8mm mauser cast and imr 4198

[Soundguy]

I'm revisiting an 8mm mauser load I have been using a while.. it is 175gr cast, gas checked, over imr 4198

Data is from the lyman book.

Shoots nicely..I enjoy it..much milder than turkish surplus..probably in the 1550-1650 fps range. No barrel leading even though my turk I shoot the cast in has less than a stellar bore ( strong rifling, but came with a dark bore that cleaned up with hours of cleaning to bright-ish - shoots great though ).

I was doing some research this morning and saw a few discussions around the web on 4198 not being suitable for cast in 8mm mauser.. too fast..not enough fps..that sort of thing. ( some of these threads I read were from 2011 era..with not many newer ones on the subject ) Yet..there are plenty of other fast powders used in the data..including red dot..etc..

Is there any specific reason why lyman thinks 4198 is fine in 8mm mauser..yet many shooters feel it is not? In some data I saw..4198 was the potentially most accurate load..etc..

So far I've had no issues.. no flat primers..no flowing primers..no stiff bolts..no pressure signs at all.. load physically feels like it is only 60% of that turkish surplus feels like..I'm getting hits at point of aim at 100 yards..so no issues there..

I'm pretty happy with it..should I be concerned?

Opinions?

[Maven]

Should you be concerned? Not if you use 24-27gr. IMR 4198. Btw, IMR 4198 used to be my "go to" powder for all my ~.30cal rifle cartridges, including metrics, with cast bullets of ~175gr. or more.

[Adam Helmer]

Soundguy,

In all my 8MM arms I use IMR4198 with cast boolits and love it. My favirite is the Lyman #323471, a 215 grain semi spitzer gas checked boolit. I think my accuracy load is about 25 grains of IMR4198, your load may differ.

Be well.

Adam

[K43]

I'd trust Lyman and keep doing what what's working for you. People on the 'net still claim that before 1905 8x57 rifles had ".318" bores". They're just wrong and we just don't need to listen to them.

[Soundguy]

Yes, im using 26 grains 4198.

I'll keep doing so. shoots great.

thanks for the double check guys!

[beemer]

Almost all my 8 X 57 cast loads use IMR 4198, mostly with the Lyman 323470. IMR 4198 is one of my favorite powders for cast. It is getting expensive and hard to find so I am looking at VV130.

[Soundguy]

The more I read the more I feel better about 4198.. when I read some of those articles on the web saying it wasn't good, I was thinking what the heck.

[Larry Gibson]

I think you've got your answer. I've also found IMR 4198 or even H4198 to be an excellent powder for midlevel velocity use with 160 - 210 gr Cast GC'd bullets.

[405grain]

While I'm reading this thread the RCBS Cast Bullet Manual is sitting on the shelf right in front of me, so I grabbed it and looked up 8x57 Mauser. They list IMR-4198 with their (dis-continued) 08-170-FN bullet, starting with a load of 24.0 grains (1719 fps), and up to 26.0 grains (1867 fps). The data was shot with a Mauser 98 with a 24" barrel.

Intrigued, I checked the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (4th edition), and they list IMR-4198 with several cast bullets. With the 165 grain Lyman #323470 their load data for that powder starts at 27.0 grains at 1925 fps, then goes up to 35.0 grains at 2482 fps (pressure might be OK, but that velocity seems way too fast in my opinion). For the Lee 175 grain #C324-175-1R they list a starting load of 26.0 grains of IMR-4198 at 1705 fps, and a top load of 34.5 grains at 2206 fps (still a little on the fast side IMHO). For my favorite 8x57 cast bullet - the 190 grain Saeco 081, the starting load of IMR-4198 is 27.0 grains, which will get you 1728 fps, and the top load is 35.0 grains, which is good for 2196 fps.

I've been shooting the Saeco 081 (gas checked & powder coated) in a sporterized 98 Mauser using VV 133 loaded to around 1850 fps with really good accuracy. The loads listed above are just being posted as examples. You shouldn't trust loads posted on the web by some random dude; always use published loads. But I would trust that random dude much more than other random dudes that claim that you can't use IMR-4198 in the 8x57.

[Texas by God]

I use IMR 4198 with cast bullets in several cartridges including the 8x57.
Happily.


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[Soundguy]

im.using that 175gr gas checked lee at the 26gr starting load...has been fine. shoots good..no action to cycle. and hits point of aim, so I never worked it past starting load so far.