I have a Yugo M48 action that I am considering turning into a 8mm/06 improved.

My first question is that since the M48 is an intermediat lenght action will it be long enough?

#2 - Does anyone know of a source to have it chambered in this caliber?

I would not do it for reasons:

1) The M48A has a harder time than some other Mausers being stretched from the 3.25" to the 3.34" cartridge length. This usually involves filing the mag box front and rear walls, but the M48A is also a shorter action to start with.

2) The 8mm-06 gains only 50 fps over the 8x57, the 8mm-06 only about 100 fps.

3) The die selection is better and cheaper for 8x57.



The main reason for the 8mm06 was to use 30-06 brass without trimming.



Have you shot the 8mm with a 200 gr. bullet loaded to 50,000 psi?

I am getting 2630 fps and moa accuracy.

100 fps will not increase the capability noticeably.



--

A society that teaches evolution as fact will breed a generation of atheists that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.

I dont have much experience with the 8x57. Pretty much limited to playing with milsurps. I just a Win M70 Classic stainless that had been rebarreled to 8x57. It shoots very well. I think the biggest downfall of the 8x57 is the lack of full power loads from commercial ammo here in the states. I figured there would of been a bigger difference in velocity between the 8x57 and 8/06 imp.

The action I have is the 48 and not the 48A. Maybe I will make a 8x57 stalking rifle with it.

Thanks for the info.

Clark...

I just made a deal on a 48. Unless I get a big surprise, and the thing shoots MOA, my plan is to build a mid-power rifle on it, either 6.5x55 or 308.

I might have a decent '06 barrel located. Any problem shortening the shank and shoulder a bit to make a 308?

Any other comments before I dive in?

I am a very avid handloader. It is a very rare occasion when I buy commercial ammo. Sometimes I will pick up commercial if I am needing brass in that caliber and the price is right.

I definately plan on loading the M70 8x57 to its full potential. My interest in the 8/06 imp. is because with the much larger case capacity it seems it would be able to have a significant velocity margin over the 8x57, even with it loaded to potential. Does anyone know for sure just what the velocity difference between 8x57 and 8/06 imp. is? Plus I enjoy playing with oddball and wildcat calibers.

After giving it some more thought, I dont think the M48 would be the best action choice. Especially since I like to seat my bullets out a touch. A standard 98 would be a much better choice. Plus the idea of a 22" barreled 8x57 is very interesting to me. And that opens up a whole different realm of whether to go full-stocked, barrel mounted sights, etc...

Ackley's book lists 62 grains of H4350 as giving 2740 fps in a standard 8mm/06 with a 200 grain bullet. Under 8mm/06 Improved,

Quote:

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Use loading data for the stadard 8mm/06, increase 5%

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I imagine this would be an excellent big game round. If I had my choice of any new barrel for an '06 based wildcat, and I was looking for maximum power, the 338-06 is hard to beat. That keeps you out of some of the Mauser conversion work, and out of the belted magnums, with their short case life.

OTH, 8mm/06 is really cheap, if you have a good 8mm barrel already.

I have a Shilen barrel already and a couple different actions to work with. I already have a 338/06 built on an 03A3 action, havent shot it much though since I lent it to a close friend 2 years ago and he doesnt want to give it back. He really fell in love with it.

I imagine I could get 2900fps with the 8mm/06 imp and a 200gr partition. That is a heck of a thump on the critter with a decent frontal diameter.

Plus the 8mm/06 would round out my 06 based rifle collection nicely.

I have a 30/06, 338/06, 35 Whelen (being built), and a 375 Hawk. The 8mm would fill that spot in the middle bore.

Now I need to decide what to do with the M48 action since it is too short for practical use in this caliber.

Mauser drawing from Kuhnhausen on Brownell's stite

M1Tanker,
The drawing shows the action magazine length dimension D as 3.22" for the M48A, and not as good as a VZ24 for 30-06 lengths.

Denton,

The drawing shows the barrel shank dimension B as .635 to .680".

.479" is the difference between a .308 and a 30-06 case.

That can be done by cutting all new threads, but there must be a large enough barrel diameter in front of the current shoulder for a length of ~.8".

That diameter is barrel dimension A of 1.1".


M1Tanker,


To compare the 8x57 with the 8mm-06 or 8mm-06AI, one needs to do it at the same pressure with the same bullet, powder, and barrel length.

When I put 52 gr. IMR4895 and 200 gr. bullet in 8x57, I get a sticky bolt.
When I back off to 48 gr. and get 2630 fps with a 28" barrel, I have 5 gr. of safety margin to the sticky bolt.

When reading Ackley, don't presume that he published loads with so much safety margin.

--
A society that teaches evolution as fact will breed a generation of atheists that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.

I have a couple of 8mm-06 AI's at the moment, and both shoot very well. I also have three 8 X 57's (two military and one commercial), and with handloads in all of them, the 8 X 57's can't equal the velocities I get from the 8mm-06 AI's. Yes, 2900 with 200 gr bullets is easily acheivable. I know a lot of people like to champion the 8 X 57 over a wildcat (although I believe that Quality cartridge and Greyback are making brass), but it basically comes down to case capacity and the -06 based case simply has more room for powder. Having the longer receiver is a good idea, you can fit -06 cases in the intermediates, some were even issued that way, but the extra room really helps you out when you handload. FWIW - Dan

Dan,
Thanks for the info. If you wouldnt mind, I would appreciate it if you could email me some of your load data.
wberger70@hotmail.com

Since I have a VZ24 action lying around I will use it for this project. Does anyone know a gunsmith who has the 8mm/06 AI chamber reamer?

Yep, the 8mm-06 AI has more capacity and should out perform the 8x57. (I have never owned a 8mm-06 AI so I have no first hand experince with it.) But, don't sell the old 8x57 short. As I recently bought one of the new Remington Model 700 Classics in 8x57, I was looking up the various European factory ammo loadings. I wanted to get an idea of what the European velocity levels are to use as a guideline in developing my 8x57 handloads.

I thought I'd pass along the following web sites for those that might be interested. The sites have ballistic tables for their ammo.

Hirtenberger http://www.hirtenberger.at/ Austria
Lapua http://www.lapua.com/ Finland
Norma http://www.norma.cc/ Sweden
Prvi Partizan http://www.prvipartizan.com/ Yugoslavia
RUAG Munition http://www.ruag.com/ Switzerland (also http://www.swissmun.com/e/sport/ )
RWS http://www.rws-munition.de/ Germany
Sako http://www.sako.fi/ Finland
Sellier & Bellot http://www.sellier-bellot.cz/ Czech Republic (also http://www.sb-usa.com/ )

Conversion factors:
Meters x 3.28088 = Feet
Grams x 15.4324 = Grains


-Bob F.