26Charlie
06-29-2005, 06:33 PM
Finally got some range time, after about 8 months. (Moved whole household from Mass. to ME., got teaching job, Docs found cancer, had surgery OK, set up shop again to reload, etc. never mind the details)
SO - over the interval I found a couple of 8mm moulds - a 2-cav. SAECO 081, which is a 192gr. GC with good bore-ride portion and moderately rounded ogive; secondly an interesting Cramer 3-cav. casting three different bullets: #35 is a 7mm 120gr. flat point GC, #37 is a 207gr. 8mm GC with a longer ogive than the SAECO, and #A1 is a 115gr. .38 wadcutter.
I can just picture a Maine or Montana woodsrat living simply with his surplus 8mm Mauser ($39.95 in 1960) for deer, his surplus 7mm Rolling Block ($19.95 in 1956) for small game, and his .38 Special S&W for grouse & squirrels. All he needed was this one mould.
My two 8x57mm rifles are a M1888 Gewehr and a M1898 Turkish Mauser, both arsenal reworked to the S bore 8x57mm and 5 rd. clip loading from whatever they were before.
My shooting was today at 100 yards, "wrist rest", with the open sights. Both these long (29" bbls.) infantry rifles want about 400 to 500 meter elevation on the sights to put the following loads on at 100 yards.
First load was the 192gr. SAECO 081 with 24.0 gr. Scot 4197 (supposed to be about the same as 4198 - I bought 32 pounds of it at a very good price).
The Turk didn't like it - 5 in 4 5/8 ". The M'88 did better, 5 in 3".
Second load was the 207 gr. Cramer #37 with 24.0 gr. Scot 4197. The Turk liked this one, 5 in 3 1/8". The M'88 did more poorly, 5 in 4".
A third and last load was one I had put together a couple years ago, the Lyman 323471 215gr. GC with 18.0 gr. Accurate XMP-5744. I only had 8 of these, and fired them all in the Turk, grouping nicely into 2 7/8".
Very hot and still on the range, so called it a day - but satisfying to get back to testing cast bullets again.
SO - over the interval I found a couple of 8mm moulds - a 2-cav. SAECO 081, which is a 192gr. GC with good bore-ride portion and moderately rounded ogive; secondly an interesting Cramer 3-cav. casting three different bullets: #35 is a 7mm 120gr. flat point GC, #37 is a 207gr. 8mm GC with a longer ogive than the SAECO, and #A1 is a 115gr. .38 wadcutter.
I can just picture a Maine or Montana woodsrat living simply with his surplus 8mm Mauser ($39.95 in 1960) for deer, his surplus 7mm Rolling Block ($19.95 in 1956) for small game, and his .38 Special S&W for grouse & squirrels. All he needed was this one mould.
My two 8x57mm rifles are a M1888 Gewehr and a M1898 Turkish Mauser, both arsenal reworked to the S bore 8x57mm and 5 rd. clip loading from whatever they were before.
My shooting was today at 100 yards, "wrist rest", with the open sights. Both these long (29" bbls.) infantry rifles want about 400 to 500 meter elevation on the sights to put the following loads on at 100 yards.
First load was the 192gr. SAECO 081 with 24.0 gr. Scot 4197 (supposed to be about the same as 4198 - I bought 32 pounds of it at a very good price).
The Turk didn't like it - 5 in 4 5/8 ". The M'88 did better, 5 in 3".
Second load was the 207 gr. Cramer #37 with 24.0 gr. Scot 4197. The Turk liked this one, 5 in 3 1/8". The M'88 did more poorly, 5 in 4".
A third and last load was one I had put together a couple years ago, the Lyman 323471 215gr. GC with 18.0 gr. Accurate XMP-5744. I only had 8 of these, and fired them all in the Turk, grouping nicely into 2 7/8".
Very hot and still on the range, so called it a day - but satisfying to get back to testing cast bullets again.