Cast Bullet Loads 8mm Mauser

[DHall_37]

Howdy, I have a Steyr M95M I’d like to get load some cast bullets for. They are 180gr coated and gas checked. I’d like to propel them with IMR 4227. Trusty Lyman 45th edition says to load 20gr for a 168gr cast bullet. Would dropping 1gr for my heavier bullets work?

I’ve done something similar with using IMR 4895 cast bullet data from a 6.5x54 to use in a 6.5x52 by dropping a grain to make up for less case capacity.

I’m new and would love to have y’all’s input.

 

[Intheshop]

Remember you asking about 6.5mm Carcano;

Gonna be the same sorta thing with the 8mm. In this instance,is yours a "J" or "S" groove diameter? And that's just where the "fun" starts.

Ebay,love it or hate it..... represents realtime data on products current $$ value. That's probably it's most valuable service? But let's take the buying out of it.... get on there and look for a few things.

Look up 1/2 ball,and full ball.... small hole gages. Snagging a decent 1/2 ball set for under 20$ will put you in the drivers seat on checking/verifying "actual" chamber neck diameter,vs going off a reamer print,or doing a chamber cast. Use an aluminum arrow that matches the gage's knurled handle. Remove bolt from gun and slip the gage in without further disassembly.

Cast bullets "like" being fat.... like,never come off the couch,eating BAGS of chips fat. If you don't know what the chamber neck is,you are driving blind. Taking a fired piece of brass and gaging the ID with a bullet is.... just a poor way to go about it. Buy the 1/2 ball's,and work on dimensionally understanding how larger than "spec" (cast) bullets effect the loaded round neck OD.

Next on evilbay,look up "car reamers";

You didn't mention the bullet profile so this isn't written in stone as there's some notable difference. But if you can drill a straight hole in a 1/2" - 3/4" thick piece of steel,you then can run a tapered reamer in. It's this taper that allows you to make changes on the bullet nose.

Learn to anneal.... dosen't have to be expensive. Two quick issues are,military chambers that "can"(don't mean "is") be all over the map and cause aggravation during FL sizing. AND..... you're talking about reduced loads. Get your neck clearance dialed in, figure on annealing every firing(for best/consistent results),and learn to change the nose of the bullet. After that,powder choices and load #'s are easy. Good luck with your project.

 

[6bra1k]

FOR CAST bullet data go to castboolits....it is not a .com but a series of forums so you must search by the name

 

[Twicepop]

Lyman has loading manuals that are for cast bullet exclusively, a lot of good info in them.

 

[DHall_37]

Lyman has loading manuals that are for cast bullet exclusively, a lot of good info in them.

I have their 4th edition, nothing with IMR 4227 on the 8mm Mauser

 

[GotRDid]

CB Loads / Military Rifles

AR's, M1 Garand,1903,AK's,SKS's,K-31 Share your pet loads here. View these pages and use the listed data at your own risk. The load data contained within these pages is not verified to be safe.

castboolits.gunloads.com

Great people, just like here.
GotRDid.

 

[DHall_37]

Remember you asking about 6.5mm Carcano;

Gonna be the same sorta thing with the 8mm. In this instance,is yours a "J" or "S" groove diameter? And that's just where the "fun" starts.

Ebay,love it or hate it..... represents realtime data on products current $$ value. That's probably it's most valuable service? But let's take the buying out of it.... get on there and look for a few things.

Look up 1/2 ball,and full ball.... small hole gages. Snagging a decent 1/2 ball set for under 20$ will put you in the drivers seat on checking/verifying "actual" chamber neck diameter,vs going off a reamer print,or doing a chamber cast. Use an aluminum arrow that matches the gage's knurled handle. Remove bolt from gun and slip the gage in without further disassembly.

Cast bullets "like" being fat.... like,never come off the couch,eating BAGS of chips fat. If you don't know what the chamber neck is,you are driving blind. Taking a fired piece of brass and gaging the ID with a bullet is.... just a poor way to go about it. Buy the 1/2 ball's,and work on dimensionally understanding how larger than "spec" (cast) bullets effect the loaded round neck OD.

Next on evilbay,look up "car reamers";

You didn't mention the bullet profile so this isn't written in stone as there's some notable difference. But if you can drill a straight hole in a 1/2" - 3/4" thick piece of steel,you then can run a tapered reamer in. It's this taper that allows you to make changes on the bullet nose.

Learn to anneal.... dosen't have to be expensive. Two quick issues are,military chambers that "can"(don't mean "is") be all over the map and cause aggravation during FL sizing. AND..... you're talking about reduced loads. Get your neck clearance dialed in, figure on annealing every firing(for best/consistent results),and learn to change the nose of the bullet. After that,powder choices and load #'s are easy. Good luck with your project.

Thanks for your detailed response, my rifle is an S bore (.323). My bullets are .323 as well. Might throw accuracy off a tad, but I got these for cheap to learn with. I’ll have to get a set of those gauges you mentioned, I’ve used pin gauges in the shop before.

I’d like to shoot in military surplus competitions, but I don’t know where to start. Might have to make a post on it.

 

[DHall_37]

Here is an image of my bullets.

 

[Sechrist2015]

@DHall_37 I will have to drop you a PM on cast bullet matches.

But as stated above, you may find that a .323 has a little "bounce" to it going down the bore.
As a reference point, I shoot a wildcat cast bullet rail gun in .30 caliber. My barrel is .300/.308 but my bullets are a .312 diameter as loaded.

When trying to load for cast in any gun, knowing your alloy is your best friend. Coatings on rifle bullets are a different animal and may make you pull your hair out.

For most of your military guns, "wheel weights" are normal, and can usually be pushed to around 1800fps(firearm and cartridge depending). Linotype can be pushed faster(my rail uses linotype at 2300-2500fps).

As they mentioned, the cast boolits forum is a friendly bunch and there is information on your coated bullets there as well.

I will bounce some of your powder questions around with my father who shoots cast as well and see if we can get you started.

Welcome to the endless pursuit

 

[DHall_37]

@DHall_37 I will have to drop you a PM on cast bullet matches.

But as stated above, you may find that a .323 has a little "bounce" to it going down the bore.
As a reference point, I shoot a wildcat cast bullet rail gun in .30 caliber. My barrel is .300/.308 but my bullets are a .312 diameter as loaded.

When trying to load for cast in any gun, knowing your alloy is your best friend. Coatings on rifle bullets are a different animal and may make you pull your hair out.

For most of your military guns, "wheel weights" are normal, and can usually be pushed to around 1800fps(firearm and cartridge depending). Linotype can be pushed faster(my rail uses linotype at 2300-2500fps).

As they mentioned, the cast boolits forum is a friendly bunch and there is information on your coated bullets there as well.

I will bounce some of your powder questions around with my father who shoots cast as well and see if we can get you started.

Welcome to the endless pursuit

Please do send me a PM. I always like a good conversation and to learn.