My new k98 in 8mm06

[1911 guncrazy]

Hello , this is my first post here , I just got a 1939 Mauser Oberndorf code 42 k98
Rechambered in 8mm06 . Rifle has all original stock and hand guard , all metal match down to the action screws . I know a lot of these rifles where rechambered due to the lack of 8mm .I want to learn to reload cast bullets for this rifle . Does anybody here do this ? I have a lot of 30.06 brass , how hard is it to reform brass to take the .323 bullet ? Any help would be great .

[legend]

Welcome to the site !

many people here can guide you in the forming of brass to fit your 8mmo6,i have never done it. i have however formed several other ones and its not only fun, its pretty easy to do.
i will step aside and let them tell you how to do it.

you have come to the right site !!

[hicard]

I got a fairly good price on a "30-06" sporterized mauser because the owner said that he could not hit the broad side of a barn with it. I took the challenge and after some experimenting, I found that I had an 8mm-06. I bought a set of dies, looked up a load and took it to the range. It shot great. I had to tell the guy about it and I think he felt a little foolish. Just run the 06 brass up into the 8mm-06 sizing die and load with a published load from a reloading manual. You will have a ball with it.

[Wayne Smith]

You are expanding the neck slightly, from .308 to .323 generally. The expander ball in the 8mmx06 die will do the job without a lot of effort. Lube the inside of the necks the first time you run them. If you get Hornaday dies I believe they have a much gentler slope on the expander ball than most other die sets. You may want to check this out to make sure I am right before you spring for a set.

[kysunfish]

I hunt with a 8mm-06 and have for many years. Buy yourself a Deluxe die set with a neck sizer and depending on what sort of hunting/shooting you do Remington 185 gr bulk 8mm bullets and I use several different powders 4064,AA2520,AA2700,4350, Western Big Game is the newest thing in my cabinet. Also my arms are long and and I found a slip on recoil to go over the original UN-altered K98. It made shooting 200 gr. Speers that were up to pressure much better. The cast stuff I shoot 174 gr RN gas checks and I started with 12gr 2400 and have never went over 16gr. If the only thing that has been altered on your rifle is the chamber I would not do any more permanent ones as they are more valuable than you think. Good snag. Sunfish

[Four Fingers of Death]

I hav ealways wanted an 8mm/06 since getting my first Speer Manual in the 80s! HaHa! I have never seen one, but fancy getting a bubba'd K98 to work with. I have a Turk, which is a pretty ordinary rifle, but it is still in original (if not amazingly good) condition, so I don't fancy altering it. I am also worried about this conversion with the small ring barrel I am led to believe the Turks have.

I don't really need this as I have 308s, 3006s, 300WMs and 338WMs, but, like I said, I still fancy one.

I check the shelves of all of the gun shops. I must get on the phone one day. A Boyd's stock and a diy rust blue and the old 2.5x Weaver or 4x Pecar I have kicking around downstairs will get me going.

The other alternative and possibly a better one would be to buy a new Zustava in 8mm. Nice MkX action and stock,all for $740. A bit dearer than some of the cheaper sporters, but they don't come in 8mm! Probably end up not a whole lot dearer and would save a lot of elbow grease and hours in the shed which are needed for many other projects.

[Multigunner]

One of the Scandinavian countries special ordered some Mausers chambered for a 8mm long cased cartridge they used in their version of the Browning MG for extra long range fire.
The Mausers were to be carried by the MG crews so they could use the same ammo in their rifles as in their MG.

Most of these rifles were later rebarreled to 7.92x57 (and possibly to 7.62) and sold off, many going to Israel.

If you run across a Mauser that appears to be rechambered to 8mm06 it might pay to do a chamber cast, the long case 8mm (8x63?) in military trim could be valuable.

http://www.8x63swedish.pridham.ca/history.html
Note the muzzle brake.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Wow! I'd love one of those, Multigunner! That's a rifle for a big Viking and that's where my ancestry comes from, via Ireland, lol. One helluva Military round.

[Hang Fire]

I hav ealways wanted an 8mm/06 since getting my first Speer Manual in the 80s! HaHa! I have never seen one, but fancy getting a bubba'd K98 to work with. I have a Turk, which is a pretty ordinary rifle, but it is still in original (if not amazingly good) condition, so I don't fancy altering it. I am also worried about this conversion with the small ring barrel I am led to believe the Turks have.

I don't really need this as I have 308s, 3006s, 300WMs and 338WMs, but, like I said, I still fancy one.

I check the shelves of all of the gun shops. I must get on the phone one day. A Boyd's stock and a diy rust blue and the old 2.5x Weaver or 4x Pecar I have kicking around downstairs will get me going.

The other alternative and possibly a better one would be to buy a new Zustava in 8mm. Nice MkX action and stock,all for $740. A bit dearer than some of the cheaper sporters, but they don't come in 8mm! Probably end up not a whole lot dearer and would save a lot of elbow grease and hours in the shed which are needed for many other projects.

I had a K98 rechambered to 8mm-06 in 1962, IIRC cost me a whopping 10 bucks.

I too have a 1943 K.Kale M38 Turk, some of the metal work looks like was done by a dull toothed beaver, but the thing with sharp rifling at the muzzle has proved to be very accurate.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I too have a 1943 K.Kale M38 Turk, some of the metal work looks like was done by a dull toothed beaver

HaHa, can't blame the Turks for not worrying about pretty, especially with a lot of shooting going on not far from home! They look like a bit of a blunt object, but work ok. I know one guy who has one, it is his only rifle and he shoots Winchester factory ammo through it exclusively. He hunts with it and does a bit of plinking and benchrest at the range with it. He has a Lyman peep sight fitted to it and gets groups most guys with scoped hunting rifles would be happy with. Lord know how many rounds have been through it, but it still delivers the goods.