Surplus 8mm Ammo Review: Yugoslavian (1953)

Yugoslavia used 8mm for many years, and produced ammo for decades. Some of this ammo varies in quality based on year. This video is about ammo from 1953. You can go back and watch my videos for ammo from 1978/9.
If there is any information that you would like to know that is not included in this video, send an email to [e-mail]
Currently I have the following:
PPU 8mm
Late 70's Yugoslavian
Early 70's Romanian
Chinese
Canadian
Italian
Greek
I am looking for:
50's Yugoslavian
Turkish
Ecuadoran
Egyptian
Ethiopian
FedArm
Etc.
Music: Eva - 失望した: • EVA - 失望した [Synthwave]...

[@VitoBb1978]

Thanks again 8MM Man you one again have taken us to school with another class in 7,92 ballistics . From what I’ve seen Yugoslavian surplus outperforms current production.

[@8mmmauserman]

I really like Yugo surplus. I'd like to aquire a lot more of this stuff.

[@VitoBb1978]

Iam thinking this just maybe solid alternative.

[@captainmayday4431]

HaHa, I agree. the old "Yugoslavian" surplus, from any year, is better then modern PPU "Serbian" ammo. At least it has better Muzzle Velocity, for the same bullet weight. LoL

[@8mmmauserman]

Yeah. Some of my earliest videos were about that.

[@hardlylivin6602]

@@captainmayday4431 It is very good stuff. I’ve been buying a whole lot of the 1940’s surplus yugo ammo and shoot it a lot. Never had a failure to fire or hang fire with it. Same cannot be said of that Greek 8mm I bought a while back.

[@GabrielFugman]

Good video. I really like the '70s Yugo stuff, much better than the big batch of (fairly hot) Turkish ammo I got basically free. Ended up buying, ah, a lot of it :) Hopefully enough for a few years anyway! Almost as good as the Czech stuff I wish I'd gotten more of. Tip I picked up from a boomer is when shooting with corrosive primers, run a bit of Windex down the barrel to get the worst of the salts out if you're not going to get to a proper cleaning right away.

[@xjda68]

A few things I would like to educate about. The label reads; 7.9MM rifle cartridge 15 ком. (Abbreviation for комада = pieces) with heavy bullet powder "п6" series 52/52 (cep. is abbreviation for серије = series) 12-1953 is factory code 12 (Igman Zavod, Konjic, Yugoslavia [now Bosnia & Herz.]) and date of 1953. Yes, I can translate Serbian, as I am the Charman of the Board for the American Slavic Association. One point to make on the factory code on the headstamp. It does not mean it was loaded by the factory indicated. There were several factories, 6 in total in the former Yugoslavia that all Co-opted. Igman would load casings made by PPU and others. Not the other way around however for PPU. I know all this as I still have relatives living there and I also know someone whose father worked at Igman as a department manager for decades. The only way to be certain who loaded a round is take it out of a sealed box and determine from the box label where it was manufactured. Another point is mostly all brass made say in the past century+ has been annealed. Usually more than once. There is a full annealing at one stage and also one or two neck annealing done. Some casings, mostly military you will see the last neck annealing as they don’t always remove it. Sometimes it can be left as a visual conformation or just a cost savings of not removing it. So why does some brass split or rupture. I could type a whole essay as to why. I will make it very short. Improper annealing is number one. Sometimes the makeup of the metal used is improper or it has flaws in the alloy. Sometimes your headspace is off and the case stretches more than it can handle. Excessive pressure upon firing. Firing out of battery and so on. Nothing to do with the breech face design of the Yugoslavian Mausers. The design you speak of was a cost savings measure. Nothing more intended. The Yugo casing are NOT thinner than other manufacters of the time. Section one and compare and you will see they are the same. The last few millimeters of the casing is solid WEB, so most bolt rifles are designed to allow for this unsupported portion. If the case head splits or case ruptures above this webbing, it has to do with one of the above I mentioned, nothing to do with breach design or thin brass. I have had issue with Yugo M75 dated 1999 with head failures. I have had many issues with head and case side ruptures with factory 11 and factory 12 casings 1952 thru 1955 fired in a M48. I have shelved what I have left for pulldown. If you want lot numbers and pictures I can provide. I also see you have posted above you are still looking for Ecuadorian rounds. Ecuador never produced and 7.9 for themselves as far as the cartridge collecting community knows of, or I am aware of. I donated you some Argentine made for Ecuador rounds that totaled about 25 rounds along with a good amount of 1940 Greek about 6 months ago. I have not seen you test them as of yet. Am I to assume you need more than 25 rounds before testing?

[@8mmmauserman]

Thanks for all the info! I’ll pin the comment. I copied and pasted the description and forgot to change that, but 25 should be enough.

[@xjda68]

@@8mmmauserman Ok, great. looking forward to the review of the Ecuadorian rounds and the 1940 Greek 7.9 ammo.

[@ErnieStanley]

Some years back I picked up some mid Fifties Yugo to shoot in a G 43 I had. Before taking it out I got on line and searched for info on wether or not there could be problems with the ammo. I was stopped in my tracks by reading a posting by a guy that had blown up a nice all matching G 43 on his last shot of the day! Curious to learn more I pulled the bullet from one of my batch of rounds and sectioned the case. I discovered that the wall thickness varied. I compared it to a sectioned Winchester 3006 case and noticed the Winchester's wall thickness was very uniform and it's interior surface smooth and clean compared to the somewhat deterioated Yugo interior. Moving forward I pulled all of Yugo bullets saving powder and bullets. I then simply used my loading press and 8mm dies to make 8mm brass from range sourced 06' and 270 cases. A plus here is being able to use non corosive primers. Also I was able to down load by a couple of grains which saves wear and tare on the gun.

[@thetiredtechnician5845]

I own a 1942 ASFA Ankara M38 Turkish Mauser, and I've gone through a very good amount of this ammo, 150 rounds of it. And I had 5 cases split on me out of 80 or so rounds I shot. The rest I put through my Yugo M24/47, and no issues at all. Though they were somewhat harder to cycle compared to my Romanian LPS ammo I have. They weren't as "slick", I guess. Just another interesting sidenote.

[@topturretgunner]

8mm Mauser Man. Hello and thank you for another video regarding Mausers. I own an M48. Secondly I drove over the road for 35 years (tractor trailer) and have been in Nebraska many times. Lincoln, Omaha, Beatrice, Grand Isle and North Platte, to name a few of the cities I've passed through. Well my friend spring is breaking out and I'm guessing from some of your previous videos that you may have done them in Western NE but, swampy area says Platte river. Oh well! Be safe my friend and thank you again for the videos. By the way. I drove for a bit for a company named Crete Carrier Corp. out of Lincoln, NE right off of US6 Near I80. Be safe.

[@8mmmauserman]

When I started the channel, I lived out West in the pan handle. Now I live in central Nebraska

[@topturretgunner]

@@8mmmauserman Cool 👍. Your early videos the landscape was very similar to what I used to see around I80 after crossing the Wyoming/Nebraska line. Your fortunate to live in a beautiful state. I’ve been tempted to try fishing the Platte River there in central NE. Take care my friend. 👍😉

[@coreman8087]

Great review... thanks for sharing... here in the Middle Easter region they consider the Yugo surplus as the worst for the rifles, it is almost half price of any other ammo available... it is fixed belief that the ammo will ruin your rifle barrel... and overhere, these rifles are part of the folklore and it is valued a lot in terms of traditions.

[@8mmmauserman]

It’s really interesting to me how the rifle has become the sword of our world, deeply steeped in mysticism and mythology, and in many cases, unique to the user.

[@teammosin9999]

Nice job!! Lot's of good info here! I didn't realize you were also in Nebraska.

[@8mmmauserman]

Crazy bro! I’m in central now. Where about are you?

[@teammosin9999]

@@8mmmauserman I'm in Omaha. If you're ever over this way and want to go shoot, hit me up!!

[@shockwave6213]

I heard PPU makes their 8mm a little underpowered in case somebody were to chamber it in an old 8mm rifle, such as a Gewehr 88 Commission rifle or early Gewehr 98 guns with a .318 barrel instead of a gun with the modernized .323 diameter JS barrel. Ideally, all of these Gewehr 98 pattern guns should have been rebarreled by 1905, but some slipped through the cracks, as it usually goes. Gewehr 88/05 guns were rebarreled for the JS round. Quite a few regular Gewehr 88 rifles often tend to still have the .318 diameter barrel, so PPU seems to have taken up the task of making some ammo that is safe to shoot in them.

[@8mmmauserman]

I’ve heard that as well. I think this is what you’re saying but to be clear, that’s applicable to modern 8mm, not this surplus stuff.

[@shockwave6213]

@@8mmmauserman Well, of course. I heard a theory stating a lot of surplus 8mm ammo (Notably the old Ethiopian and Turkish) is actually hotter because the powder had started destabilize while stored in varying conditions. I heard this theory from Forgotten Weapons, and while it may be just a theory, its a very well educated theory that I am inclined to believe. I've seen and done some testing with a friend with new hand loaded German and Turk spec ammo and Turkish surplus ammo and a Turkish rifle from about the same time. The sights are actually matching ballistics for hand loaded German/Turk spec ammo and the Turk surplus ammo is overshooting the sight settings by quite a lot. Nothing there was 100% conclusive, but walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and all that.

[@hobofactory]

Very interesting stuff, as always! I bought a bunch of this exact stuff a few months ago but haven’t fired any of it yet, but now I might have to make it a priority to try it out next range session... especially since I’m also in a position to test the Yugo vs non-Yugo Mausers (have examples of each).

[@8mmmauserman]

If you make a video on that, I’d love to share it

[@hobofactory]

@@8mmmauserman it may be a couple more weeks before I’m able to make it to range, but sure, it really shouldn’t be too much trouble since I already have everything I need.

[@8mmmauserman]

I am too!

[@hobofactory]

@@8mmmauserman finally was able to perform the experiment, can be viewed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/one2Znp6ict3lac

[@joshuaculick7767]

Love this channel .

[@8mmmauserman]

Thank you so much! These comments keep me going!

[@joshuaculick7767]

@@8mmmauserman just got into 8mm myself but I'm obsessed. Love it .

[@leosutherland4555]

I'm new to your channel, I find some people jus think they know about contents , unlike you I believe uve did the home work! I thank u for committing to ure channel! If u get time could u talk about the rimmed 8 mm & the 7.9 km that I shoot in my m48 yugo......!

[@8mmmauserman]

I'd like to do a video on how 7.9, 7.92, and 8m Mauser are all different names for the same round, and how we got those names. If you know what ammo you shoot, or would like to send pictures to the email in my description, I can see if I have a video or access. Thanks!

[@topturretgunner]

Annealed brass (heated) will show those discolorations. That is very prevalent with the 5.56 NATO brass common to the M-16 rifle.

[@8mmmauserman]

Yeah! A few other of the rounds in this series have been annealed, but they aren’t always.

[@gustavohonzofo]

Out of 150 rounds I had 3 split cases in a k98k

[@8mmmauserman]

Interesting.

[@captainmayday4431]

Great Video, i have never heard of a Tombak Jacket bullet before. It is copper & zinc, right ? but it is still non-magnetic, good for steel targets and not starting wild fires with sparks!! Also, in my opinion the best ammo too shoot from a specific MIL-SURP firearm is from the country it came from!! LoL !! My Yugo M48 always perform's perfect with Yugo ammo, but I tried Greek 8mm Mauser & other countries 8mm Mauser ammo from 1938--1956 and there would always be at least a few hang fires .. Then in my Egyptian Hakim rifle, I tried Yugo 1950's ammo and had a few hang fires (scary) or the yugo ammo had a FTF (failure to fire) LoL !!

[@8mmmauserman]

Interesting! This doesn’t match my experiences, but something just feels right about shooting a gun with the ammo it was meant for.

[@captainmayday4431]

@@8mmmauserman Those sand hill cranes & snow geese are a sight to see in Nebraska, thats for sure !

[@8mmmauserman]

They're very cool!

[@Kpoole35]

Out of a K98k I’ve had excellent experiences with 1950’s yugo ammo. Only issue I’ve had was Primers getting blown out of pocket during cycling.

[@8mmmauserman]

Interesting. Does that happen with other ammo for you?

[@Kpoole35]

so far no other ammo does it. But Romanian ammo I occasionally experience an overpressure or the case doesn't fully seal.

[@nicholaspatton5590]

I think I have not had this happen with 1950’s Yugo out of my M48. What does it mean the primer gets blown out of the pocket? That the primer literally comes out of the case upon firing?

[@BrokenHeart-7112]

same problem with me more than 10 round primer goes out !!!

[@Kpoole35]

@@nicholaspatton5590 when you open the bolt and eject the case, the primer will come out of its pocket because it doesn’t fit right. So the pressures loosen it up enough.

[@junglehunteryautja5490]

Yugo 53 ammo velocity is more similiar with the original German ammo. While the 79 velocity is considrrably lower than German. Yugo ammo is generally lower pressure compared with German. From my friend info, prewar yugo ammo bullet is similiar with German but with lower velocity. S&B ammo is CIP specified ammo, more pressure than SAAMI, which in my view good idea, to tell people 8mm is not weak. But if yugo had made the ammo with thin thickness then it is a question whether their MG42 had problem or not.

[@8mmmauserman]

The MG42 point is a good one. I’d definitely like to test this more.

[@junglehunteryautja5490]

@@8mmmauserman well in MG you should not mess anything, I doubt Yugo internt to make questionable ammo for MG

[@junglehunteryautja5490]

@@8mmmauserman or Yugo make MG specific ammo, maybe?

[@8mmmauserman]

That is possible as well.

[@flyingfowltraining]

I've had several misfires with Factory 12. However, that was one rifle only. A second rifle worked fine. It seems to be a gun issue rather that a cartridge problem.

[@8mmmauserman]

I have a series on fixing light strikes if you’re interested

[@flyingfowltraining]

I’ve seen that one. Good stuff, I might add.

[@Goatsmacker]

1950's production ammo seemed to have stark contrasts year-by-year. I've heard many people complain about a 1954/55 production having split cases and ruptures, though I have never seen those production years myself. I used several hundred 1953 rounds in my VZ 24 and FN49 with no problems. Recently I've got my hands on 1956 production, from factory 11 and my FN49 really enjoys it, even managing a 2 moa group at 100.

[@8mmmauserman]

That’s awesome accuracy. I’m trying to test as much 8mm as possible, but there’s just so much lol

[@Goatsmacker]

@@8mmmauserman I just ordered a 960rd case of greek from CastleArms. I'll be going back to the range once all the steel targets are fixed and seeing how it performs, hopefully I'll remember to get video evidence. So far I've only used Yugo and 1970's Romanian. Though Romanian was far too dirty and far more accurate in my VZ 24, my FN-49 rifling twist rate over stabilizes lightball I think and shot very wide groups.

[@leemauser6107]

You never get the full story on the chamber condition of the rifles used when you hear about the split cases... As some of the Mauser rifles are over 80yr old, there is no telling how much wear is in the chambers... I just redid the headspace on one Mauser that the NO-GO gauge went without any resistance... Had to set the barrel back 0.030in to close it up enough to get a good tight chamber... If the chambers are oversized then the brass will grow a lot and this can cause cases to rupture...

[@tselinsky6452]

I just shot some 1955 series, factory code 11. Works great in my M48 Yugo Mauser, more accurate than Turkish. No split cases.

[@8mmmauserman]

Cool!

[@davidroberts3692]

I bought yugo surplus ammo head stamped 40. Shots really well😊 I was hitting a 6inch plate at 140 yards with iron sights. I was 71 at the time, wear glasses and needed cataract surgery!😂

[@8mmmauserman]

Glad you’re still kicking after all these years! (The rifle too)

[@leemauser6107]

The Yugo surplus is shootable, but as stated, it's not very good... 1954 stuff I got varies over 2gn per projectile... Charge weight varies over 1gn per cartridge... The projectiles are also just a tad undersized at 0.3225 and are tapered on the bearing surface... What I was going to do is pull them, segregate projectiles by weight, and recharge using a scale.... Maybe then it will be under minute of 5gal bucket....

[@8mmmauserman]

“Shootable” is a good term… the 70’s stuff is pretty great!

[@Nick_792]

I've got a bunch of 1955 and 1954 dated Yugoslavian surplus 8mm. It shoots good. Fun to shoot but i wouldn't use it for accuracy. Like for hunting. The hard primers that need a second or even a third whack just isn't safe or practical for hunting use. Although I will say I used 1939 dated Greek 8mm surplus on a big 8 point buck at 60 yards. That ammo has the same issues but I guess I lucked out. Went right thru his heart, never touched a bone. Passed thru and right into a tree behind him. He went straight down a Gulley running, then died in the creek. It was a great day ngl.

[@8mmmauserman]

Interesting. Where I am, I believe it’s illegal to hunt with FMJ, but I guess it worked out well for you.

[@brapgabslab7336]

I bought a 900 rd crate awhile back and shoot it out of a wz29 I would get pretty consistent failure to fires and usually able to fire it when I would recock it I had this issue, up until I put a wold 20lb or 22lb springe in and now they all go off on the first pull

[@8mmmauserman]

I have I think a 10 or 12lb wolf Spring in my Rifle. Whatever I have, it works well

[@brapgabslab7336]

@@8mmmauserman Yeah from the research I have done the hard primers might be due to the ammo being designed for M53 use, which is somewhat dubious, but then again I did buy 1950s mag yugo 7.62x25 which was made for their m56 SMGs and those have hard primers as well.

[@homeschooldaddyjournal9839]

Heart you. Keep being odd in a screwed up world!

[@8mmmauserman]

Thank you for the encouragement!

[@sarkardarkstar]

I got crates and crates of this stuff. 53 55 56 and all have gone bang so far

[@joshuaculick7767]

Sell me some lol

[@8mmmauserman]

Good to know that from a larger data set. Any split cases?

[@sarkardarkstar]

@@8mmmauserman less than 10, I've busted into every lot I have. I can say, do not shoot this in an fn49

[@8mmmauserman]

@@sarkardarkstar Good to know. Keep it away from semi-autos.

[@sarkardarkstar]

@@8mmmauserman Hakim does work, just turn it down a notch

[@MegaBait1616]

Got a bunch of Yugo M-75 from the 80's which works excellent.. But picked up some Turk .8mm from 1953 and it's not magnetic all brass n no steel core which shoots well... Didn't come from one of the green cloth belts..... 250 rds. for $ 140.00 plus shipping.... Still have primers n projectiles for reloading I'm lucky with my .8mm stash........ be well.

[@8mmmauserman]

I’m looking to get some M75 at some point. I’d like to test it.

[@MegaBait1616]

@@8mmmauserman , When I open up my spam can I'll send you some.. Don't worry I got ya.... Gotta find out how to send ammo..

[@8mmmauserman]

I can walk you through it. Send an email to [e-mail]

[@topturretgunner]

Have you ever done these chronograph test from a longer barreled 8mm Mauser perhaps a Turkish M38? If I'm not mistaken your M24/17 has the same length barrel as my M48 which is if memory serves is about 23.5 inches and of course barrel length will affect the velocity. Just a thought. Be safe.

[@8mmmauserman]

I have a Turkish M38. One of my friends has a carbine length Mauser (18 or so inches?) so I’d like to do a video comparing the 3. I’ll get to that some day.

[@topturretgunner]

@@8mmmauserman would be happy to see that.

[@nicholaspatton5590]

I am looking forward to you video on the Yugo 8mm from the 70’s. Is that ammo the same famous M75 ball designed for the M76 rifle? I have never bought it and only seen it for sale twice on gunbroker

[@nicholaspatton5590]

Damn, hit reply by mistake. I hear M75 is the cream of the crop, it rise to the top; ünt never shoot the pig is a cop. Or is this ammo M49 ball manufactured in the 70’s? If the latter is true I have only seen M49 ball made in ‘52-‘55. As an aside where the hell is all this Turk 8mm coming from? I pray for my new 8mm boys who do not know the jankiness of Turk Ammo. May Paul Mauser guide them. I bought a bandolier at my first gun show and it was horrible. Hurt to shoot, never hit the target. Fast enough to melt steel beams. Maybe it works better out of a full length 29” barrel? Never shot a Turk rifle before. That would be so cool. I laugh that in the 30’s - 40’s a 24 inch barrel was a carbine. Then 16” was a carbine. Now you can hardly find rifle barrels over 18”.

[@8mmmauserman]

Sadly I haven’t been able to hunt down any M75 yet. What I have is M49 from 1978 and 1979. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2HcoqycgriSo7M It’s an old video. Once I find M75, I’ll test it.

[@nicholaspatton5590]

Thank you

[@wewlad5643]

I shot about 10 rounds of 1953 manufacture Yugo through my FN49, every case split and stuck in the chamber.

[@8mmmauserman]

Interesting…maybe the brass got fragile with age.

[@Nick_792]

Heat treated? What's the significance of heat treating the casing? I thought the discoloration was due to age, decay of the casing.

[@8mmmauserman]

It just makes the case stronger they sometimes do it with military cases, such as military 5.56.

[@anthonyb5282]

I have Ecuadorian 8mm I’m curious what it’s all about as there’s no videos on it and i haven’t shot it

[@8mmmauserman]

I have it too. Video will come at some point

[@anthonyb5282]

@@8mmmauserman sweet

[@anthonyb5282]

@@8mmmauserman shot some at the range today. Stuff kicks like a mule and we had multiple failure to fires even after re cocking the Turkish Mauser we were using. Was fairly accurate stuff at a 100 at about a 3 in group

[@zackst.5299]

I just fired some dated 1954 and I only had 6 out of 80 that went off the rest were no good.

[@8mmmauserman]

That could’ve been a lot stored improperly, or firing pin problems. Does the rifle fire other surplus ammo ok?

[@zackst.5299]

@@8mmmauserman That was the only ammo I had at the time going to go shooting this weekend with some PPU all the strikes look good on the ammo.

[@8mmmauserman]

@@zackst.5299 My Mauser was fine with some ammo, but not others. Older ammo can be less forgiving than modern ammo, but I have a series on firing pin problems if you're interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6fQiGV8pdhsjJo

[@leosutherland4555]

7.9 mm x 57 I believe

[@8mmmauserman]

There are many names for the one round.

[@nathannichols2520]

I have once ordered 100 rounds of surplus Yugo ammo from 1957 and nearly every shot was a hang fire. Any one else have this issue?

[@8mmmauserman]

I did have that issue with some Yugo ammo at one point. 3 thoughts: 1. Make sure it’s really Yugo ammo. Check the markings and packaging. Some ammos look similar, but are different. 2. It’s possible it’s just a bad lot that happens sometimes due to storage. 3. Check out this video I made on Mauser Light Strikes. It may help: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6fQiGV8pdhsjJo

[@nathannichols2520]

@@8mmmauserman it is in fact Yugo ammo and my Mausers firing pin is in good shape, so I am led to be believe it might be due to storage as these were on a belt that I had to delink before use.

[@joemorganeatmyshortschannel]

I think that's impressive for it's age

[@8mmmauserman]

I agree. I’m impressed it still works almost 70 years later

[@zenmeister6533]

My yugo k98 from royal tiger imports gets stiff bolt after each round is fired from Yugo sniper rated 8mm ammo in the 1970s. I have it now with gunsmith to take a closer look. I have to bang the bolt open on the table to be able to load another round. The brass from each round expands in chamber and i see it a little expanded on the casing

[@8mmmauserman]

Yikes… probably a chamber issue. The ammo should be good.

[@joemorganeatmyshortschannel]

@@8mmmauserman that was my thinking

[@rbyaldrzee6657]

😍👍Beautiful

[@8mmmauserman]

Very cool

[@JasonMontell2501]

Is that rifle a 48A?

[@8mmmauserman]

It’s a M24/47. Also a Yugo Mauser, but slightly older

[@JasonMontell2501]

@@8mmmauserman I misunderstood you when you mentioned something about the 1950s. I thought you were referring to your rifle and not the ammo. Thats where I came to the conclusion it was a 48A. I couldn't see the bolt handle and it didn't appear that you were grasping a straight bolt

[@8mmmauserman]

Oh, gotcha, perhaps I misspoke at some point too.

[@AA-dn8dj]

Kinda slow?

[@8mmmauserman]

For heavy ball (around 200 grains) this is pretty quick for 8mm.

[@nicholaspatton5590]

She likes it fast and large. Lmao

[@AA-dn8dj]

@@8mmmauserman Nice, is this the same kinda ammo that comes on the stripper clips from the same period with the sticker and pull tab on the paper box?

[@bigtrev761]

🇦🇺😎👍

[@8mmmauserman]

Thanks for the comment!