8mm Mauser for deer hunting?

Question

I am 14 and I hunt with my Savage 30-06, but would like to take my WWII mauser out this season. Any suggestions on ammo? I have A LOT of military surplus but it is illegal to hunt with and I hear Remington Core-Lokt 8mm Mauser has the ballistics of a 30-30 Win. Help is greatly appreciated

Answer 1

The .8mm Mauser is a good deer rifle with hunting ammo, which is hard to find. If all you can find is Remington Core-lokt, then go for it. Don't be concerned about it having the ballistics of the old .30-30. The .30-30 Winchester has been killing deer for years, and may account for more deer taken in the USA than any other caliber. Besides, remember, the .8mm shoots a wider slug than the .30-30 Winchester. The .8mm is actually a .32 caliber, so that will help with the terminal ballistics which is NOT included in the ballistics reading of the bullet.

Good luck.

H

Answer 2

I shot my first deer with an 8mm mauser and Remington factory ammo, the 170 grain. One shot by the way, but that was more placement than anything else. The Remington factory 8mm is a bit more powerful than the 30-30 but the 30-30 has killed a lot of deer, millions no doubt. There are more powerful 8mm loadings out there: the S&B, Hornady and Norma, are loaded to 30-06 levels. Wolf is loading 8mm too but I have not used it. Good luck!

Answer 3

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RE:
8mm Mauser for deer hunting?
I am 14 and I hunt with my Savage 30-06, but would like to take my WWII mauser out this season. Any suggestions on ammo? I have A LOT of military surplus but it is illegal to hunt with and I hear Remington Core-Lokt 8mm Mauser has the ballistics of a 30-30 Win. Help is greatly appreciated

Answer 4

8mm Mauser and 30-06; you can do the same thing with either. Paul Mauser introduced the 8mm over a hundred years ago; same time frame as the 06; and it has never been realisticaly improved on. Get a box of Wolf 8mm soft point ammo, S&B also make hunting ammo for it, Google it; and here is something I have been intending to do since I love the caliber; get a set of dies and shell holders and simply load some soft points to military ball specs. There are over a hundred million mauser rifles manufactured to date; and they still make them. Just thought of something; go to Outdoor Marksman; they have a pretty fair selection of various types of 8mm ammo, too.

Answer 5

8mm mauser is excellent for deer very close ballistically to an 3006 just make sure that it is a 8mm mauser for 323 dia bullets as there are two 1) *8x57mmJ uses a bullet of 318 dia, the other uses 323 dia bullets commonly refered to a an 8x57mmJS any good gunsmith can tell you, remington is a good load, better to handload i use a hornady 170 grain round nose with a pet load of imr3031 powder that has worked very well in numerous WWII mausers, as most factory ammo uses 196 0r 200 grain bullets a little heavy and slow for me *see www.mausershooters.org

Answer 6

Most, if not all, states have laws against hunting with AP or FMJ bullets, so that rules out most surplus ammo. Military rounds are generally not good for hunting as they go right through most game, while soft points will expand and cause greater, quicker damage. If you're going to be hunting just have your dad/mom/other buy some good quality stuff. I haven't had any experience with Core-Lokt, but Remington is all I use for hunting. Back when I lived in Germany I hunted with my old K98 all the time, the 8mm is a superb deer cartridge.

Answer 7

8mm Mauser Ballistics

Answer 8

8 Mm Mauser

Answer 9

As the others have said, YES. VERY YES. The Mauser is a rifle handed down from On High, blessed with the strongest and safest bolt action ever designed. It lobs a round in the rough direction of "thataway" with the voice of an angry God, hitting with the force of a sledgehammer. It won't just kill deer, you can take on small BEARS (like, black bears and the like) with the thing. Though, for SMALL game, use the Ruger. The Mauser will vaporize rabbits and squirrels. Yes, vaporize. As in, reduce to a fine red mist. Try it, sometime, if yer' so inclined!

Answer 10

Factory ammunition loaded in the US is going to be loaded to SAAMI specifications, 35,000 psi, where European cartrideges are likely to run around 48,000 to conform with CIP specifications. If you can find any, it's going to be expensive. This could be a good excuse to talk to your parents about getting into handloading, so you can make a good load that will do the firearm (and the game you hunt) justice. There are plenty of 170 grain bullets that are good for deer and a few heavier ones that'll do well for elk and such.