I've been shooting 150 grain bullets in my O/U. It's a .323 bore. It was originally set up to use 190's and 190's are a bit more accurate. The 150's and 170's work well on whitetails. I have some 190 solids, and would like to have a matching load with a soft point. Some of the heavier soft's are made for the higher velocity 8mm's. Any suggestions for a softer soft that will expand at the lower velocity of the 8x57R in that weight?
Thanks
Bfly

When I had a drilling (9x57r) I bought Hawk bullets. My velocities were very low relative to today's velocities, around 2100. Hawk makes some very soft jackets.

The bullets did the trick on antelope, deer and a cow elk.

.323" Nosler 200 gr. Accubonds - ought to get that to shoot pretty close to the 190's.

I'm loading these bullets in a Buddy's 8x57 and he swears by them.

Have Fun!

200 grain Nosler partitions have a VERY soft nose that will expand at low velocities. But, the back 2/3's of the bullet will drive in deep even on big animals.

I've shot everything from moose and bear on down to deer and coyotes with them out of my 8x57 drilling, and they always work perfectly for me.

DM

The Remington 185s shoot very well in my Blaser 8X57s, and they are cheap, and while I have not shot anything with one, I am told the Remington performs well at 8X57 velocity. The two Blasers shoot it into nice cloverleafs that are often just ragged holes, but my Sauer 8X57 prefers the Noslers for accuracy.

Thanks
Bfly

I gave a box of Hornady 195gr spitzers to Lee LeBas and wish I hadn't.

They regulated well in several of my 8X57 "S" bore guns. Use what regulates best, and don't get caught up in bullet weight.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:
.323" Nosler 200 gr. Accubonds - ought to get that to shoot pretty close to the 190's.

I'm loading these bullets in a Buddy's 8x57 and he swears by them.

Have Fun!

The standard weight for every 8X57 cartridge, in every combination I've ever owned has been 196 Gr round nose bullet. That included both the rifles chambered for 8X57JR .318, and the 8X57JRS .323. So I would think your combination was regulated with the 196 gr bullet.

However other weights can be used with a little experimenting. I use Sellier & Belllot factory ammo, or Norma bullets in my handloads in the right barrel of my 8X57JR (.318) cape gun, and it shoots right on the sights at 100 mtrs. This little cape gun is a H. Barella, made in Berlin in about 1920, the shot barrel on the left is a 16 ga shot barrel that I had opened to modified choke from the extremely tight Germaan full, and had the chambered opened for 2 3/4" shells. Now this little cape gun will pattern No. 7 1/2 shot in a tight 30" pattern at 30 yds, and will place a Brenneke slug right beside the rifle barrel at 100 Mtrs as well. Hell of a hunting gun for just about anything you would want to hunt in North America,just short of Brown bear, or Polar bear. I've taken just about everything else with this gun from one or both barrels.

L2S, That's why I'm going back to the 196's. I've almost used up my 150's and looking to keep it simple and stay with a regulated load.
MacD37, curious which Norma bullet you've used. I've been happy with Oryx in my 9.3, but am open to use which ever. Most of my shooting with this gun is for whitetail with black bear pretty much a target of opportunity. We only have a three day bear season in PA and not strong odds of connecting.
Thanks
Bfly

I'm a poor one to ask about any of the new Norma bullets, especially in the 8X57JR (.318).
I have a treasure trove of .318 dia, 196 gr roundnosed soft points, and a few 220 gr nicol jacketed solids that I bought many years ago from a gunshop who's owner died, and they just opened the doors and sold eveything in the building by the family of girls who simply did not know or care about the stock's worth. I've still got about 300 196 gr bullets, and a few of the solids before I have to start on the new generation. I also use Sellier & Bellot factory ammo on occasion, and Hawk for deer and hogs.

In my 9.3X74R doubles I use the S&B factory ammo for junk shooting, and load 286 gr Nosler partitions, and North Fork FPS for loading. I haven't used any of the new NORMA bullets in anything. I hear some good reports on the Oryx in the 9.3 though, and I will likely load some of them for the DRSS 4K ranch hunt next year!

The most common weight I have come across is certainly the 200grs (or 196).

Sierra makes bullets that I have understood to be fairly soft. No 200 grainers, however.
I shot a roe deer at some 30yds with Sierra GameKing and it certainly opened well even in such a small animal.

The by many recommended Nosler AccuBond ought to be good medicine, and the Norma Oryx certainly has sterling reputation on all game.

I usually am no strong advocate of the Sako Hammerhead, but it works quite well on lighter game so that might be an option. Sako loads this bullet in its factory ammo in 8x57JRS, too, so maybe you'd want to give it a try.

- Lars/Finland

Woodleigh makes two different bullets in 196 gr., the original round nose and the protected point. I suspect the round nose is what you are looking for.

quote:

Originally posted by Black Fly:
I've been shooting 150 grain bullets in my O/U. It's a .323 bore. It was originally set up to use 190's and 190's are a bit more accurate. The 150's and 170's work well on whitetails. I have some 190 solids, and would like to have a matching load with a soft point. Some of the heavier soft's are made for the higher velocity 8mm's. Any suggestions for a softer soft that will expand at the lower velocity of the 8x57R in that weight?
Thanks
Bfly

Black Fly,

Try the Speer Spitzer 200gr SPBT. I think you'll like it and it should have plenty of expansion on even short shots. Mike

My favorite bullet for the JRS has always been the Hornady 170 round nose interlock. I've killed a lot of game with it from FL to AK. I don't worry about keeping the same weight, just try to find a sp load that prints where your solids do & will do the job.
Greg

If it's available where you are, the 196 grain RWS round nose is ideal because it has a large exposed lead nose, and probably a lighter jacket besides, so it opens up at relatively low velocities. S&B would be in the same category especially for owners of .318" bores. These bullets aren't designed for hot-shot 8mm Remington Magnums and the like, just sedate 8mm Drillings and other lower velocity break-open rifles.

What I found useful is to chrony the bullets, get their BC and look at how far out they maintain a minimum energy. With the Nosler's for instance, I think that 1,800 ft/sec was the minimum velocity that they could be assured of mushrooming and various online ballistic programs will allow you to freely calculate how far out that is, given the muzzle speed and BC. That way you can make an informed choice. Of course, nothing beats field testing too !