..still not tried in the field. Just delivered by mail to Cewe. In a week or two it will accompany him to RSA, to shoot baboons or screw-horned pyjama-antelopes.

Walther-barrel, Recknagel sights and mounts, Husqvarna FN Mauser action all made by Sam Björkholm, Finland, and stocked by me. It's a 8x68S. I will meet Cewe and Husky down there after Easter
for a full report.

Man do I need to get to the post office!

Tonight I start loading Ken Stewarts 200gr bullets, I´ll start from 69gr of VV 160N and work myself up. 870m/s should do the trick...

Very Nice. I really like the short forearm.

Terry

Very nice Boha! You can't go wrong with that Lothar Walter barrel either.

I rushed to the post office after work -but no gun! It should be here tomorrow though...

cewe,

I would have set up my tent at the front door!

What a sweet looking rifle.

Congratulations!!

Rich
DRSS

It should be here tomorrow! Last time I saw it the stock was finished (and veeeery nice -thank you boha) but it was in the white. NIce balance and is just the gun I need as I won´t be walking much this year due to my knees.

I´ll sight her in at 200 meters...watch out Mr Baboon here I come! I´ll also be going for waterbuck, hartebeest and maybe nyala. Would be nice to get a bushpig while I´m at it.

quote:

Originally posted by boha:
..still not tried in the field. Just delivered by mail to Cewe. In a week or two it will accompany him to RSA, to shoot baboons or screw-horned pyjama-antelopes.

Walther-barrel, Recknagel sights and mounts, Husqvarna FN Mauser action all made by Sam Björkholm, Finland, and stocked by me. It's a 8x68S. I will meet Cewe and Husky down there after Easter
for a full report.

Maybe they could send it to the wrong address instead.

One word - Wow!

Very nice boha,

Could you tell me what the magazine box dimensions are? I am making an 8x68 later this year. I am wondering how far to lengthen, and if I have to widen the magazine boxes that I have on hand.

Many thanks,
Again, very strong work.

John Charlie

Lawndart, very little work is required. You do not need to widen the box - the round was developed for the -98 mauser. Only fine adjustments on the feeding rail is needed. The normal length of the cartridge is 84 mm (3,307") so very little if any lengthening is needed. I've seen loads with 87mm oal, with heavier bullets though.

The standard magazine will of course not swallow five rounds, 3+1 is more likely.

This rifle had only the bolt opened, rail adjusted and magazine opened 1,5 mm - machined, no lengthening. That's what Sam told me anyway.

I´ve now received the rifle and it is a beaut! It really "matches" my .416 (also made by Sam and Boha) and as it has a bit of weight it should suck up recoil well. The checkering and blueing are out of this world!

Tonight I start loading and on Friday I´ll have time to go to the range.

pretty rifle with some fine lines....

I would hate to be a baboon when 8x68 arrives on the scene...187 grain H-Mantel und auf wiedersehen baboon...

quote:

Lawndart, very little work is required. You do not need to widen the box - the round was developed for the -98 mauser. Only fine adjustments on the feeding rail is needed. The normal length of the cartridge is 84 mm (3,307") so very little if any lengthening is needed. I've seen loads with 87mm oal, with heavier bullets though.

The standard magazine will of course not swallow five rounds, 3+1 is more likely.

This rifle had only the bolt opened, rail adjusted and magazine opened 1,5 mm - machined, no lengthening. That's what Sam told me anyway.

Thanks!

I will do a little work on one of my magazines to get it ready. My mentor is going to slap me on the side of the head for questioning him on this topic.

Do you guys think there would be a market in Europe for 8x68(S) ammunition loaded with 200 grain Nosler Partitions or GS Custom HV bullets?

I think this cartridge may have the 300 Win Mag beat all to shit.

Why do you build such nice rifles for cewe anyway? It's not like he deserves them or anything.......

The cartridge is a German affair. Cewe is the only enthusiast I know around here that uses one. The .300 WM is probably more common if push downrange is needed. And .30 cal bullets are cheaper.

Cewe does not deserve the rifles, of course, but he appreciates them. And I get to go to Africa again because I stock these rifles for him. He's really a nice bastard, don't you know. Makes good venison burgers.

The man hunted the Kalahari with a 9,3x62 - so he realized he needed a flat shooter. This is the one.

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:


Do you guys think there would be a market in Europe for 8x68(S) ammunition loaded with 200 grain Nosler Partitions or GS Custom HV bullets?

GS HV with 180 grainers 3200 fps

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:
Do you guys think there would be a market in Europe for 8x68(S) ammunition loaded with 200 grain Nosler Partitions or GS Custom HV bullets?

JCN, the person to speak to in terms of introducing new (custom) ammo to the European market is our very own "Collani". He might be able to tell you more on the requirements in terms of manufacturing, testing and marketing ammo. Some of the European requirements for firearms related stuff may well be surprising to shooters used to US rules and regulations. E.g. in Germany, any alteration of a rifle in terms of rechambering, rebarreling etc is subject to a new pressure test. Needless to say, this is all rather costly, and to a US shooter probably inunderstandable.

The 8x68S is about as good a combination as you can get for long range shooting with a bullet of diameter larger than .308. The only other options are really the .338s, which are not terribly popular (for historical reasons?) in Europe. The 8x68S is a formidable caliber, and I can't imagine a much better choice for heavy red stags in the rut, or gemsbok in the Kalahari, say. The sad thing with this caliber - as with other "magnum performance" calibers - is that a lot of people get infatuated with the performance on paper, but they don't put in the time and effort to get used to shooting the caliber. Consequence: flinching in the field. But for people who can shoot it, there are few calibers better than the 8x68S.

- mike

What do we really deserve? I could get philosophical and start a discussion on existentialism but I´ll keep it short and quote the song by Queen: "I want it all and I want it now! "

Don´t ask me why I had this built, I just remember that I had some sort of a good reason for it and it might have been that Kalahari trip. Trying to shoot ostriches at 350m with a 9.3x62 is sort of futile.

I just finished loading my test rounds for tomorrow: 200gr Ken Stewart bullet and 67-69gr of VV N160. I was going for a load of around 71gr but the case got full around 69gr and I don´t want to compress loads before I see what I can get out of these.

Recoil shouldn´t be that bad as the gun has weight -I´m not a fan of light guns in heavier calibers.

I hope you will chronograph the loads...

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
I just finished loading my test rounds for tomorrow: 200gr Ken Stewart bullet and 67-69gr of VV N160. I was going for a load of around 71gr but the case got full around 69gr and I don´t want to compress loads before I see what I can get out of these.

Compressing loads is almost a given in the somewhat small 8x68S case - the cartridge gets the performance by being loaded to pretty high pressures.

I have loaded RWS R905, which is equivalent to Norma MRP, under a 200 grs Nosler Partition, and as far as I remember, the load was fairly compressed.

I'll be interested to see how you go with the N160. Just on the surface, I would have suggested a somewhat slower powder (Norma MRP springs to mind), but maybe the N160 will serve you well.

- mike

I think N160 should be OK as N165 will just take up even more space. Has anyone used VV N540 (or is it 560?) in this caliber? Boha recommended that as his first choice but I haven´t tried progressive powders yet...

When i load the .416 Rigby I get compressed loads but last year I had a bit of an "situation" in SA -I loaded 9.3x62 loads using N130 and while pressures where fine when I tested them before leaving (testfiring was done at OC) they skyrocketed at higher temps.

This has made me back off a bit when reloading...

I´ll chronograph the loads tomorrow and do the sighting with RWS factory loads as a comparison.

Just got back from the range and man was I surprised: RWS factory loads (196gr H-mantel) gave me 960ms! Man did they fly! My own load of 69gr only managed 860ms...

I did my shooting at 200m and RWS gave me a group of about 70mm for three shots. The slower the load the less was precision.

I´ll have to compress loads but I think 71gr of N160 should give me around 900ms.

Recoil was stiff of the bench but very managable -less than from a .375.

RWS stokes 'em pretty well... I think you should be happy with 900 m/s.

- mike

MHO: I´d say that again! But I now have a problem -I have cases, bullets, dies BUT I assumed one of my shellholders would fit and they don´t! I can use the holder for the .375 when seating bullets but I can´t use it for calibrating as it won´t hold the shell well enough. Nobody seems to have these on the shelf and I leave for SA on the 2nd of April.

Luckily I found a guy who had 57 pcs of RWS ammo on the shelf and I bought them for the price of 4 Euros each.

Ouch -it hurt a bit, but this rifle was built for this trip so what could I do?

http://www.rws-munition.de/de/jagd_patronen/anwendungsberater.htm?navid=10
They load them pretty stiff, don't they?
With a hard recoiling rifle, hold the fore-end, ok? There's a lot more accuracy in it than 70 mm at 200 m.. Look out mr Baboon, at 300yds there's still a velocity of 2300 fps making a point..

It is true the 8x68 has a different case head. It shares it with the 6.5x68 (obviously, being built on the same case), but I also believe it is pretty close to the 7.5x55 and the 9.3x64.

I believe the RCBS shellholder you need is #34.

Good luck in Africa, I'm sure the RWS factory fodder will hammer them...

- mike

Looks like a friend of mine might have time to machine me a shellholder, getting anything on order in a few days time is impossible...

I took a second look at the RWS ammo and it was 187gr H-mantel and not 196 ! This is typical of me...

Lapuas reloading guide gives a max of 880ms for a 200gr bullet so I´m not far of with my loads.

I like everything, but the scope set up,
looks like Space Shuttle on a B747.




Can you see the resemblance?

I prefers them much Lowwwser like this

Cewe,

I'll mail you a shell holder if you want. It won't be there in time for the trip unfortunately.

Can you also measure the length of your factory ammo like Boha did?

I will be manufacturing a load with 200 grain Nosler Partitions at far less than 4 Euros per cartridge, even with shipping and import duties.

I am getting an export license

LD

PS Are some of you guys interested in pooling data for an article about the 8x68(S)? Handloader magazine has never done a piece on the 8x68(S) (not that I know of, anyway).

PPS Try some powders with a burning rate like 4350, RL-19, N 204, etc.

I believe this cartridge acts more like a scaled up 30-06 or a 338 Win Mag than a 300 Win Mag when bullet weights are 200 grains or less.

What would be really nice is a heavily constructed 220 grain bullet.


We will have pressure data as soon as I get off my ass and build a universal receiver......

quote:

JCN, the person to speak to in terms of introducing new (custom) ammo to the European market is our very own "Collani". He might be able to tell you more on the requirements in terms of manufacturing, testing and marketing ammo. Some of the European requirements for firearms related stuff may well be surprising to shooters used to US rules and regulations. E.g. in Germany, any alteration of a rifle in terms of rechambering, rebarreling etc is subject to a new pressure test. Needless to say, this is all rather costly, and to a US shooter probably inunderstandable.

Thanks Mike!

I have read (and heard) about the stricter firearms laws in the land of my father's fathers. I like the safety aspects of it all. I really hate having to sew body parts back on people after they have a little "misadventure" with their firearms. I certainly have had may share .

LD

Boha. Good job on that stock pattern. Looks good. Like the more open grip short forend style you developed.

WJ: The whole rig is made to match which means that the scope mount, stockcomb etc doesn´t give you the feeling that the mount is high. I like detachable scopes as I travel with some gun every year and I like to remove the scope while in transit. The comprimise makes it a little less easy to use the iron sights but as my eyessight isn´t what it used to be I always hunt with a scope. The irons are mostly there as backup and because I feel that a rifle without iron sights looks nekkid.

Lawndart: I´ll have a shellholder in a month or so but thanks for the offer friend. I´ll be "rolling my own" ammo in the future but Germany might be the correct market for you. I´ll get back to you on ammo length.

I don´t see this as becoming a big round in Scandinavia as 90% of our hunters suffer from ".308:itis". Most of my friends -military and civilian- won´t touch my guns and just mumble "cannons" when I offer them to try a round.

Then again they don´t understand doodly squat about how a stock should fit, balance etc and are happy shooting their IMO ugly Tikkas and Sakos!

Thanks dude!

Slightly OT, but the only thing uglier than a Sako model 75 is a model 85. The model A-V with a real trigger like on the A-III model would be THE perfect push feed rifle of all time. May Berretta burn in hell.....

Have a great time hunting next week. Take lots of pictures of recovered bullets. Maybe we can crack you into Handloader magazine

At one time I was of the opinion you had to keep the scope as low as possible too. After hunting with my BRNO 21H, custom 9.3X62 and a 1952 Mannlicher Schonauer. I no longer feel it's necessary or desirable. I like the rifle as it is and wouldn't change a thing.

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
It is true the 8x68 has a different case head. It shares it with the 6.5x68 (obviously, being built on the same case), but I also believe it is pretty close to the 7.5x55 and the 9.3x64.

I believe the RCBS shellholder you need is #34.

FWIW, the 8x68s' case head is pretty close to a 30-30's case head. In a pinch, one might be able to get away with substituting a 30-30 shellholder.

LD: I forgot to measure the ammo yesterday, I´ll do it today. OAL on my handloads is 86mm if thats any help -which it isn´t I know. Today I´ll try 69.5-70.5gr of N160 and as 69 gave me 860ms with a 200gr bullet then I´ll take the load that is around 870 (Lapua gives a max of 880ms). I still have 25 cases that don´t need calibrating so I can take 25 pcs of 200gr ammo and 35 od the RWS loads. I´ll be in SA for a month so I can get in some practise while I´m there.

Beretta...even their checkering is ugly.

Tex21: Thanks for the the 30-30 tip, sorry to say that´s one round I don´t shoot (but that might change soon!).

Nice rifle, and the scope mount is fine!

Cewe, what do you get for a stock like that?

70.5gr of N160 and a 200gr Ken Stewart bullet gave me 865ms which gives me a "margin for Africa". Three shots at 75 meters gave a group about 15mm large -two shots in the same hole but a flyer opened it up a bit.

A frind found a shellholder that fits snugly, RCBS nr 18, so now I can reload and have 40pcs of 200gr ammo with me on the trip.

D99: The stock "in the rough" cost about 175E but the work done afterwards is hard to put into Euros as we did a trade with Boha. I´d say the stock would cost about 750E and up checkered and oiled.

Recoil is very manageable, a beauty to shoot.