Talk to me about 8mm cartridges and bullets

[Swamplord]

Who is that manufacturer? I'm drawing a blank (and not a barrel blank apparently )

for some reason the link didn't load when I posted the pics, fixed it now

also .... KS only make one grade of barrel .... top of the line, competition grade only, they don't make anything less than that

K.S. ARMS LTD

www.ksarms.com

 

[Lee Goodwin]

I haven't shoot mine since COVID. But I was cloverleafing three shots at 50 yards open battle sites. 180 grain nosler blem bullets going on the low node of whatever powder , I can't remember, hodgdon data base showed....hard to to like one of those. If you remove the bolt make sure the safety is off first.

 

[Calvin45]

for some reason the link didn't load when I posted the pics, fixed it now

also .... KS only make one grade of barrel .... top of the line, competition grade only, they don't make anything less than that

K.S. ARMS LTD

www.ksarms.com

Hey thanks man for the link…I see they're Canadian to boot, surprising. With your stamp of approval i think this is the guy I'll talk to when I inevitably take the plunge into custom builds.

 

[iShoot17]

I started experimenting with the 8mm Rem Mag a few years ago. I tried my best with Noslers but couldn't get them to shoot - then I switched to the Barnes 200gr TSX. Over RL-25, the Satterlee method had the majority of the 10 shots (at 300) under 2". I settled on a load that would shoot slightly better than that and have never looked back. It whacked a bull elk in Wyoming in 2020 and dropped it. I've been so impressed with the cartridge ever since.

I feel incredibly blessed to say I was drawn for a bull moose tag in Maine this year. My immediate thought when I found out was "the Big 8 gets another go".

Follow me here: I like the 8mm RM so much in the originally BDL, that I am contemplating letting go of some of the other big boomers (e.g. a CDL in 300RUM) because they simply won't get used. If the 8mm RM BDL is the rifle I am grabbing for a likely once in a lifetime hunt, the others are likely just safe queens.

A dream rifle of mine would be to find a CZ550 Full Stock in 8x57 that made its way stateside. I love CZ, I love the 550 platform, I love the full stocks, and I will officially admit I am an 8mm supporter. The 8x57 would be a gem of a cartridge in that platform.

With that said - I also love the other Rem Mags. The M600 in 350RM likes gets used more than any other hunting rifle in the safe. It is short, light, simple, and accurate to my needs for the SWPA woods. It hammers whitetail, is a breeze to carry up-and-down the mountain thickets, and takes a beating and keeps on ticking. It isn't original (had the rib removed and holes filled and reblued and had a metal trigger guard), so I don't mind it getting battle scars from the woods. It has never let me down and I don't figure it ever will. I also have original BDLs in 6.5RM and 350RM and they are also fantastic rifles.

But seriously. The 8mm Rem Mag…dangggggggg! I love it.

 

[trubkir17]

Who is that manufacturer? I'm drawing a blank (and not a barrel blank apparently )

KS Arms here in lively Edmonton, AB

 

[Trangieboy]

I've hunted almost exclusively with the 8x57 for over 30yrs.
Probably no different to 30-06 performance really, but it's something different.
More than enough bullet options for reloading.
170sst @2800fps is great on white tail size deer,but a bit soft on big pigs(no exits).
195hornady or 200speers are real thumper on pigs or big deer. Then there's the 200partition and the 195,200,220 and 250gn woodleighs.
150gn Hornady spirepoints for varmints.
Mal

 

[skipglo]

We are a fan of the 325wsm. Would discuss more but Cassie jumped our new laptop and cracked the mother board so working off my phone until we buy a new laptop and I can type. Also have 8mm Mauser. Think that the 325wsm shines being a short mag and shooting 180, 200, and 220gr bullets. Jill and I have harvested Deer, Moose, Zebra, Kudu, Gemsbuck, Wildebeest with one shot out to 400yds.

No Moose in Africa to my knowledge and no wild Kudu in North America....so there's no way you lined em' up and got them all in 1 shot!......

 

[gjn11]

Another big fan of the 8mm Mag. Started with 220 Hornady's over RL 25 at just over 3000 fps but have switched to 200 Barnes over MagPro at 3200. 3 elk and a wolf so far with better than MOA accuracy. Hits like the Hammer of Thor. 700 action, Krieger barrel and McMillan stock.

 

[iShoot17]

Another big fan of the 8mm Mag. Started with 220 Hornady's over RL 25 at just over 3000 fps but have switched to 200 Barnes over MagPro at 3200. 3 elk and a wolf so far with better than MOA accuracy. Hits like the Hammer of Thor. 700 action, Krieger barrel and McMillan stock.

3,200 is screamin! I'm getting 3,120 over RL22 with the Barnes, but saw the velocity taper off with any further increase in powder. I never thought to use MagPro though and already had RL22 on hand.

With that said, I don't think anything I've killed would have known the 80fps difference!

(I incorrectly mentioned RL25 above. It was on my mind from being used recently and I caught my mistake after editing privileges were lifted.)

 

[gjn11]

88 grains of MagPro averages 3226 with an SD of 9.6. I tried 84 grains of RL 25 and averaged 3196 with an SD of 15.2 but it wasn't as accurate. My rifle has a 26" barrel which might help with velocity.

 

[Hugnot]

The OP's rifle is probably a M98 type Mauser.

My feelings are that it would work best with .473 head diameter rounds less than 3.3 inches long. The magazine width has been designed for ammo having .473 head diameters. There are better rifles for big magnum rounds, making them work in a WWII era M98 type would involve opening up the bolt face and messing with feed rails. Making it feed good might be iffy with uncertain results.

My suggestions, should you want to remain with a 8mm is to go 8mm-06. The extractor would need some modification to snap over a chambered round.

During WWII the 8MMX57 or 7.92mmX57 loaded with a 196-197 grain bullet at 2,600 fps had a reputation as a feared killer.

 

[Calvin45]

The OP's rifle is probably a M98 type Mauser.

My feelings are that it would work best with .473 head diameter rounds less than 3.3 inches long. The magazine width has been designed for ammo having .473 head diameters. There are better rifles for big magnum rounds, making them work in a WWII era M98 type would involve opening up the bolt face and messing with feed rails. Making it feed good might be iffy with uncertain results.

My suggestions, should you want to remain with a 8mm is to go 8mm-06. The extractor would need some modification to snap over a chambered round.

During WWII the 8MMX57 or 7.92mmX57 loaded with a 196-197 grain bullet at 2,600 fps had a reputation as a feared killer.

Indeed I'm not looking for recommendations, just experiences and opinions for and against any and all 8mm cartridges. Been a great thread. The rifle is indeed a clone of a m98, a BRNO ZG47 type bolt action, in 8X57 and I'd have no plans to modify it.

 

[Calvin45]

Yep. Nope.

I had to pay extra for the extra effort for the reamer maker to do the pretty shoulder.

That's cool…a long time ago I had the idea to make a .22-284 with the curvy shoulder but figured it'd have headspace issues.

Now I've lost interest anyway but think it'd be siiiiiiiick if weatherby did a belted magnum .22 cal off the 6.5 rem mag case

 

[Jerry M]

The OP's rifle is probably a M98 type Mauser.

My feelings are that it would work best with .473 head diameter rounds less than 3.3 inches long. The magazine width has been designed for ammo having .473 head diameters. There are better rifles for big magnum rounds, making them work in a WWII era M98 type would involve opening up the bolt face and messing with feed rails. Making it feed good might be iffy with uncertain results.

My suggestions, should you want to remain with a 8mm is to go 8mm-06. The extractor would need some modification to snap over a chambered round.

During WWII the 8MMX57 or 7.92mmX57 loaded with a 196-197 grain bullet at 2,600 fps had a reputation as a feared killer.

Extractor of the 98 Mauser is designed as control feed: from the magazine. It would not need to be modified for 8mm-06, but the feeding ramp would have to be modified for the longer cartridge.

I'd leave it in 8x57.