Another new old rifle! 8mm mauser shooters, chime in! (And anyone else)

[wardog5]

My M98 Argentine was the 8×57 I guess. Some gun smith guy rechambered it to 30-06, but same 8mm barrel. Any wonder why I got it for $50?
It's now rebarrelled to 270 Win.
It's a good action for what it was.

Wouldn't that make it an 8 mm-06 a very good hunting round from what I've read a lot of people have made them back when 06 brass was cheap and available everywhere

 

[spladi]

My M98 Argentine was the 8×57 I guess. Some gun smith guy rechambered it to 30-06, but same 8mm barrel. Any wonder why I got it for $50?
It's now rebarrelled to 270 Win.
It's a good action for what it was.

Those are beautiful actions that had a barrel chambered for the 7.65 diameter bullets (,310 ) Shooting the 7.62 diameter, 30-06 (.308 ) would be a little lose but doable. I'm thinking that a gunsmith would not have made such a mistake as the 8mm is a .323 bore.

 

[Hard rock]

Wouldn't that make it an 8 mm-06 a very good hunting round from what I've read a lot of people have made them back when 06 brass was cheap and available everywhere

The 1909 argentine , was one of the most sought after actions for custom gun builders . They have a hinged floor plate and a very streamlined trigger guard , they also are well heat treated and can take a lot of pressure . I have several custom built by my dad from 280 up too 300 win mag . They make beautiful rifles mine shoot as good if not better than any modern action rifle .

 

[Alberta Wexit]

Have had two over the years still have one. Original a 96 Mauser gave to a young fellow doesn't hunt a lot but took a 44" moose three years ago with it. I bought a new version from Zastava and have no plan to scope other than when I built up a load for it. Love the old 8mm. Enjoy the rifle and cartridge should be fun.

 

[ntsqd]

8mm creedmoor…

Maybe 8mm Creedmoor Long?
I recall the day when the way to get the most out of those was to run an -06 reamer into them creating an 8mm-06. Sometimes this was how to deal with a throat just starting to go away, other times it was just a quest for more velocity.

A good friend's young son just took his first Elk with an 8x57. Rifle originally belonged to his grandad.

 

[Alibiiv]

8mm creedmoor…

I'm gonna throw up!!!

 

[del2les]

Sounds like a good deal. I've seen a lot of old Eastern hunters using surplus rifles in the 8mm and some converted to 8mm-06 with upgraded stocks that performed very well. In a good action, it can be loaded to very good performance, and is very capable of taking most everything on the NA continent and other.

 

[ofbandg]

I found a like new 98M in 8x57 years ago and restocked and upgraded the trigger but it didn't quite have the power I wanted so I had it rechambered to 8-06 AI. It took a while to sort out feeding problems because I wanted it butter smooth but it eventually became the rifle I expected it to be, and loaded with Nosler partitions it took both moose and bear very effectively. Unfortunately there wasn't much in the way of loading data at the time so it required a great deal of experimentation to find loads - but I enjoyed shooting it. On the downside the old military barrel only lasted for a couple thousand rounds.

 

[Calvin45]

Sounds like a good deal. I've seen a lot of old Eastern hunters using surplus rifles in the 8mm and some converted to 8mm-06 with upgraded stocks that performed very well. In a good action, it can be loaded to very good performance, and is very capable of taking most everything on the NA continent and other.

I have a unique place for it in my battery now. I have a .300 win for reach with power, and a .358 Norma for my fantasies about hunting the biggest things on this continent haha (will probably mostly shoot deer with it), but both those are long heavy scoped rifles. I'm deliberately leaving this one unscoped. It's lighter, shorter, and with iron sights it'll be perfect for walking brush lines or any of that kind of hunting.

We don't have much for hogs where I live (did when I was a teenager, guys around here actually seem to have more or less shot them all but they are still a big issue elsewhere in Saskatchewan - yes, my American friends, we have those heinous creatures ruining ecosystems and farmlands in Canada too…I'm half convinced if you introduced them to Antarctica they'd make a living eating penguins and laughing in the face of -70 degrees , toughest critters on earth just about and seem to thrive anywhere and everywhere -

But I think an iron sighted rifle in a "thumpy" heavier slower cartridge like the 8mm might be an awesome hog rifle.

 

[shortgrass]

My M98 Argentine was the 8×57 I guess. Some gun smith guy rechambered it to 30-06, but same 8mm barrel. Any wonder why I got it for $50?
It's now rebarrelled to 270 Win.
It's a good action for what it was.

The Argentine Mausers were 7.65x53mm,,,,,,, not 8x57mm. Many 7.65mm barrels were re-chambered using a .30/06 reamers. As .30 cal is 7.62, those re-chambered 7.65mm barrels lacked a bit in the accuracy dept. The Model 1909 Argentine Mauser is a wonderful action to build a classic custom rifle with. The factory hinged floor plate "made" that model 'highly desirable' for a custom. Today the 1909 in unaltered original configuration is too valuable as a collector to tear down just for the action. Those Mauser '98s made before 1939ish exhibited true craftsmanship in their manufacture. The Model 1912 made for the Columbian government , made by Steyr, were like fine, hand made jewelry, and have some of the best case hardening of the pre WW2 Mauser '98s. Those Swedish "Huskies" are also a fine example of European craftsmanship, that Swedish steel being of the highest quality.

 

[thedoveshooter]

I've got one of these Husqvarna 640 (civilian M96 action) in 8x57 and its a great rifle. Handles good in the field and hits hard. I put a Weaver K6 on mine and its a perfect scope for it.

 

[Calvin45]

I've got one of these Husqvarna 640 (civilian M96 action) in 8x57 and its a great rifle. Handles good in the field and hits hard. I put a Weaver K6 on mine and its a perfect scope for it.

View attachment 417928

Beautiful lumber on that

 

[436]

I've got one of these Husqvarna 640 (civilian M96 action) in 8x57 and its a great rifle. Handles good in the field and hits hard. I put a Weaver K6 on mine and its a perfect scope for it.

View attachment 417928

Good looking, I love old school.

 

[Calvin45]

Update! Got the gun and the dies, brass, and bullets.

Got 250 count of the PPU brand 196 soft points. Made just for this cartridge, they appear to be incredibly consistent and well made as is the PPU .300 win mag brass I bought 5 years ago. Do not hesitate to buy PPU components if they're available in the cartridge you're after. Whoever's in charge of that operation appears to be taking more pride in their work than some domestic companies do.

The brass is reformed from 35 whelen that was reformed from .30-06 haha, but it's held up fine and I got 100 pieces of it on auction for 5 dollars so can't complain. But it does entail trimming a fair bit…oh well…

Starting out trying CFE223. 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52 grain charges extrapolated from other data. We shall see.

The irons are solid. Non adjustable. That's just fine with me.

The rifle I got for 205 bucks Canadian…it had a large crack in the buttstock as well as a large chip/piece being held on with electrical tape. The buttplate is missing. But that's no reason for this to only be worth 200, I am
So happy with it!!! Some wood glue and a 16 dollar slip on recoil pad later and we have no problems at all and one heck of a well made gun!

And that action!! I'd never actually handled a husky before, holy smokes this "decrepit" old gun has no business being this dang smooth and FAST!!!!

I don't know what it is about this thing compared to other bolt guns but man I can just cycle this thing way faster and it feels so natural and intuitive.

205 bucks Canadian on auction I feel like I must have cheated!!!!