Okay- So here's what I've got: A 1930 Steyr M95 in 8x56r. The bore slugs at .335", I use Lee's 200 grain mould for the .338 Win., size it at .338" and then seat just off of the lands with a *light* crimp. The lead I'm using for this is air-cooled "scrap yard special" alloy. There isn't really any "official" load data for it which makes the whole process sort of "exciting" in a way that shooting shouldn't be.
Here's how I got my load data: I compared starting-load and max-load data for a variety of military cartridges firing 190+ grain bullets, and started there. I used 5744 (only because 2400 is sort of "indefinitely unavailable" right now) and started at 22 grains and worked up to 26 grains using Winchester Large Rifle primers. (I shouldn't have to say it, but I assume no liability if you use this load data in your own rifle.)
All groups consisted of ten rounds fired at 50 yards. The groups with 22gr were sort of a 6"x6" shot pattern. Not so great, but the 23 grain groups were better fitting into a 5"x5" group. 24 grains of 5744 seemed to be the "right" amount, fitting eight shots into a 3"x3" group. The groups that used 25gr and 26gr of 5744 opened up dramatically and were worse than any of the other groupings, fitting into a 12"x12" scattered grouping. I need to go back and look at my load data book to see how my notes compare to theirs. But, this has been encouraging enough to do up some more loads and try to get it out to 100 yards at the DNR range.
If anyone else out there is testing out loads for the M95 Steyr, what's working for you?
I also keep trying my luck at trying to find the *magic* bullet and powder combination that will make my M48 (Yugoslavian 8mm Mauser) shoot like a champ. I picked up Lee's 8x56r bullet mould that casts .329" diam. bullets, and then sized them to .325". My results were not so great with that mould, but I did find out that Lee's 8mm bullet mould works really well when sized at .323" and seated just off the rifle's lands. I'm going the long route (and the the expensive one...) to confirm things that I should have already known about shooting the 8mm Mauser cartridge, but, hey, any day of shooting is better than work.