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Hi All - I'm trying to help a club member get some loading info for a K98 Mauser he recently bought - we've worked out that he's looking for a bullet somewhere between 180 and 200 gn, and possibly a Spitzer type (?)

But when it comes to the diameter it gets a bit confusing - after a trawl of the web there seems to be a lot of bullets that come under the general name of '8mm Mauser':


7.8X57JR
Commercial rimmed .318" bullet

7.9X57mm
Other Militaries-Turkey, South America

7.91, 7.92X57
German Military

7.92X57J
German Military .318" bullet

7.92X57JS
German Military .323" Spitzer bullet

7.92X57JsS
German Military .323" Heavy Spitzer bullet

8X57 Mauser
Commercial rimless .323" bullet

8X57R Mauser
Commercial rimmed J/JS .318/.323" bullet

8mm Mauser
Commercial rimless J/JS .318/.323" bullet

8mm Special
Early Commercial Remington


The rifle in question is chambered for 7.92 x 57 - from what I can make out 7.92 is .318 inches, but there is only 1 bullet type on Midway that matches this description (Naturalis type) - All the Spitzer type bullets are described as 8mm, but they are .323 inches - Various sites on the web seem to suggest that all these are suitable for K98s...?

Also, I looked in that Vihtavuori manual - they have data for '8 x 57 IS (8mm Mauser)' , including Naturalis and Spitzer bullets...is this data intended for K98s...?

Any sharing of knowledge and experience on this one would be greatly appreciated :cheers:

PM sent.

7.92x57 or the 8mm Mauser when it first came out used a .318" 225gn bullet and had an "I" designation for Infantry, the "J" came from the gothic script used at the time but is actually an "I".

When the new Spitzer 153 gn bullet was adopted in in 1905 or so the rifle was rechambered for the new bullet being .323" diameter and the round got the "S" for Spitzer designation hence the 7.92x57J(I)S.

So you need a .323" 150 gn bullet for the K98 it being chambered for the 7.92x57J(I)S

Brackets are mine.

Thank you gentlemen - that's made totally clear what an hour on google could not

I'll get my friend to double check his chambering and pass the info on - It's looking good, in that he would prefer to stick to Viht powder (as already used for other rifles), and assuming it is .323 then there is data for both 150 and 200 gn Spitzers...

Many thanks :cheers:

Dougan