Just purchased an 8mm Mauser and I am looking to reload for it. I have a couple of other 8mm's so I have bullets (150, 180, and 200 gr) and a wide range of powders. I know that this group has favorite loads that approaches the European pressure standards. Anyone willing to share their data?

Duck Before you start stoking up some high pressure loads how about telling us a little more about your rifle. What markings are on the action ? does the bolt and action have matching serial #'s. What kind of shape is the barrel in ?

My 8x57 Mauser is a Remington 700 Classic. I don't know how old it is but it was represented to me as unfired and I can't argue with this asessment based on the condition of the rifle. I have two other Rem 700's and I am convinced these have strong reliable actions. My problem with reloading for this round is that my manuals seem to make this cartridge a lightweight and it is too popular in other countries to be as anemic as these manuals make it out to be. It's original owner supposedly bought this rifle for a European hunt that never happened.

I did find that Remington produced the Classic rifle in 8x57 Mauser as their classic caliber in 2004. My other 8mm's are a Burno in 8mm/338 Magnum and a Browning A-Bolt in 325 WSM.

quote:

Originally posted by Duckhunter39208:
Just purchased an 8mm Mauser and I am looking to reload for it. I have a couple of other 8mm's so I have bullets (150, 180, and 200 gr) and a wide range of powders. I know that this group has favorite loads that approaches the European pressure standards. Anyone willing to share their data?

I get similar performance with 56.5gr Alliant Rl-17 and/or 200gr Speer Hotcore bullets. Those powders will outperform any others I have tried by as much as 100 fps at the same chamber pressure.

I have the Speer bullets and RL17 on hand. I'll work up a load (starting low, of course) with this combination. Thanks

My OAL length was short due to the throat of my military take off barrel. (3.030")

Yours might be a bit longer. I load .010-.015" off the lands. You might need a little more powder to reproduce the pressure/velocity I attained.

Quickload predictions are a bit exuberant in both Mv and pressure for Rl-17 while just the opposite for Vv N-550.

My Quickload Rl-17 results needed about 2gr additional powder for predicted Mv while Vv N-550 attained predicted pressure/Mv with about 2gr less than suggested.

Rl-17 shows this characteristic across the board in all of the cartridges in which I use it. (7mm-08, 30/40 Krag & 8X57) As a rule, everyone I have corresponded with has seen the same discrepancy with Rl-17. Quickload seems to estimate the starting pressure a bit high. The loads I cited above show no signs of excess pressure. I get easy bolt lift, excellent case life, no flattened primers, etc. 2700 fps suggests about 60K chamber pressure with the 200gr bullets and either load.

These are moderately compressed loads. As the loads volumes were compressed, they became more consistent in Mv. I always choose a powder that either fills the available case capacity 100% or is sightly compressed at the desired chamber pressure range. I use a drop tube and pour slowly to help settle the powder into the case.

196gr Norma Oryx bullet + RL 17 works great in CZ 557 in 8x57JS (8mm Mauser).

Jiri

wildcat junkie:

Quickload predictions for RL-17 for 375 H&H I use in is pretty out of real data. But for the 8x57 and Norma Oryx bullet it is quite accurate. Norma Oryx bullet IMHO needs much higher "initial pressure" to move than other bullets. I use Federal GM215M primers in both 8x57JS and .375 H&H.

Jiri

My J.P. Sauer & Sohn 1903 Mauser Sporter, built on a small ring transition model Oberndorf Mauser, is in caliber 8X57J. It happily digests 175 grain Privi Partizan bullets I have sized down to .318" and shoots them all in one hole at 50 yards, using a 2 1/2 X Lyman Alaskan scope with a post and crosshair reticle. The 100 yard groups are commensurate with those fired at 50 yards. I find that bullet especially effective on white tail deer. Plus, they are quite inexpensive.

I have the 700 classic also.
once I got the Remington recoil pad off the thing I started out with 150gr bullets shoved along to about 2800 fps.

that basically duplicated my 30-06, so I just went back to my 30-06 which is about 20 times more accurate and started just shooting cast bullets in the 700.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
I have the 700 classic also.
once I got the Remington recoil pad off the thing I started out with 150gr bullets shoved along to about 2800 fps.

that basically duplicated my 30-06, so I just went back to my 30-06 which is about 20 times more accurate and started just shooting cast bullets in the 700.

First of all, a 150gr bullet in the 8X57 is way too light for the caliber. That would be like shooting 125gr bullets out of your 30-06. I have found that 200gr bullets are not only the most efficient, but far more accurate than even 180gr pills.

A 200gr .323 bullet at 2700+ fps generates over 3300'# of muzzle energy which is significantly more than 30-06 loads @ the same pressure.

Well, this is way, way off-topic and for that I do not apologize!

My second centerfire rifle (my first being a Mod. 94 in .32-40 Win) was a bastardized 8mm Mauser. As a 12-year old (?) I bought it in the 50s at Don Harder’s Sporting goods store in Castro Valley, CA. for . . . $40.

It was a 98 Mauser, with a slimmed barrel and a welded patch where (I presume) a sling swivel had been. It had the military 2-stage trigger and the most beautiful blonde stock I’ve ever had. Except . . . the stock was cracked from forearm through the wood of the action bedding. Someone had attempted to repair it using tape inside the barrel channel (!), and then refinished it.

The original checkering was a work of art. The re-checkering . . . well, an abortion.

My late father (a former merchant marine) brought me a “Prominar” 3x9 scope from Japan, and I shot waaaaay underpowered 170 grain factory bullets until I acquired my Lyman 310 tool, 8mm dies and a Pacific scale! (I still have them, in original box!)

For a safety (because the Mauser safety wouldn’t pass beneath the scope) I simply left the bolt forward but not “down.”

Trimming? Never heard of it!

But I loaded for and shot that for any number of years before I had it rebarreled to 6mm Rem (Schneider, 12 twist, like the original .244), added a Fajen stock (remember them?) and a Timney trigger) . . . and replaced the original scope with a Leupold 12x.

When it could no longer group less than 1 MOA I traded it for a Savage LRPV in .223.

A thousand non-apologies for the off-topic trip down memory lane, but . . . I couldn’t resist.

wildcat.
I just wanted to kill a deer.
that load was a bit more appropriate than the one I used before.
I was using the speer 200gr bullet on top of @ 18 grains [not 100% re-calling right now] of unique.
it flat floored our mule deer but the range was a bit limited.
it was worse than the load I use now with a 170gr cast bullet shoved along by 30grs of I-4895.
I dunno how it would work on some huge trophy buck at 500 yds, but it done the job on the 30" one hanging on my wall at about 110yds just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
wildcat.
I just wanted to kill a deer.
that load was a bit more appropriate than the one I used before.
I was using the speer 200gr bullet on top of @ 18 grains [not 100% re-calling right now] of unique.
it flat floored our mule deer but the range was a bit limited.
it was worse than the load I use now with a 170gr cast bullet shoved along by 30grs of I-4895.
I dunno how it would work on some huge trophy buck at 500 yds, but it done the job on the 30" one hanging on my wall at about 110yds just fine.

Your original post cast aspersions as to the accuracy of you 8X57. I merely pointed out that the load you mentioned was hardly one that would lend itself to the full accuracy potential.

The target I posted above was the 1st 3 rounds sent down range at paper with that load. I "developed" it over a chronograph on my kitchen deck. I worked from Quickload predictions reducing the predicted 60K charge by 10% and working back up. That particular load showed very consistent Mv and Standard Deviation. As usual, when the load density became compressed, the SD shrank.

I always strive for a load that has the ogive of the bullet just off the lands and 100% to about 105% load density. This has served me well with both Rl-17 and Norma MRP.

I now use those 2 powders exclusively for everything in medium bore CF cartridges including 7mm-08/140gr bullets, 30/40 Krag/160gr bullets, 8X57/200gr bullets and 8mm-06 Ackley Improved/200gr bullets. The later is loaded with a compressed load of Norma MRP. I also used Norma MRP in my 280 Rem/140gr bullets with great results and moderate chamber pressure.

200 gr bullets are significantly more accurate than 180gr Ballistic tips, and actually shoot with a flatter trajectory beyond about 200yds..

While the 200gr bullets will routinely shoot < 1/2" @ 100yds. This target does not represent typical accuracy with 180gr BTs which are much less consistent..

I'm sure it did.
the best I ever got from the 8mm rifle was 1-1/2"s at 100 yds. [good enough considering the time frame I was working in]
buying the rifle, finding a scope in the closet, putting a load together, test firing and sighting everything in, then making it to the hunt sight in 2 day's.

I'm also comparing it to my Bergara made 30-06 with home swaged 155gr bullets.
there really isn't a comparison in either accuracy [no matter the load I put in the Remington] or the time involved just building the bullet, never-mind the rest of the load details.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
I'm sure it did.
the best I ever got from the 8mm rifle was 1-1/2"s at 100 yds. [good enough considering the time frame I was working in]
buying the rifle, finding a scope in the closet, putting a load together, test firing and sighting everything in, then making it to the hunt sight in 2 day's.

I'm also comparing it to my Bergara made 30-06 with home swaged 155gr bullets.
there really isn't a comparison in either accuracy [no matter the load I put in the Remington] or the time involved just building the bullet, never-mind the rest of the load details.

The comparison suggesting that the 8X57 is somehow inherently less accurate than the 30-06 is ludicrous.

I had a M700 Mtn Rifle DM in 280 that wouldn't do any better than 2 1/2" @ 100yds no matter what I fed it. Does that mean the 280 is inherently less accurate than the 30-06?

In contrast, the M700 CDL in 280 that I traded the Mtn Rifle for would shoot under 1" @ 100yds.

Remington M700s can be a crap shoot.

196/200 gr bullets are the sweet spot. Taken an elk, 2 x red deer, waterbuck, impala, and numerous hogs with mine.

Try numerous bullets. I have a 20" Mannlicher - tried TSX, Aframe, S&B, Woodleigh, Partition, and Accubond. Only 200 gr Accubonds grouped, about 1/2" group.

I use 46.5 gr of Varget at 2.980" at 2,450 fps. If you have a 24" barrel, figure another 80-100 fps.

Good 300 yard gun. No reason to juice the fps over 2,600 fps, though I'd have no worries with running hot loads in a Remington 700. I have a 1916 M98 action.

BTW - I also use a Lee factory crimp die. It reduced the SD, boosted the FPS a bit (25-30 fps) and tightened the groups noticeably.

Anyone tried the 170g SST? I'm thinking I should be able to get them up in the 2700+ range with our local ADI powders if I can find the bullets

the round itself is very accurate.
it is the Remington made rifle I am casting aspersions on.
I could just as easily have compared it to my 7X57 or my 25-06 [both on Mauser actions]
or one of my Armalite rifles, or one of my Rugers, or my Push feed Winchester.
or my necked down to 30 caliber 8 mauser brass using rifle.
or just my other 8mm mauser.

the results would have been the same.
1-1/2" groups,, and under 3/4" groups, or under 1/2" groups with many of the above examples.

One of my favorite rifles is an old german custom rifle in 8x57, has a full rib barrel, beautiful wood, real nice trigger, Its slim with a 22 inch barrel, low comb manlicher stock, light in weight, I shoot 150 gr. bullets for deer and 200 gr. Noslers for elk or whatever..It shoots 1.5 inch average of 10 groups..with a 3x Leupold. The 8x57 for all practical purposes is a 30-06 clone or visa versa. that is no light praise btw!!

I have a twin, but its an extremely early Commercial Brno in a rare large ring..The 8x57 is for all practical purposes a twin to the 30-06, no better and no worse..