8X50R Kropatschek

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m considering buying one of these rifles. A Steyr Kropatschek 1886 8 mm. It should use a 8mmx60R case, if my research has been correct. It seems there are a lot of Portugaise rifles out there, but the cases are a little shorter. The 348 Winchester seems to be a good bet for the donner case, using 8mm Lebel dies to reshape it. There may be a difference in the case head. It may need to be rounded to fit properly. Has anyone had experience with this case and be willing to give advice?
Thanks

[john.k]

Yes ,it has the "A" base ,and needs to be bevelled.....Best /quickest done in a lathe ,but without one ,IMHO ,it wouldnt be hard to rig up some kind of rotary mechanism that allows a bevel to be made accurately enough on a case base.,,Thinking maybe ,drill ,fixture ,angle grinder?

[Earlwb]

I bought one many years ago, but I never got around to making up cartridges to use in it. I procrastinated at the time I got it as I couldn't figure out how to take it apart for a good cleaning and checkout. I figured it out years later. So I need to break it out and do something. As I understand it the 348 Win brass works, but the cartridge case is a little short, but not enough to really affect being useable, just the necks are more short. It might be best to stick to using black powder propellant as the guns came out at the end of the black powder era. the steels aren't really designed for smokeless powder. I have a lathe so beveling the case bases wouldn't be a problem for me. But I have used a drill press before for things like that.

The 348 Winchester brass is obsolete and hard to get nowadays too.
But if it helps, one can get new 8x60R cases from Buffalo Arms https://www.buffaloarms.com/8x60r-kropatchek-cases-8x60krop
They make a lot of obsolete cartridge cases too.

[GregLaROCHE]

Those cases from Buffalo arms look to me like the way to go. I have a mini lathe, but still I would go for cases made for it. I haven’t decided if I will buy the gun yet, but if I do, It would be to shoot with BP. Next what about reloading dies? Will the 8mm Lebel work?

[Earlwb]

I would neck size only. Thus the 8mm Lebel die ought to work for neck sizing only. No real reason to full length resize unless you are making your own cases. So that ought be the way to go. It seems unless you find a custom die maker, the regular businesses have stopped making 8x56R or 8x60R reloading dies.

[GregLaROCHE]

Lee sells a factory crimp die for 8mm Lebel. Will it easily work to crimp the 8x60 cartridge?

[Earlwb]

Interesting. It would likely work OK. I can't think of any reason for it to not work.

[Wayne Smith]

I'm not sure Dave has ever dropped a die size. Check out CH4D and see what he has listed on his website.

[Shiloh]

YIKES!!

$2.50 each if you buy 50 pieces!!

Shiloh

[Earlwb]

YIKES!!

$2.50 each if you buy 50 pieces!!

Shiloh

That is a decent price considering they make them one at a time. Wait till you price out some of the African large game calibers such as a .416 Rigby, etc. Heck even the venerable .50 Caliber BMG cases are expensive.

[halftrack]

I've replied to two other Kropatschek threads today. This may interest you. when I bought cases of original Portuguese blanks from Navy Arms decades ago, I found most were the latter 56mm long while some were earlier 60mm long. The latest dates are 1909. The earliest head stamps are 1900. Some came with no head stamps and this believes me to think that these are the oldest. When did ammo makers begin making heads of casings? I wonder. Here is the item I posted earlier...
I've been shooting original Portuguese, all 1909 or earlier, wood bullet blanks that have had the wood replaced. I've shot hundreds of these and gotten very few duds over the years. First, my rifle slugged out .320" groove. I have read so many others having much larger bores. After pulling the wood projectiles, I began by seating lead cast bullets. I must have went through a half dozen brands and bullet weights. All fired CHBSB! (Can't hit broad side of barn.) At 25 yards I seldom even hit onto the white. My only success was using regular jacketed bullets. Then I tried Gardner Cache's cast gas checked bullets. These work too. With jacketed bullets .320-.323" I can shoot into the black at 100 yards. Yes, using the same black powder although I have shot some using Pyrodex and even some using a 4198 load.
Some background: I was a member of a Civil War cavalry group and converted a Spencer carbine to centerfire. After many frustrating attempts I happened upon an old Navy Arms ad selling 8mm Kropatschek blanks. WT?? I looked this up in my CATRIDGES OF THE WORLD, with there life size illustrations, and thought - I might be able to get those to work. I did with much work. You can see me shooting in the background one shot in the film, GLORY, as I pretended to defend Fort Wagner. Time passed on. After giving up the mounted services and my Spencer I thought that someday I should get a Kropatschek as I still have over 2,000 of the blanks.
Then it happened, a Kropatschek showed up at my local gun show and a deal was struck. My stash of fired & cleaned brass is growing. If only I could source the .254" Berdan primers. All I needed to load my Kropatschek ammo is a used set of 8mm Lebel dies. I only need the bullet seater to insert some real lead. If I could source the primers I could reload as my Lebel sizing die will work for neck sizing and for about half the length of the larger Portuguese brass.

[salpal48]

I have the entire set Of Kropatschek. All 4 models. i have made cases and all my rifles will accept an Un- modified Rim. meaning No bevel. the worst Result was that The primer backed out slightly
I currently make the 8x56R kropatschek From 50 Alaskan. Works for me