Deer Hunting with 8 mm Mauser?

[DonMountain]

I have been hunting deer with a 30 Caliber rifle for several years before stepping up to a 32-40 using lead, gas checked bullets for a better knock down and kill. So, for this next year I started looking for what else I had in my gun safe that might be even bigger than the 32-40. I discounted the 45-70 as being on the extreme side and more suitable for buffalo maybe. In the back of my safe I discovered an 8mm Mauser 98 that I used to shoot but never tried for deer hunting. The bullet I have is a Lee KAR 239 grain cast bullet with gas check. Does anybody have suggestions for loads using this heavy of a bullet in the 8mm Mauser?

[Tackleberry41]

I just bought a 215gr NOE mold for my M48, other projects to deal with before I work on a load.

[cpileri]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?8921-Heavy-bullets-in-the-8mm-Mauser-data

[runfiverun]

the 8 mauser I have does just fine with the same basic loads I use in my 30 caliber rifles.
my mold is in the 180gr area and so is several 30 caliber molds.
so I just went with their loads to start and worked ahead.
I was trying to avoid using a filler and found I could use I-4895 to get pretty close to the same velocity's as the 0-6 and 7.5 swiss without too much trouble.

[DonMountain]

the 8 mauser I have does just fine with the same basic loads I use in my 30 caliber rifles.
my mold is in the 180gr area and so is several 30 caliber molds.
so I just went with their loads to start and worked ahead.
I was trying to avoid using a filler and found I could use I-4895 to get pretty close to the same velocity's as the 0-6 and 7.5 swiss without too much trouble.

Ok, that sounds like a good plan. I have been using several 30's for deer hunting successfully over the years. The 303 British and 7.5 French seem to shoot the best for deer hunting with their sites. Shooting 180 grain gas checked bullets with around 30 to 36 grains of IMR-4895 with a filler. The increase in weight of these 8mm bullets at about 240 grains was my reason for asking for suggestions. I think if I can get this bullet to shoot well out of it will be a better deer bullet due to its larger meplat compared to the RCBS round nosed 30 caliber bullet I have been using in the 30's.

[Adam Helmer]

Don,

In my dozen 8x57MM rifles of various flavors, my best PA deer load is the Lyman 323471, a 210 grain semi-spitzer gas check boolit ahead of 25 grains of IMR4198. I have to set the sights at "500" for 100 yard POA/POI.

Hope this helps.

Adam

[725]

Certainly and by all means have fun with your 8mm. A fine choice. Don't think, however, that the .45-70 is too much gun. Loaded correctly it's a mighty deer killer. Minimal meat loss, too. Looking forward to hear about your successes.

[DonMountain]

Certainly and by all means have fun with your 8mm. A fine choice. Don't think, however, that the .45-70 is too much gun. Loaded correctly it's a mighty deer killer. Minimal meat loss, too. Looking forward to hear about your successes.

I applied for one of the "special hunts" they have here in our State Parks about 15 years ago. And in order to be "sporting" about it, I took my Browning 1885 in 45-70, loaded with 520 grain RCBS gas checked bullets over a case-full of GOEX Cartridge granulation black powder. It was a really cold and snowy weekend in January and of the 100 people selected to participate, only 6 of us hunters showed up. I had scoped the park out a couple of times before the hunt, and knew the best place to sit, up on the side of a bluff overlooking a small creek. That Saturday I saw several deer and selected one and shot it, dragging it back through a half a mile of foot deep snow to the trailer behind my car and driving it up to check it in. The next day, I was back at my perch, and hadn't seen anything all day as the sun started going down, and then here they came. There must have been 25 deer in a tight bunch passing maybe 75 yards away from me in the brush. I picked one out and shot it and it just disappeared. So I reloaded my gun and sat for awhile before deciding that I better drag that deer out or I would be up all night. When I got to the bottom of the hill there were 3 dead deer laying there and I could see where another one was bleeding pretty bad and had run away from the spot. I was there until 1:00 am gutting those deer and dragging them all out to my car, getting to the check station about 1:30 in the morning. The last agent at the check station said that he had driven out to my car several times, counting the deer as they piled up. When I came in with the forth one, he offered to take that extra one and donate it to the "donate a deer" program they run here in the state, and told me to get on home. He told me there were only 6 deer killed the entire weekend at the State Park, and that I had killed 4 of them. I didn't get home until 5:30 in the morning. So, anyway, that 45-70 is an oddball size. Too slow to shoot very far. But too powerful to shoot at groups of deer up close.

[hc18flyer]

Last November I used my Yugo M-48 with an Accurate Mold 33-205T(bore riding, flat nose) over 28.5 grains of H4895 to take a nice whitetail doe. I actually backed off the powder for accuracy and a chance for the boolet to expand, she dropped in her tracks. I look forward to using it again next year! hc18flyer

[jimb16]

I'm working up a load for mine using IMR 4895 and a 195 gr. plain base powder coated bullet sized .325. Haven't finished yet but at 31.0 gr it shot a 99 2-x on my 100 yard target the other day and the 9 was a called low shot! I'm getting the feeling that IMR 4895 is the way to go with my M27 Yugo.

[Hickory]

IMR 4895 is one of the best -do all- powders out there.

[Moonie]

I have a '98 and that mold. I use 35gr of H4895 for 1,850fps. Been a few years since I've shot mine.

[kungfustyle]

I have an M48 Yugo Mauser and have been running the Lee 175g for fun at the range. I was shocked when I got a Chronograph for my birthday that my 25.5 g of SR4759 was running down range at 2100 fps. I got a flat nose RCBS mold and am seriously considering developing a hunting load. The Mauser is a great rifle. It has been said that Germany made a great hunting rifle, the US made a great target rifle and Britain made a great battle rifle. That is until the Garand.

[sharps4590]

I've killed a pile of deer with my Shiloh in 45-90 and yes sir, they will penetrate any deer out there, lengthways, and then some. I never had the....opportunity if you will....to shoot amongst a herd but don't doubt your story in the least regards the 45-70 and that bullet.

Don, I think you'll like the 8 X 57 for Missouri deer hunting. I have a Mannlicher/Schoenauer in 8 X 56 M/S I'm dying to try come November. I picked up a GC mold from Accurate at about 210 grs. and it's a humdinger on paper and at a tad under 1900 fps I know will do the job.

[725]

DonMountain -- Thanks for sharing such a neat story. Goes to the notion that once the smoke clears, the real work begins!! I love my .45-70 and use it when either meat hunting or unknown hunting circumstances present. I'm not going to say it's a never miss, but so far, it's never let me down. I use the 460-420 boolit, a 415 gr flat meplat design, that my fellow shooter/hunters call the "Matrix" boolit. It just turns off the life force reference to the movie. If I do my part, it'll do it's part. I have an 8mm Mauser and have sporterized it. Came out pretty good, I think. The last task to do is D & T it for peep sights. Soon, I'll be joining you in using the 8 mm for hunting. As good as it is with open sights, I'm hoping my 64 year old eyes will do better with the peep.

[waksupi]

If I couldn't have my pet .358 Win., I would be quite happy with an 8X57 for all my big game hunting purposes.

[curiousgeorge]

I have been using #321297 cast from 9-1 old WW and 50/50 bar solder. Weighs around 188 grs with gas check. Shooting 30 grs IMR-4895 in a Yugo that I sporterized and scoped about 30 yrs ago. At 50 yds I have been getting 3 shot clusters that will go into a dime or at worst a penny size group. Was originally concerned about the small meplat but shouldn't have been. Within 60-65 yds, I have done a lot more skinning that I have shooting to collect my does.

Steve

[DonMountain]

If I couldn't have my pet .358 Win., I would be quite happy with an 8X57 for all my big game hunting purposes.

Well, I used to have a nice 356 Winchester 94 with a 4-6 Leopold scope on it that was my favorite. Unfortunately my wife won't let me use it anymore. Its such a nice, light, easy to use rifle for her to climb up in her deer stand with. I would like to find another one of them or a 358 (takes the same dies as the 356). So, anyway now I am looking at developing deer loads for the 8x57 Mauser. And I appreciate the suggestions so far. I have bullets cast and sized. Now I need to take the suggestions and load and shoot some. I have been on a project to use up some of these old bottles and cans of powder that are at least 20 years old, some of which were given to me. I wonder how H-380 might work in the heavy 8x57 loads? I have a bunch of old bottles of it. I also have both IMR-4895 and H-4895 but I keep turning them over and always have new bottles of them.

[Eamonn]

Woodleigh has load data for their 220 & 250 gr jacketed bullets in their web page for reference.

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