Ammo for German Mauser

[psteinmayer]

I gave a box of Winchester 8mm Mauser ammo to a friend who recently purchased a German Mauser. he now wants to give me the ammo back because he is concerned that it is not correct for his rifle. He is sure that his Mauser takes only 7.92 mm ammo.

I am certainly not an expert, and have had minimal contact with Mausers (I own Krags, Trapdoors, Arisakas, and Garands), but I thought that the German Mauser was considered to be 8mm. I have done some research and discovered that the designation is actually 7.92X57. I also read that 7.92x57 is the same as 8x57.

My question is this: Is a box of Winchester 8mm Mauser ammo safe to use in a German Mauser that is marked 7.92x57? I just want to put my friend's mind at ease about which ammo to purchase and use...

Thanks very much in advance
Paul

[SteveC]

Hi Paul,

The short, but very complete answer to your question is "YES". 8mm Mauser = 8x57 = 7.92x57. Shucks, if your friend don't want it, feel free to send it to me!

Best regards,
Steve

[tmark]

Some Mausers are marked on the barrel ring in front of the receiver as 7.90, 7.91, 7.92, or 7.93 depending on the manufacturer and year. They all take 8x57 ammo.

[dave]

Marking on barrel is actual bore dia. of that barrel, has little to do with actual cartridge, (nothing with year or maker) except for that. The European name is 7.92 m/m by 57 m/m long cartridge case. Amer makers just shorten that to 8m/m Mauser. In Europe the 30-06 would be a 7.62x63.

[Art]

Because of concerns about a small change in bore diameter in the 7.92x57mm Mauser round as well as the safety of some "last ditch" Mausers manufactured at the end of WW II American ammunition has been really downloaded for years. The Winchester ammo you have barely exceeds .30-30 Winchester ballistics and probably is too underpowered to operate the action on a semi auto G-43 rifle, so it's safe in just about anything. If your friend really wants to be correct and his rifle is German military it is probably set up for the 196 gr. ball cartridge which is quite hot. Not as hot as that 150 gr. Turkish stuff though . Commercial hunting ammo is made in Europe in the 196 gr. bullet weight and is readily available over here.

[dave]

If you refer to the change from .318 to .323 that was made in the very early 1900's, bores size is not the concern. Its the throat or part of chamber that the cart. neck fits in. They were too tight and neck could not expand to release bullet so pressure went up. The only thing done was to relieve/open up this part of the chamber (not rebore!). This includes the Mod. 88's that were converted. Converted rifles and allot of production of new rifles were marked with a star on barrel early on. You are correct on Amer. ammo being under powered for allot of GI type bring backs, of all countries, because of rifle quality concerns. I do wonder about your statement about 30-30 ballistics but have never research it.

[Art]

If you refer to the change from .318 to .323 that was made in the very early 1900's, bores size is not the concern. Its the throat or part of chamber that the cart. neck fits in. They were too tight and neck could not expand to release bullet so pressure went up. The only thing done was to relieve/open up this part of the chamber (not rebore!). This includes the Mod. 88's that were converted. Converted rifles and allot of production of new rifles were marked with a star on barrel early on. You are correct on Amer. ammo being under powered for allot of GI type bring backs, of all countries, because of rifle quality concerns. I do wonder about your statement about 30-30 ballistics but have never research it.

Dave

I realize that "barely exceeds" can be maybe a bit subjective so here is the data.

The current Winchester 8mm Mauser factory load, per their website shows a 170 Gr. Power Point flat base spitzer bullet at 2360 fps.
The .30-30 factory load for a 170 fr bullet (convenient that the bullet weights are the same,) regardless of manufacturer shows a muzzle velocity of about 2220 fps.

I look on a 140 fps difference in centerfire rifles using equivalent bullets as not being significant. Norma, who loads to the higher European specs has a 165gr SP at 2855 fps. and a military equivalent 196 gr sp at 2526 fps. Both close enough to 30-06 ballistics that I would judge them to be equivalent.

One thing I do like about the Winchester load is that it shoots to the point of aim at 100 yards in my Yugoslav M48 with the sight in the lowest (200 meters) position. I don't think I'd ever use it for hunting but if I did it would only be for whitetails in the brush. I do see that as a plus.

[psteinmayer]

Thanks to all for your responses! I will let my friend know that the ammo is good to go... Interestingly enough, the Winchester ammo is an older box (yellow box) marked Western. It was given to me by someone who mistakenly purchased them a long time ago for an Arisaka (which obviously didn't work). I had no use for it, so I gave them to him... Now, I'm thinking that I might have to invest in a Mauser for my collection. This Mauser is the first rifle this man has owned (a pistol shooter), so he is being extra-careful. Anyway, I thank you all for the advice!

Paul