It seems as if the cartridge really kicks quite a bit. I have one other question. How would recoil compare to various RUM's e.g. the 338 and 300. My uncle won a 375 RUM via a raffle and I do not believe he has scoped it yet. It has no real purpose with im just for kicks. He has shot it and said it is kicks like you cant believe. It would be neat to shoot one some day. How about using it as a bear gun?

I don't shoot the aformentioned cartridges, can't help you there. I can tell you that I regularly shot 70-80 rounds a session, and would get the blue spider web shoulder occasionlly. I did not feel the recoil was excessive, but like I mentioned, one round was enough for a lot of people. It really surprised me when R released the 8MM RM as an African configuration. While perfectly adequate for most non-dangerous game, and NA dangerous game, I never would have felt ready to rock and roll in Africa with it as the only gun. That is just my opinion, as I have never BTDT regarding hunting Africa. I still have a soft spot for the 8MM RM.

Should of been awsome--the middle ground of the 300 wby and the 340 wby--exact same case capacity--just needed some bullets and a fair marketing program and would've been a winner.

I had one of the very early models, and loved it for big game, just plain practice shooting, anything you would use a gun for. If there were a choice of bullets to match the caliber, that were centered around the velocity achievable with the 8MM, more would like it I'm sure. There is not, and was not, that choice. As some have mentioned, recoil can be an issue for some shooters. I always liked mine, but many that shot it were satisfied with one round. From the bench, it is a handful for the guy used to his 308. I usually shot mine while standing, and never had an adverse reaction to it. The recoil pales beside a serious big bore, JMHO. Many are of the opinion that the 338 Win M is superior, I doubt an elk could tell the difference. The 338 is the most accepted and has the most options for the factory ammo buyer and the reloader. I will always have a soft spot for the 8MM RM, just based on my history with it. As a hunting tool, it has been eclipsed by others.

Can someone tell me why this 8mm was not a success? Was it eclipsed by the .338 win mag? Did more favor the 7 mm? I sort of have a soft spot for neglected calibers like the 8mm and .264 win mags and would like to learn as much about the 8mm mag as i can. Can anyone help me learn the history of this cartridge and tell me about experiences w/ it in the field? Thanks alot.

-John

IMO, two things. It's too much gun for most people to shoot, and the variety of 8mm premium bullets is not as large. FWIW, Dutch.

I can't speak for others but it was just too much of a good thing for me. I thought it would make the ultimate elk rifle and on paper it would but I am philosphically opposed to brakes -I feel the same way about guys that brag about their .357 but shoot .38spls in them- and I could never come to enjoy shooting mine. I was familar with shooting magnums (7mm & 300wm) so I really wasn't in uncharted waters but mine (model 700 rem) would beat the snot out of me.
On the plus side, when I dropped back to a .338, it was a walk in the park.

Lack of bullets aqnd other manufacturers picking it up was a problem. It also a "mm" cartridge. They don't catch on as well as english calibers (7mm is the exception) here in the states. It is a good cartridge.

Hcliff

The primary failing I think was Remington's fault. They loaded it with bullets that could not take the heat, and there was not a substantial array of bullets available to the handloaders at that time that would. Not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last. Too, after introduction, the gun scribes were fairly quick to point out this problem. If memory serves, this all occurred just prior to the time when many of the ammo manufacturers began to load with other "premium" bullets such as the Partition, Trophy Bonded, etc. etc.

It is a God-awful big cartridge for the North American Continent and thus has a narrow application anyway. Loaded with smaller bullets, it became famous as the 7mm STW and other STW's and found a niche. American gunners are slow to embrace metrics, always have been. Why didn't big green call it the .320 Mag or somesuch? Then there was this thing called the .338 and .340. Tough acts to follow on any day.

JMO

I'll simply say it was either poor marketing or a lack of committment to marketing the 8mm that resulted in its downfall as much as anything. You can say it was redundant and perhaps it was when compared to anything from a .338 Winny class rifle but look at the success the rifle/ammo makers are enjoying with the Short Mags! (please don't start another short mag debate) What's the difference? A totally coordinated marketing effort among ammo makers, rifle makers and advertising. PLus when you come out in a niche caliber like the 8mm Rem Mag and only offer rifles and ammo from one company that about half the shooters in the world hold in contempt (rightly or wrongly) you have narrowed your product appeal to a very small segment.

It is an excellent long range elk gun. My brother has one that I have shot quite a bit. He uses a duplex load of 5 grns of WW 296 and 95 grns of H870 ( compressed load ) ignited by Federal 215 primers to get a muzzle velocity of 3200 fps with a Sierra 220 grn boattail. This does an excellent job on elk beyond 400 yrds. It does kick, but I don't notice it in a hunting situation. Our elk hunting is done in mid winter and I'm wearing lots of cloths so the cloths absorb a lot of recoil. This is not a overload in this gun.

I think the reply from Dutch pretty much nailed it. The bullet selection was especially dismal for 8mms 26 years ago (Damn, that sounds like a long time ago!). I don't think Nosler even made a Partition in 8mm back then, which is exactly what it required, at a minimum.

Also, it was not a short magnum, as were the 7mms and .300s, so it required a full-length magnum action, like the .375 H&H.

RSY