 300-400 yards to get on paper @100 years it was shooting so low. The Turk ammo is light ball and has a much higher muzzle velocity than any other 8mm I have fired.

 

[LVSteve]

The guys at the Turkmauser site clocked some 155gr Turk surplus at over 3000fps when fired from a 29" barrel. The cases showed signs of high pressure. By comparison Romanian 154gr trots along at a little over 2600fps.

 

[cuchulainn]

Like the above posters said should be fine to fire but will not shoot to the ranges on the rear sight. I use Turk for my Turks, Czech 98/22s, Gew 98, Persians and 198 grain for the Yugos and Germans. I don't quite know what to use for my VZ 24s though!! Seems like light ball shoots better to the rear sight marks but not the case for all of them.

 

[67tempest]

I have shot ton's of Turkish 8MM over the years and have no complaints. I only fire it in a bolt gun. I laid in a supply of it years ago when it was .04 cents a round delivered, wish I had purchased a lot more.

 

[sandy4570]

I still shot my stockpile of Turk ammo that I bougth 10 years ago and no problem with them . The recoil is a little bit harsher than other such as Steel case Romanian ( I wish I bought more of them 'cause it is soft shooting and very accurate ammo ) . The only problem I can forsee with M48 and M24/47 is that the recoil can and will eventually crack the pistol grip area and trigger chanel . I am not sure it is relate to Turk ammo being hotter than other or not. I just glassbedding the one that cracked and the one that I will shoot a lot and no problem after that

 

[ul4evr]

i have a ton of the stuff from when it was 5 dollars a 70rnd bando. most all of it with 38 and 44 date head stamps..
the only problem i have ever had with the turk ammo is the "Flinch" factor gets up there real quick after 10 rnds... ive shot it through all my mausers german, spanish, czech, yugo israeli, ect. but i don't own any 8mm gas guns so i can't speak to that...

actually the only ammo i have ever had a problem with was a batch of 500 rnds of Ecuadorian
ammo i bought from SG 5 yrs ago... a lot of clicks and no bang. actually now thinking back on it i didn't get ANY of them to fire tried about 15 rnds in 3 diffrent guns none of them went bang. so i pulled them all down and salvaged the powder. very odd looking powder to me, really large flakes never seen any powder like it before.. but loaded in modern brass and primer it went bang...

 

[chas1784]

The guys at the Turkmauser site clocked some 155gr Turk surplus at over 3000fps when fired from a 29" barrel. The cases showed signs of high pressure. By comparison Romanian 154gr trots along at a little over 2600fps.

the mauser k 98 has like a 1/9.25 rifle twist 23.5 barrel....so as the above info is good........stick with 196 grain to 225 grain...if your shooting for accuracy with a.... k-98

i never hear people straying much from these weights when reloading, and i reload also.....as well as only find accuracy with mil ball from yugo surplus as well as german surplus...... ... trk mausers and some czech rifles have different rifling twist....hence different bullet weights...i think alot of czech is in the 170 grain.......anyway stick with around 200 grain if shooting for accuracy

 

[Krag]

I had a mess of '50s and '60s Turk 7.9x57. All of it seemed "hot" (recoil, muzzle flash,etc.) and all of it was highly inaccurate no matter what rifle I shot it out of. Out of an EXC conditon Persian Mauser 100 yard targets looked like you were firing buckshot at them! I also had quite a few duds and hangfires with the '50s stuff which led to me chucking it off a bridge into a local river!

 

[RH7777]

You may want to check out the Ammo Bunker for ammo related questions.

Here is a nutshell response to your particular questions.

You have fifties Turk 8mm. It should all be OK for plinking. Depending on how it was stored. The real problem year in Turk is 1947, lots of split cases etc.
So you avoided that problem, since yours is from the fifties.

There is also Turk 196 grain from earlier years that is exc.


Turk ammo is not made for you Mausers, it shoots better in the long barreled Mausers in gen. All of your Mausers are shorter barrels.

It is good enough for plinking in your Mausers and is a hoot to shoot, because of the speed it kicks out the bullet.

You can shoot your ammo in all of your listed Mausers with no worries about failures etc. The Mausers you listed will handle any problems well, should they come up.

It is recomended to always wear shooting glasses with any ammo. Case failures in Turk are relatively rare, the only indication you will have is a puff and possibly some minor blowback, hence the shooting glass recomendation.

Your Turk is about 154 grain loaded properly, not hot, it seems hot because of the extra recoil compared to other 8mm. It does kick out the bullet at over 3000 fps compared to Yugo 196 grain around 2500 fps.

Most of it we Chronoed is around 3100 to 3300 fps. Very hefty for 8mm.

Turk ammo is kick butt ammo, very powerful. Unfortunatly it is not consistant or as accurate as Yugo 8mm. Some of the longer barreled Mausers shot it very well, but consistancy was always a problem for batch to batch.

It has been used for plinking for decades here in the U.S. and with 8mm supplies drying up, is a good option for plinking ammo for the rilfes you listed.

Not recomended for semi autos as stated above.

For serious accuracy work Turk 8mm is not a good option.

You wil always get responses on how accurate some shooters think it is, but accuracy is relative, and needs to be defined.

 

[jjk308 In Memoriam RIP]

Quality is iffy. Supposedly there are duds and some hangfires, probably just for lots stored in bad conditions. I shot many bandos of that evil 1947 and never a misfire. Lots of neck splits from overcrimping/under annealing, but they are too far forward to cause any gas leakage. The light cupronickel jacketed bullets and fast powder give an unpleasant sharp kick, and a pressure profile unsuited for autoloaders but peak pressures are under the 8x57 limits.

 

[ul4evr]

i never had any case or neck failures with my turk ammo.. but i did have neck splits using brand new S & B 8mm ammo... bought 4 boxes(80rnds) of the stuff and just about every one had a neck split... never bought any ever again...

 

[AZshooter]

RH7777 hit the nail on the head - Heavy Ball for carbines & short barrels & Turkish light ball for Turkish & 98/22's. I Shoot primarily from inventory of 1939 vintage Turkish light ball from sealed crates & all perform 100% - no duds or hangfires.

The trick to maximize Turkish ammo precision is to scale weigh your ammo & separate it into like weight groups. I've been using 1939 for over a dozen years. Powder residue is sooty & looks like black powder residue. If you plan to shoot all day long for best accuracy, consider swabbing out the barrel every 30 rounds or so with a soapy water or Windex-soaked patch to remove the black soot. Follow up with WD-40, then a dry patch & you're good for another 30 rounds.

Heavy Ball works best in short barrels & P635 is the best ammo ever made for a K98k or 24/47. Any Yugo ammo with below flush seated (not recessed) primers will work fine in M-48's, too.

Hot ammo? Correctly fit the buttplate tightly into your shoulder & you can go home tired & with no bruises.