Cast in M95 Carbine

[dabsond]

I successfully tried firing cast from my M95 carbine. I used a lee .329 mold. They were water dropped and came out .33 Lube was alox and gas checks were just pressed on, not crimped. I was using 17gr of 2400 and shooting at 25yds. Groups were under 1.5 inches. There was no leading of the barrel. I am wondering if others have had similar results and if a stronger load would produce better results. It is a large casing for 17gr. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[jonk]

Very promising to start but most anything will shoot well at 25 yards. I'd want to see how the load works at 50 or even 100 before changing or adding anything- you may be fine where you are.

[Buckshot]

............Dan, do a search here using 8x56R, M95, Steyr M95. You'll find quite a bit of information. These carbines can be finicky, mainly due to bore, groove and throat dimensions.

...............Buckshot

[FAsmus]

Dabsond;

What caliber is your M95? (Austrian Mauser)

I'm strangely mystified by your description of firing 33 caliber bullets in a 8x57 Mauser!

Good afternoon,
Forrest

[dabsond]

M95, Austrian 8mm

[Buckshot]

..............dabsond, as jonk suggested let's shoot that bad boy at 50 yards and see what it does. BTW, have you slugged it yet?

..............Buckshot

[FAsmus]

Dabsond;

Dabsond says: M95, Austrian 8mm

Forrest replies:

Yipe! Are you really pushing a 0.330 slug into that 0.323 bore? Or was that a typo?

Gotta be a typo - I don't think a 0.330 bullet would fit into the chamber at all.

Good morning,
Forrest

[dabsond]

The bore slugs at .32 I'll try at 50 yds when it stops raining.

[Buckshot]

Dabsond;

Dabsond says: M95, Austrian 8mm

Forrest replies:

Yipe! Are you really pushing a 0.330 slug into that 0.323 bore? Or was that a typo?

Gotta be a typo - I don't think a 0.330 bullet would fit into the chamber at all.

Good morning,
Forrest

"Yipe! Are you really pushing a 0.330 slug into that 0.323 bore? Or was that a typo?"

You REALLY mean groove, don't you?

Hey Forest! I guess you don't have one of these lovely beasties, eh? Specificly the 1895 Styer straight pulls chambered for the 8x56R Hungarian M31 round?



As in the clip on the left? 208gr Spitzer BT @ 2300+ fps from a 19.5" bbl.

The issue with these and cast lead is the rather odd internal dimensions one has to juggle. The jacketed slug is .329". Nominal barrels are supposed to be .316" bore and .329" groove. More real world measurements show a fairly consistent bore of .316". However from there it gets strange. Grooves commonly will run .330" to .334". A .332" groove is very common.

If trying to fit the cast slug to the throat you'll find yourself wanting a .338" to .340" slug. Yes, that .316" bore is going to displace a whale of a lot lof lead, especially as the land and grooves are nominally each 50% of the barrel circumfrence. I have a M95 carbine and a M95/31 Stutzen (also a carbine) and both will handily chamber a round with a .338" slug loaded in the case.



My M1895 Carbine, 8x56R. All matching serial numbers, action, barrel, stock, and barrel bands. Right, A M95/31 conversion to 30-40 Krag.



The Krag rounds are right at home in the Steyr.

There is nothing at all wrong with the action (except an abysmal trigger) that keeps it from being accurate, as the 30-40 conversion shoots like a ray gun. The only difference between the 2 is that the Krag conversion has what we'd consider more normal throat, bore and groove measurements. The M95 CAN be made to shoot cast, and do it well as a few have shown, but it takes a bit of fiddleing.

................Buckshot

[Bret4207]

Forest, the 8x56R, not 8x57 Mauser. Fun little gun and the best off the rack surplus hunting rifle there is IMHO.

[Jeffreytooker]

The Krag rounds are right at home in the Steyr.

There is nothing at all wrong with the action (except an abysmal trigger) that keeps it from being accurate, as the 30-40 conversion shoots like a ray gun. The only difference between the 2 is that the Krag conversion has what we'd consider more normal throat, bore and groove measurements. The M95 CAN be made to shoot cast, and do it well as a few have shown, but it takes a bit of fiddleing.

................Buckshot[/QUOTE]

Buckshot:

Who made the receiver sight on the Krag conversion and what rifle was it made for originally? I have two 95 carbines, one still in the cosmolene.

Jeffrey Tooker

[FAsmus]

Buckshot;

Ah!

That answers all my questions about the seemingly oversize bullet - Thanks.

Good afternoon,
Forrest

[LeadThrower]

+1 Jeffreytooker. I'm curious about the receiver sight, as well.

Buckshot, I've been reading everything I can on the M95 here on the forum and your continuous posting of those beautiful rifles has already cost me 4 keyboards shorted out with drool.

[Bret4207]

IIRC the sight is a standard Springfield sight, Lyman, with the sight disc reversed.

[Wayne Smith]

Buckshot, I assume the Krag barrel is not a simple screw on? I.e. meaning that the threads surely don't match? How big of a job is it, assuming one can find a Krag barrel?

[wrcook]

I am also just strating to fiddle with my Steyr M-95. My starting load is just the same 17 grs of 2400 behind the Lee .329. My slugs using linotype mike out at .331. my groove dia is .330. the only thing that did different is to use a filler of carded wool since this is a pretty large capacity case. I have not tried it yet, i was going to get some advice form here. It sounds like i am good to go.

[Old Time Hunter]

Getting ready to load some up too! But I want to use Unique. I sized my bullets to .331" and gas checked 'em, they weigh 208 grains with GC's. I'm thinking 14-15 grains of Unique should do the job...say 1600-1700 fps, looking for affirmation.

[Buckshot]

Buckshot:
Who made the receiver sight on the Krag conversion and what rifle was it made for originally? I have two 95 carbines, one still in the cosmolene.
Jeffrey Tooker

Bret4207 nailed it.

LeadThrower
Buckshot, I've been reading everything I can on the M95 here on the forum and your continuous posting of those beautiful rifles has already cost me 4 keyboards shorted out with drool.

Sorry man

Wayne Smith Buckshot, I assume the Krag barrel is not a simple screw on? I.e. meaning that the threads surely don't match? How big of a job is it, assuming one can find a Krag barrel?

Wayne, no a Krag bbl isn't going to screw on. The Krag has square threads and the Steyr is a common 'V' thread so don't bother trying to find a Krag bbl. The barrel was a common 30 cal contoured blank. It had to be threaded and chambered.

Old Time Hunter Getting ready to load some up too! But I want to use Unique. I sized my bullets to .331" and gas checked 'em, they weigh 208 grains with GC's. I'm thinking 14-15 grains of Unique should do the job...say 1600-1700 fps, looking for affirmation.

You probably won't be in any trouble loading that, but I'd start at 10.0 grs and go up in 1.0gr increments.



I jeweled the bolt, and this was my first attempt at checkering



One thing about the straight pull action is that it can be VERY fast for follow on shots, if need be. You do have to operate it with authority and understand that you're NOT going to break it! It takes a bit of extra effort to initially rotate the bolthead and unlock it, and then ditto after pushing the bolt home the bolt head MUST fully rotate and lock, or it will not fire.

With the rifle against your shoulder you grab the bolt handle with your thumb and first 2 fingers and give it a healthy jerk, and at the same time follow through to the rear. Cup the palm of your hand around the bolt handle and slam it closed like you wanted to bend the handle forward! Not that it really has to be slammed home like that, but as I said, due to the bolt design for safety, unless the bolthead and lugs are fully locked up she won't fire. If you really need that shot, you do want to be sure you can make it. With some practice you can get the 3rd shot off and maybe still have 2 empties in the air.

................Buckshot

[oscarflytyer]

I am very interested in the specifics of the 30-40 Krag conversion mentioned on the M95. I have a near perfect M95 that I intend to start shooting cast in. I love it.

Have not really seen much on how strong this action really is. And not sure the pressure rating on the 30-40 Krag. While that would be a cool conversion, what about a 260 Remington conversion? Without checking cartridge pressure ratings, I am assuming that the Krag (and 8x56R) are in the mid/hi 40K and the 160 Rem is probably about 52-55K rating. AS such, assuming the 260 pressure would be too high for the M95 action.

Thoughts?

[kjg]

if not 30-40 why not 303 brit, hmmmmm.or 7.62x54r, too long maybee, you can make brass from 7,62x54r, been doing it