i bought some of this brass and received it just the other day. i was examining it and found that i have a question. the base of this brass is flat much ike any other brass, especially the 348 Winchester. 348 Winchester brass is often formed into 8mm Lebel. however, i have seen many pictures of actual Lebel cartridges and the base of the case does not appear to be flat. it appears to be more like the base of 7.62x54R brass.....wherein there is a smaller diameter and a distinct bevel up to a larger diameter. am i correct in saying that the Lebel brass is formed in a similar manner, or is it indeed flat like the 348 Win.?

well..........now i am impressed. i finally found a subject to post that no one has an opinion on. i must say that i sure never figured that would happen.......

Okay, I'll give it a try. The (couple) original 8mm cartridges I've seen indeed had that bevel you are talking about. I seem to recall some other 19th century U.S.cases having that too, such as the 30/40 Krag. Maybe it had something to do with feeding/extraction (that is an USWAG). Graf is probably not going to sell enough 8mmL brass in the next decade to justify the cost of special machinery to duplicate that. I'd load some up and run it through your rifle to see how it feeds/extracts.

I have a partial case of some French 30-06 ammo of early 70's vintage that has an unusual case head; the small indent around the primer like a lot of Carcano ammo had. No idea what the purpose of it is. It shoots good in my various mil-surps.

thanks for the insight, Matt. merry xmas, Pardner.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Norman:I have a partial case of some French 30-06 ammo of early 70's vintage that has an unusual case head; the small indent around the primer like a lot of Carcano ammo had. No idea what the purpose of it is. It shoots good in my various mil-surps.

Crimped primers to use in MGs.

I learned a lot about these french ammo, the indent was done to make bullet tips to "lock" into it when loading the tubular magazine of the Lebel rifle. the primer on original ammo has a primer cover that makes the primer virtually impossible to detonate in case a bullet tip hits the primer when firing the rifle. The firing pin spring is really stiff to be able to hit the primer through the primer cover.

Exactly!

http://armesfrancaises.free.fr/FR%20Mle%201886%20M93.html






http://www.armeetpassion.com/8%20lebel.html

http://www.histavia21.net/amaviapag/TRacer8.htm

in 1932, the primer was simplified

That Brass from Graff is good. I have measured them to hold 60gr to top of neck with water. A little less than the Rem brass I have but, the Graff brass seems to shoot well and feed well in my Lebel. I am currently working on finishing a custom sporter stock I had made. I also was able to mount a scope on it and my groups so far in testing are running an average 1" to 1.25". I am getting about 2500fps with Nosler 180gr BT behind 60gr H414 with CCI BR2 primers with 1" groups. I had no pressure signs but work up to this. I started with 50gr and worked up to 60gr in one grain increments. Odly enough, each increment gave about 50fps increase in velocity.
Please work up to this load as your rifle could be different. Mine is a Remington 1907/1915.

Ray your really getting into this. When do you fly?

Hey Doug,
I dont fly much since I started this new job with the IDOC and hunting. I only get on here a few min at a time. I found this site through someone at the Nosler site which I have been a member for some time now. Hope all is well with you.
Of course I have had this this totaly wacky love afair with this Lebel since I was a kid. Mine was handed down to me from my Father and was handed to him from his Father and was handed to him from his Father. My Great Grand Father got 3 of these NIB in the 20's and have been in the family ever since. Thy have taken countless deer and the reloading has been passed on to me since my Great Uncle passed away 20 years ago. So, the Lebel is a passion for me and I cant see any reason for this neat cartridge to fall by the wayside. It is still effective and fun to shoot.

Hi, Ray!
Using them for hunting? Are they French made Lebel rifles? I believe it must be the Berthier 1907/15 made by Remington and refused by the French because they were not up to the french Milspec.
Sorry to revive such an old thread, I have been overseas quite a while.

Hi, yes mine are Remingtons. Many Deer have been taken with this Lebel and I find no problems with them and have taken many stout handloads.
BTW, do I know you?

Hi, Ray! We never met.