![turkish mauser 1938 types turkish mauser 1938 types](https://www.turkmauser.com/ammo/images/1936TurkAmmo.jpg)
I can say though that the best clips I have out of all the surplus I’ve used came from some of the good years of Turkish bandoliers, and I’m fairly sure I’ve tried most countries’ surplus ammo save German, Egyptian, and Iranian. Stripper clips on Turk ammo can range from buttery smooth to terrible, depending on batch. I also have a Hakim, and you need to know that you should NOT fire it out of that, even on the lowest gas setting. I actually don’t recall ever having a hangfire, dud, or split case mouth. I have several bandoliers left, and just shot some of it recently. Some years propel that 154 gr bullet at 3300-3400 fps. The Turk ammo is HOT, and sometimes you really need to smack the bolt handle to cycle it. It’s fine in the mauser, but luckily I guess, my mismatch rifle had a straight-handled bolt put in at some point. I’ve had a decent amount of experience with Turk ammo in my k98k, from headstamps ranging from the 30s through the 50s (If I remember correctly? Certainly 30s and 40s). But don’t let this be your 1919 or MG34 or MG42 or FN49 or G43 or Hakim.
#Turkish mauser 1938 types how to#
If you absolutely must, then stick to bolt action Mausers, and understand how to handle hangfires safely. This came to my mind recently when I noticed that a friend had a remnant from a repair job on a caliber-converted (because cheaper!) Browning 1919 that had its sideplates ballooned open by Turk 8mm. Too many machine gun owners are penny wise and pound foolish, spending tens of thousands of dollars on historical machine guns and then firing the cheapest ammo they can possibly find (ie, Turkish surplus 8×57). I am aware of at least half a dozen machine guns damaged or destroyed by it as well. I have one friend who is missing a couple fingers from an incident in which a round of Turk surplus he thought was a dud detonated while he was ramming it out with a cleaning rod – the rod took off his thumb and the bullet took two more fingers. I have no doubt that they are telling the truth – but the very next round could well change that streak for them. Now, I have encountered plenty of people who claim to have fired thousands and thousands of rounds of Turk surplus without any problems. I believe the powder granules have deteriorated and the surface area increased, leading to a much faster burn rate than when originally made, and thus excessive pressure. Why? Because it’s overpressure and has bad primers (lots of hangfires), thanks to poor storage over the decades.
![turkish mauser 1938 types turkish mauser 1938 types](https://www.turkmauser.com/1938/images/20020904_k.KaleFace.jpg)
One would be better advised to buy it only for the projectiles (or really, just don’t buy it at all). It is safe enough in bolt actions, but that’s IT. Whenever I am asked, I always urge people to not use it in self-loading rifles. It’s usually the least expensive option for 8mm ammo, and it can be identified by its Turkish crescent in the headstamps, one-piece brass clips, and crude bandoliers (7 pockets with 2 clips in each). It used to be super cheap (under 5c/round), but in the last few years I have seen it selling for more like 30c/round. There is a lot of Turkish surplus 8mm Mauser ammunition on the market here in the US.