321297 for 8mm?

[GrizzLeeBear]

Just won this mold on ebay! Does anyone know what size this will cast? I have a Yugo 24/47 that has a .323 bore and shoots great with the Lee 175 gr. RN sized at .323. Planning on getting another one to turn into a sporter so I wanted a boolit for hunting. Hoping it will cast WW or 50/50 WW/pure at .324 (or bigger).

My father-in-law also has a really nice Win. 94 in 32 special that might like this boolit as well.

[runfiverun]

iirc correctly, i would bet the 32 will be a better match for this boolit, but you really wont know till you pour some.

[beagle]

I have two different 297s and both drop at .319" so I have to "beagle" them. They shoot good in my .32 Special and .32-40 at .321".

Hope yours is bigger in diameter./beagle

[jonk]

Would be fine for original I bore Gew 88s.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll just have to cast some when it gets here and see. May have to try and "beagle" it, we'll see.

[Larry Gibson]

Will be a very good mould for oversized MNs or SMLEs...maybe 7.7 japs too. If the bullet will slip into a fired case neck use as is. If not lube and push through a Lee .314-.316 sizer. Also should be a good bullet sized .314 and then PP'd for the 8x57.

Larry Gibson

[scrapcan]

I have a marlin marked ideal in this flavor and it too drops around 321 or 322. It does work good in the 32 win special.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Will be a very good mould for oversized MNs or SMLEs...maybe 7.7 japs too. If the bullet will slip into a fired case neck use as is. If not lube and push through a Lee .314-.316 sizer. Also should be a good bullet sized .314 and then PP'd for the 8x57.

Larry Gibson

Great ideas Larry! Didn't think about paper patching, but you may be on to something there.

[mauser1959]

I have several ok maybe more than several 8mms , and I have never considered casting bullets for them... no idea why. Now I am interested in what can be done, I know that I have shot a ton of surplus ammo through them , but have thought about selling a few of the collection due to the price of ammo getting so dang high. Now I shall have to start looking into buying some new brass from starline or someone else to see the results. I have a special M48 that I would love to be able to hand load for have resisted buying bullets for it so far... if they can be hand cast then there is a way for me to justify to myself keeping the majority of the rifles. I am not sure why I have never considered hand loading them; one of those things I guess.

[TAWILDCATT]

thats probably for the 32/40 but could be used for 88 commision.get the Lee 8mm
its only $18 for double cavity.I have it and its great.I have a mauser and fn49.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Tawildcatt is right. The 321297 was designed for the 32/40 and 32 Win. SPL. I'm just going to try and make a hunting boolit for the 8mm since it has a flat nose.

For general target shooting etc. the Lee C324-175-RN is a great boolit. My Yugo 24/47 shoots great with it on top of 18 gr. of 2400.

As for brass, I make mine out of surplus Lake City 30-06 brass. Takes a little forming, trimming, and removing primer crimp but it makes perfectly functional 8mm brass. The redding form & trim die works great for this and is only about $22.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Well, the mold arrived with a bit of a suprise. The gas check shank has been removed! So I now have a plain base 321297. Looks like I may have to do some paper patching after all (at least for "full power" loads).

[scrapcan]

have you cast any yet so you can tell us what size they drop in your alloy?

[GrizzLeeBear]

No, haven't cast any yet. Plan on casting some this weekend.

[johniv]

I use this boolit for my 8MM , it drops from the mold at .323 and does as well as my plinker . I havent shot any game with it .
Johniv

[GrizzLeeBear]

Just got done casting with the 321297 PB. Casts a slightly out of round (on the base band) .324 - .325 boolit. It is slightly out of round due to the not so perfect removal of the gas check shank. Whoever did it must have been fairly amature, but its not too bad. Running them thru a .323 die on my 450 seems to round them out nicely. So it looks like this boolit will be usable for the 8mm.
Since its a PB boolit, I'm going to work on finding an accurate light load that I can use to practice at 100 yards for vintage rifle matches, so I can save the faster 200 yard loads with the gas checked Lee boolits for the actual matches.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Hey Grizz. try using them as cast, unsized. Try hand lubing several for trials. If the shoot decently then you can pan lube `em or get a Lee push thru in a larger than 323 dia.

[Doc1]

I have several ok maybe more than several 8mms , and I have never considered casting bullets for them... no idea why. Now I am interested in what can be done, I know that I have shot a ton of surplus ammo through them , but have thought about selling a few of the collection due to the price of ammo getting so dang high. Now I shall have to start looking into buying some new brass from starline or someone else to see the results. I have a special M48 that I would love to be able to hand load for have resisted buying bullets for it so far... if they can be hand cast then there is a way for me to justify to myself keeping the majority of the rifles. I am not sure why I have never considered hand loading them; one of those things I guess.

I'm still waiting to get an 8mm mold for my Mausers, but I have loaded quite a bit for them using both jacketed and (purchased) WW boolits. As you probably know, US hunting ammo is generally loaded down for the 7.92x57, but the cartridge has a lot of potential. Hand loads make it one of my favorites for wild pigs down here in the Gulf Coast marshes. FWIW, I've found that forming 8mm brass is easy using 30-06 cases.

Best regards
Doc

[GrizzLeeBear]

416taylor, I would use them as cast and tumble lubed if I could, but my 24/47 has a tight chamber and barrel, won't chamber a .325 boolit. Tried the Lee 175 gr. boolit sized at .325 and it would push the boolit back and/or shave lead at the throat. Sized .323 they chamber fine and shoot great. So, I know I will have to do the same with this boolit. Besides, it doesn't take long to run them thru the lube sizer when you don't have to put gas checks on them.

Doc1, I would recommend you try the Lee 324-175-RN boolit with 18 gr. of 2400 for the 8mm. When I first start loading for mine I found a number of posts listing this load. It was the first load I tried for mine, very accurate mild load, and I have no plans to change it. Never got a chance to shoot it in a vintage match this year, but this will be my match load for next year.

[TAWILDCATT]

I tumble lube my rifle bullets on the grounds the lube starts at the front and keeps
lubing.