Maven
07-14-2005, 08:15 PM
All, I had the opportunity to test Buckshot's 8mm, ~235gr. CB today @ 100 yds. and was impressed, even though the rifle wasn't wearing its original bbl. but a 26" x 1" Shaw replacement (no military throating). The rifle was a new milsurp 8mm Mau. of unknown origin purchased in 1964. It is now pillar bedded and wears a McMillen stock. Incidentally, recovered bullets are almost entirely engraved by the rifling save the short nose. My best groups were 5 in 1" and 3 that you could easily cover with a nickel, not bad considering I don't have a wide bag to fit the rifle's BR-style fore stock. The particulars are as follows:
Powder WC 860, 48.5gr (thrown)
Primer Win. Mag., LR
Brass Neck-sized (no expander ball) & M-die'd Win. 8mm Mau.
CB Buckshot's 8mm wide-grooved "Loverin"
Sized to .324"
OAL 3.15"
Lube Felix Lube, 2 bands (tow. the nose) left unfilled
Vel. Too lazy to set up chronograph!
While I did experience more than a few group-ruining flyers, they were mostly my fault: A combination of poor rifle-to-rest fit and using too small a target dot (3/4" which is obscured by my scope's cross-hairs). However, the heavy CB helped the powder burn quite cleanly with little need for the "860 [wrist] flick" as Buckshot calls it. All in all, the rifle handles a heavy CB about as well as it does j------d bullets, which reinforces the soundness of Rick's design.
As I used the last of my WC 860 with the above, other powder choices would be (slow to fast burning rates): IMR 5010 (47-48gr. + .3cc Grex or powdered bran); IMR 7383 (35-36gr.?), IMR 3031 (29-33gr.), or H/IMR 4198 (25-28gr.).
I would recommend XMP 5744 and WC 820, but I haven't tried them in the 8mm Mau. yet.
Powder WC 860, 48.5gr (thrown)
Primer Win. Mag., LR
Brass Neck-sized (no expander ball) & M-die'd Win. 8mm Mau.
CB Buckshot's 8mm wide-grooved "Loverin"
Sized to .324"
OAL 3.15"
Lube Felix Lube, 2 bands (tow. the nose) left unfilled
Vel. Too lazy to set up chronograph!
While I did experience more than a few group-ruining flyers, they were mostly my fault: A combination of poor rifle-to-rest fit and using too small a target dot (3/4" which is obscured by my scope's cross-hairs). However, the heavy CB helped the powder burn quite cleanly with little need for the "860 [wrist] flick" as Buckshot calls it. All in all, the rifle handles a heavy CB about as well as it does j------d bullets, which reinforces the soundness of Rick's design.
As I used the last of my WC 860 with the above, other powder choices would be (slow to fast burning rates): IMR 5010 (47-48gr. + .3cc Grex or powdered bran); IMR 7383 (35-36gr.?), IMR 3031 (29-33gr.), or H/IMR 4198 (25-28gr.).
I would recommend XMP 5744 and WC 820, but I haven't tried them in the 8mm Mau. yet.