I haul it out occansionally- was my dad's- has accounted for Moose, Mule deer and Whitetails over the years. as issued Miltary 8mm Mauser. Was sent back by a friend of his right off an assembly line piece by piece likely has less than 500 rounds through it.
I will have to dig it out it is not a go to rifle for me just more nostalgia. Yes I hand load for it. Last couple Whitetails dad got were with my hand loads , as that was quite awhile ago i do not remember all the details - likely something in the 180-200 grain round nose area. 180 like that in the o6 or 308 are bang flops when I do my part. I do not hunt a lot with the long guns anymore prefer my handheld bolt action or break open loundenboomers.
I have a very poorly sporterized war Mauser 98. Looks like they took the original military stock and reworked it. has wood patches where the sling attached to the stock. All the metal is original. When my BIL passed away, my sister gave all his guns to me and this was in the bunch. He got it from his father who kept it as a souvenir when he was shipped home from WWII. I have never shot it but seems to be in good working order.
The 8 x 57 is a fine cartridge. The picture of your rifle shows a double set trigger and sights set for 100, 200, and 300 yards, old school flip ups. They don't appear to be express sights (50 yrd. increments). Forearm looks like a semi-beaver tail profile, nice touch. Am I on target with those features? As far as the 8 x 57- consider it the German version of the 30-06, with a bit more drop at extended range. It's a good cartridge.
I have never seen a 98K military issue with Double set triggers. likely could have been added when rest unit reworked. The as issued single stage trigger is not particularly nice with its long pull and heavy. There was a huge industry in reworking those military 96 and 98 Mausers back in the day along with the 03 & 03A3's which was based on Mauser designs. I still have a couple military Mauser actions laying around one in 308 and another in 22-250. the 308 is a shooter, the 22-250 never got around to stocking it yet.03A3's all gone and some where is a very poor Krag laying about.
The OP is the one who posted the picture not me. Agree that the 8mm is a proven cartridge on an excellent action!
And i thought you posted a pic i just couldnt see for whatever reasons Set Trigger is right, replaced the Wooden stock with a Hogue stock so the beavertail could be correct. It has safari sights, the claw mount looks sort of like the orignial one on the picture, sorry it has a poor quality. Shot only with FMJ 196gr S&B so far, under 50 yards a one inch group was be achieved. On 100yards via ironsights i was sort of on the target...another 1000 rounds and i might be able to actually do a nice group with it. Its a sporterized 98, rebarreled in the early '90, Bolthandle is a more flatone, doesnt stick out like the original one. Id like to see some mauser pics, if you dont wanna post them public i do accept PM I had to google that one... what the heck was my 1st thought. Whats that one like to shoot?
I have 3 of them, a 1939 a 1941 and a 1944 all, K98's all original. I reload the 8mm but they are expensive as hell to shoot. They are a "hard hitting round" though. Great Moose or Caribou rifle.
Thats quite some varitiy sir, i like! The early ones are the better ones if in good condition ive been told. But pricey... You took them out hunting?
No, not yet. But a friend of mine from my gun club has hunted with his. He put a Monty Carlo stock on his because the original gun he bought had a cracked stock and got it at a good price. I have a "bunch" of old junk, as I gathered over the years. Mine are all in good and "very good" condition and original . I have a Russian capture with the Yugoslavian stamp on it also, Very pretty gun. They are locked up and secured, I'll pull them out and snap a pic for you, send them on a PM.
Replaced the set trigger with a direct trigger from Recknagel 600-1200g. Its set to 900g and made out of steel. Replaced the sporterized magazin and triggerguard with the standard issued. If the light is decent, ironsights are kinda allright with me. Some more contrast would be better i reckon. An old Zeiss 1-6x36 might end up on it anyway... The Hogue stock isnt a perfect fit but nearly perfect. Hardly no recoil, have been shooting 50rounds in a row and no sore shoulder.
Loudenboomers - XP100's ,Savage 500 series, and TC Contenders in various calibers , fun to shoot depending on the unit and caliber . with the XP's and Savages. I am as accurate as any sporting rifle and some times better from 200-400 yards These are center grip units. The Contentder's are rear grip so recoil is a bit more severe in the larger calibers like 35 Rem , full house 44 mag, 7mmWaters and the old standby 30-30. Nice thing about Contender is one frame and a set of barrels will cover just about anything huntable in the states from .22 rimfire on up takes about 1.5 minutes to change caliber. 7mm on an Xp that one will reach way out, at the moment I forget the case - but it is a belted short magnum. Bang, flop on Whitetails and Mulies out to 600 yards if I do my part. The 35 rem on the contender -14" barrel- 180-200 pill will anchor a WhiteTail, If I do my part, out to 200 yards. So will the 7mm Waters ( 30/30 necked down to 7mm). Used to do a lot of Silhouette shooting. The ram Targets at 200 meters weigh about 55 lbs each takes a fair amount of energy transfer to knock them over. Time passes and the sport has kinda died out- re active targets are always a hoot though.
I had a couple of 8mm's sometime back that I bought as a dealer for $26.00 each, mostly just to see what a $26 8mm Mauser looked like. They were shootable, but barely!