This is going to be my first in a series of articles covering survival weapons. I will mainly be writing about survival weapons that the average working class person can afford since most of your survival minded people are working class people.
The categories that I will be rating these weapons on are as follows: cost, dependability, accuracy and ammunition availability. These are qualities that I feel are important when it comes to survival weapons, for example, the survival weapon can be a tack driver but if it costs so much to buy or to shoot, it is not going to do you much good. On the flip side of that coin, if it is affordable but you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn then that is not good either. The weapon that we will discuss in this article will be the 8mm Mauser.
Let’s talk a little about the history of the 8mm Mauser, I must warn you however I am not a weapon historian so this will be brief. The 8mm Mauser was used by Germany in the 2nd World War. I put this rifle in my list of survival weapons due to the fact that it proved it’s self in World War ll. Our main battle weapon of that time was the M1 Garand which fired a 30-06. The 8mm Mauser fired an 8mm round which is around the same size as the 30-06 the main difference between the two weapons is that the M1 Garand was semi automatic and the 8mm Mauser was bolt action.
First let’s take a look at the cost, since cost is usually the first question that people have when it comes to survival weapons. Where I live in Northern Arizona I can purchase an 8mm Mauser anywhere between $80.00 to $300.00, my personal 8mm Mauser cost about 150.00. You may be asking why there is such a price variance and there are two answers, the first is, it depends on where you purchase your 8mm Mauser and second it depends on the shape and quality of the weapon. Over all when it comes to inexpensive survival weapons that function well, I have to give the 8mm Mauser an (A) when it comes to price.
Second let’s take a look at dependability, any fire arm has to be dependable when your life depends on it. However when it comes to survival weapons it is especially important due to the fact that as a survival weapon it may be necessary to go longer between cleanings and the operating conditions may be harsher. I have owned two 8mm mauser’s and I can say that I have not had any issues, it is important to realize though that the 8mm mauser is a surplus fire arm and has in most cases been around since World War 2.
Third let’s look at accuracy, it is very important for a survival weapon to be accurate. In my case I rarely use a scope so it is important to me to have a survival weapon that I can shoot with iron sights. The 8mm mauser is accurate for me to about 100 yards , the 8mm mauser will shoot farther and still be accurate that is just what my eye will do. I would feel comfortable shooting a deer or elk with the 8mm Mauser.
Fourth I will talk about the availability of ammunition, and this is probably the only negative thing I have to say about the 8mm Mauser. When you are looking at a survival weapon it is important to be able to either stock enough ammunition to keep it running or be able to find the ammo laying around. It is possible to stock a lot of ammo for the 8mm Mauser, because there is so much surplus ammo available. However it is not a common enough round that it could be found by scavenging. A box of 20 hunting grade bullets will cost $15.00 to twenty dollars depending where you buy it, and surplus ammo will cost about $4.00 per twenty bullets.
As you can see, the 8mm Mauser has its good points as well as its bad points. The best suggestion that I can make is, if you are thinking of buying an 8mm mauser check the action and the barrel, and always remember that most of your surplus ammunition is corrosive, so it will need to be cleaned after you fire it. Happy shooting and always practice.
