Hi fellers I'm just starting to load for a 8mm Mauser 98, What is the best bullet to use,mould mfg.,mould #,powder? I have some slow wc 852 and some H335 would either be good ?Thanks for any help you can offer. Turk
Posts: 5 | Location: Kansas | Registered: 26 December 2002
I also am getting into the 8mm cast situation and will be loading useing a Lee cast bullet I do not have the info in front of me but I think it is around 175 grains and I will be using 16 grains of 2400 for plinking and target loads may work that up to 18 grains or so depending on accuracy. May try the bullets with out a gas check at a lower velocity to see how they shoot that way also. Jim
Posts: 5226 | Location: USA | Registered: 10 March 2003
Lee hake a special order 215gn & 225gn for military Mausers. Check into Midsouth website and search for "8mm maxi mould". I think they are about $US14.00.
Posts: 1785 | Location: Kingaroy, Australia | Registered: 29 April 2002
I've found the 8MM military mausers to be very cast bullet friendly with most cast bullets. The heavier the better. If you are just getting started casting for 8MM's stick to the light loads of pistol powders and tune it for each of your rifles. To get up to hunting loads you will find some interesting loads on castpics.com. Good luck.
Posts: 363 | Location: Missouri Ozarks, USA | Registered: 10 July 2002
I can confirm that the Lee 170 grain 8mm cast out of straight wheel weights with 16 grains 2400 groups very well indeed form a Yugo 48 and a Yugo 24/47. The same bullet cast of lino with 32 grains of 4895 drives tacks in a Persian long rifle.
45 2.1, The blueprint on Midsouths web page says "for military-std throated mausers {Not yugo 48 and 48a} My barrel has no throat it is .3195 bore and .326 groove right in front of the chamber. Will this bullet work for me? I would like to use it because of the wt. Also will the twist be right for this length bullet?
Posts: 5 | Location: Kansas | Registered: 26 December 2002
Turk36- The groove will fit, but your nose/land diameter is smaller than the bullet nose which is about .322 as cast in wheelweights. Did you do a throat slug to get your dimensions? If not, try an impact slug with a pure lead bullet in a plugged case to compare with the Mid south dimensions. The karabiner and the maximum have the same dimensions where it counts for fit.
Just a heads up on the weight of the 8mm Max boolit. The weight listed by Lee must be straight lynotype or some other light metal..,cause when I used water quenched wheelweights the boolits weigh 247.5, and thats bare, no lube or gas check.
Poor buggers can't keep up the orders, they probably got 50 from Australia. Service rifle shooting is very popular here but the cost of good 8mm jacketed ($50/100) does make the 8mm cast boolit atractive.
Posts: 1785 | Location: Kingaroy, Australia | Registered: 29 April 2002
Golly gee, 45 2.1, do you suppose Midsouth will EVER correct that bullet weight on the 8mm Maximum listing? I guess the answer is "maybe not ever". It's been wrong for years now.
Guys, you can shoot both of the Midsouth 8mm bullets out of a Yugo IF you are willing to crush seat the bullet into the rifling lands (like a target shooter likes to do with a lead bullet anyway).
Yes, the bullet has always weighted 250 grains when checked and lubed -- Midsouth just won't fix the web page listing.
Congratulations, welcome to the world of 8mm heavy bullet shooting. Yes, you CAN crack the stock of your gun if you push those heavy bullets up to their absolute maximum loadings (if you don't glass bed the action to handle the high levels of recoil energy generated).
And yes, the 8mm Maximum bullet in the 8x57 cartridge can make up a better 35 Whelen than the 35 Whelen slugs do in a 30-06 case at any distance over 100 yards since it carries more energy to the target (better BC) and it has a bigger meplat.
I just wonder how many 25 runs of molds Midsouth has made on the 8mm Maximum by now .... more'n a few I dare say.
IMR 4198 powder is very accurate in the 8mm. 21 grains 4198 with the 250 grain midsouth 8mmax sized .323 work very well in my yugo 48a and my rck98. 14 grains of Red Dot, 18.5 grains of alliant 2400, and 21 to 27 grains of IMR4198 with the lee 175 grain bullet work wonders in all my 8mm mausers, all sized .323. The lee 175 grain bullet works so darn well you may not want to try anything else...Gary D.
Posts: 56 | Location: Western Washington, USA | Registered: 25 August 2003