Okay........Now with Pics of Loading Bench and Gun Vault

Ha! Can't wait until the next time I go east and end up in Boswell for a day. I'm going to stop by and view all these shenanigans. Few things would be as much fun :)

I'll bring fresh beer, old whiskey, good wine, cigarettes and cigars, so you cfbmi can choose his poison while I give helpful hints like "I think you need to use the larger hammer" :)

Keep us updated on your progress, like many of us, we always have too many irons in the fire too!
 
80 gr match bullet at 4000 fps. Purpose built long range rifle. I bet the first unfortunate target of opportunity is less than 30 yards. I hope to see pictures lol. Better yet a video.
 
BB........ain't that the truth..........that's the way it always goes......

Gate........any gunnut is welcome at my house.........even you........:p:p:d:d

NWS......I have no preconceived notions about the 8X68 Imp, but I have done comparisons and it has identical case capacities to the 300 WM. It should therefore get higher velocities with the same bullet weights than the 300, in the same length barrels. So theoretically what.......3100 fps with a 200 gn bullet and a 24" barrel? I have easily done this with 3 different 300 WM.......so maybe 3200 fps with a 200?
The 8mm RM has a serious design flaw of shoulder angle to bore size to case capacity.......I built one once and could not even get it to match a 300 WM........that was before all our wonder powders for big cases. But still, even with the powders of the day it should have bettered the 300 WM by an easy 100 fps..........it did not, in fact it was 100 fps short of the 300, in a Douglas air gauged barrel...........
I will say I have greater expectations for the 8X68 Imp.
 
Last edited:
How's the trophy room coming along? Sorry if I missed that thread. I've been taking a bit of a break from these forums, and shooting/hunting in general. It's odd, for the last 10 years all I think about in my spare time is new rifles/loads or planning out the next hunting trip. The last 6 months I have barely spent any time at the range, and so far this season I have done a week long backpack sheep hunt and that is it. No plans yet for deer season, just no motivation. It's bizarre for me.

I've been playing guitar, taking my young daughter on nature walks, trying to identify birds ect. Playing around with some other hobbies. I just seem to be in a bit of a rut with guns/hunting.
 
c-fbmi said:
BB........ain't that the truth..........that's the way it always goes......
The 8mm RM has a serious design flaw of shoulder angle to bore size to case capacity.......I built one once and could not even get it to match a 300 WM........that was before all our wonder powders for big cases. But still, even with the powders of the day it should have bettered the 300 WM by an easy 100 fps..........it did not, in fact it was 100 fps short of the 300, in a Douglas air gauged barrel...........
I will say I have greater expectations for the 8X68 Imp.
Click to expand...

Hey Douglas, interesting project, to be sure. The new "wonder" powders make the 8mm Rem Mag come alive, for sure. I am using Reloder 26 and Ramshot magnum in mine, and have a couple of loads that drive the 220 grain bullet to 3100 fps. Try doing that in a 24" barreled 300 Win Mag at safe pressures, lol. Dave. [PS. I suspect your Douglas AG barrel was a "slow" one, and skewed the results for you. I had a Pac-Nor 27" tube, chambered up in 264 Win Mag that would not reach 3100 with any 140 grain bullet/powder combination I tried.]
 
cam1936 said:
How's the trophy room coming along? Sorry if I missed that thread. I've been taking a bit of a break from these forums, and shooting/hunting in general. It's odd, for the last 10 years all I think about in my spare time is new rifles/loads or planning out the next hunting trip. The last 6 months I have barely spent any time at the range, and so far this season I have done a week long backpack sheep hunt and that is it. No plans yet for deer season, just no motivation. It's bizarre for me.

I've been playing guitar, taking my young daughter on nature walks, trying to identify birds ect. Playing around with some other hobbies. I just seem to be in a bit of a rut with guns/hunting.
Click to expand...

I think plans are being drawn up for a large addition to accommodate the headless baboon's display....;)
 
Posts like #24 and #26, are exactly why i waste time here. Insights from guys that have been there/done that....got the Tshirt.

Douglas: arent you the guy that is the big fan of the 340 Roy? What does the 8x68 give you at .323 that the Weatherby does not at .338. Better SD for big for caliber projectiles? If so are you going to purpose build it for long high BC 8mm bullets?

Personally i try to justify each rifle....this is my south province walking rifle, this is a range toy, this is my "Sendero" rifle for long range seismic shots in the Peace....etc etc. Course we are gunnutz so really who are we fooling by justifying anything.
 
nowarningshot said:
Posts like #24 and #26, are exactly why i waste time here. Insights from guys that have been there/done that....got the Tshirt.

Douglas: arent you the guy that is the big fan of the 340 Roy? What does the 8x68 give you at .323 that the Weatherby does not at .338. Better SD for big for caliber projectiles? If so are you going to purpose build it for long high BC 8mm bullets?

Personally i try to justify each rifle...this is my south province walking rifle, this is a range toy, this is my "Sendero" rifle for long range seismic shots in the Peace....etc etc. Course we are gunnutz so really who are we fooling by justifying anything.
Click to expand...


That right there NWS is where your problem lies..........I have never attempted to fit any one rifle into a specific purpose, 'cause then that purpose would be satisfied and no need to do further investigation (read buy or build more rifles). In reality NWS I'm just playing and the 8X68 Imp has no realistic or economic standing.......it's just something to do with a nice old Husqvarna action and a 23 1/2" 8mm barrel. Something that hasn't been done that I can find and make a helluva good big game rifle. Nope, not in the same league as the 340, but a good cartridge none the less..........can't shoot everything with one rifle or cartridge..........well OK one can, but where's the fun?

I confess...............Hi, my name is Douglas and I'm an addict (gunnut) !!!!!!
 
cam1936 said:
How's the trophy room coming along? Sorry if I missed that thread. I've been taking a bit of a break from these forums, and shooting/hunting in general. It's odd, for the last 10 years all I think about in my spare time is new rifles/loads or planning out the next hunting trip. The last 6 months I have barely spent any time at the range, and so far this season I have done a week long backpack sheep hunt and that is it. No plans yet for deer season, just no motivation. It's bizarre for me.

I've been playing guitar, taking my young daughter on nature walks, trying to identify birds ect. Playing around with some other hobbies. I just seem to be in a bit of a rut with guns/hunting.
Click to expand...

Not well, but thanks for asking...........I'm still in the "planning and feasibility study" phase (I should have been a politician). Actually I have a logistics plan now to use my forklift to get all my boys on the wall. I even went so far as to buy the OSB sheets to protect the floor..........then the rain started and hasn't stopped. I have to get the forklift down a fairly good hill to the big doors of my trophy room and it is a hard tired one, so it will likely be more than a touch slippery on the lawn. The down side is the 100 ft drop off just past the doors to the trophy room........I trust you get the picture, it is not something I am willing to attempt on a wet lawn in the rain........don't think my down hill neighbor is in the market for a forklift.
This plan however is a huge step forward in the process and I'm just awaiting a couple dry days to give 'er a try. I have 2 tractors to get her back up with, if need be, once the job is done..........but skiing down that lawn, picking up speed and heading for the precipice is a somewhat disconcerting thought.........not an experience I think I want to have at this point in my life.........there was a time though........
 
Use the tractor as an anchor for the forklift and drive both down the hill together.

A few times I've had to go down hills in a semi that were impossibly steep. Cat hooks on to you and acts as your anchor as you go down.

Can't wait for the finished pictures.
 
cam1936 said:
Use the tractor as an anchor for the forklift and drive both down the hill together.

A few times I've had to go down hills in a semi that were impossibly steep. Cat hooks on to you and acts as your anchor as you go down.

Can't wait for the finished pictures.
Click to expand...

I actually have thought of this and will likely do this regardless even when dryer. However if I ##### up the lawn too badly the wife will be pi$$ed and then there is always the possibility of getting them both skiing towards the precipice..........Don't have a winch on the tractor and I doubt if the Argo or Ranger will hold it.............the forklift weighs over 10K lbs. Regardless I will get it done some day soon, I'm sure...........supposed to clear up tomorrow, we'll see..........
 
hawk-i said:
How about a pic of the work shop with the gunsmithing tools, what type of lathe are you using?
Click to expand...

About a year and a half ago I bought a NOS lathe from Busy Bee. It's supposed to be Taiwanese not Chinese...........Anyway it works slick and is a 14X40". I don't have a milling machine .........YET. Next on the wish list for sure. I'm still working on my shop and building tooling and racking that I need. Yesterday and today I built a 20' steel rack for tubing, square tubing, angle iron and flat bar and a 20' long roller table for feeding the steel into my chop saw. It is all incorporated into one unit with the steel rack under the roller table and now I'm working on a swivel table/stand for my chop saw which will sit at the end of the roller table for the steel...........I'm getting too old to be hauling steel around, setting it up and working with the saw on the floor as I have for the past 40 years.
Still using temporary lighting in my gun shop as I need to put up the ceiling and LED lighting, that will happen this winter. Right now it's pretty basic, it's a 20X28 ft room with a 9' ceiling with a bench and an 8" vice, the lathe kinda in the middle of the floor, the sandblast cabinet is off to one corner with a 10" grinder in a stand I just built about 3' left of it and my drill press against the adjacent wall........lots of room for expansion if I want to set up for bluing or making barrels or what ever.
Maybe I'll take some photos tomorrow and let y'all see the beginnings...........it can only improve from here, but at least I'm functional and building guns.............
 
c-fbmi said:
Not well, but thanks for asking...........I'm still in the "planning and feasibility study" phase (I should have been a politician). Actually I have a logistics plan now to use my forklift to get all my boys on the wall. I even went so far as to buy the OSB sheets to protect the floor..........then the rain started and hasn't stopped. I have to get the forklift down a fairly good hill to the big doors of my trophy room and it is a hard tired one, so it will likely be more than a touch slippery on the lawn. The down side is the 100 ft drop off just past the doors to the trophy room........I trust you get the picture, it is not something I am willing to attempt on a wet lawn in the rain........don't think my down hill neighbor is in the market for a forklift.
This plan however is a huge step forward in the process and I'm just awaiting a couple dry days to give 'er a try. I have 2 tractors to get her back up with, if need be, once the job is done..........but skiing down that lawn, picking up speed and heading for the precipice is a somewhat disconcerting thought.........not an experience I think I want to have at this point in my life.........there was a time though........
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly from previous posts, you have a couple of boys, right?
Flip son # 1 the keys to the lift truck and see if he can handle the job for you.
If he's too smart to take on the job, try son#2.
I'm sure they're young enough to jump from a runaway lift truck without more than a compound fracture, at least if things do get out of hand.

Think of it this way, if things go well, your trophy room gets done. If things go poorly, you'll likely have to take one of the boys on an African hunt to make up for asking them to do something so stupid. So it works out to be win / win, other than a little pain and suffering.
 
whats with the reamer ,second one you've had problems with from that company ?
-Are they not hardened correctly
-cutting angle to steep (trying to remove to much material at once )
- just dull from the factory ?
bit sketchy if its not the first time .
 
NJ..........Already taken both to Africa, although I'm sure #2 son would try it in a heart beat............just don't want to lose my forklift is my biggest concern, I use that thing nearly every day and my life wouldn't be the same with out it.

BH67.......not sure what is up with them, but this is why I quit buying from them. It seems to be one problem after another with their reamers............The last one I bought only cut on one flute and seized in the hole, nearly broke it. Scared to try that one again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom