Cast load for a Gewehr 1888 7.92x57mm

So I have a Gewehr 1888 which has the S marking indicating it is Spitzer proofed. I have been shooting 198gr spitzer boat tails through it with good accuracy and no signs of doing any harm to the rifle. I however do want to shoot cast loads through it. I got a 200gr .323 mould that I was hoping would come close to the 88 patrone round that I believe the sights are still designed for.

When I cast the bullets and gas checked and power coated them they came out looking like this Attachment 299501 which seemed fine until I measured the bullet seating depth and found that unless I seated the bullet like this Attachment 299502 they would not chamber.

I chronographed the ammunition with varying loads and it came out extremely consistent in the 1960 fps range with 35gr of Vihtavuori N140 but when I actually tried to shoot it was minute of small moon levels of accuracy. I am assuming that the problem is the mold and seating depth so if anyone has a mold they'd recommend I'm very open to that. If that isn't the likely problem at all let me know as I may be way off in my assessment.

I shoot the Lee 175gr gas checked in mine, WW+ A BIT of tin added, sized .325, tumble lubed with two coats of BLL. 16-18 gr 2400. Works great. No leading, and actually shoots to point of aimm at 100yds, using battle sight!

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C-324-175-1R. Quite accurate 15-1600 fps

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With my S-marked 1888/05 Commission Rifle I use 32 Winchester Special load data and Lee's 175gr 8mm Roundnose bullet and as ak_milsurp said, they love that bullet because their .323 throats and .318 bores seems to make for a great fit to the bores.

Ok well, that's great as the Lee molds certainly won't break the bank. I may have to get one of those and see how the results compare.

Given the bore is .318 and the throat is .323 I've been sizing to .323 would people recommend that or leave them as cast around .324/5?

I've a Danzig 1891 1888 commission rifle. Mine slugs out at .321 so I can use at least a .323 bullet. Land and groove dimensions can vary on these rifles, so best to slug the barrel to find out what you are dealing with. While it has the military stock, previous owner or previous, previous owner cut the stock just after the barrel band and retaining spring. Frank

I have a 88 Commision that was reworked by the Turks. It shoots the Lee 175 grain round nose cast bullet w/ 16.5 grains of IMR4227 very well.

Lee .324 and 14 grains of blue dot is what I shot in mine. Very accurate at 100 yards.

This mold here with a gas check and powder coated , sized to .324 over 36 grains of IMR4350 is hard to beat in my GEW88's.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...23-191-rf-bd2/

SWFA you are from UK ?

I can send you some NOE 250 grain round nose. Makes your ammo look like Patrone 88.

I use a Lee Karabiner 230gr mould. I think I use a 325 sizer and gc it, and push to around 1600fps.

Slugging the barrel is the first thing if you are wanting to try for target shooting.
That will give you some idea of which way to go.
The same goes for anyone wanting to get best accuracy shooting cast bullets.IMHO

Lots of incorrect info here . The German Gew-88 never had a .318 groove barrel . It was .321 and later [ 1896 1/2 ] was made at .323 + . No 88/05 's will be found with anything less than .321 . Gew-88's on the other hand can be found with Czech replacement barrels with .306 - .316 ish size bores . They were made for different spec ammo . They will still have the old S stamped on them which is now meaningless . That could be the OP's problem . I can tell what size barrel is on them , most can not so slugging Your barrel is a good idea .

Try seating a few that have not been powder coated and see how they chamber. I am wondering if maybe the PC on the ogive is making them too large for the bore riding part of the bullet? I have a Turked 88 with a .323 barrel and it likes cast bullets and no seating problems with either of my molds.

Tom

By all means, figure out the neck diameter, the throat and the groove.
Don't neglect the groove in front of the chamber versus the groove near the muzzle.