Steyr-Mannlicher M95/34 Carbine in 8x56R
- Thread starter PCB
- Start date
I have a M95 carbine and I reload for it. A couple of my test rounds are :
206 grain FMJ pushed by 44.6 grains of Varget and 206 grain FMJ pushed by 45.1 grains of IMR4895, both in brass from Grafs, nice loads, lots of flame. A fun gun to shoot.
206 grain FMJ pushed by 44.6 grains of Varget and 206 grain FMJ pushed by 45.1 grains of IMR4895, both in brass from Grafs, nice loads, lots of flame. A fun gun to shoot.
Not at all, trade ex has dies, brass, and proper bullets. Any reasonable gunship will have primers and power, presses and scales are easily sourced as well.
You'll need afew hundred dollars to getset up, but if you plan on shooting guns other than 22's, reloading is the only way to fly in the long run.
RCBS makes very nice dies but they cost serious bucks. LEE makes 8x56R dies; get them from Higginson Powder, $40 for the set, WITH shellholder.
You need a Press of some sort (used from $30 up to $300 new, your choice).
You need a GOOD scale; I have an RCBS 505, does anything I need. There was one on the EE last week at $65 IIRC. Balance-beam scale operates on gravity, does not require batteries which can give false readings as they lose power.
And you need a set of DIES ($40, above) and a Deburring Tool (used $2 to $20 new).
With that much, you can load a box of shells. Everything else is frills.
How long do the tools last?
I'm not sure. I bought my tools for 8x57 Mauser in 1964, still using them.
It's fun!
Hope this helps.
You need a Press of some sort (used from $30 up to $300 new, your choice).
You need a GOOD scale; I have an RCBS 505, does anything I need. There was one on the EE last week at $65 IIRC. Balance-beam scale operates on gravity, does not require batteries which can give false readings as they lose power.
And you need a set of DIES ($40, above) and a Deburring Tool (used $2 to $20 new).
With that much, you can load a box of shells. Everything else is frills.
How long do the tools last?
I'm not sure. I bought my tools for 8x57 Mauser in 1964, still using them.
It's fun!
Hope this helps.
For 8x56R, likely you will pay $30 or more for 20 shells. That's $1.50 a pop or more. Plus taxes, of course.
BULLETS (Trade-Ex) are 44 cents each.
Primer costs under a Nickel.
POWDER will cost you 25 cents or a touch under.
That's 75 cents a shot, $15 a box. You re-use your brass. Take care of it and you can get 15 shots or more from a casing.
And, if you are careful, that's Match-grade ammo, too!
You can CAST Bullets (using old wheelweights) with a MOULD which sells for 30 bucks, a quarter cent's worth of lube and a 3-cent Gas Check. Seat the Gas Check with the $25 Lee sizer/seater. ADD a Nickel's worth of Red Dot (13 grains) and a Primer..... and you are looking at a nice, low-recoil 250-yard load at 8 shots for a buck. Yup: two-fifty a box.
Your tooling can pay itself off almost frighteningly fast!
Have at it!
BULLETS (Trade-Ex) are 44 cents each.
Primer costs under a Nickel.
POWDER will cost you 25 cents or a touch under.
That's 75 cents a shot, $15 a box. You re-use your brass. Take care of it and you can get 15 shots or more from a casing.
And, if you are careful, that's Match-grade ammo, too!
You can CAST Bullets (using old wheelweights) with a MOULD which sells for 30 bucks, a quarter cent's worth of lube and a 3-cent Gas Check. Seat the Gas Check with the $25 Lee sizer/seater. ADD a Nickel's worth of Red Dot (13 grains) and a Primer..... and you are looking at a nice, low-recoil 250-yard load at 8 shots for a buck. Yup: two-fifty a box.
Your tooling can pay itself off almost frighteningly fast!
Have at it!
Gentlemen, this is Dad stepping into the thread. I want to thank all of you for the very helpful comments, info , and suggestions. I've watched from a distance and it is pretty clear where this is going to end up. I need to join the equipment exchange, and we need to determine the reload starter kit that will best suit our needs. My other son is looking into Enfields, Mausers, and Mosin Nagants. We are all serious history buffs. I don't want to stir up a hornets nest but if anyone would like to step out on a limb and suggest a starter kit feel free to e-mail us. I saw a Hornaday Classic Kit at our local gun shop for $339. We live in the southwestern tip of Ontario so slipping across the border is no problem.
Thanks again for taking the time to help educate my son and I.
Paul
Thanks again for taking the time to help educate my son and I.
Paul
MauserMike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Cabela's in Michigan is your friend for buying reloading equipment. I would not advise shipping COMPONENTS over the border, only the presses, dies, scales etc.
I bought the Lee cast turret press from there along with a bunch of dies, and sourced many of the odds and ends 2nd hand like RCBC 505 balance and powder measurer etc here.
I bought the Lee cast turret press from there along with a bunch of dies, and sourced many of the odds and ends 2nd hand like RCBC 505 balance and powder measurer etc here.
