Can you find 8mm Mauser ammo at a local gun store?

As often as not, there will be some available, but SAAMI standards for 8x57 JS are pretty anemic, not much better than 30-30 ballistically, for fear that some ignoramus is going to put a JS bullet through a J bore. You'll do best to handload, and if you don't do that, your next best option is to order European ammunition on line.

I can. Of course, I also know that 8mm Mauser is also known as 7.92x57mm and I know which gun shop to go to for it.

Considering you asked this question...I'm going to say...No.

Yes, I bought one at a military antiques store. Most places sell hunting ammo, but less places sell surplus. Look online for surplus.

Last time I needed to buy a box of 8x57 Mauser I picked up some Remington Ammo at Big 5.

I can, don't know about you.

Haven't seen it at Walmart, try the internet.

I'm sure it's out there, but there are plenty of more easily-found cartridges that would be more appropriate for big game hunting. I know you have a "thing" for surplus guns, but you really, really need to consider buying a basic modern hunting rifle, such as the Savage Axis.

You mention in other questions that you will be attempting to feed your family with this gun. Frankly, the best way you can do that is to buy a modern hunting rifle. It will be more accurate, meaning that you'll have a better chance of getting a quick and humane kill, with less chance of a gut-shot animal that could lead to spoiled meat.

And given that a Savage Axis can be bought (with a scope, no less!) for about the price of many surplus guns, a little more than some, and a whole lot less than others, it just makes more sense. You could buy a Savage Axis in .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, or .270 Winchester, and it would be relatively inexpensive to feed. I'm paying $1 per cartridge for my .270 Win, and I know for a fact that it will easily take any deer in North America, except perhaps moose, and there are no moose within a thousand miles of me at least. Heck, you could even go find a used .30-30 Winchester lever rifle and be just fine. I'm willing to bet the used racks at your local gun store have some of them for no more than $300.

Understand that I'm not suggesting you never buy a surplus rifle. I'm simply pointing out that SOME types of surplus ammo are hard to find, and other types are hard to find with bullets that are legal for hunting. It's much simpler to just buy a rifle that is designed to take a modern, commercially-available cartridge that is designed for hunting than to try to adapt a surplus rifle to hunting. Yes, surplus guns made excellent hunting rifles in the past, but given the extremely low cost of modern entry-level rifles, and the incredible availability of modern hunting ammunition, it just makes sense to start with a modern gun.

8mm Mauser is effectively obsolete in new firearms and has never been popular in the US. So, NO, you are unlikely to find it in a gun store unless it is very big like Cabelas. Even then, US made 8mm Mauser is less powerful than Euro ammo because the camber was not standardized.

7.62x54R is easier, but still not as common as the normal hunting calibers that you find everywhere. You can look in gun stores that sell surplus guns.

Most gun stores that guns are the primary item will try to have something for everybody. I can buy all I can afford within a 15 mile radius and no to Atwoods,Walmart, or any other store that is not that heavy into guns. .22, shotgun shells, and .30-06 could probably be bought with no trouble.

Ummm..... you do realize Cabellas has a web site? Yeah, they do. They list the ammo they sell there too.

8mm and 54Russion is not common for places like WalMart to have tons in stock - but - most gunshops that are owned by a gunsmith will have plenty.