Yugo Surplus 8mm

[Spartan113]

I just got some 1952 Yugo 8mm Mauser ammo for a good price but I know that the 50s stuff is hit or miss, I know to stay 100% away from 1953 factory 12 stuff since that was the worst of all. But mine are 1952 from factory 11. I was wondering what you guys thought, whether it would be safe to shoot (of course out of bolt guns) or just scrap it for parts for when I move back to where my reloading station is out of state?

[Donkeypunch0420]

I've shot a lot of Yugo surplus over the years, it's some of the best surplus ammo around IMO. I've heard of a few bad batches, but I think yours is fine. If you're still not confident in it, you have a buyer right here. Just remember to clean well as it is corrosive.

[I Swan]

I've sold about 50+ boxes of it here with 0 complaints. Still have some left.

[pistol3]

I have a bunch of 1950s Yugo stuff. When I run it through my mauser, the brass expands such that it is super hard to cycle the bolt. I don't know what the deal is, but it is a big pain to shoot. I wish I had not bought so much of it. That said, the price was great.

[FrankMo]

Shoot it. If it doesn't fire, use a rimmed cartridge piece of brass to re-cock the Mauser by hooking the rim in that little slot on the right of the cocking piece. If it doesn't go off the second time, put in another one. Dispose of the dead round appropriatelyl

FrankMo

[AceGirlsHusband]

Shoot it. If it doesn't fire, use a rimmed cartridge piece of brass to re-cock the Mauser by hooking the rim in that little slot on the right of the cocking piece. If it doesn't go off the second time, put in another one. Dispose of the dead round appropriatelyl

FrankMo

Tape it to a railroad track, stand back, and wait for the train to roll over it.

[zvardan]

Oldest ammo you trust is from the 80's? 😂

It's fine stuff, you'll just need to make certain you upgrade your firing pin spring if you get unreliable ignition.

[SloChicken]

I consider ammo mfg in 1952 as too old and unreliable , risky being made over 65 years ago, thats why it's for sale, the countries that still use it dont even want it

the oldest ammo I would trust has to be from the 1980's or later

LOL, this guy ...

So, how is it that you decide ammo is good for 40 years, but not 70 years ???

[smle-man]

Some 1954 dated Yugo 8mm ball has a hairline crack in the case that extends into the primer pocket. The crack is visible in bright sunlight.



This is what happens to the case when it is fired:



If this happens in a 98 Mauser action rifle the gas should go down into the magazine well and may blow the floorplate off of the magazine. Fired in anything with less effective gas control you may end up with a split stock.

I've only seen 8mm ball marked 11 1954 with this issue and I've examined a lot of this stuff made from 1949 to 1980.

[Spartan113]

Took somewhere around 50 of the bullets with me to the range the other day and all of them shot with no problems and I'm going to assume the rest of my ammo will work with no real problems. Obviously if there is something noticeably wrong with the casing I will not shoot it for safety concerns