8mm Mauser

[matt45]

I recently began shooting a Persian Mauser my wife bought for me some years ago.  I have 150 gr, 170 gr, and 200 gr. spitzers on hand, and am mainly looking to duplicate the military load.  Any advice out there would be highly appreciated

[Delmonico]

See if you can find Mil Spec for Persian ammo and load as close to that as possible including bullet weight so the load shoots to the sights.

[LongWalker]

The Persian surplus I can recall was loaded to the German s.S Patrone specs: a 198gr spitzer at ~2,500 fps from a 24" barrel. 

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[matt45]

Thanks- my Cartridges of The World had a 150 gr. going 2850 fps

[matt45]

Another question for more knowledgeable folks... I've got the thing disassembled, is that a linseed oil finish?  Right now I've got some lemon oil on it- should I do something else?

[Major 2]

I like Skidmores Wood Preservative its same product as the Leather Preservative.

[matt45]

had to go into town yesterday, so I picked some of that up- thanks for the heads up

[Delmonico]

Likely non-boiled linseed oil, aka has had no driers added, will harden but can take years.   Most common military wood finish gave decent protection, cheap because it was a by-product of the linen industry.  Stocks were put in a vat of it that was hot for a hour or so.  (AKA it wasn't boiled, adding the metallic driers required it being boiled, hence the names.)   Boiled is what us that use it for finish use, with a lot of work boiled is the prettiest walnut finish out there.   Takes one or two months to do it right do most people use Tung or others.

[River City John]

Likely non-boiled linseed oil, aka has had no driers added, will harden but can take years.   Most common military wood finish gave decent protection, cheap because it was a by-product of the linen industry.  Stocks were put in a vat of it that was hot for a hour or so.  (AKA it wasn't boiled, adding the metallic driers required it being boiled, hence the names.)   Boiled is what us that use it for finish use, with a lot of work boiled is the prettiest walnut finish out there.   Takes one or two months to do it right do most people use Tung or others.

Used to be the old saying:
Apply linseed oil by hand or soft cloth once a day for a month, once a month for a year, once a year to refresh finish.

Using hands helps to soften rough hands . . .

[matt45]

You are probably familiar with Persian Mausers, if not, they are generally in real good condition (most were never fired, as I understand it).  Anyway, the finish is a real glossy one- something that just doesn't look like a linseed oil finish to me- Going from what you have written (soaked an hour in non boiled linseed oil) and from my own experience (I have quite a few rifles from that era) I am just not sure it is a linseed finish.