Mauser ammunition

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  • peafarmer

    Active Member
    Dec 23, 2011
    149
    Annapolis
    Hi, I am thinking about buying some Mausers. I had a 7mm Chilean when I was a kid that went bye bye and so I will pick up one of those as soon as I can. I think I will also look for a 6.5mm Swede. Anyway, I was at the gun show in Chantilly last Friday and was going to purchase some Mauser ammo while I was there. But, I did not find a single vendor that had any.

    So, I was just wondering what you guys are doing for Mauser ammunition now? Maybe you are already stocked up? But, for those that are not, what is the current line of thinking...wait patiently? Reload? Is there enough of a market for these calibers to return when the panic stops?

    Thanks,
    Andy
     
    Last edited:

    ken792

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 2, 2011
    4,480
    Fairfax, VA
    I sold off all of my factory 6.5x55 a few weeks ago for $1 a round, both PPU and m/41. It can go for more, but the market for surplus and related stuff kind of sucks on the local forum I was using.

    Since 6.5x55 was the first caliber I reloaded, I still had the tooling after deciding to shoot that caliber again last fall after a few years. I got a bunch of Speer 140gr soft points really cheap last year when Midway had them at $0.16 apiece and have managed to find a few pounds of RL-22, RL-23, and SW4350 powder while traveling for work at $25-30 a pound. I got more once fired 6.5x55 brass from CMP Forums.

    There was one private seller at the VGCA show who had a bunch of PPU and Remington 8mm Mauser for $15 a box asking, but he took $10 a box. He had a bunch of Remington 7mm Mauser the next day, but raised his prices.
     

    Captain Waggles

    Active Member
    Jul 11, 2018
    114
    Dundalk, MD
    8mm surplus comes up time to time. The last time I was at the Gettysburg show, I saw cans of Romanian 8mm among others at good prices. My K98 and Hakim both love 1970's+ yugo surplus and shoot it better than new production PPU. But I would stay away from 50's era yugo and Czech surplus. I've had hangfires from both and was inaccurate.
     

    toppkatt

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 22, 2017
    1,185
    And the Germans never bombed Pearl Harbor.

    Go with it; he's on a roll.

    A Kaiser Roll? :D

    you say 'clip' I say 'magazine'... it's a small device that holds the 'what-cha-ma-call-its' in the thingy...:rolleyes:
     
    Last edited:

    JasonD67

    Active Member
    Jan 23, 2021
    180
    Annapolis
    It's all available from online sellers. You may not like the price, but you can get it. Check out Ammoseek and look around.
     

    peafarmer

    Active Member
    Dec 23, 2011
    149
    Annapolis
    Thanks to all. I guess I'll create another post tonight to inquire about Schmidt-Rubin Swiss rifle ammunition so as not to offend.

    Andy
     

    toppkatt

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 22, 2017
    1,185
    Thanks to all. I guess I'll create another post tonight to inquire about Schmidt-Rubin Swiss rifle ammunition so as not to offend.

    Andy

    Not offended, just startled at Mauser and Swiss K31 in the same sentence. But, good luck finding much surplus Swiss ammo on the market at this time. Yes there is some but not as inexpensive as it once was. Aside: The Swiss ammo was great ammo, match quality. I've heard good things about PPU Swiss, just never tried it myself. Reloading, when you can find the components makes sure you have the caliber you need when you need it.
     

    WatTyler

    Ultimate Member
    Back to Mausers, SG Ammo has had Romanian and Yugo 8mm posted for a couple of weeks. Prices are high, but that goes without saying. The Yugo from the 50s has a reputation, but I've shot quite a lot from the 50s through my K98k without a problem - though I've always been ready for a surprise. Romanian is as reliable as it gets, but is steel case. Neither are conventionally reloadable because of Berdan primers, though. If you want to roll your own I think you're going to be looking for PPU.
     

    parttimer

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 10, 2013
    1,321
    Calvert
    I took 20 boxes of surplus 8mm Ammo to the Redding auction house 2 weeks ago along with some other items for their military auction sale. The sale is on May 15-16.
    Too bad this thread didn’t pop up before then.
     

    135sohc

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 27, 2013
    1,157
    To each their own, I would never waste a penny on anymore surplus 8mm at what it sells for now. Corrosive, non re-loadable brass and hang fires galore.
    Funny how surplus 8mm largely dried up overnight and vanished. And then during this most recent ammo shortage all sorts of old nasty surplus is all coming out of the woodwork.

    When things were not stupid you could get PPU FMJ or Soft points for 65-70 cents/round all day long. His price went up slightly but even my LGS has had PPU soft points in stock for $1/round. I dont like it but for an otherwise odd ball caliber that nobody in the US makes anymore for volume production I can understand the price and tolerate it. Excellent brass, good accuracy for what I expect out of a 84 year old beater and it goes bang every single time.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    now is a crummy time to START reloading. Not a bad time to START reloading a new caliber IF you can get Dies. Bullets are getting better but finding dies can be hard. they are 2x the price just about now and you pay ransom on ebay

    I'm pretty much doing ok cause I was bulking up over the summer.
    I spent hours pulling iranian 8mm for the components and tossing the cases and corrosive/corroded overly hard primers.

    Nice thing about the PPU soft points spoken about is that those empty cases can gain you $5 a box of 20 EASY. So remember that around here, re-loadable once shot Milsurp calibers have value. the ONLY time you should toss those empties into the brass bucket at the range is when I"M the one shooting next to you. Save that. ... just leave on the table or the ground and I'll come get it.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    now is a crummy time to START reloading. Not a bad time to START reloading a new caliber IF you can get Dies. Bullets are getting better but finding dies can be hard. they are 2x the price just about now and you pay ransom on ebay

    Yep. I sold some dies I picked up at auction on evil pay for what I thought was a fair price ($25-$30+s&h) and they got snapped right up. Even an old Lee Loader in 7mm Mag sold in 2 days with a BIN of $45+s&h. Shoot, the old Lyman Ideal sets are even selling.
     

    SigMatt

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2007
    1,181
    Shores of the Bay, MD
    I have decent stashes of 8mm Mauser and 6.5x55mm. I also have sufficient components to reload each. I have small quantities of 7x57mm and 7.65x53mm factory ammunition (200 rounds or so of each) to provide brass for reloading. I have bullets and compatible powder for either one but I don't shoot my Chilean cavalry carbine and my Argentines are largely safe queens but I have a policy of having ammunition for any gun I own as "just in case".

    8mm is my primary and I have cans full of surplus and new factory ammunition. I shoot M48s mainly with that stuff but got some Turkish Mausers and Gew.88s if I want to mix it.

    My Swedish Mausers have always been well fed because 6.5x55mm has been my preferred sweet spot caliber. But two of them aren't milsurps so most of that ammo goes to a Howa 1500. I have a Kimber sporterized M96 I bought that way that is a decent rifle but it is sensitive to hot commercial loads and can only shoot factory ammo I know is loaded to military specifications. My 1898 M96 never goes out to play so the only milsurp I shoot is my M38.

    I've got unopened packs of Swiss 7.5x55mm GP11 and components for that too but the GP11 is trade goods. About the same as having gold bricks in those cans.

    Now is not a time to buying a Mauser to shoot but never a bad time to start a collection and obtain ammunition later.

    Matt
     

    2ndatrades

    Member
    Aug 20, 2020
    82
    Howard County
    I keep an eye on centerfiresystems.com for 8mm. I picked up Czech surplus 8mm from them 5 months ago at 27cpr after shipping/taxes. I regret not buying more. Aimsurplus also had 8mm PPU ammo at like 1$ per round, but that has also been sold out for awhile. Keep an eye on websites and put you email address in for restock notifications.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Yep. I sold some dies I picked up at auction on evil pay for what I thought was a fair price ($25-$30+s&h) and they got snapped right up. Even an old Lee Loader in 7mm Mag sold in 2 days with a BIN of $45+s&h. Shoot, the old Lyman Ideal sets are even selling.

    hmm, I have a lee loader for mosin, I bet I can get some cash for that with 20 cases and surplus pills.
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    Thanks, guys. It sounds like long term reloading might be the best answer. I'll start looking in that direction.
    Andy

    Long term is right. I have been searching for 8mm bullets for 9 months without success. I have plenty of brass, powder and primers waiting to reload.
     

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