8mm

[Pitdog]

Anyone with 8mm-06 or 8mm Rem Mag loading experience?

[jim]

I haven't any experience, but have been thinking of modifying a K98 to 8MMX06 for hog hunting. This round is even good enough for some of the larger bears, if one can shoot.

jim

[Pitdog]

I'm wanting to build an 8-06 on a modern action with a SS barrel I have laying around. That will allow me to really get the most out of it's capability as far as pressures go. Don't want to really push the envelope on Wartime 98s. I talked to Sierra and they are pretty sure even some of their heavier 8mm bullets should perform well in -06 velocities, especially pushed faster with a hotter load.

[Pitdog]

Anyone got any 8mm-06 dies laying around?

[DM]

My most used big game hunting gun these days is my 8x57jrs... It just keeps on keeping on!!

DM

http://www.fototime.com/71D5748CCA76B2C/standard.jpg

[Pitdog]

Cool, I am a fan of the 8mm diameter bullets and most every round they are loaded in.
I just sunk a Stainless shilen on my 98 action last week and chambered it in 8-06

[DM]

I handload 200 grain NP's (nosler partitions) for my 8x57 and it's put "tons" of meat in my freezer! It's my "one load for everything" in this gun!!

DM

http://www.fototime.com/29711E271F1326C/standard.jpg

[eeyore]

Nice deer and Moose, great pictures

[eshetney]

I have several of these rifles; I bought a few Yugo M98's and had them converted to 8mm-06. I have a relative with 25+ years of experience loading this wildcat, so that plus plentiful brass made it seem like good idea. Load development has been on the tricky side, but seems to straightening out. I know this is an older thread, but is there anything in particular you wanted to know?

[jim]

Do you load spitzers in the 220-250 gr range? If so, what kinds of groups and velocity are you getting?
jim

[eshetney]

Hi jim.

Load development is still underway, so I was working on a 150 SP load. So far, consistency is promising (holes close together at close range), but it looks like this will need to be a scoped rifle. It appears to have a "6 o'clock hold" which was common for some Euro mil-surp rifles (the average Euro-conscript never had anywhere near the marksmanship training our 20th century military had, so rifles tend to shoot high as untrained people tend to aim for the abdomen).

The 150's seem to shoot best with a hot load, and I'm starting to see reeealllly flat primers with the ones that shoot well. Those are, according to my manuals, running about 3000-3100 fps. Once I get these figured out, then I plan to move up to the 200 grain SP's.

In the FWIW department, I have a lot of pulled bullets from Turkish mil-surp ammo, and that's all about 155gr FMJ's. The bullet base appears to be slightly "domed" a little like a pellet or shotgun slug, but I don't know if that's deliberate or from a low cost manufacturing process.

[Pitdog]

Well, I will try to revive this thread of mine!

I have a Yugo 48 I am working on now, the barrel is great! I am waiting on my reamer to get here, and already have the gauges of course.
I also am getting my SS shilen barrel back to sink on a full length 98 action I have laying around, to make an all weather all purpose big game gun.

I want to know if anyone is getting enough velocity out of this round to make the BIG bullets perform. The partitions and otherwise, so if I needed it to save me in bear country, I could rely on it more so than something else lighter out of my NON magnumized collection.

I have 3 bullet weights to start with, 125, 150 and 170.
I ordered used dies for 25$ last week, am waiting on them to get here so I can start resizing my .30-06 brass I have waiting for it. I really can't wait to get them shooting!

[jim]

Any luck yet?

[Pitdog]

Got my barrel today ! Got my dies last week.....screw on and headspace! I want to start resizing my .30-06, but I am wondering about annealing....................

[hangfire]

When shooting homecast bullets for 8mm, are gas checks a necessity at lower pressures? I have the mold and tried some homecast once (without gas checks) and had terrible results in terms of accuracy.

[Wyobuckaroo]

Howdy

I would presume gas checks would be mandatory for any bullet in a barrel that is rifled for jacketed ammo. That being shallower land to groove diameter. Where as "Ballard" style rifling will be much deeper land to groove diameter to handle lead bullets at black powder level velocities.

Have loaded a lot of 8x57mm. Seems to handle the heavier bullets (over 180 gr.) better than any of the 30 calibers. At least it will do it without the sharper recoil, muzzle blast, extra powder, and with less fuss and bother reloading cases again. Trajectories will be better than you would expect with the 200-220 grain loads. Better than compared to 35 Whelen, 338 Win, 350 Rem and such.

By that I mean, in the field, it will be just as good as the other calibers. Not necessarily the best on a spread sheet page.

When you get into the 300 Win, 300 Weatherby, and a whole lot of other like that, they are just too brutal to live with as far as I'm concerned.

Good luck
Wyo

[jim]

Annealing may be easily accomplished by holding the case head between thumb and forefinger and sticking the neck in molten lead up to the cartridges shoulders. When it gets too hot, just drop into some cold water.

[Wyobuckaroo]

Agree. Annealing is easy, but can be overdone. Too much is worse than too little.

Ideally, you want to anneal the neck about 1/32" short of the start of the shoulder. A QUICK dip into COLD water is necessary to define the line between annealed and less annealed areas. You can always anneal again, but when it is too soft too far down you will ruin cases in the reloading process.

It is very easy to dry out wet cases in a 200 degree oven on an old cookie sheet for an hour or so. There will be no bad affects to the case at this temp for this time.

It will get easy, with a little practice.
Good luck
Wyo

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy

I did reload a few rounds of 8X57 for a friends rifle years ago. I think that 8mm/.32 cal. is the first plateau in the "over .30" caliber that starts giving dividends because of better pressure/velocity ratios. Even though the '06 brass is plentiful and has a tiny advantage in capacity, I personally wouldn't go to the extremes of wildcatting the old Mausers in 8x57. There is plenty of 8X57 out there yet in European spec loadings that bear little resemblance to the pitiful US made low pressure stuff from the big three.
Safety note: For those of you not familiar with the old vs new .318/.323 bore thing, be sure to verify which one you have should you get an old Mauser rifle that you intend to use as is or rechamber to the 8mm/06. I'm sure most of us here know about this, but there are always beginners and old Mausers showing up from time to time.
As for the 8mm Rem. Mag., I think it's probably a fine big/heavy game cartridge that Remington shoudn't have called an 8mm. They killed it with the 8mm moniker. I'd take a look at Reloader 22 and 25 Powders for that one If you can't find any data, call Alliant.OzarksJohn

[Wyobuckaroo]

Howdy

I'm sure someone, a long time ago, has bored out the 8x57 chamber to 8mm on 338 Win Mag case. Anyone know what it would be called ?

Over all length would fit in magazine. Bolt face would need reworked. Magazine rails would need opened up for feeding.

Kind of a "Poor Mans Magnum"

Anyone ever worked with that ?

Wyo

[Pitdog]

Almost an 8 mm rem mag, but it was based on the .375 h& H case. Dunno anyone ever did a standard win mag 8mm conversion, but would be damn sure nice, I'll look into it!

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy.

It's interesting to note that when Winchester was doing the R&D on the WSM series that they got better results with the 8mm bore than the .338 bore. This is why they came up with the .325 WSM, an 8mm short mag of all things!AW

[DM]

*Well, i'm bringing the 8mm thread to the top again... *lol

*I'm not a big fan of the Win. short magnums, and i think for the most part, you won't be hearing much about them 10 years from now...

*Anyway, i'm still hunting with my 8x57jrs, and it's still doing it's job! *This is from a few weeks ago...

http://www.fototime.com/F0920376DB47F6C/standard.jpg

*DM

[deeker]

DM, you need to send my rifle back. Besides you shoot from the wrong side of it.
Not good for the guns soul.

Kevin