Greetings Koba, I have watched several of your videos regarding the Gewehr 88 rifle. I'd like to ask your advice about an 88 that I was gifted, if you don't mind. Mine is dated 1891, from Spandau, and is "S" marked. It appears to have been exported to Turkey at some point, judging from the rear sight. The specimen I have is in excellent shape. The headspace is perfect. I slugged the barrel, as you recommend, and it comes in at .324 on one pair of grooves, and .3245 on the other pair. I imagine the barrel, which is otherwise very bright, may be somewhat worn. My question is: Is it safe to fire .323 ammunition in this rifle. I'm not sure if I will get gas passing the bullet, or if the extra .001 or .0015 diameter of the bore over the bullet diameter will be closed as the bullet is obviously somewhat deformed, as the cartridge is fired, and takes the rifling, creating a good gas seal. I was planning on firing the Greek 8mm x 57mm, 200 gr. ammunition that is now available on the market, as the pressures from this production ammunition seem to be somewhat lower than, say, Turkish ammunition. I was also considering handloading very low pressure rounds with a 150 gr. .323 Sierra bullet, and 28 gr. of Hodgdon 4895. I thank you beforehand for your insights! -Paul Dieterich
First when firing jacked bullets in any rifle they should be .001 or.002 smaller than the groove diameter, the only time gas blow by is a problem is with a cast bullet because the gas temp, is high enough to melt or soften the lead bullet. I would avoid surplus ammo, but that is just me, I know people that do shoot surplus ammo in these rifles, so I can't give you an answer on that.
Greetings Koba, I have watched several of your videos regarding the Gewehr 88 rifle. I'd like to ask your advice about an 88 that I was gifted, if you don't mind. Mine is dated 1891, from Spandau, and is "S" marked. It appears to have been exported to Turkey at some point, judging from the rear sight. The specimen I have is in excellent shape. The headspace is perfect. I slugged the barrel, as you recommend, and it comes in at .324 on one pair of grooves, and .3245 on the other pair. I imagine the barrel, which is otherwise very bright, may be somewhat worn. My question is: Is it safe to fire .323 ammunition in this rifle. I'm not sure if I will get gas passing the bullet, or if the extra .001 or .0015 diameter of the bore over the bullet diameter will be closed as the bullet is obviously somewhat deformed, as the cartridge is fired, and takes the rifling, creating a good gas seal. I was planning on firing the Greek 8mm x 57mm, 200 gr. ammunition that is now available on the market, as the pressures from this production ammunition seem to be somewhat lower than, say, Turkish ammunition. I was also considering handloading very low pressure rounds with a 150 gr. .323 Sierra bullet, and 28 gr. of Hodgdon 4895. I thank you beforehand for your insights! -Paul Dieterich
First when firing jacked bullets in any rifle they should be .001 or.002 smaller than the groove diameter, the only time gas blow by is a problem is with a cast bullet because the gas temp, is high enough to melt or soften the lead bullet. I would avoid surplus ammo, but that is just me, I know people that do shoot surplus ammo in these rifles, so I can't give you an answer on that.
Ill be there