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Safety

Your safety is very import. TurkMauser.com will never give you loading advice. We do not recommend any of the loads that you may find here. As always, each loader must make competent decisions. Information on this site may aid you in producing your own loads. However, do not assume that this information is safe to use without first checking it. There is always the chance that the data was entered wrong or does not represent any actual test. Loading practices change with time as do the components. Always check each load against a recent loading manual to be sure that it meets the current safe loading practices.

In no way does TurkMauser.com know if your rifles are safe to shoot. Most Turkish rifles have been shot without injury to the owners. This does not mean that your rifle will produce the same results. Get professional help in verifying your rifle's ability to shoot high pressure ammunition before you fire it. One of the important things that a gunsmith should do is check the headspace. Here is a good article that describes that process.

Mauser actions really can "blow up" but that appears to be unlikely. You can read how P. O. Ackley performed "blowup tests" on military actions in his book, Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, Volume II. What follows is a quote from his book.

The Mausers which are, many times, too soft...will not blow up readily but the lugs will set back rapidly with heavy loads, thus increasing the headspace to a dangerous degree. This does not mean actually that the action will blow up but it does mean that cases will rupture and escaping gas is apt to cause injury.

The somewhat good news is that your rifle is very unlikely to fire with really excessive headspace. The firing pin will push the case into the chamber within the limits allowed by the extractor. With the normal hard military primer, there may simply not be enough pressure on the primer to set it off. If the firing pin does push the case into the chamber far enough to get good contact then hopefully the case will be fully supported by the chamber.

However, the headspace check alone is not enough to identify all possible problems. Oversized or oval chambers can't be detected with a headspace gauge check. On Turkish Model 1893 rifles, the barrel extension length can be too short (if too long, you won't be able to close the bolt) and still the rifle with pass the headspace test. The situation often results in cartridges not being fully supported which can lead to insipient case separation and rifle failure.

On a Model 98 style rifle, with the primary torque shoulder being internal, the barrel may not be tight against this shoulder, but may be tight against the secondary shoulder. This can result in a cartridge case that is not properly supported or a receiver subject to excessive stress. Again the headspace check will not identify these problems. Unfortunately, nothing short of removing the barrel can allow for a complete test. This does not mean that you should remove and reinstall the barrel on every rifle.

A final check that can show potential problems is careful examination of the fired case. If you have fired your rifle and it didn't blow hot gas back into your face and bolt lift was not excessive, then you should look at the fired cartridge case. Any cracks or splits is a good indicator that something is seriously wrong. However, since some of the Turkish ammo is prone to cracking and splitting, you may get false positives from these cases. It's best to fire some new modern commercially loaded ammo for this check. Ideally, you would have a cartridge case gauge that you can use to check the dimensions of the fired case. If the fired case won't fit into this gauge with minimal pressure, then you have to seriously rethink firing this rifle.

Headspace gauges Case Gauge
HS Gauge Case Gauge