I have an 8x57 in which the chamber was cut too deep creating excessive headspace (.010") as confirmed by a gunsmith.
My question is, can I use new 8x60 brass, trim to 57mm and push the shoulder back to form a crush fit in the chamber then fireform?
Does 8x60 have the same dimensions, with the exception of the shoulder further forward and being 3mm longer?
Would it be preferable to use an 8x57 case with a mild load, seat a bullet long to contact rifling, then fireform?
Thanks

.010 is not an enormous amount of headspace.

One could easily just fire the standard 8X57 loads in the chamber and then set the resizing die out to not push the shoulder back the amount of excess.....It's a fairly easy fix.

If you're starting with new virgin brass one can simply expand the case neck to .35 caliber and then set a .020 shim between the die and the shell holder and reload as usual....this will create a small shoulder that will prevent the case from being shoved forward in the chamber by the firing pin and there will be little to no thinning of the web due to head space.....after initial firing one merely adjusts the thickness of the shim stock to find the correct fit to the chamber....essentially correcting the headspace by adjusting the cartridge case to match the chamber....in this instance two wrongs make a right!...

I'd stay with the standard 8X57 case

quote:

I'd stay with the standard 8X57 case

Crap I have several chambers that are at least .01 too long.

If you lightly oil a cartridge it will come
back at lower pressure and fill out forward.
This avoids a stretch mark.

Do like nearly everyone who owned an "8mm Mauser" back in the early post WW-II era: Start with '06 brass. When you form it with the 8x57 sizer, simply back the sizer off enough to leave your shouder in the desired place.

But yes, if you want to go to the trouble and expense of finding scarce and expensive 8x60 brass that will accomplish the same thing.

If you are anal-retentive enough to insist on having the 8x57 headstamp, then do what Vapo says and using a .338 or .358 expander create a "false shoulder" for headspacing. Afterward firing, all of your brass will have the shoulder in the right place.

BTW: I once had an 8x60 offered to me and din't think twice about brass for it -- I assumed that I would simply reform .30-06 just like a few hundred thousand reloaders have done for 8x57 going on three-quarters of a century.

What would be wrong with seating a bullet long --into the lands-- and loading a medium level load behind it and firing away?

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
What would be wrong with seating a bullet long --into the lands-- and loading a medium level load behind it and firing away?

In some circumstances that may be the only way to keep the case at the rear of the chamber. It is less "positive" than headspacing on the shoulder since you're depending on the friction of the bullet in the mouth to resist the force of the firing pin fall, but in most instances I would think that there would be no forward movement of the case. Maybe a small caliber case with a very short neck and no crimp might move, but I don't think an 8x57 with a firm grip on the bullet would.

The advantage of creating a "false" or temporary shoulder is that you can use your regular load and accuracy won't typically be degraded, whereas the "bullet in the lands" method requires you to use a cautiously reduced load and spend the shots for fireforming rather than sighting or hunting.

Let's not forget that it is a german cartridge so we want to keep things as complicated as possible.

Just get a real gunsmith to fix the dang chamber. It should be easy.

Wstrnhuntr

Easier (and a whole lot cheaper) to just fireform the brass and be grateful for the .0001gr increase in case volume

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:

quote:

I'd stay with the standard 8X57 case

Crap I have several chambers that are at least .01 too long.

Yeh Man! I wish I had a dollar for every rifle I've owned and fired regularly with factory chambers that were too long by .004" headspace. (Normal headspace on factory rifles is usually .003"-to-.006")

I figure I could have probably been able to retire 5 years earlier! (Well, maybe not, but it makes the point.)

(I'd probably use VapoDog's solution. I have so many fairly long .473" head diameter (and similar) guns around (6m/m, .257 Rem-Roberts, .260 Rem., .270, 7x57, 7m/m-08, 7.5x54 French, 7.5x55 Swiss, .280, .30-06, 8x57, and on and on...

It is fairly important to me that the headstamps be correct where possible.)