Yugo Mauser Question

[omgb]

I bought a Yugo Mauser today. The local Big 5 Sporting Goods had a sale and this one was in a box all covered in cosmoline. The price was right ($119) and the barrel looked like a reconditioned job so I bought it. Cal is 8mm Mauser. Of course, this being the PRK I can't pick it up for another 10 days. Meanwhile, Ive got a few questions.

Can i make brass for it from 30-06 milsurp? the reason I ask is that the Lyman Hand Book #39 lists loads for it using 30-06 brass. Since I don't have any 8mm on hand to check, I can't tell if the case head and body are the same. Any one know for sure?

Also, do any of you have a favorite bullet mould that has worked well in one of these rifles?

[RayinNH]

omgb, yes you can. I don't own an 8mm but a friend does. I'm pretty sure it was just a reform in the 8mm sizing die without any fuss. Be careful not to lube the necks too much so that you don't dent them. My only involvement was to trim them to length in the lathe, it's a pretty fair amount being taken off. Someone with more know how will chime in I'm sure...Ray

[45 2.1]

Just run the 30-06 brass into your 8x57 full length die and trim. Several 8mm molds are good, the Saeco is excellant.

[rocklock]

Can i make brass for it from 30-06 milsurp? the reason I ask is that the Lyman Hand Book #39 lists loads for it using 30-06 brass. Since I don't have any 8mm on hand to check, I can't tell if the case head and body are the same. Any one know for sure?


Yes, you can.

I did it for a while when I got my first 8x57, a Gew 88 Commission Rifle.

That was quite a few years ago and I'm stil using come of the converted cases.

[Frank46]

omgb, why just don't you use regular 8mm brass?. there is plenty of remingtom commercial 8mm brass out there. Unless you have a gadzillion '06 cases to use. Just load them and shoot them. Frank

[omgb]

I think I may just use reg 8mm brass. The deal that got me thinking is that I have literally 10, maybe 15 thousand milsurp '06 cases and I was thinking that I might save a $$ or in the very least, find some justification for saving so much brass :) Thinking about it though, the time used in converting the brass and the potential headache caused by misstamped cases just doesn't make it worth while. I still need to get dies including an M die and a mould and a bullet sizing die and a case trimmer pilot. New guns...$$$$$$ I might be better off just shooting that milsurp corrosive stuff from Spotsmans Guide and Midway.

[BruceB]

omgb:

"......I have literally 10, maybe 15 thousand milsurp '06 cases and I was thinking that I might save a $$ or in the very least, find some justification for saving so much brass :) ....."

Say, ol' pal, ol' buddy....if you're really worried about having SO MUCH .30-06 brass (and me having SO LITTLE to feed my Garand) I'd be almighty pleased to pay you for a thousand or so cases.....waddya say???


Bruce

[StarMetal]

omgb,

About the no headstamp, most military ammo of most all countries wasn't plainly marked either and they seemed to do just fine with it. Another plus to using 06 brass in old milsurp rifles is that alot of the old rifles have very generous chambers including the neck portion of the chamber and being the neck on a sized down 06 will be thicker then the original case it will fit better and better align the bullet to the bore and you may see some better accuracy. When you're going to a much shorter cartridge you have to make sure the neck from formed 06 brass isn't too thick thought that it won't let the bullet release. Don't worry about no headstamp. No sense either in letting that 06 brass lay around, it'll just get old, tarnished, and brittle with age.

Joe

[bruce drake]

When you reform the 30-06 brass, the easiest way to trim it back to 57mm is to use a pipe cutter. mark the shell at 57mm and spin the cutter around the neck a few times and voila, it's trimmed close to length that can be finish trimmed with a Lyman/Gracie or Lee trim system wthout putting undue wear on your cutting blades.

Bruce

[Four Fingers of Death]

I think I may just use reg 8mm brass. The deal that got me thinking is that I have literally 10, maybe 15 thousand milsurp '06 cases and I was thinking that I might save a $$ or in the very least, find some justification for saving so much brass :) Thinking about it though, the time used in converting the brass and the potential headache caused by misstamped cases just doesn't make it worth while. I still need to get dies including an M die and a mould and a bullet sizing die and a case trimmer pilot. New guns...$$$$$$ I might be better off just shooting that milsurp corrosive stuff from Spotsmans Guide and Midway.

Why not rechamber to 8mm/06? Good calibre and you can use up some of your brass and you start with a nice non military chamber. I have been interested in one of these since seeing the info in Spper No 10 manual.

[bruce drake]

most Yugo Mausers are of the Intermediate Length Action size which don't have the length in the magazine box to be converted to a 30-06 size cartridge. If the yugo is a K98 rebuild than it has the length for a 30-06 cartridge but 8mm Mauser is an effective cartridge in its own right when it is loaded to its potential and not to the limitations imposed by lawyers on the ammo companies.

Bruce

[waksupi]

Why not rechamber to 8mm/06? Good calibre and you can use up some of your brass and you start with a nice non military chamber. I have been interested in one of these since seeing the info in Spper No 10 manual.

I think Mick has hit upon your very best solution, if you want to use up that .-06 brass. You would have a very usable round then, for very little investment.

[StarMetal]

One good reason for me not to rechamber to 8mm-06 is case volume. Shucks, I want the least amount of airspace left in a case after it has been charged with the powder as possible. The 8mm-06 is noticebly longer then the standard 8mm. Might as well stick with the 30-06 to start with then, better selection of moulds for 30 caliber then 8mm.

As an aside Layne Simpson did an article on the 8x57 about a year ago and he mentioned the 8mm-06. He said the misconception is that it was created to get alittle more power our of the 8mm. He said that is not true, the reason being when the 8x57's first started coming into this country there was no brass for them. So it gunsmiths said they were killing two birds with one stone...necking an 06 up to 8mm took care of the brass shortage and then they of course said it was wayyyyyyyyy more powerful. Well Layne said he did a side by side comparision of the two round and basically said it's not worth the electricity or hand power to turn the reamer. Not that much, if any, improvement.

There's nothing wrong with that military chamber if you neck size only too.

Just my 2 cents.

Joe

[omgb]

OK, I solved the whole issue. I bought 600 rounds of 1951 vintage ammo from Sportsman's guide. This is supposedly Yugoslavian surplus but I've read elsewhere that it's really 1940ish Turk ammo. Any way, I'm going to try it and see how it works. It's corrosive so i'll be doing the hot water douche followed by Ed's Red. Truth be told, I'll need to get that cosmoline off first. Anyone know of a web site with some pointers that may speed things up? If not, I plan on using white gas and brake cleaner (outside of course). BTW, for anyone interested, that ammo was about $50 bucks delivered for 600 rounds.

[StarMetal]

Use mineral spirits, wd 40, or kerosene to clean off the cosmoline. Have some paper towels or rags, and some old toothbrushes, or some sort of brushes. If you have an aircompressor it's good for blowing off the excess cleaner before wiping with the towels or rags. I suggest doing it all outside include blowing it off with the air.

Joe

[Junior1942]

Put the boxed rifle in the trunk of your car and park the car in the sun. After an hour or so, wipe off the melted cosmoline. Then dismantle the rifle and take it to your local mechanic and borrow his parts cleaning tank. The tank will even have a spray nozzle.

I bought a batch of surplus Turk ammo, and many of the rounds leaked gas from around the primers they were so hot. I pulled some bullets and did some measuring. In only 4 rounds measured, the powder charge varied 1.2 grs. The 4 bullets varied .001" in diameter. The weight of the 4 bullets varied 1.7 grs. Sooooo, fire a round which happens to have a too heavy bullet or a too large diameter bullet pushed with a too heavy charge and . . .

Sooooo, I'll pull all the bullets, dump all the powder, and reload with a reduced charge of the Turk powder. If you get a leaky primer, I suggest you do the same.

[Uncle Grinch]

I had real good success using a cardboard box, in my case an old guitar box, that I lined with tin foil and cut a hole large enough to stick the snout of my wife's blow dryer in. Poke a few holes in the top for flow through ventilation and place your stock on something to get it off the tin foil. I used some old 357 mag plastic shell holders that ammo comes in.

Sit it outside on your carport or somewhere where the noise won't disturb anyone and let it run on high for 5 or 10 minutes. Then crank it down to low and after 20 minutes you can literally wipe the puddles of cosmoline up. It may take several wipings, but given time, it works.

I would be careful of placing it near any combustable material and make sure the air intake for the blower is clear.

This has worked great on my CMP Springfield and my Yugo '98.

[waksupi]

The last one I did, I used Goop hand cleaner. Worked pretty well.

[versifier]

I have read of several people having great luck putting the stock in a dishwasher with the top rack removed, and seen the resulting stocks. They looked good. They did, of course, remove all the metal furniture first.

[DX250]

I have personally formed about 4000 out of 06 brass works great and is easy if you have a form / trim die like the redding I got from Midway for 23.00
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=552646

I just use a hack saw to rough trim the brass then FL resize and load and trim as normal.

If you get a high percentage with neck splits you will need to aneal the formed brass by standing in a pan of water and using a torch heat the neck and sholder just until you see a slight color chang in the brass then let air cool

You are left with a shiny new 8mm brass and best of all it is free.
By the was this is my first post here this place is great