User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 4/25/2014 4:24:20 AM EDT
Okay, I have tons of this surplus 8mm that's just been sitting in my ammo locker for many years now. I just bought an FN-49 to shoot it all up with but now I'm reading that you shouldn't use Turkish 8mm or Yugo 8mm in semi-autos. I tried looking up the headstamps but every time I think I find an answer I find another post somewhere contradicting what I had found. So what do I have and is it safe to fire in the FN-49?
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/25/2014 4:43:08 AM EDT
[#1]
The stuff with the 11 * 54 * headstamp looks like 1950s Yugo surplus to me. I've personally had 1/2 dozen case ruptures with that stuff, thankfully in stout Mauser actions so none the worse for wear. I personally would be reluctant to shoot it out of an FN-49. Plus it is known to be corrosive, and cleaning after corrosive ammo is a little more work with a semi-auto than a bolt action. You have to make sure the entire gas action gets properly cleaned not just the bore, bolt, etc.
The other stuff with FN 69 I believe is Fabrique National (Belgium). So it should be safe to shoot out of your FN-49... but I can't tell you if it is corrosive or not. US made ammo from the 1960s usually is non-corrosive... combloc ammo of that era usually is corrosive... but I don't know for western Europe... Unless you can find out otherwise I would assume it is corrosive and clean like it is. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/25/2014 8:18:04 AM EDT
[#2]
Definitely thoroughly clean your gas system, bore, everything with a water based cleaner like diluted Ballistol.
I shoot the Yugo ammo all the time in both my SAFN-49 and Hakim (as well as a K98). Never had an issue. Never had a case rupture or a hangfire or anything. Of course, my POF .303 that everyone loves to hate has also been flawless so maybe I'm just lucky. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/25/2014 11:45:34 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Definitely thoroughly clean your gas system, bore, everything with a water based cleaner like diluted Ballistol. I shoot the Yugo ammo all the time in both my SAFN-49 and Hakim (as well as a K98). Never had an issue. Never had a case rupture or a hangfire or anything. Of course, my POF .303 that everyone loves to hate has also been flawless so maybe I'm just lucky. 1970s and 1980s Yugo surplus is great, it is only the 1950s stuff I've had the case ruptures with. And I'd say it was just my bad luck if I was the only person who ever had them... |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/26/2014 11:05:09 AM EDT
[#4]
FN 8mm and Yugo 8mm, both are corrosive. FN didn't switch to non corrosive until approx 1956, and well, the Yugoslavs never did. (except for commercial PPU which is Serbian of course)
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/26/2014 3:25:01 PM EDT
[#5]
I pretty much only shoot 50s Yugo surplus...53,54,55,56 (i think some 1955 boxes come on clips ;) )
Never had a problem, shoots good too...Pretty corrosive though
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/26/2014 3:27:27 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I pretty much only shoot 50s Yugo surplus...53,54,55,56 (i think some 1955 boxes come on clips ;) ) Never had a problem, shoots good too...Pretty corrosive though Do you shoot it through semi-autos? |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/26/2014 3:40:59 PM EDT
[#7]
It's getting to be a real bear to find 8mm Mauser ammo. Out of the entire Chantilly gun show (which is huge) only three dealers had any at all, and most of it was the Romanian stuff. Absolutely no new-production, non-corrosive ammo to be found in this caliber at any price. I was able to snag a 50 round bag of Turkish, but that was it.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/26/2014 5:54:37 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's getting to be a real bear to find 8mm Mauser ammo. Out of the entire Chantilly gun show (which is huge) only three dealers had any at all, and most of it was the Romanian stuff. Absolutely no new-production, non-corrosive ammo to be found in this caliber at any price. I was able to snag a 50 round bag of Turkish, but that was it. I haven't had any trouble finding US made commercial 8x57 Mauser ammo. Mostly Remington brand, occasionally some Federal in their premium lines. I haven't seen any Winchester in a while and not much PPU the past couple years either. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 6:17:32 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Do you shoot it through semi-autos? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I pretty much only shoot 50s Yugo surplus...53,54,55,56 (i think some 1955 boxes come on clips ;) ) Never had a problem, shoots good too...Pretty corrosive though Do you shoot it through semi-autos? Back when I had my FN-49, it liked '50's and '70's Yugoslav 8mm. No problems with either. Both are corrosive, so clean accordingly with hot water. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 6:25:31 AM EDT
[#10]
Thanks everyone. I knew it was corrosive beforehand, and I shoot 7n6 exclusively through my AK-74's so I definitely have no trouble dealing with it. I just wanted to make sure that the FN-49 isn't going to blow up in my face instantly due to using this ammo (obviously there's always a chance of that happening no matter what).
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 6:36:08 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's getting to be a real bear to find 8mm Mauser ammo. Out of the entire Chantilly gun show (which is huge) only three dealers had any at all, and most of it was the Romanian stuff. Absolutely no new-production, non-corrosive ammo to be found in this caliber at any price. I was able to snag a 50 round bag of Turkish, but that was it. Its out there. Palmetto State has 340 rd cans on sale with free shipping this weekend. 1950s Romanian stuff. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 1:43:19 PM EDT
[#12]
When I say case splits... this is the sort of thing I'm talking about:
With 1953 and 1954 Yugo 8x57 Mauser ammo I've experienced about 1 out of every hundred or so rounds having a major case split like that. If you google it, my experience is far from unique. In an 1898 Mauser style action this is usually not a problem... But as I said before, I would personally not want to have a case split like this in a semi-auto. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 1:51:52 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When I say case splits... this is the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/usrifle/ammo/P1010004_edited.jpg With 1953 and 1954 Yugo 8x57 Mauser ammo I've experienced about 1 out of every hundred or so rounds having a major case split like that. If you google it, my experience is far from unique. In an 1898 Mauser style action this is usually not a problem... But as I said before, I would personally not want to have a case split like this in a semi-auto. That looks nasty. Luckily, about 98% of the 8mm that I have is the FN made stuff, so I'll just keep the Yugo for a rainy day when I run across a decently priced Mauser. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 2:31:48 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When I say case splits... this is the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/usrifle/ammo/P1010004_edited.jpg With 1953 and 1954 Yugo 8x57 Mauser ammo I've experienced about 1 out of every hundred or so rounds having a major case split like that. If you google it, my experience is far from unique. In an 1898 Mauser style action this is usually not a problem... But as I said before, I would personally not want to have a case split like this in a semi-auto. Scary! I want to say most of my Yugo is stamped mid-50s. I also have some Yugo loaded in steel cases with I believe 70's headstamped. They have a waxy coating on the cases presumably to aid extraction. No probablems with either. Seriously, the surplus ammo gods must just like me! ETA: my brass Yugo is all dated 11-56, so that might explain my good luck. The steel case I'd dated '81 and interestingly retains the non-magnetic bullet |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 3:13:44 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Scary! I want to say most of my Yugo is stamped mid-50s. I also have some Yugo loaded in steel cases with I believe 70's headstamped. They have a waxy coating on the cases presumably to aid extraction. No probablems with either. Seriously, the surplus ammo gods must just like me! ETA: my brass Yugo is all dated 11-56, so that might explain my good luck. The steel case I'd dated '81 and interestingly retains the non-magnetic bullet Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
When I say case splits... this is the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/usrifle/ammo/P1010004_edited.jpg With 1953 and 1954 Yugo 8x57 Mauser ammo I've experienced about 1 out of every hundred or so rounds having a major case split like that. If you google it, my experience is far from unique. In an 1898 Mauser style action this is usually not a problem... But as I said before, I would personally not want to have a case split like this in a semi-auto. Scary! I want to say most of my Yugo is stamped mid-50s. I also have some Yugo loaded in steel cases with I believe 70's headstamped. They have a waxy coating on the cases presumably to aid extraction. No probablems with either. Seriously, the surplus ammo gods must just like me! ETA: my brass Yugo is all dated 11-56, so that might explain my good luck. The steel case I'd dated '81 and interestingly retains the non-magnetic bullet 11-56 may be O.K., I dunno, I never got any that late. All the ones I had rupture were 53 or 54. The pics I posted were 55 that I found googling. I've got pics of mine somewhere but I don't think I have them online anymore. The 1970s and 1980s Yugo surplus I've never had any issues with... not in 7.62x39 or 7.62x54R either, even the brass stuff. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 3:20:10 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That looks nasty. Luckily, about 98% of the 8mm that I have is the FN made stuff, so I'll just keep the Yugo for a rainy day when I run across a decently priced Mauser. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
When I say case splits... this is the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/usrifle/ammo/P1010004_edited.jpg With 1953 and 1954 Yugo 8x57 Mauser ammo I've experienced about 1 out of every hundred or so rounds having a major case split like that. If you google it, my experience is far from unique. In an 1898 Mauser style action this is usually not a problem... But as I said before, I would personally not want to have a case split like this in a semi-auto. That looks nasty. Luckily, about 98% of the 8mm that I have is the FN made stuff, so I'll just keep the Yugo for a rainy day when I run across a decently priced Mauser. The first one I had rupture like that was in an 1893 Turk Mauser... the 1893 action isn't nearly as strong (although strong enough that it didn't sustain any damage) due to not having the extra rear locking lug and it also doesn't have the vent holes in the bolt to direct out gas... So when that one went I got a face full of hot, gritty gas and residue. Not at all pleasant. After that I shot all the rest of it I had left (several hundred more rounds) out of 1898 action rifles. In the 1898 action you still know something weird happened, but the gas mostly comes out of the stock, magazines, etc, instead of all of it right in your face. You still get a little puff in the face, but not nearly as bad. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/27/2014 4:43:25 PM EDT
[#17]
AEnemaBay
Remember you have couple options with the SAFN. 1. Turn off the gas on the gas tube and use as a single shot. Rotate the gas plug 180 degrees. Works as a straight pull and you don't have to clean the gas tube, piston, port but only the gas plug. 2. The FN49 has an adjustable gas system under the front hand guard. As the parent to the FAL, the FAL was more accessible then the father (ABL/SAFN/FN49). Adjust to dump less or more gas. CD |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
