Back around 2000 I picked up a Czech made "Turkish" Mauser. It was just under $100 and surplus ammo could be had for around $15-$20 per 75 round bandoleer. Needless to say, we shot that stuff like it was .22 LR ammo. It seemed like everyone had it. I could mail order it by the box full too. It was truly a land of milk and honey.
Fast forward to 2014 and the supply of that old ammo is virtually gone. You can go to your local gun shop and purchase a 20 round box of soft point hunting rounds for $35-$40. No thanks. Privi Partizan is available for mail order and is good stuff, but availability is spotty and it's still close to a dollar a round. Yes you can still find Romanian surplus ammo, but I have not had great luck with it. Lots of fail to fire in those 1950s rounds. Plus many of the rounds don't like to chamber in my rifle.
My best solution is hand loading. I can convert 30-06 brass and load my own at a significant discount compared to factory ammo. Brass is cheap and available. Large rifle primers are around $3-$4 for a 100. Powder choices are numerous. Bullets are the pricey part. I got a 100 pack of Hornaday 125 grain hollow points for about $20. That is about as cheap as I have found. I'm driving them with Winchester 748 at the recommended starting grains. That load runs at around 2800 fps and is easy on the shoulder. It's still not "cheap", but it is cheaper than factory rounds.
The 125 grain bullets are available off and on at Midway, so I have to snap them up when they are in stock.
So, no, there is no cheap way to shoot 8mm Mauser anymore, but you can soften the blow, if you can find some bullets.
