I looking into buying a k98 mauser chambered for 8mm. I was wonder what kind of ballistics I could produce from handloading. If anyone has any info. please share it with me.
Thanks Donald

Surplus ammo with 147 gr bullets gets ~ 3000 fps.

For general use I like the bulk Remington 185 gr bullets over 46 gr IMR4895. This is a mild but accurate load that does ~ 2500 fps out of a Turk with 29" barrel. In your 98 Mauser (or other modern action), if you're willing to hot rod up to 60Kpsi (not that I recommend this ) you could probably get this bullet to do 2800 fps out of the same barrel with 53 gr 4895. You would want to slowly work up to this.

This cartridge is (IMVHO) under appreciated, probably because it's downloaded in deference to all of the pre-98 Mausers lurking out there chambered for it. Hot rodding a non-98 is not conducive to healthful living

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DDtaylor:
" I was wonder what kind of ballistics I could produce from handloading."

Your handloading can produce ballistics equal to almost any factory loaded 30-06. The 8X57 has accounted for all the types of big game in the lower 48 and is absolutly totally adequate.

The 98s lend themselves to be easily sporterized into scout style hunting rifles. roger

While not handload data, this may help give you some guidelines about the ballistics of the 8x57 when working up handloads.

=======================

My post from 05-08-2004
https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3221043/m/506108741/r/447109741


I recently purchased a new Remington 700 Classic in 8x57. I wanted to try out some "European level loads" instead of the underloaded American 8x57 ammo. I looked at all of the European factory ballistics charts that I could find and discovered that RWS had the highest velocity, for a given bullet weight, followed closely by Sellier & Bellot.

The RWS brand is rather expensive but Cabelas ( www.cabelas.com ) carries the S&B 196gr 8x57JS ammo and the price is reasonable. I tried some out in my new Remington 700 Classic.

The factory spec muzzle velocity for the S&B 196 gr Soft Point Cutting Edge (SPCE) load is 2,592 fps.
See: http://www.sb-usa.com/rifle_pages/sba85703_spec.htm

These were the results from my chrono test of the S&B ammo in my Rem 700 Classic with a 24" barrel:

Shot# Velocity fps
1 ___ 2,646
2 ___ 2,648
3 ___ 2,636
4 ___ 2,637
5 ___ 2,645
6 ___ 2,667

(Chrono about 15 feet from the muzzle. Velocities are not corrected back to the muzzle. Just raw data. Close enough for me.)

Average Velocity: 2,647 fps
Energy: 3,050 ft lbs
High Velocity: 2,667 fps
Low Velocity: 2,636 fps
Extreme Spread: 31 fps
Standard Deviation: 10 fps

I was pleasantly surprised with the results. This is certainly in the same power level range as a .30-06.

-Bob F.

And don't forget that 8 mm = .323 = significantly bigger hole than .308

I have an instrumented Yugo 8mm, 24" bbl. In that rifle, I can safely get 2750 fps with a 175 grain pill, which is quite consistent with the 196 grain data previously posted.

The 8mm is a fine caliber.

My one complaint is that the bullet is a bit less aerodynamic than the same size .308" projectile, leading to somewhat less of a flat trajectory. To get good aerodynamics, you have to get up to about 220 grains, and the 8mm does not have enough case capacity for that.

The tradeoff is that you get a bigger hole when the bullet does get there.

My Yugo M48 gives me 2 1/2" five-shot groups at 100. I have a Persian Mauser that I'm about ready to start testing, and those are SUPPOSED to have better accuracy.

I have been working up some hunting loads for an 8x57JS built on a Steyr Mauser 98 with a Douglas barrel. The bullet I'm currently using is a Nosler 180 gr Ballistic Tip, pushed by H414 and I'm getting consistent 1.25 inch groups that cronograph between 2550 and 2600 fps.

I have dozens of 8mms.
Most will spray bullets all over the target due to corrosive ammo in thier history.

But I have one that will shoot 1" groups, 200 gr, 2630 fps.

It's a great calibler, if the bore is not rotten.

Of course, this rifle lends itself to the 8mm-06 conversion for a very modest cost and this will take you up to the 220 and 250 grainers out there, delivering 3400 FPE with any heavy bullet you choose. You can cut an 8mm-06AI chamber for the same price, which will get you easily to 3600 FPE, but I don't know if you can just fireform 8mm-06 rounds or it gets complicated due to shoulder placement.

Well here's what NOT to do...Don't try to push 175grn gas checked, cast lead bullets at ~2300fps (this was a load from a manual)...Gave us (3 8mms between us) 24" groups....AT 25 YARDS. Yes, that's not a typo- twenty-four inches)or worse.

But consider the 8mm-06 AI, as mentioned...Will give power levels very near .300 Win Mag, using less powder, and with less recoil. This is my next project on a VZ-24 I've got.

It looks like the riflings went past so fast, the bullet didn't notice, and keyholed.
The bullet holes weren't round, were're they?

An 8mm06 or 8mm06 IMP just isn't needed. You will reload the 8X57 and have enough velocity and energy to do the job on anything we hunt here in the US or Canada. I've chambered a number of 8mms on the 06 case and never saw one in the field or at a range other than the ones I did. Oh they are out there but based on what I can tell they are not in large numbers nor should they be. In the late forties and earley fifties there may have been good reason ,but not today. What we really need is someone to do a reasonably priced rerifling job on the mod 98 barrels to .338 or.358.Now if i had a humble opinion I guess that would be it. roger

If you can move a 200gr. 8mm bullet to 2,600fps, you're cookin' with gasoline. Some have gone as hgih as 2,650fps with it, but that is pushing it. You'll get a slightly higher BC than a 180gr. .308 bullet on average, with slightly more mass and a slightly bigger hole. It easily exceeds the .308 and comes close to .30-06 energies. In the feild, anything you shoot probably wouldn't know the difference, but it'd be a damn fine round for medium game at medium range. The 170gr. bullets can be pushed to 2,800fps, but I prefer the 200gr. because I hunt in black bear country, and though small, they do bite back.

Do a search for a thread from about a year ago called Unsafe Pressure in a Yugo M48A? or some such.

Please read the disclaimer in there as to blowing up your eyes and hands before trying to use the loads discussed. I take absolutely no responsibility for any results using my data in your rifle, good or bad. All of my results have been excellent.

In my opinion, if you have a strong 98mauser action (and who knows if you really do or not?), you can get some pretty, uh, unexpected performance out of the 8x57 cartridge. A factory 30-06 load is anemic compared to my 8x57 loads.

The medium sized muley I killed last October with mine was literally picked up off of his feet and put back on the ground. Not a quiver after he hit the ground that I saw.

I've killed other deer with the 8x57 and results have all been satisfactory in the extreme. 8mmFan

This guy has developed quite a few 8mm loads
http://www.realguns.com/loads/8x57mmjs.htm

err.. try this:
http://www.realguns.com/
scroll down and click on "8x57mm Mauser"

errrr......try this:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=realguns&btnG=Google+Search
click on "realguns home page"
click on "8x57mm Mauser"

Just as a point of reference, here are some European factory load ballistics for the 8x57JS. I wanted to have some frame of reference for CIP factoy level loads for the 8x57 when working up my handloads. I collected these stats from the various European factory ammo web sites. By looking at the Euro specs I could at least determine what velocities can reasonably be expected with the different bullet weights.

-Bob F.



Blaser http://www.blaser.de/ Germany
Hirtenberger http://www.hirtenberger.at/ Austria (web site no longer lists sporting ammo)
Lapua http://www.lapua.com/ Finland
Norma http://www.norma.cc/ Sweden
Prvi Partizan http://www.prvipartizan.com/ Serbia
RUAG Munition http://www.ruag.com/ http://www.swissmun.com/e/sport/ Switzerland
RWS http://www.rws-munition.de/ Germany
Sako http://www.sako.fi/ Finland
Sellier & Bellot http://www.sellier-bellot.cz/ Czech Republic