Thanks to Runningman we are able to throw some more nations into our worldwide melting pot of 8mm Mauser. He chipped in some Iranian, Turkish, Greek, and a 5-pack of Yugo m75 for our earth shattering, highly scientific experiment here. If this doesn't earn me tenure, I'm going back to being a short order cook.
I mixed it up a little bit. Along with the k98k, I clocked rounds with the k98b as well. I wanted to see the effect an extra five inches of barrel would have on velocity (23" on the k98k, 28" on the k98b). Also, I paid far less attention to what this ammo was doing in the accuracy department on this go-round. The range was packed and I refused to walk 100 yards downrange just to inspect & switch targets.
First up was the Iranian ammo. This stuff was surprisingly accurate, all 10 rounds were in the paint (the paint is a 6" circle). I fired all of it through the k98k:
2554 fps
2431 (hang fire)
2435 (hang)
2485
2506
2466
2426 (hang)
2507
2425 (hang)
2509
This ammo entails three notable features: surprisingly accurate, terrifying with the hang fires, but very educational in that those hang fires show you the quality of your trigger pull!
Honestly, I don't care how accurate it is. If it takes 1/2 the rounds a second or more to ignite, it's junk, good for nothing more than making noise.
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Yugo m75 sniper ammo. This is nice ammo, consistently loaded & always sure to fire. Looking at the last bunch of numbers I ran using this ammo, I think it's safe to say this is some of the softest & lightest 8mm Mauser you can find.
All shot from the k98k:
2392 fps
2414
2433
2420
2427
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Another go-round with the Ecuadorian ammo. I really need to spend some time paying attention to how this ammo prints on paper. I have no clue what it did today but the velocities were evenly spread.
K98k:
2502
2510
2515
2505
2480
K98b:
2648
2616 (double strike)
2680
2622
2654
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Next up is something with which I have zero experience: Greek 8mm. Now, I grew up in a Greek town in Florida. I know their ways. Let me just say...I was not brimming with optimism regarding their surplussed ammunition. But this is fantastic ammo! Consistent, clean, accurate and sure to fire every time. I hope that's not just the result of a small sample size.
K98b:
2531 fps
2537
2467
2516
2526
k98k:
2447
2440
2430
2393
2421
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'50's Yugo
K98b:
2455
2473
2475
2411
2414
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Lastly I tried the Turkish ammo. This is where I had the most fun. My partner told me 3k fps is near the top end of the 8mm limits. Knowing from the last trip that Turk stuff is pretty hot, and that the longer barrel on the k98b increased some velocity across the board, I wanted to push that clock over 3k fps. I nailed it.
K98k:
2924fps
2922
2873
2914
K98b:
2988fps
3018
3008
3038
3024
2997
Fun times! Thanks again to RM for contributing to it! My shooting partner was just as curious to see the Chrony results as I was. We also had some laughs clocking 45acp (snail's pace!), 9mm, 7mm Mauser & 30 carbine. That chrono is the neatest range toy invented since Shiva created firearms.