Are those surplus 8mm mauser rounds 'Copper' jacketed?

Question

I got a German K98k for Christmas, and I am very happy.
The only thing I have to do now is to find some 'copper' jacketed ammo for my local gun range.( they don't allow any bullet that will attract to magnet)
Saw some ammo in a surplus store, and they are made in Yugoslavia during the 1950s. Are those Copper jacketed bullet?

DJ... My K98k was made in 1939, and the serial number on the receiver is 3649. All other parts are 9964. I think this one was a Russian capture.
B/c there's no cleaning rod nor the front site hood.

Answer 1

All military surplus rounds are copper jacketed (Full Metal Jacket).

The problem lies not with the jacket, but a possible steel core. Copper and lead are not magnetic - so a regular FMJ lead/copper round will not attract a magnet.

Armor piercing military rounds have either a steel or tungsten core, under the copper jacket, in front of the lead core in the nose of the round. This will attract a magnet. It will also penetrate a good amount of steel. From the outside (aside from any marks on the tip of the round), these look identical to FMJ rounds.

Bring a magnet along with you and check a round or two before you buy. Most military rounds are color-coded. I have no idea as to Yugo/Soviet color codes, however in the US, military ammo has a black tip on the round if it is AP.

Its impossible to tell from here online whether the Yugo rounds you're looking at are FMJ, AP, Tracer, etc...

Answer 2

You found surplus 8mm? Where?

Almost all the ammo coming from the former Communist countries has some steel in the core.
Yugo, I'm not sure. The Turk 8mm is lead and copper only.

If you find some 8mm surplus, buy every round you can afford, eve if you need to borrow money. Really, it's disappeared and the surplus shooters like me are paying premium prices for it.

Congrats on the 98k, I have four and love them.....what code and date did you get?

Answer 3

Copper is actually not very common even in commercial hunting bullets, though standard gilding metal is an alloy that's mostly copper. Some milsurp is jacketed in mild steel, but as others have pointed out, it isn't so much the jacket as the core that may cause you problems.

Answer 4

Wouldn't it be easier to just check it with a
refrigerator magnet?
Thats the kind of test the range requires.