New addition: 8mm-06 Mauser

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I was just given an old Mauser M98 in 8mm-06 from a relative. He also handed me Hornady reloading dies. I don't know much about the cartridge and was hoping I could find a few people on here that could pass some knowledge on about it. I'm looking for hand load recipes, experiences, wisdom, and effective ranges based on experience. Thanks for all your help in advance!

 

[RT2506]

Sierra's loading manual has data and most of the information you are looking for. Basically it copies the 30-06. Most of these rifles were made up because after WWII they were cheap and many were brought home by GIs but ammo was hard to get. So they just rechambered them to 8mm-06. The 8x57mm case has the same body size as the 30-06 but the case is just shorter. I have made many 8x57 cases out of 30-06 by trimming the neck way down on the 06 and just running it into a full length 8x57 die then trimming to length. Basically to make 8mm-06 cases you just run a 30-06 case into a full length 8mm-06 die and bingo you have your case. As to bullets for these rifles they seem to prefer a heaver pill, as far as the original 8x57's go. The Sierra 175 and Nosler 180 Ballistic Tip are great deer bullets. The Hornady 195 is also a great game bullet. Some of the heaver bullets 200+ were designed for the 8mm Mag and are a bit too tough of bullet. My Sierra manual says that IMR 4064 is their preferred powder for 150 to 175 gr bullets. They list a hunting load for both. 150 gr. 57.0 grs IMR 4064 @ 3000 fps and 175 gr. 54.3 grs at 2800 fps. This is from a rechambered 98 Mauser 23.75" 1x9.5 twist barrel. Cases were LC Match with WLR primers. So in case you did not know with commercial cases you can load about 1 grain higher powder charge than you can with these military cases. The military LC case, either standard or match are much thicker cases and it takes less powder to reach the same pressure as thinner commercial cases. I hope your rifle is in good condition because you have in it all you would need to take anything in North America. Be sure and check the crown of the muzzle. I find that many old rifles have had their crown abused by improper cleaning rod usage or the big reason is people ride with them in their auto with the muzzle resting on the carpet of the floor. This carpet is full a grit and acts like a grinder on the muzzle. If the muzzle is not sharp you can easily fix it. Place the rifle in a vice. Get a BRASS round head bolt or screw that is a bit larger than the bore diameter. Chuck the shank of this bolt in a variable speed drill. Take some valve grinding compound you can get an an auto supply and put on the round bolt head. Hold the bolt against the muzzle of the rifle and run the drill slow for about 15 seconds. Clean off the compound and check the crown. Do this until you get a sharp crown all the way around the bore. It is fixed and rifle will shoot MUCH better. Have fun.

 

[Deleted member 115654]

Excellent cartridge. Will do anything a 338-06 will do.