Does any one have any experience with the 8m mag. I have a factory rem barrel that I was thinking of screwing on my rem 700 300 win mag. I shoot 200 gr bullets in my 300 but was wondering if the 8mm has any practical advantage with a 220 gr bullet.
Thanks,

The problem with the 8 mag. has mostly been bullets....a mistake that the factories seem never to learn and after as many failures it has caused in the past you would think they would learn, but they hire bean counters as opposed to gunsmith and gun knowledgable people...

I think there are some good bullets for the 8MM Mag. out there now, the bullet makers pulled the fat out of the fire, but too late for the 8 Mag to ever become a popular caliber in the USA...

Americans have always been 30 caliber fans and pretty well shuned the 8mm in any form.....I shoot and really like the 8x57...Most 8mm bullets are designed for that round and will come apart in the magnum.

To answer your question, I would stick with the 300 Win as you won't gain a lot by going to the 8 mag....

shortround,

How about rechambering your 8mm Rem Mag barrel to .340 Weatherby? You get more cross-sectional area, and more importantly access to good .338 bullets. I have always felt that the .340 Weatherby offered more to hunters than any other Weatherby cartirdges -- with the possible exception of the .300.

If you want to stick with the 8mm, you need to find some bullets made for the 8X68S.

jim dodd

Jim, the .340 Weatherby would require a rebore as well as rechamber and I don't think that you could do that going from .323 to .338 and clean up the lands. Just a thought.

I've shot an 8MM Mag for years. I shoot 200 grain bullets at 3000 fps. Haven't tried any 220's. I don't think you'll gain much by switching barrels but if you want something different the 8mm Mag is excellent.

Thanks alot for the input guys, I think I will stick with the 300 win and 200 gr noslers, I have a perfectly good m70 338 that will throw more lead if I need it. Iit is the nut behind the butt that counts any way.
Short round

I love the idea of the fast 8MM, its what the US really needed in my opinion! But as was pointed out, bullets are hard to find!

To get a good hunting bullet may not be worth the time and effort put into the gun. I would own one right now if I had some 8mm GS Hp's in my greasy mits right now! I love Boddingtons Rogue River 8mm, yes, even with that dirtly Leupold ontop of it, I dont care, even with a 28inch barrel its a taste of pure Heaven!

But anyways, please do take into consideration the 8MM for what it can be, not for its unpopularity and dislike! Please experiement! There are ways!

Buell

I have an 8mm Rem Mag in a KS mountain rifle from the Rem Custom Shop. I love it!!!!!!!! I like the cartridge. I love the rifle. It does have a bit of recoil but I carry it a lot and shoot it a little. I am also a big fan of the factory ammo for it. The 225 grain load is extremely accurate in my rifle and as fast or faster than I have been able to load for it. I took a Barbary Sheep in feb 2001 with it at 190 yds and complete penetration and the sheep went twenty yards and never twitched even though I hit him a little too far back. He was headed slightly way and I hit just behind the diaphram. Took out diaphram and left lung. The rifle is going after elk this fall in northern NM.

Buell,

I am presuming that since you are a student, you are also too young to remember the writings of Colonel Charles Askins, Jr.

Old Charlie wrote for a lot of gun magazines, including American Rifleman. He was a lefty, loved the 8mm bore size, and was always writing about this or that new 8mm magnum that he had developed and taken to Africa or somewhere else. If he couldn't make the 8mm popular in the US, I think you are going to have a tough row to hoe.

You might want to dig out some of his stuff.

jim dodd

I have an 8mm Rem Mag on a 700 action with a 26" barrel. It is probably the best all around rifle I own. I can load the 220's to 3000 fps, with no problems at all (try that in your 300). Hornady, Swift, Barnes, Nosler, Speer, Sierra, and others all make bullets for it, depending on what you want to hunt. I think of it and use it like a 300 Mag on steroids. More then a 300, not as punishing as a 340. Try it, you'll like it. FWIW - Dan

Jim, I agree with you that it is somewhat doomed. It is an excellent round but it is surrounded by the .338 Win mag, .340 Win mag and the .300 magnums and it is not going to make any inroads on that bunch. Factory ammo will not be available in Butt Creek Montana or possibly even in Billings either. Great round but then so was the .284 Winchester.

Jim-

I have read about Askins but dont remember too much about him.

I think the 8MM with 225 grain bullets is a deadly round for anything on this planet, even better then a 300mag. I am not at all a proponet of the fast 300's because I dont think they kill any better then a 30,06 at the ranges I would shoot game anyways. I am not a long range hunter. With a 8mm you get slightly more frontal area and better BC from what I have understood. I also love the 340 weatherby. I just think for deer sized game a 300 magnum is not needed, but say for elk, I like to throw bigger bullets at them.

But both the 300 and 338 are killers as well. But its just my opinion that 300 mag's arn't needed...

Buell

I love anything 8mm and have a lot of fond memories of shooting them. But for me the problem was I got spoiled to the /06 and its tremendous range of bullets. Back when I shot the 8mm's there were a couple of choices or you were out of luck. I hope it's improved today.

The 8mm is a fine caliber and I'll take an 8X57 anywhere I would take an /06. They are pretty much an even match in my book.

Sadly, I agree the 8mm Mag seems destined for the scrap heap. It never got off the ground and it deserved a better fate IMHO.

If the 8 rem will fit..... buy a 416 rem barrel and go hunting...
You'll never regret it, and you can legally hunt just about anything with it... cept shotgun only stuff..
jeffe

I had the first 8MM RM I could get my hands on. Shot it a lot, and can only say it was frustrating trying to find good bullets for reloading. In all honesty, the 300 will allow you to get replacement ammo easier with more choices of weight and design, both for reloading and boxed factory ammo. If you don't mind the bullet issue, the 8MM RM I had was a great shooter, tho it ate the occasional scope (probably my choice of scope as much as anything, I don't think of the 8 as a viscous kicker). With good bullet design, it will sort out most anything, but with incorrect bullets, it makes big surface wounds. Probably not for the "grab a box of ammo at the QuickyMart and go shooting" folks.