mauser 98 ammo

My wonderful husband bought me a beautiful mauser 98 rifle. The man that sold it to him said it is a 7mm. in the research I have been doing I now don't think it is a 7mm, the gunsmith I took it to was not very helpful.

I don't know what ammunition to use and am reluctant to experiment! It is from WWII, has the nazi swastika on it. Can anyone give me guidance as to how I would find out what I should be using? I would love to use it for hunting this year, if I can't guess I'll have to go with my standby, model 94 Winchester 30.30.

Mausers usually came in one of two calibers known as 7X57 and 8X57. However, if you don't know which you have, take it to a gunsmith. There are two different bores for the 8X57, so having it checked is worthwhile. Your gun probably has the later 'S' bore, but it's safest to check. The Mauser is a very nice rifle which will take deer with ease.

you need a new gunsmith, probably uses 8X67 ammo, make sure the bore diameter is correct for the currently common ammo outthere.....you should be able to find surplus for as cheap as $4 for 70 rounds (ammunitionstore.com)

You certainly don't want to experiment with the weapon if you're not sure what it is chambered for. The wrong size/type of ammo fired in your new rifle would be dangerous.

If I were you, I'd find a competent gunsmith. One that can't determine what the rifle is chambered for is one I wouldn't have any faith in. Find a smith that knows what he's doing and have him determine the caliber and also have him inspect the rifle to see if it's safe to shoot. It probably is, Mauser 98's are fantastic rifles but have it checked thoroughly.

Good luck,

A fast way to check for the difference between 7mm & 8mm is to take one of your unfired 30-30 shells, and try to insert the bullet-end of it into the Mauser's muzzle. That bullet is .308' diameter; it will no way into fit into a 7mm bore (.284' grove diameter), but will slip into an 8mm bore (.315 bore) with a little bit of wiggle room.

There was a time, for about 15 years after WWII, that every gunsmith knew all about German Mausers, but another generation has come up since then. Try very hard to find a Mauser specialist or collector, they'll be able to check out the rifle's markings & tell you where & when it was made. Also, whether its a 'keeper' or a deathtrap. The fact is that some wartime Mausers, made by slave labor in bombed factories with incomplete tooling, were simply unsafe to fire. Importers never knowingly brought that kind into this country (the fastest way to get their own business outlawed would be for the customers to start getting killed & maimed), but some of those were brought back by individual GIs.

With my own eyes/limbs/life in the balance, I would not take the word of someone who doesn't even know the chambering that the gun is safe, or that he's fired it many times before. Its more probable than not that this rifle is fine, but the cost of it not being fine is so high that you need to get it checked out.

Here is the link to the Mauser group that I like: http://infantryrifles.com/ They are usually very helpful. Bill C

I believe plabovitz meant 8x57 which was the German cartridge in 2 World Wars and the one most M98s were made. You may also see it marked

The original poster may want to get all markings off of the Mauser and go to the gunsmihing section in the forums at www.accuratereloading.com. Information from the receiver and other places can make ID a little more likely/positive.

IF her gunsmith could not tell what kind/caliber it was, she needs to support another gunsmith. Of course, somethimes we give the employees in a gun store far too much credit for the knowledge we ASS U ME they possess.

Without looking at it to confirm it, I would say it is an 8mm mauser. 8x57.

Remington makes good mild power ammo in this caliber with the CokeLokt bullet. 170gr roundnose at 2350fps. Loaded to its full potential, the 8x57 is the equal of the 30-06.

enjoy your new rifle!

With the NAZI marking there is little doubt it is a 98 action and was originally bored for the 8x57. At that time it would have also been chambered for the later and to my knowledge only 8x57 cartridge still loaded. However, over the years it could have been rebored to a 8mm/06 or rebarreled to a wide variety of cartridges. The only real way to find out is have a gunsmith check it out. As has already been stated if the person you saw could not tell you what it was, or at least was not, I would have doubts about his right to call himself a gunsmith. You should also have him check the headspacing at the same time.

Oh ya, it's also a top load