Shell casings?

[DonMountain]

I just started reloading again after a lapse of about 10 years, and tried to buy some brass for my 8x57 js Mauser. But every place I found on the net appears to be out of it? What is going on? Have they outlawed 8x57 Mauser or something? Are other sizes short in supply too? Where might a good place be to find 8x57 Mauser brass? Or is this an extremely popular size? How difficult is it to resize 30-06 brass to 8x57 Mauser?

[Maven]

Not difficult at all, but trimming and annealing are time consuming. You may want to search our archives about the .30-06 -> 8 x 57mm conversion, as it was recently under [lengthy]discussion.

[koehlerrk]

Don, with either Obama or Romney looking to be our next prez, folks are stocking up on everything.

[runfiverun]

seein as how it's a seasonal thing anyways and they can't make enough regular ammo it's so far down the list it's notgonnahappen for a while.
try gettting cool stuff like the 218 bee.
i have been grabbing 0-6 brass for quite some time, just so i can make 7 and 8mm from it.

[DonMountain]

I am rather limited on funds to purchase new guns, so I have to shoot the ones I have. And I seem to have troubles casting boolits for those smaller sizes. So the 6.5x55 is the smallest I go. The easyest for me to cast are the 520 grain boolits for my 45-70. But I was trying to go a little smaller and shoot 239 grain gas checked boolits out of an 8x57JS Mauser and try it for deer hunting this coming season. But I only have about 25 casings for it.

[runfiverun]

just run the longer cases through the sizer and trim you'll be fine.

i am gonna use my 8mm this year also for the deer hunt, but with a 190 gr boolit for the 32 winchester.
it fits and shoots well and has a good profile.
even though it's a single cavity, it's what i have, so it's gettiing used.

[DonMountain]

Oh, so its the "Bill Clinton" effect all over again. Everything associated with guns goes high money for a year after the election, and then all of the prices drop so much that all of us that bought at the high price time like right now looses bad. I think that I will just wait out this "investment cycle" again and just use the stocks I have. I will just use the same 8x57 Mauser casings over and over shooting these reduced loads in cast boolits and only neck sizing the cases. And maybe the 30 casings I have will last me through the price spikes. Or maybe I can pick up some at the NRA gunshow this weekend in Saint Louis, MO. The grandchild and I are going to take a ride up there on Saturday to see whats new. Anybody else going to St. Louis this weekend?

[blackthorn]

Quote :"But I was trying to go a little smaller and shoot 239 grain gas checked boolits out of an 8x57JS Mauser and try it for deer hunting this coming season. But I only have about 25 casings for it. "

Good idea to wait out the cycle. Before I read your last post I was going to suggest you do just that. (AND) I was going to ask just how many deer you planned on shooting? 25 rounds seemed a lot to me---unless you miss a lot LOL.

[DonMountain]

Quote :"But I was trying to go a little smaller and shoot 239 grain gas checked boolits out of an 8x57JS Mauser and try it for deer hunting this coming season. But I only have about 25 casings for it. "

Good idea to wait out the cycle. Before I read your last post I was going to suggest you do just that. (AND) I was going to ask just how many deer you planned on shooting? 25 rounds seemed a lot to me---unless you miss a lot LOL.

Well, we have to range test all of our ammo loads several times don't we? And make several apropriate modifications and tests to make sure we can hit a deer at 300 yards. And then sit in our deer stand over one of the Soy Bean fields and shoot all we can? So how many cartridges do we need? We counted 30 deer out in one field last summer. And they cost us several thousand in lost beans. Last year I couldn't hit any of them with cast lead boolits due to the long ranges I had. So at the end of the season I took the .338 Win Mag with j bullits and hot loads. And then shot two deer at 10 yards and 25 yards within minutes of each other. Go figure.

[fredj338]

Here in the US, not much call for 8x57 anymore. It's easily made, but can be bought from Norma at several places. I can't imagine you need much mroe than 100rds to last quite a while.

[DonMountain]

I agree with 100 rounds. That is what I was looking to buy. Until I found that they weren't generally available anymore. So now I must need to buy 1000 round to make sure? :Fire:

[paul edward]

Use .30/06 or .270 brass. Anneal the necks, resize and trim.

Be careful not to let any of these get into a .30/06 rifle.

At the ranges I use .30/06 is very common. This has long been my source of donor brass to make 7x57 and 8x57JS cases. It can also be used to make 7.7x 58 Arisaka, 7.65x53 Mauser and a host of other cartridges based on that case family

If you have some 8mm brass, consider annealing the necks and trimming to ensure they last. Be sure to occasionally check the inside of the case with a probe to look for excessive case stretching.

[DonMountain]

Use .30/06 or .270 brass. Anneal the necks, resize and trim.

Be careful not to let any of these get into a .30/06 rifle.

At the ranges I use .30/06 is very common. This has long been my source of donor brass to make 7x57 and 8x57JS cases. It can also be used to make 7.7x 58 Arisaka, 7.65x53 Mauser and a host of other cartridges based on that case family

If you have some 8mm brass, consider annealing the necks and trimming to ensure they last. Be sure to occasionally check the inside of the case with a probe to look for excessive case stretching.

Thanks a lot. I have some 30-06 casings that I bought for forming other things already, like the 7.65x53 Argentine and 7.7x58 Arisaka. But I am running kind of low on donar brass in 30-06 now also. And I see there is a shortage on these also. It seems like everything popular to shoot is unavailable now too.

[blackthorn]

Well the "miss a lot" was in jest and I did not know you would have unlimited opportunities. Around here we are allowed (at most) 2 deer per season and one of them must be a Buck. Any Does we take are likely to be on a limited entry draw basis. Have a great day!

[jonk]

Well if that don't beat all... you're right, just about everyone is out of it.

Plenty on gunbroker auction though.

For sizing down 06 brass, it's easiest to use a form and trim die, but a regular FL sizer and trimmer work fine, though a bit slow.

[DonMountain]

Well the "miss a lot" was in jest and I did not know you would have unlimited opportunities. Around here we are allowed (at most) 2 deer per season and one of them must be a Buck. Any Does we take are likely to be on a limited entry draw basis. Have a great day!

Here in Missouri we don't have "limited opportunities!" I think after my wife and I and our grandchild shoot up our 9 free farm tags, we have to buy doe tags at $2 a crack. But I think we can buy as many as we want. But what I want to know is why I have to go sit in a deer stand on a below zero day, all day and only get a shot at a single doe at 400 yards with my open sighted, lead bullet load in an old military rifle, and my wife sees a huge buck out the kitchen window and steps out on the porch with her .356 Winchester and plugs it through the heart at 50 paces. And I have to go pick it up? And all I get to see is her huge deer head hanging here over the computer on the wall?:coffeecom

[jonk]

Here in the US, not much call for 8x57 anymore. It's easily made, but can be bought from Norma at several places. I can't imagine you need much mroe than 100rds to last quite a while.

I humbly disagree. Demand for reloadable 8X57 is higher than ever before, what with the recent import of gluts and barrels and pallets of cheap 8mm rifles and the end of cheap surplus ammo. Ergo, why it is sold out.

I sure as heck wouldn't use Norma. People who recommend Norma for any old oddball milsurp calibers are showing one thing- they haven't looked into availability of said brass since the 80s at least.

In fact 6 or 7 manufacturers are making boxer primed 8mm right now, it's just the brass is a little hard to find on its own at the moment.

100 rounds? I have 20 8mm Mausers. Each with a dedicated lot of 50 neck sized cases. 100 rounds would only cover 2 guns. I can't imagine why anyone would need ONLY 100 rounds of brass for a caliber. :D

[DonMountain]

I humbly disagree. Demand for reloadable 8X57 is higher than ever before, what with the recent import of gluts and barrels and pallets of cheap 8mm rifles and the end of cheap surplus ammo. Ergo, why it is sold out.

100 rounds? I have 20 8mm Mausers. Each with a dedicated lot of 50 neck sized cases. 100 rounds would only cover 2 guns. I can't imagine why anyone would need ONLY 100 rounds of brass for a caliber. :D

I only have two rifles in 8mm Mauser! :kidding: But if there is a shortage because of a glut of rifles, then I need 500 brass.

[Harter66]

I've been looking for 7x57 for months along w/257 Roberts. Of all the things that I stumbled across 6mm Remington I almost bought it but I just couldn't swollow $1.35 ea then having to do the rework too.