8mm Sporters at Cabela's

[richhodg66]

Was going through KC yesterday, so always have to stop by Cabela's just to look at the used guns. There were three identical rifles listed as "Zastava" Mausers in 8x57, that were obviously military '98 actions that had been decently sporterized; new barrels, new bolt handles, low swing safeties, drilled and tapped and plain, but well-contoured stocks on them. Asking price was $399, seemed like a pretty decent deal if you like the 8x57.

Anybody know who's selling these? Seemed strange to me that someone would be selling a line of sporters in 8x57 on the American market.

[lefty o]

they are likely new production. mitchells mausers would be one of my guesses as to who.

[nagantguy]

Seems like one of those instances where you should buy all there and in a few years when they are really hard to find and remembered fondly and sout after you could name your price on the other two; after enjoying them in the meantime , it’s a highly underrated round and a great cast boolit shooter as good or better than the 35s

[Earlwb]

They were discussing these rifles in this thread here https://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?1063601-Zastava-M48-Arsenal-sporterized-rifles

Zastava apparently did a arsenal sporterizing on the rifles, bent the bolt handle down, drilled and tapped them for scope mounts. Cabelas apparently got a bunch of them to sell in their stores. if you want a nice hunting rifle, they would be pretty good. But with Remington Savage, Thomson Center, Ruger selling modern bolt action rifles for about the same price or less, it is a difficult choice to have to make. There is nothing wrong with the 8x57 round but the other rifle choices let you pick much more common cartridge calibers though. Easier to find in a store somewhere if you need a box of ammo while out in the field. The rifles I looked at seemed to be caked with old Cosmoline like stuff, but looked to be in nice condition with little use, unless they had polished and reblued them or something.

[richhodg66]

They were discussing these rifles in this thread here https://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?1063601-Zastava-M48-Arsenal-sporterized-rifles

Zastava apparently did a arsenal sporterizing on the rifles, bent the bolt handle down, drilled and tapped them for scope mounts. Cabelas apparently got a bunch of them to sell in their stores. if you want a nice hunting rifle, they would be pretty good. But with Remington Savage, Thomson Center, Ruger selling modern bolt action rifles for about the same price or less, it is a difficult choice to have to make. There is nothing wrong with the 8x57 round but the other rifle choices let you pick much more common cartridge calibers though. Easier to find in a store somewhere if you need a box of ammo while out in the field. The rifles I looked at seemed to be caked with old Cosmoline like stuff, but looked to be in nice condition with little use, unless they had polished and reblued them or something.

These looked like good rifles. I do load and cast for 8x57 but haven't done that much with it. Should be an excellent caliber, just not sure it's as good as a .30-06 or .308 would be.

[Texas by God]

For me, I've owned(past tense) many .308s and 30-06's; but the 8x57mm is my choice. BUT- I've always been a reloader. If I weren't, things would be different. No one will convince me that it is inferior to them. Now that I shoot cast in it I like it even better. It was the genesis of the modern rifle cartridge.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Earlwb]

These looked like good rifles. I do load and cast for 8x57 but haven't done that much with it. Should be an excellent caliber, just not sure it's as good as a .30-06 or .308 would be.

In Europe the 8x57 was like the 30-06 here in the USA as to popularity. Its only weak point is availability of ammunition at present in the USA, if you need to buy some somewhere on short notice. Many stores don't stock it anymore. Back in the 1960's the major US ammo companies made ammo for it. But now it seems you have to get the ammo from a European company. Which isn't bad as the European ammo is loaded up to its potential. The American companies loaded it weakly as they were worried about the ammo being fired in non-JS capable rifles. There were a number of 7.92x57 rifles imported that have a slightly smaller bore than the current 8x57 JS rounds are. Anyway the 8x57 is a match for the 30-06 and .308 Win. The ballistics have it being about the same for all practical purposes. After WWI and WWII thousands of Mausers were imported and sold as surplus in the US. Thousands were converted to other calibers of course. But many thousands were still used as with 8x57 rounds to hunt big game. In Europe it was the main cartridge used for hunting by most everyone as it was like the 30-06 in popularity here over there. Actually some American companies actually offered their bolt action rifles chambered for the 8x57 cartridge too.

[richhodg66]

It's no secret that the US War Department copied the 98 Mauser and 8x57 pretty closely with the 1903 Springfield and .30-06, in fact, I think there was an international patent infringement law suit over it.

I have a bunch of .30 calibers and molds to go with them. I have a few 8mm rifles and molds to go with them. I have no doubt that giver equivalent bullet selection, the 8x57 would be the equal of the '06.

[Hamish]

"not sure it's as good as a .30-06 or .308 would be."

Thems fightin' words mister,,,,,,,,:wink:

Finding a nice Mauser for $400 nowadays is a win for sure.

[Deadeye Bly]

The 1903 was patterned after the 1893 Mausers and the Krag. Design work on the '03 started in 1899 and the Gov't had lots of 1893 Mausers in inventory after the Spanish American war. They probably had zero 1898 Mausers. The only thing on an '03 that was possibly copied from the '98 is the bolt sleeve lock and it is enough different that I doubt it is a patent infringement. The story that it was copied after the '98 Mauser is false but has been repeated for well over 100 years so it is taken as the truth.

[TNsailorman]

I have heard the argument debated add nauseum in gun rags for well over 50 years and I for one don't really know the complete story on the design/copy of the 1903. Does it really matter. Heck no. They are both great rifles regardless of the story behind them. The only thing I would change about the 1903 would be better sights (too fine and hard to see in dim light) and the firing pin (need to be one piece like the mauser). I like/have both and do not feel handicapped with either when I carry it. The 1903 in particular is light and very quick handling. My first rifle ever was a 98 sportized mauser(I paid a whole $8.00 for it, I think) and I was not disappointed then and am not now. If the current Zastavia(probably misspelled) are as well made as some of their other produced guns, they should sell well and more power to them. my experience anyway, james

[RED BEAR]

I was looking for a 8mm mauser untill i saw the prices. I know what year it is ut my mind is still living 40 years ago. You can buy a new rifle cheaper than they want for a surplus mauser. I remember passing on some mausers years ago because they were $70 dollars i did pick up an unfired 6.5 swede for $60 dollars and just couldn't see the extra $10 dollars for one that had obviously ben used. I realize that may sound crazy but i still live in the past.

[northmn]

I have an old Turkish Mauser that I sporterized as it was not really all that collectable. I also handload the cartridge and it works very well for anything I would want to hunt with it. Hornady makes a very good 200 grain load for it at around 2400 fps I believe. I have loaded mine up to military specs or so. Last deer I shot with it was with a 150 grain Speer, not loaded super hot but not at starting loads either. The bullet did not shoot through the deer but must of exploded as it had a very large entrance hole. There was no tracking as the deer went down where it was hit. With a different bullet the other deer I shot with it acted were pretty well taken. Handloaded it is a good caliber, the wimpy factory loads not as good. Some claim that one outfit uses 170 grain 32 Special bullets. For the hand loader there are good bullets available.

The 30-06 was for practical purposes a lengthened and necked down 8 mm as the base dimensions are the same. I have made 8mm Mauser brass out of 30-06 cases just for kicks. It does not require a lot of work, just trimming.

DEP

[pietro]

Zastava apparently did a arsenal sporterizing on the rifles, bent the bolt handle down, drilled and tapped them for scope mounts.

But with Remington Savage, Thomson Center, Ruger selling modern bolt action rifles for about the same price or less, it is a difficult choice to have to make.




YMMV, but for the same money, I would much rather have a good Mauser 98 than any of the newer/cheaper plastic/fantastic economy rifles - AND, the 8x57 is no slouch in the game field.


.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I have an old Turkish Mauser that I sporterized as it was not really all that collectable. I also handload the cartridge and it works very well for anything I would want to hunt with it. Hornady makes a very good 200 grain load for it at around 2400 fps I believe. I have loaded mine up to military specs or so. Last deer I shot with it was with a 150 grain Speer, not loaded super hot but not at starting loads either. The bullet did not shoot through the deer but must of exploded as it had a very large entrance hole. There was no tracking as the deer went down where it was hit. With a different bullet the other deer I shot with it acted were pretty well taken. Handloaded it is a good caliber, the wimpy factory loads not as good. Some claim that one outfit uses 170 grain 32 Special bullets. For the hand loader there are good bullets available.

The 30-06 was for practical purposes a lengthened and necked down 8 mm as the base dimensions are the same. I have made 8mm Mauser brass out of 30-06 cases just for kicks. It does not require a lot of work, just trimming.

DEP


You should try some of the Nosler Ballistic tip bullets in 180 and 200 gr. offerings for excellent DRT kills.Robert

[gpidaho]

I'm fond of the 8mm Mausers, I have a Brno and a model 98. The war time German 98 is one of the nicest rifles I own but sadly sportsterized. All numbers match and all the Nazi stampings are clear and crisp. I've had the rifle torn completely down and if its been more than test fired it isn't obvious. Looks to me that some old Hynee stashed this rifle as it's very obvious it's never been to war. The front sight has been changed, it's in a sporter stock and has a detachable magazine. Stamped 243 over 1940. Picked this one up for $500 and no, it's not for sale. Gp

[FergusonTO35]

Zastava firearms are excellent, I have an 85 bolt action .223. They have always had USA distributors that let them down, unfortunately. Interarms, Charles Daly, Remington, and now Century. I think the firm would do well to go ahead and set up shop here and do their own distribution.

[Earlwb]

Well on the plus side the 8mm Mausers won't be banned right away if Sen Feinstein and her gang get their way. Every year they put out their gun control bill that bans anything semi-automatic, lever action, or has a removeable magazine. They actually have a list of guns that are approved and the bolt action Mausers are on their list. Basically anything made with WWII or earlier technology is OK so far. All of our more modern bolt action rifles that have a removeable magazine are also banned of course with their insane anti-gun bill. Anyway, so far her bill hasn't made it out of Committee so far.

[richhodg66]

I actually have a very nicely sporterized Chech Mauser in .30-06, plus a few commercial '98 Mausers (Santa Barbara, Interarms Mark X and Sears Model 50), I like Mausers and have been kind of on a Mauser kick the past few years. I've been kind of gravitating to the small rings ones the past year or so. Only 8x57 I have in the stable is an ameteurish sporterized Oviedo I need to get back to working with. Maybe I ought to trade something off and pick up one of these Zastavas.

[Earlwb]

I found some information showing bullet velocities for comparing some 8mm vs 30-06 rounds. The 8mm stuff is no slouch when it comes to slinging bullets downrange.
8mm:
1. Standard Yugoslavian was 196gr @ ~2450ft/s. That's 2.61 kfpe.
2. Standard Turk (at least, 1951 headstamp) was 155gr @ 2960ft/s. 3.01 kfpe.
3. Standard German was 154gr @ 2880ft/s (I think). 2.83 kfpe.

.30-06:
M1 Ball was 172gr @ 2700ft/s. 2.78 kfpe. (Boat-tailed.)
M2 Ball was 152gr @ 2740ft/s. 2.53 kfpe. (Flat-based bullets.)

and
From GUNS Magazine article:
The Yugoslav ball managed 2,471 fps, with an extreme spread of 135 fps and standard deviation of 38 fps. Groups from the newly bedded K98k ranged from 2.7 to 4 inches, with the most often encountered five-round spread measuring just under 3 inches. The S&B sporting round employed a 197-grain soft-point over 42 grains of stick powder at 2,556 fps, 141 extreme spread and an SD of 41. Groups measured 4, 2.7 and 1.3 inches. The Turkish ball (154 Grain) was the most consistent of the lot. Average velocity was 2,977 fps with an extreme spread of only 60 fps and SD of 18 fps.

ref https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/30-06-versus-8mm.215954/

FYI They mentioned the 762x54R too
7.62x54R (I used 7.62x54R.net as my source)
Prvi Partisan FMJ: 150gr FMJBT @ 2800 ft/s. 2.61 kfpe
Hungarian Yellow Tip: 182gr FMJBT @ 2660 ft/s. 2.86 kfpe
Hungarian Light Ball ('80s): 149gr FMJBT @ 2820 ft/s. 2.63 kfpe
Russian 7N1: 152gr FMJBT @ 2725 ft/s. 2.50 kfpe

[nekshot]

I would rather buy a brno vz24 any day of the year over those. At least the vz have a smooth hand fit action.

[Kraschenbirn]

The 1903 was patterned after the 1893 Mausers and the Krag. Design work on the '03 started in 1899 and the Gov't had lots of 1893 Mausers in inventory after the Spanish American war. They probably had zero 1898 Mausers. The only thing on an '03 that was possibly copied from the '98 is the bolt sleeve lock and it is enough different that I doubt it is a patent infringement. The story that it was copied after the '98 Mauser is false but has been repeated for well over 100 years so it is taken as the truth.

The 'patent infringement' was over the Springfield Armory's use of stripper clips and, before WWI, in accordance with an out of court settlement, the U.S. paid Mauser $.75 for each Springfield produced. During the 'war to end all wars' the U.S. ceased payment and, afterwards, an international tribunal ruled in favor of Mauser's claim for the unpaid license fees...to the tune of $400,000 (around $5.3M in todays dollars.)

Bill

[bruce drake]

Rich,
Go back and buy one or even two if you can afford it and have plans to put a .308 caliber barrel on of the actions later. , Zastava Arms made the Long Action Mauser 98s that Remington sold from 2006-2008 as their Remington Model 798s and were either bolt faced for a .473" boltface or their Magnum rifles were chambered for the larger belted cases of the .375 H&H family cartridges.
Zastava hasn't officially rebuilt Mauser rifles since 1950 although many veterans of the Yugoslavian troubles in the early 90's believe the Zastava Army Factory rebuilt many Mod 98s to furnish arms for the newly created Serbian military.
Chances are, that the action if its marked as a "Zastava" it is a new-made action and barrel. If it has either Model 98/48 or Mod 98/40 or the Royal Crest of Yugoslavia anywhere on it, its a rebuild rifle from WWII stocks. Most Yugo pre-war Mauser rifles were made by FN and have 98/22 at times marked on them while WWII German captured firearms would have a complete range of arms factories producing the K98K model of the rifle in Intermediate and Long action designs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_798
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_M_98/48

That said, if you find a Yugo 48 model rifle that has been sporterized, those are considered an Intermediate-Length action (bolt and receiver are a touch shorter than a Long Action. The Intermediates Yugo 48s where originally chambered for 8x57 but they can handle 308 Winchester length cartridges without having to modify any feed rails as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_M_98/48

If it is a 8.75" long-action Mauser 98, you can use it for 30-06 length cartridges in addition to the 8x57mm-based family of cartridges., And after some bolt and feed-rail modifications, magnum cartridge cases

I also own a several long and intermediate length action Mauser 98s. (action length is 8.5") I currently have one of my Yugo 48s rechambered as a .22-6mm Remington (5.56x57mm) from a 22-250 Remington 1-14" barrel, one Yugo 48 was re-barreled in 308Win and one of my Long action 98s has been chambered from its original 8x57 to 8mm-06. I'd not recommend a Long Action for a 308 win though. The bolt throw and travel is excessive to a Model 98 designed for a 12mm longer cartridge. I do own a couple of Model 98 rifles in .308 Win on a Long-action 98 and I have committed to myself to conversions to be longer 8x57mm and 7x57 cartridges this summer.
You need to shoot heavy 190-200gr lead or jacketed bullets for the 8x57 to really come into its own as an accurate and deadly highpower cartridge. https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/8mm-06/ the 8mm-06 doesn't malfunction in feeding or shooting and the wildcat lets me exceed 30-06 performances with those same heavy-weight bullets. with a .323" caliber bullet and the increase in maximum stabilized bullet weight in comparison to a 30-06 bullet which caps out effectively at 180gr, the 8mm-06 (https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/8mm-06/) has long been called the poor man's 8mm Remington Magnum. (https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/8mm-remington-magnum/) as its only 400fps lower than the 8mmRemMag book listed loads despite having a 10% volume advantage over the 8mm Rem Mag which a careful handloader can use to his advantage.

Have a good day doing some further research on that commercial Zastava Arms or Surplus Yugo rifle.

Bruce

[richhodg66]

I may have to do that, Bruce.

Another odd thing, I got on a 16 gauge kicks a while back and now have a couple, but was on the hunt for a double barrel in it and eventually found a nice old Stevens and just as soon as I did, I went to the Cabela's in Wichita and there were five or six old doubles which I believe were listed as Zastava also in 16 gauge. All the same. Then, the Cabela's in KC had three or four of the same thing, plus a few in 12 gauge too. Don't need one now, but if I still had, I would have looked them over and picked out the best one.

I have rarely bought much from Cabela's but I sure do like to go in there and look around.

[Earlwb]

The nice thing about Mauser 98's is that they sell pre-threaded and fitted barrels in many calibers for them. You only need a finishing reamer to get the head space just right. So if you decide you want a different caliber, no problem changing one out. If you wear out of the existing barrel is worn out you can replace the 8x57 barrel easily too. New stocks sold by several businesses too. Even some custom triggers as well. One of the benefits of the old surplus after war days.

[koger]

The ones I looked at were new commercial actions, did not have the thumb cut nor the cut in the receiver for stripper clips. They were in older, crudely finished stocks at the Cabelas store in Lexington, KY. These are the same guns Remington imported and sold under their name a few years back.

[Texas by God]

The 8x57S stood the military world on its ear with a 154gr fmj at 2900 fps in 1905. Everyone scrambled to keep up, including us, switching from the 30-03 to 30-06. The 8x57 works very well with light weight jacketed bullets. The discontinued Hornady 125 gr sp was one of the deadliest deer bullets I've ever seen at 3000 fps.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Earlwb]

I happened to drop by the Cabelas in Fort Worth again, and went by the gun racks. They had three or four of the Zastava Mausers left. They do look like they used a civilian receiver, and used a 8x57 military barrel on them. The stocks are typical sporter stocks with the raised cheekpiece. Nothing fancy about the wood or its finish though. The guns are all greased up, so no way to tell what the bores look like without cleaning them good first. They had about ten or so the last time I was in the store. The price now is $449 each. Some were missing the sling mounts though. I don't know if the sling mounts are in a box in the back or someone stole them.

They also still had some Schmidt Rubin military rifles as well as a bunch of Mosin-Nagants. The Mosins all had round receivers no octagon receiver versions.

[gnostic]

These Mauser actions appear to have a large portion of the receiver ground flat, I could be wrong. I'd wear a full face motorcycle helmet and welders gloves when firing.

[Earlwb]

The ones I saw were not ground flat on top. They did have Weaver groove scope bases installed. Anyway grinding on top of the receiver to make it flat should not affect the strength any.

[richhodg66]

The ones I saw weren't ground flat and did not have military stepped barrels either.

Beginning to think for $400 I oughta go back and get one, but I really need another basic deer rifle like a hole in my head.

[Earlwb]

yeah, that is my problem too. I need another deer rifle like a hole in the head too. Sort of darned if you do and darned if you don't kind of thing.

[Texas by God]

It's only money, you'll make more. Says the devil on your shoulder....
$400,blued steel & actual wood, 98 Mauser goodness.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[oldblinddog]

Known forever as the Springfield, although it was also built by a number of other gun companies, the new bolt action rifle slavishly aped nearly all of the salient features of the latest and fully developed Mauser Model of 1898. These included an internal, machined magazine box incorporated into the bottom metal, the long one-piece extractor and dual front locking lugs with a 90-degree bolt lift.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/1903_springfield_rifle.htm

237020
1903 Springfield and 1898 Mauser

[RogerDat]

Military headstamp 30-06 brass is ubiquitous and readily converted to 8mm brass. 2 inch Harbor Freight metal chop saw and/or the RCBS trim form die https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012110297/rcbs-trim-and-form-die-8x57mm-mauser-8mm-mauser-from-30-06-springfield Make a pile of brass that due to the military not putting the caliber on the head stamp doesn't read 30-06 to falsely label the finished brass. I guess one could be in a I have to buy store bought ammo situation but why? We all make ammo not buy it.

The caliber is good, the rifles are good, it's only a matter of will having one be something you enjoy? Or not? And if you decide to sell it will the price be likely to at least recover a fair amount if not all of the original purchase price. I don't consider buying for future profit. Crystal ball lies too darn often but a good 8mm should at least hold its value well. I guess I think it is more likely to be sold later for a different project or acquisition where a few dollar loss is considered the price of using and enjoying it for a few years. On the other hand if you really don't need a tool buying it can be a waste of money. Deer whackers you got? Then it only makes sense as a "good deal" and a fun project. You value that as you perceive it. Some one else may put a different value. Me I would be all over that like flies on fresh... you get my drift.

[EO1]

Regarding the Zastavas in question by the OP.
I have been looking at these for a few weeks at my local Cabelas.
What I have seen are a mix of all sorts of things. The receivers have all been M48A (intermediate length) with the stamped floorplate yet d&ted for scope bases, not ground, and in 8x57 but that is where the similarity ends. They can have sporter barrels w/sporter sights or military stepped with the issue sights. Stocks are the same, they can be sporter stocks or sporterized military with the butt sling slot plugged, or some cross between the two, all appear to be beech. Bores on the military stepped barrels can range from poor to almost new.
Being post 1945 made receivers, the metallurgy is better than pre 46.
If you are considering the purchase of one of these, check the bores.
These rifles appear to be made up from "leftovers" (so to speak) - either from the factory or the importer (ala Bannerman). For the money they are honest no frills mausers made with more modern metallurgy and have a "soul" to them instead of current production lower end rifles.
Ammo is cheap online with Privi 8x57, both SP & FMJ, for $12 a box and there is plenty of it.



.

[Uncle Grinch]

They were discussing these rifles in this thread here https://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?1063601-Zastava-M48-Arsenal-sporterized-rifles

Zastava apparently did a arsenal sporterizing on the rifles, bent the bolt handle down, drilled and tapped them for scope mounts. Cabelas apparently got a bunch of them to sell in their stores. if you want a nice hunting rifle, they would be pretty good. But with Remington Savage, Thomson Center, Ruger selling modern bolt action rifles for about the same price or less, it is a difficult choice to have to make. There is nothing wrong with the 8x57 round but the other rifle choices let you pick much more common cartridge calibers though. Easier to find in a store somewhere if you need a box of ammo while out in the field. The rifles I looked at seemed to be caked with old Cosmoline like stuff, but looked to be in nice condition with little use, unless they had polished and reblued them or something.


YMMV, but for the same money, I would much rather have a good Mauser 98 than any of the newer/cheaper plastic/fantastic economy rifles - AND, the 8x57 is no slouch in the game
field.


.




Well said!

[RED BEAR]

The 8mm is a darn fine round. Loading components can be had pretty easily as well as factory ammo. A lot of factory ammo is very light in case someone uses it in one of the old .318 bores. Surplus or some European ammo is pretty good and hand loader can really do the 8mm justice.

[1Hawkeye]

My local Cabela's (Gainesville)had some of these a while back but they were not priced that low and most of them looked like bubba found a hacksaw & a 12 pack. They had 6 or 8 of them some weren't drilled & tapped and a couple didn't even have the bolt handles bent. I guess they got the runts of the litter.

[EO1]

My local Cabela's (Gainesville)had some of these a while back but they were not priced that low and most of them looked like bubba found a hacksaw & a 12 pack. They had 6 or 8 of them some weren't drilled & tapped and a couple didn't even have the bolt handles bent. I guess they got the runts of the litter.

Yes, they certainly can be mixmasters (not necessarily a bad thing), some being more than others although I have not seen any that bad at my local Cabelas. D&T matters not to me as I use iron sights.
I'm thinking it's the last of the Zastava M48 (and possibly M70) models now that they are making their new M808, but I could be wrong.
No doubt about it, they certainly are head scratchers.

[1Hawkeye]

Out of boredom I went to Cabela's yesterday afternoon. Now they have a bunch of zavasta 12 gauge double barrel shotguns in nra ratty condition I think they were 299.99

[Earlwb]

I dropped by our local Cabelas today, and they got in a large number of Mosin-Nagant rifles again. Still $399 each though. Not sure about condition of the bores as they had trigger locks on and they cable tied the bolts down too. So one can't peek in the bore easily. They only had one 8mm sporter rifle left of the rack though. It was missing the sling mounts. It did look like they got some Zavasta shotguns in too. The over under I looked at had the bead sight broken off.

[1Hawkeye]

Ya, a buddy of mine that worked at cabelas for a while as a part time hobby job told me the guy who ordered all the mosin-nagants got sacked over them. It seems he ordered several thousand of them at the current retail price. Which is why they are trying to get 400.00 bucks for a miss-matched, round top mosin with a badly beat up stock.

[EO1]

Yeah, now that Bass Pro owns Cabelas, it's cable tied bolts and trigger locks and they wont remove them for an inspection prior to purchase. So it's sorry dude, we dont have a return policy on used rifles. I've seen that in action.

[TNsailorman]

There is a sure cure for the bolt tie and no return policy. Tell the Store Manager why, Walk out and don't look back. That has always been the way I handle it. Just ask Dick's.

[Prodigal Son]

Got a really nice BYF 45 obendorf target rifle in 8x57 with Williams peep sight that really is a gem! Anyone wanting one let me know! Custom stock and awesome bluing let someone give it a new home!

[richhodg66]

We drove over to KC to visit #2 son today and I swung through there on the way back. They still had a few of these, but I'm broke right now. Might go back sometime.

These are decently done sporters. About the only thing bad is they still have the military safeties, I'd have to put one of the low swing types on it. As stated, trigger locks prevent being able to tell much else. This Cabela's has allowed the removal for me to look down bores before, not sure if they still will or not, I didn't ask.

[EO1]

I sent an email to corporate about that garbage. They replied that it's for the safety of their customers. What kind of **** is that ? Looks like the lawyers are now running Cabelas.

[Reverend Al]

Up here in Canada we have a distributor who has been importing lots of sporters from Europe. Lots are in 8x57, but there are lots of 9.3x57's and other calibres too. I bought one in 9x57mm since I have lots of .35 calibre moulds ...

https://www.tradeexcanada.com/produits/95

https://i.imgur.com/ubFzRx4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ucMu57e.jpg

[Earlwb]

Up here in Canada we have a distributor who has been importing lots of sporters from Europe. Lots are in 8x57, but there are lots of 9.3x57's and other calibres too. I bought one in 9x57mm since I have lots of .35 calibre moulds ...

https://www.tradeexcanada.com/produits/95

https://i.imgur.com/ubFzRx4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ucMu57e.jpg

No wonder we don't have any of them here in the US to buy, you guys up in Canada got them all.
:-)

[RustyReel]

Up here in Canada we have a distributor who has been importing lots of sporters from Europe. Lots are in 8x57, but there are lots of 9.3x57's and other calibres too. I bought one in 9x57mm since I have lots of .35 calibre moulds ...

https://www.tradeexcanada.com/produits/95

https://i.imgur.com/ubFzRx4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ucMu57e.jpg

I wander thru their website every now and then even though I know I can't buy anything from them. We have a vendor here in the US that sells similar stuff, but their prices seem to have taken a jump recently. Nice looking rifle you have there, actually every rifle I have seen you post has been nice lookin'!!

[Reverend Al]

Thanks ... I've been fairly lucky and had some "jewels" come my way for sure. I bought a couple of the HVA Rolling Block sporters in 8x58R Danish Krag at the right prices when they first got them too. (Later on as they got scarcer they raised the prices.) I was lucky enough to get two nice examples with perfect bores and the one that I've shot so far with an old Lyman heavy 8mm boolit shoots very well.

[nekshot]

That 9x57 is a sweet cartridge. I wanted one of those husky 9x57 so bad I could taste it and feel it in my hands. But enough is enough!! I will enjoy them thru others. I do have a 35 caliber unchambered barrel for my vz24 and maybe it will become a 9x57!