when i hunt big hogs i shoot the 8x57 loaded with 220's at 2460 fps and it rolls them,,up to 435 lbs. so far,,when i hunt big bears and elk and moose under 100 yds in close cover i use the same load,,for small bears and elk and moose at long range ( to 300 )i shoot the same 8mm with 180 spitzers at 2700 fps or so and deer to 350 with 150 spire points at about 2800+,,it'll shoot 'em faster but acc. drops off,, so why does everyone in the u.s. that i talk to tell me the old 8 wont do it and i need a mag this or that!!! this has got to be the most neglected WORLD CLASS CALIBER i know of!!!,, this is a dead stock milsup mauser except for a reciever sight instead of the rear tangent and with a straight bolt and steel buttplate.No it wont shoot in the 3's unless you mean 3" at 100 yards but for 35 years i have not lost anything or even had to follow more than 50-60 yards,,it was the first gun i bought for myself and used it exclusively for hunting though i do own about a dozen guns,,so why is the cal. so neglected in the states????????

Same reason people brushed off (disregarded) the 6.5 X 55 Swede.

Metric fear, maybe ?

Mr. Billy:

I'm with you. In fact, I even went so far as to tear apart a perfectly good model 700 (in 270) and <gasp> have is rebarreled to 8x57 (21" #3 Douglas). Added the original Remington sights topped it off with some Leupold QR rings/bases and a 1.5-4.5x Nikon. My favorite black bear rifle...

Welcome to the forum MH! Youll find an extraordinary wealth of knowledge in here, but it doesnt sound too me like your uninformed at all.

I also wonder why the 8X57 is treated like a stepchild here, I mean if products like the Honda civic and chinese optics are acceptable than surley there is room for the 30-06's old world equivalent.

Its a great round and deserves its props. I do however wonder how a guy can manage with only one rifle.. Thats like a woman with only one pair of shoes, it just aint right.

Montana, on this forum you'll find a bunch that still shoot the oldies. I do have a 300 and 338 WinMag, but also a custom I had built last year in 7x57, a pre-war sporter in 8x57 and a spoterized (nicely I think) model 1891 carbine in 7.65 Argentine.

I haven't hunted with the 8x57 but have been shooting cheap factory loads to practice with and I'm getting ready to start loading some 200 gr. loads for all around use.

I've also been loading 180gr. Speer's for the 7.65 and 154 gr. Hornadys for the 7x57 and I know they'll both get the job done. Got both loads from other board members.

Both the 8x57 and 7.65 wear open sights so with my eyes they are only 100 yd. guns. When it gets longer than that I really have to go to a scope these days. I'll take them both on at least one hunt this year so they don't get lonely getting left in the safe.

By the way, I agree with Wstrnhuntr on the number of guns. I'm using the plan that I need one load to shoot really well in a given rifle. Hence for big game I have a 270 for 140 gr. bullets, 7mm for 154 gr., 308 for 150 gr., 300 WinMag for 165, '06 for 180 (oops, I better switch the 7.65 Mauser to 174's), 200,s in the 8mm, 250's in the 338 WinMag.

That leaves me plenty of room to add something to shoot 215-225 grains, maybe something for 275's...

There are two reasons the 8X57 SUX as an american round. One is that there is the horrible history of hte .318 and the .323 bullets out there. So the American loads have been made to allow mixing a .323 in a .318, without blowing up the rifle, so the word WIMPY comes to mind. The American avialibe factory ammo barely beats a BB gun.

Then there is the history of the 1888 Mauser in 8X57. A few problems there and voila no one realizes that an 8X57S Mauser can do everything that a 30-06 can, and there is the worst thing for it: mundane hohum BORING mediocre malaise moderation unexciting basic performance. nothing wrong with it, but if you can buy a milsurp for under thre hundred that does it all, then who is going to make any money at that?

I have double rifle in 8X57JR that shoots less than 2 inches at 100 yards, and a Merkel Mauser sporter made in 1928 that is a simple beauty.

But I hunt with a 7X65 cause its a better round. More energy out of a smaller caliber....
especially at distance.

cheers and I love to shoot the 8X57, just not a real burning trajectory...

The lame-o factory ammo is extremely pleasant to shoot and is quite effective on deer and black bear, at least in my experience. Accuracy (at least the WW stuff) is sub MOA in my rifle as well.

I once read an article by some gun writer who was making fun of these factory loads, describing them as "only marginally better than 30-30 factory loads". I think he meant it as an insult - sounds more like a compliment to me.

I agree, longer range work favors the 7x65R, but for closer up tough stuff it's nice to have a somewhat heavier and larger diameter bullet.

Speaking of heavier and larger diameter, you still gor that 3lb 9.3x74R?

M/H, try this, the 185 grain Remington Core-lokt bullet, and IMR 4895(49.5 grains). It should bring a smile to your face. This load works in my Yugo 48, and 1904 Portuguese.

Don't feel bad, I have a little cut down VZ24 I am fixing up to be a handy woods rifle. 8X57 will do anything I will need in NC!
Jason

I had some Fedral 170 grain in 8x57. It managed 2000 fps from a 22 inch barrel. Pathetic to say the least.

Any decent 8x57 milsurp or hand load is man enough for anything up to 600lb at sensible ranges IMHO.

200 grain Barnes X @ 2500 fps works well for me.

As I said in the "woods rifle" post I reckon the 8x57 is great. Im using the Winchester factory rounds in my Mauser-Vergueiro. I use my 6.5 sweede a fair bit but if I know I'll be hunting in thick scrub, I grab the Vergueiro. The pig below was shot at a range of about 4-5 meters. I doubt I would have made the shot with my scoped 6.5.



Bakes

My first rifle was a war souvenir 8mm hand me down. It has accounted for several dozen deer, a few moose and hundreds of groundhogs. Ballistically it doesn't sound like much but the Winchester power point load has great penetration and the Remington Core Loct expands nicely on deer. I think that the much criticized factory loads are actually much better than a lot of the factory loads I have used in the 270 and 7mm that look better on paper. It is still the most dependable and rugged rifle I own. Accuracy is no great shakes but ok for it's intended purpose.

You can add the very cheap mil surp ammo to that list of assests.
Surplus mausers are real deal to guy that doesn't want, or need, to sink much money in one. I've got a buddy, for instance, who has two customs that are first class. He used surplus 98's, surplus 7X57, and 6.5X55 barrels and walnut stocks he did himself. They are beutifully finished, shoot well under MOA, wear used Leupold 4X or old steel tude Weaver 6X scopes, and cost him less than what a new Remington would have. That's because he can do most of the work himself. E

My 8 x 57 Mauser is actually a Mannlicher, a G98/40 that is "as issued" condition. It shoots cast bullets very well, and can send 150-154 grain bullets to 2800 FPS easily. What's not to like?

I truly regret not getting a Steyr-Mannlicher rifle of some kind in this caliber when they were available. One of the things on my "to-do" list is to have a sporting rifle made up in this caliber on some kind of commercial bolt action. I swapped a Rem 78 in 30-06 a few years ago that should have been used for this project, but a friend needed an '06 to hunt with, so I did the deal.

I'm leaning toward a new-series Win 70 claw-extractor action or a Mauser 98 with some upgrades. One of these with a classic Euro "hogback" stock profile and medium weight barrel would be under 10# with Leupold 3x-9x on board.

Maybe CZ will import the 550 in this chambering, making all that work unnecessary. THAT would be truly cool!

Kilt my first deer (10-point, 20 inch spread whitetail) with a stock Mauser '98K using Norma factory loaded 159 grain RNs. It's a truly versatile big game caliber and will move right along with the .30-06 in weight-for-weight bullets, provided you want to load them to the similar pressures.

I picked up a Turkish Mauser in 8 x 57 a few years ago. I think I may kill a deer with it someday just for the record.

I can see that Montana and I are in good company in appreciation of the 8 MM Mauser.

Notice that all the replys were from hunters, guys who use it, and know what it will do.

This post is so far void of the Ulta Mag crowds, indicating it hasn't the velocity to kill a squirrel.

As I put in another thread on the same topic, I bet the 8 mm Mauser will still be taking game all over the world, long after the current " super Mags" are ancient history. It is nice to be in the company of people who know what they are doing and carrying a caliber, that most of the unknowing are totally oblivious to. And cause it has been around longer than anything they can compare it too, just adds to my happiness.

As far as low loaded ammo, On a Lyman peep sited CZ 8mm Mauser, that I bought for $125.00, that was sporterized in the 1950s ( the owner just passed away and his widow took it down to the gun shop and got rid of it.) I have a great 150 yd rifle. That 150 yd limit is based on my eye sight, and the peep site. Without the peep sight, it wouldn't be a 150 yd rifle, it would be a 50 yd rifle.

However as a handloader, a 170 grain Hornady RN at about 2,000 to 2200 fps, gives me very low recoil, excellent accuracy ( one groups of three shots at 100 yds, you could cover with a silver dollar, the second group had two shots touching and one flyer). It is more than a match for one of these little Blacktails or a whitetail, regardless of size. Same goes for most black bears you are bound to run across, and in the timber, it will do just fine on an Elk in my opinion.

Let anyone who wants to kick the 8mm Mauser, do so. In doing so, they are entertaining me immensely.

I think the very anemic u.s. factory loads that are meant to play it safe in very old rifles and those that might have a .318 bore are a big reason for it being overlooked. It also seems that there is an american mindset that if you can't do it with a .30 bore or want something bigger than a .30 bore, the .338 and up is the only logical choice. But really, being "the" true baby medium, it can do double duty very well between small and medium bore use with bullets weighing from 150 to 250 grains.

The reason why shooters in the U.S. under-rate the 8X57 is pure ignorance! They just have no experience with one. This round is every bit as good as a .30/'06, as long as good,(non-U.S. or handloaded) ammo is used.

Amen for the 8x57 Mauser!!! I am glad to see other love this cartridge as much as I do. I used this great round to take my largest deer to date. One shot and he was down and out for the count! Shot him with Norma 196gr Vulkan! Here he is for all to gaze at...(hope this works as this is my first pic posting attempt)

I am going to try for this guys brother this year!

I am trying again to see if I can increase the size of the pic.

Ok, 1 more time. If I screw this one up, I quit!



[ 09-19-2003, 00:25: Message edited by: 25CalNut ]

Lets try this one more time...

Now for the signature pic.

One more time on the signature pic.

Got it this time!

[ 09-19-2003, 06:15: Message edited by: 25CalNut ]

there is only one honest to goodness reason that the 8x57 is not more popular in the US than it is and that is the ..........30-06. the 06 has been around forever and is such a good cartridge that there is no need to look for a replacement. not to take anythnig away from the 8x57, but it has some really stiff and widely accepted competition in the 06. otherwise the 8x57 is great. several of my friends here in Oklahoma (SE part) hunt with them. as long as you don't try to make it into a classy looking sporter, it is the best rifle buy around.

[ 09-19-2003, 06:19: Message edited by: bill smith ]

25calnut:

We shall hereafter refer to this as "your thread". Nice buck...

Which 25 cals are you nuts about anyway?

9.3

I do apologize about all the attempts at getting the pics correct, but no time like the present! Most of the time I am not that big of a moron, but now and then my head is stuck way up my ass and I don't hear "POP" until it is too late.

As for 25CalNut, I couldn't think of anything else that I liked. I have a SIG 25-06 that I just love shooting. Personally I think the 25-06 is the perfect dual purpose cartridge here in PA. Groundhogs to whitetails, and anything in between. If I ever move back to MN, it will work fine for fox, coyotes, crows, badgers, skunks and whatever else I can find.

I also like the 8mm Mauser, but find that shooting chucks with it is a little over-kill.

Just my .02 of course!

BILL SMITH,, I have seen some SPORTERIZED militarys that were so drop dead purty that if it wasn't for the step barrel you would never know they were not commercial sporters,,and I wont even begin to talk about the pieces I saw in Germany and Austria!!,,

GOOD SHOOTIN EVER'BODY!!!!!!!!!!

montanahillbilly: you and me both. they dress up really nice. the only problem is that to get them that way costs an arm and a leg.....unless of course you have some gunsmithing talent...which i do not.....