mauser "88"gew?318 bore size?s

[spispeza]

Have a chance to buy a  8mm rifle,that has a 318 bore size?88 mauser i believe?its not the regular 8x57 thats loaded by rem. win. federal in factory form.can i get 318 dia.bullets?or,can i size 323 dia.bullets down with a bullet sizer.from a ny of the die makers?how about cases,reloading dies.can anyone tell me the correct name of the cartridge,rifle model?thanks.

[jh45gun]

The cases are the same. The Germans just went to a larger size bullet.  You should be able to resize cast bullets  that much and yea I think they still may make the jacketed bullets but you should check with Companies like Hornady and Speer ect to make sure. For a gun this old as with any Milsurp have a gunsmith check it out before you shoot it. You might run into reloading problems unless you can get a decapper/sizer rod that is for 318 ammo instead of 323 as if you use regular 8mm dies the neck may be too large for the 318 bullets.

[Mikey]

spispeza - that 88 Gewer Mauser is in .318 bore and I believe it may still be somewhat popular in Europe.  In just about every other issue of the Shotgun News there are advertisments for euro reloading dies and components, including that .318 Mauser bore.

However, that being said, I woud use caution.  That round is not the same as the 98 Mauser 8x57 although the cases are almost the same.  In addition, that is an old rifle.  I like the 8mm cartridge but woould suggest your money might be better spent on something newer (model wise) and stronger like a 48A Yugo or a VZ/CZ24/47/52.  Just a thought.  Mikey.

[jh45gun]

I have to agree with Mikey a 98 would be a better choice for a shooter or even better yet if you want a really good shooting Mauser get a Swedish one either a 96 one of the carbines. Jim