1905 8mm Mauser

[TackDriver284]

A friend showed me his grandfather's 1905 8mm Mauser and he is anxious to use it on a hog. He asked me if I could reload for his rifle and I looked over the rifle, it has that German Eagle insignia on it and by golly that rifle is old. I am reluctant to handload for that particular rifle since handloads is mostly for modern firearms differ in CUP pressure and the last thing I want is for that old rifle to blow up and injure someone that will use it. I did some research on it and it has two different bores, .318 for the earlier rifles and .323 for the later rifles.

What do you recommend? I recommend that he cleans the rifle real good and use it for a wall hanger. Opinions appreciated. Thanks

 

[SJB358]

Id slug the bore to makes sure you would be using the correct bullets and then I'd probably have a qualified smith give it a once over. If it's good, the 8mm Mauser data is pretty sedate and should be fine. It may be old but i can't see any reason to not use it if it checks out.

 

[DrMike]

There is no particular reason not to use the rifle. As SJB358 states, slug the bore to verify whether your friends has a J or JS. If you are worried about the strength of the action, have it checked by a qualified gunsmith. That will set your mind at ease. I have several rifles in my own collection that are that old or older or that are built on actions that old. I do enjoy using these older rifles.

 

[baltz526]

Unless there are obvious issues with the rifle I would find the bore size and shoot it. In 1905 Germany standardized the .323 diameter JS-bore in their Military rifles. This leads me to believe your Rifle is safe for modern 8mm JS data. Lyman #50 has the info you should read. 50,000 PSI loads are also the standard Lyman has printed for the 8mm JS. I always wanted to pick up an original military 8mm from the time when they where finished to the higher standards. Pre WWI. Since your rifle is on the line for date of manufacture, You should go the extra mile to research serial number and bore size. Germans loved to stamp stuff on guns, look for a JS

 

[Thebear_78]

8mm Mauser is a great old cartridge. When running a 190-200 gr SP bullet 2400fps + it is capable of taking any North American game.

I have a m48 Mauser set up as a scout. Really neat to be able to use stripper clips for quick reloads. It would be a fine hog rifle.

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[TackDriver284]

I saw the barrel he had, and its not tapered, it has like one section that is thick, then another section that is thinner, then another section thinner, etc. I think it has 4 sections of thicknesses on that barrel.

 

[Thebear_78]

A stepped barrel is normal for a mauser


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[SJB358]

Cool rifle TBear. Looks like a great hunter.

 

[1Shot]

47.5 grs IMR 4895 with a 175 gr Sierra SP usually shoots really well in the 8x57JS. This is NOT a max load according to the Sierra manual. It will do around 2550 fps and will handle any hog, deer or black bear.

 

[ramiroh146]

The 8 MM is a great cal .I have two 1903 military rifles I been using one with scope for long range one open sites for 100 yard or so.

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