CB load for 8mm Mauser

[El Pistolero]

Some time ago I purchased a Yugo Mauser in 8mm and it has gathered dust mostly.
I wanted to try a CB load for the rifle, so here is my story.

I don't have any molds for that caliber but wanted to try a CB load. Just couldn't find a boolit from most suppliers. Finally I got some from a supplier that were for a 32-40. the boolits were sized .323 and were not gas checked. 170 gr. RN/FP is the design I chose.
My loading books didn't have too much information on 32-40 loads so finding some ideas for starting loads on that weight and type of boolit wasn't easy.

I finally settled on 8 grs. of Unique and got a load that chronographed at 1180 fps.
It shot well and didn't kick the snot out of me.

Anybody else got ideas on what to use. Powders, boolits place to look for loading data on CB load?

Ideas and advice would be appreciated.

[Ben]

This load shot well in my rifle a few days ago :

[IMG][/IMG]

[Buckshot]

....................For that boolit you're in the ball park. If you want a bit more oomph go up maybe 0.2grs at a time. Lots of energy in those fast powders. If you can get up over 1200 fps with that PB slug it'll all be gravy.

With the 8x57 cases' capacity, as in any of it's peers, and with a slug equipped with a GC to get some more speed you're looking at between 8-14grs of the fast powders running from Red Dot to Unique.

By using a PB boolit, you're really limiting your options as to what you can do.

.................Buckshot

[El Pistolero]

OK now I got some clues where to start.

I am purposely limiting my options with a CB loading to avoid pounding my arthritic shoulders. It's that or give up shooting rifles. Recoil is becoming too much for me to bear and I'm simply trying to avoid pain to my neck and shoulders.

I have gained an understanding of why 200 grains and up will give me a boolit long enough to make the OAL just about touch the rifling. Shorter 170 gr boolits just aren't long enough in .32 caliber. They must be seated out beyond the lube rings.

See Ya!

El Pistolero

[9.3X62AL]

David--

Since it looks like a rain-out today for Burritos, we won't be able to do the bit with the Stoney Point tool and the 175 grain Lee conveniently. As far as the shorter boolits not being able to reach a chamber leade......never say "never", never say "always". If we don;t check--we won't know. Any chance of you getting over this way in the next couple days?

[Linstrum]

Hey, there, El Pistolero, it sounds to me like you are doing fine so far. I just got into shooting the 8mm Mauser myself and settled on using a very similar load. I bought a Lee 8mm 175-grain boolit mould and cast my boolits with plain wheel weights, dropped into water to quench harden them and then lubed with Lee liquid Alox. I am not using a gas check and should be, but so far the 8-grain Unique load is not gas-cutting or melting the bases and doing fine since I haven't seen any leading in my barrel. Yet. By the way, I lube them by putting about 40 boolits in a plastic sandwich Baggie with around a teaspoon of Alox and then doing the "shake 'n bake" routine (gently to keep from poking holes in the plastic) to coat them. I save the Baggie because it has about half the Alox still in it.

With that load and rifle I amazed and amused a couple of 30-something year old kids by chasing an aluminum beer can around on the ground at 100 yards that they hadn't been able to hit with their scoped rifles at the same range. It amazed me, too, because the rifle was just out of the box and cleaned up but not shot enough yet to determine if the sights were set right for me, - - - they were!

From my .30-06, 7.5x54 French, and 7.62x54R Russian load data, I am going to use a very slightly compressed full case of WC860 or WC872 powder boosted with about three grains of IMR3031 or IMR4895 over the flash hole with the 175-grain boolit. From my experience with that load "formula" I expect that it will give me about as good accuracy as the rifle is capable of. I also use round ball plinker loads for shooting varmints like squirrels and rabbits. The round ball loads are made using a hard lead ball a few thousandths of an inch over groove diameter cast from wheel weights instead of pure lead. The powder load is right around 2.5 to 4 grains, maybe 5, of Red Dot, Green Dot, 700X, Unique, Bullseye, etc. I found out that too much powder ruins accuracy and leads the barrel. Give those loads a try!

[9.3X62AL]

Linstrum et al--

Regarding the RB loads for the various calibers.......do you use any dacron or other method to keep powder near the primer, or at least oriented the same way for each shot? I'd like to try some of those loads in a couple of my rifles, but have always wondered about keeping the powder orientation consistent, and how failure to do so would affect accuracy.

[Linstrum]

Hi, Deputy Al,

I don't use filler for them but I do try to remember to point the muzzle up first. In 1986 one of the American Rifleman editors ran an article about his tests for round ball loads using the parameters I just listed. He did all the tests comparing loads with or without filler, muzzle up versus muzzle down performance, and concluded that the "K.I.S.S. principle" was at work here. So, his recommendation for making round ball loads was to follow the "Keep It Simple, Shooter" paradigm and use just powder and ball along with remembering to point the muzzle up before firing because the accuracy was not affected enough to make the extra work of adding fillers worthwhile.

[Quantrill]

The only Lee mould I could find was 175gr which is what I purchased. Where did you get the 230 grain mould? I sized the 175 gr bullet to .325 (barely touched the bullet when sizing) and crimped in the crimping groove. I am playing with 3 powders and have yet to make a final decision, 700X (10 gr), 4759 (15gr) and 4895 (20gr). Quantrill

[NVcurmudgeon]

Quantrill, true Lee offers only the 175 gr. in their catalogue. There have been several custom designs made to customer specs by Lee, initiated by members of this board or its predecessors. One that I have is a Lovern type, about 235-240 gr. designed by Buckshot. It is very accurate, but gets to be a little thumpish at higher velocities. The standard Lee 175 gr. is another very accurate boolit. I use 19.0 gr. Alliant 2400 wth either.

[Buckshot]

The only Lee mould I could find was 175gr which is what I purchased. Where did you get the 230 grain mould? Quantrill

..............The only really heavy 8mm available are the 2 Oldfeller designs at Midsouth. One is the Karabiner at about 230+ and the Maximum at 250+. They're both custom Lee designs, both SC'c I believe.

..................Buckshot

[West Creek]

Hey Pistolero

I shoot 32-40 with a 165gr PB LFN from LBT in an old MArlin - 14 grain of 4227 gives me 1385 fps and I can pop beer cans at a hunnert no problem. Its an easy shootin load. I heard skuutlebut that 4227 was one of the prefered powders fer the 32-40. I can see why - shoots accurate and clean. 15.3 of 4198 gives me right at 1400 fps and tends to produce more consistant groups than 4227 but not as tight - 4227 will give me 3 outta 5 at an inch with two flyer out to 2-1/2" at a hunnert where 4198 gives me a nice round 2" group. I tend to shoot more 4227 because it drops form the powder measure wher I have to trickle and weight the 4198.

[Ben]

I shot this yesterday. I was pleased with the load.
My friend shot the load in his 8 X 57 mm, it shot just as well in his rifle.

Ben

[IMG][/IMG]

[9.3X62AL]

Ben--

That one's a keeper.

[Ben]

Deputy AL

I've been working on this one for about 3 months now.
It is built on a 1944 K Kales Turk with a pristine bore . 8 X 57 mm
I ordered an Old Style 102 Classic stock from Richard's Microfit
in CA and glass bedded the rifle and free floated the barrel.
Turned out nice, in my opinion.

This is what the rifle looks like:

[IMG][/IMG]

Thanks,

Ben

[Junior1942]

Ben, what's the safety on that Turk? I just put a Timney on mine. Nothing to it after I spent an hour figuring out how. . . . It's working just fine with my Wal-Mart $30 tasco scope.

[Ben]

The receiver is D & T'd for a scope, so I had my Gunsmith Harold Tyus in Golden , CO go ahead and put on a low scope safety while he had the metal out there in CO.

Ben

[Mr Peabody]

If you want to buy cast boolits that are nicely done take a look at Beartoothbullets.com. I have shot their product through a M94 in 32 special and my Yugo M48A. Good stuff to use. Good Luck

[9.3X62AL]

Ben--

That is a NICE rig, in a real fine hunting and general purpose caliber. I'm still kicking myself a little for not grabbing one of the Rem 700 Classics in 8 x 57, or better yet a Steyr-Mannlicher Professional when those were available.

[Ben]

If I counted my labor hours on this one at .50 @ hr., I'd probably have come out better buying one.

However, I enjoy building rifles. I fit mine a LOT DIFFERENT than the people at the factory do. They throw barreled actions into stocks ( that most likely don't fit properly ) put everthing in a box and head it down the assembly line into a UPS truck.

It all happens in minutes. It's the only way they can make money. If it was done right, a rifle would cost $1,500 + with the wages that skilled workers are getting today.

Problem is .....it leaves a lot to be desired in a rifle.

Look at this photo.....I don't think you are going to see a factory rifle fit like this:

[IMG][/IMG]