Finally got around to trying out some old surplus 8mm

[Rotgut]

I bought some old Persian 8mm Mauser rounds a while back from J&G. I finally got around to trying it out this past weekend. Wow that ammo sucks. I knew to expect misfires, but this was ridiculous. Out of 50 rounds, about 20 were complete duds. Of the remaining 30, about 20 were delayed fires (approx 1/2 - 1 second delay). I would have saved money by just buying new ammo.

Despite the crappy ammo (or rather, because of it) I did learn something important. I drift after pulling the trigger... just slightly.. just a teeny bit. I never figured it made much of a difference. But with the delayed fire rounds this really made it obvious how much of an impact it had. With 1/2 - 1 second delay I had to work hard to keep it steady and still hit close to where I was aiming. Frustrating at first, but then when I moved on to some good "new" ammo, my grouping was not only better with the new ammo, but far better than normal. I was only at the 50 yard line but my grouping with the new ammo was about 3.5" (Yugo Mauser M48, no scope.) Maybe not great for some others, but this was really good for me. I was quite happy with the results.

All in all, a frustrating experience with crappy ammo turned into something beneficial. Gotta look on the bright side, right?

[Dano3467]

It's good to learn something new every day.

Sometimes it cost a little bit more for that lesson, all & all sounds to be you had a good experience...... even though.

[2shotjoe]

Misfires are user error. you have to get a new firing pin spring from wolff springs to shoot surplus.

24lb spring worked for me.

Bruce wished he owned a Droid RAZR.

[Rotgut]

Misfires are user error. you have to get a new firing pin spring from wolff springs to shoot surplus.

24lb spring worked for me.

Bruce wished he owned a Droid RAZR.

Not that I dispute possible user error (although J&G did state that misfires are to be expected), but how could that be so? I examined the rounds and they were all visibly impacted by the firing pin, same as the rounds that fired successfully. Would a heavier spring really make the difference?

I didn't even consider that, honestly. I'll have to look into it. Is this also with a Yugo M48 you did this with?

[Ritchie8719]

Misfires are user error. you have to get a new firing pin spring from wolff springs to shoot surplus.

24lb spring worked for me.

Bruce wished he owned a Droid RAZR.

This frequently solves the problem, but not always.

[Rotgut]

I just looked up Wolff Springs as well as found an old CalGuns thread. Thanks for pointing me in that direction bloodhawke83.

[2shotjoe]

Not that I dispute possible user error (although J&G did state that misfires are to be expected), but how could that be so? I examined the rounds and they were all visibly impacted by the firing pin, same as the rounds that fired successfully. Would a heavier spring really make the difference?

I didn't even consider that, honestly. I'll have to look into it. Is this also with a Yugo M48 you did this with?

Yes, the ammo you're shooting is made for a machine gun which has hard military primers. I got a Yugo m24/48, heavier spring fixed misfires for me.

Also, measure your firing pin to make sure it's not short.

Bruce wished he owned a Droid RAZR.

[Rotgut]

If I use the heavier spring, will that matter for regular, non-surplus ammo? I looked up in the manual how to change the spring and it looks pretty straight forward. But I'd rather not have to swap it around every time I change ammo. Thanks!

[2shotjoe]

If I use the heavier spring, will that matter for regular, non-surplus ammo? I looked up in the manual how to change the spring and it looks pretty straight forward. But I'd rather not have to swap it around every time I change ammo. Thanks!

works fine on current production ammo. i've shot surplus yugo, surplus iranian and PPU in mine.

http://www.gunsprings.com/Rifles%20%26%20Shotguns/MAUSER/1948%20%28M48%29/cID2/mID40/dID176

[Rotgut]

works fine on current production ammo. i've shot surplus yugo, surplus iranian and PPU in mine.

http://www.gunsprings.com/Rifles%20%...2/mID40/dID176

Already placed the order. Thanks again. I hope this makes a difference.

[NOTABIKER]

I beat you 20 out of 25 rounds DUD

[Capybara]

Every time someone posts about that Persian 8mm, I warn them, that stuff is junk. I have the 50s Yugo, it too is hard to get to fire, very hard primers but it is better than that Persian stuff.

[paratroop]

Every time someone posts about that Persian 8mm, I warn them, that stuff is junk. I have the 50s Yugo, it too is hard to get to fire, very hard primers but it is better than that Persian stuff.

Thanks for keeping me away from that stuff a while back. My two cans of romanian on strippers just arrived on friday. Now I'm waiting for the yugo sniper stuff to show it's head again.

[Rotgut]

Thanks for keeping me away from that stuff a while back. My two cans of romanian on strippers just arrived on friday. Now I'm waiting for the yugo sniper stuff to show it's head again.

I had a bunch of Turkish ammo on stripper clips and in bandoliers. Not a single dud out of a couple thousand rounds.

[Rotgut]

bloodhawke83, just wanted to say thank you! Your advice was exactly right. I replaced the spring and took the ammo back to the range. Out of about 100 rounds, I only had two 1/2 second hangfires. Otherwise, it worked great.