Yugo 8x57.328 bore

[blixen]

I finally slugged my M48 Yugo Mauser. It shoots .324 J-bullets really well, which surprises me since it has a .328 bore.

I'm thinking about getting a Lee C329-205-1R mold and sizing to .329. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions with that mold and/or the Yugo Mauser?

[Dschuttig]

An excellent choice. That mold is far more usefull for oversize 8x57's or 8mm lebel rifles with a .327 bore than it is for the 8x56r, for which it was designed. Come to think of it, I also use it for my siamese mauser which is just over .327.

[twotrees]

Your not the only one Lone Ranger. My Yugo slugs .329 ! My 240 Gr 8mm mold casts large enough (barely) but remember your dies will overwork your cases and a standard expander will be way too small. Aren't Mil guns fun

TwoTrees

[blixen]

Twotrees: I hadn't even thought about that! Use a 8mm Lebel expander? Use light loads and don't resize at all and just push the boolits in?

[n.h.schmidt]

Twotrees: I hadn't even thought about that! Use a 8mm Lebel expander? Use light loads and don't resize at all and just push the boolits in?

I would suggest a Lee Collet die. With that and careful adjustment you can barely size the neck to what ever size you need. I do this same thing with my 303 collet sizer. You do not have to size down to the mandrel. You can adjust well short of that if desired. Cases last and last.
n.h.schmidt

[uscra112]

Or get a 319xxx mold and paper patch?

[Charley]

The Lee .329 also works well in the 8x56 and 8x60 Kropatshceks that run .327.

[blixen]

Thanks everyone for the good advice,

I've used a collet die with good results in my 7x57s. I'm not sure if I can get a individual collet die in 8mm without buying a full set of dies--which isn't the most expensive option in the world, of course.

Also, I've tried patching for the 8mm, using .314 sized boolits. So far, I haven't been able to find a thick enough patch to take up up to .327-.328 and the results at .325 have been dismal.

Here's a dumb question--why do .324 jacket bullets shoot so well out of this rifle? They've got to be rattling down the barrel, too.

[bcp477]

Thanks everyone for the good advice,

I've used a collet die with good results in my 7x57s. I'm not sure if I can get a individual collet die in 8mm without buying a full set of dies--which isn't the most expensive option in the world, of course.

Also, I've tried patching for the 8mm, using .314 sized boolits. So far, I haven't been able to find a thick enough patch to take up up to .327-.328 and the results at .325 have been dismal.

Here's a dumb question--why do .324 jacket bullets shoot so well out of this rifle? They've got to be rattling down the barrel, too.

Jacketed and cast are different animals. It is quite unusual (as you obviously know) for 0.324" dia. bullets to shoot well from a 0.328" groove dia. barrel. I don't know why they do....but it's not the first time I've heard of such a thing.

As for paper-patched cast boolits, you might try starting with a 0.319" or 0.320" dia. slug, then wrap twice with lined loose leaf notebook paper. Two wraps will give a final dia. of 0.329" or 0.330", respectively (two wraps = about .01"). As for getting to a starting dia. of 0.319 or so, Lee will make a custom sized push through die at very moderate cost. If you don't cast your own, you can buy boolits at something larger than 0.319 (say 0.321", for example)....size them down to 0.319".....then patch back up to 0.329".

My Yugo M48 has a nice tight bore (actually slightly smaller than 0.323"). What I do is buy 0.324" cast (the RCBS 32-170-FN design - weighing 170 to 174 grains)....then size them to 0.314", with a Lee die. I then patch them (two wraps) to 0.324", with the loose leaf n.b. paper. After lubing with LLA, I run them through a slightly oversized 0.323" Lee die. They come out at about 0.3236". I load them in neck-sized cases, over 32.5 grains of Hodgdon Benchmark powder, with a small tuft of dacron fibrefill added.

I get 1.5 moa or smaller, with absolute consistency (often better than 1 moa, but I can't shoot that well all the time). Muzzle velocity, through my 17.5" carbine length barrel, is about 2150 fps. That is as fast as I need to go....and effective on whitetail deer out to 200 yards....so I've no interest in pushing the load. I use Benchmark (a fairly fast rifle powder) because of my short barrel. With a longer barrel, a slower powder could be used....and greater velocity attained.

[dantoweed64]

I recently purchased a Lee .329 mold and sizer. The Bull Shop cast the bullets for me. The finished bullets are .329. Will load tomorrow and get some range time on Wednesday. I'm loading for an *x50R French Berthier Carbine.