Spanish Mauser came with Turkish ammo

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HisSoldier

New member
The ammo is 8 X 57 MM and I found more than one warning about it. The bore measured, with a dial caliper (I'll slug the barrel when I get it home) .317", but the Turkish steel jacketed slugs measure .323".
I've always been a pistol guy, and am not familiar with rifles, does the .006" interference seem excessive?
The cases are brass berdan primed and supposed to be "slightly" corrosive. I'm starting to think the 300 cartridges are a waste.

Am I being too picky? I planned on loading my own ammo anyway, and since I don't hunt I'd be loading middle of the page.
 
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Scorch

New member
A Spanish Mauser in 8X57 would be a M43, which never had anything but JS bore diameter (.323"), so worrying about the old obsolete J bore groove diameter (.318") that was removed from Imperial German service in 1905 is kinda silly.

And BTW, "slightly corrosive" means just flat "corrosive", especially in high humidity areas like yours.
 
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hooligan1

New member
Scorch said it, but it bears repeating corrosive is corrosive.
The bore measurement is missleading, and a slug is imperative.
But once again Scorch saved you a few minutes of work, your rifle will slug at .323.
And the ammo you have will be fine.
 
F

FrankenMauser

New member
Which Spanish Mauser?
There were several chamberings over the decades.

The only one that I can think of that would make sense at .317" groove diameter would be a 1916 rechambered to .308 CETME, and now well-worn.
 
J

Jim Watson

New member
My Krieghoff 8x57 JR (IR) measures .3175 in the grooves.
Click to expand...

Not unusual from what I have read.
Many German sporting rifle makers clung to the old J bore long after the military had gone to the S bore, especially for the rimmed version.
 
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Smoke & Recoil

New member
Thank you Jim Watson, but I was only suggesting to HisSoldier that it is possible that
his rifle has a .318 bore and to error on the side of caution.
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
"...corrosive is corrosive..." Yep, but it's not the gigantic crisis it's made out to be. You only need to flush the rifle with plain hot tap water before normal cleaning.
"...re-chambered to .308 CETME..." Wouldn't ever be worn to .317".
No using .323" ammo in a .318" barrel period.
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
"...re-chambered to .308 CETME..." Wouldn't ever be worn to .317".
Click to expand...
It is not wise to use superlative phrases in regards to bore wear, given the varying degrees of abuse, misuse, neglect, and improper cleaning that firearms (not just mil-surps) see in the hands of lazy or uneducated people.

Just last year, we had a fellow here that was chasing accuracy issues with a Mosin Nagant. After poking, prodding, and water-boarding as motivation, he finally slugged the bore. 0.319" in the grooves, but it still had very pronounced and consistent rifling.
I, personally, have a barrel here that's supposed to measure .312" in the grooves, but is worn to .325".
 
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44 AMP

Staff
Many German sporting rifle makers clung to the old J bore long after the military had gone to the S bore, especially for the rimmed version.
Click to expand...

This is probably the main reason .318" bullets are still made.

When the German military switched to the .323" bore, all the rifles in service were "converted". Some say rebarreled, some say rebored, and one source said they were not completely rebored, only has the rifling leads bored for the larger bullets.

I find that most plausible. It's long known that oversize bullets will squeeze down quite well, and without problems, if they get a gradual start.

Commercial rifles in both bore sizes were made through WWII. I don't know about after, though its certainly possible.
 
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