8mm Rem Mag... anyone?
- Thread starter Dosing
- Start date
Got my first 8MM Rem Mag in 1978. Still have 2, one is a custom built by a fellow who is on CCG regularly. The custom build has a Douglas premium barrel, timney trigger and McMillian stock. A bit heavy but shots little tiny groups. All of the 8MM Rem Mags I have loaded for shoot Re22 and Hornady 220gr Sp bullets great. Unfortunately this bullet has been dropped. One shot the 220 Sierra with a heavy charge of IMR 4831 really well and also IMR 4350 with either the Sierra or Hornady bullet. Tried other powders but nothing did better for me than Re22. When Hornady dropped the 220gr SP I called wholesale sports and bought all the stock they had at all their stores. All the Hornady 220 SP bullets I bought over the years only had 2 different lot numbers. Obviously was not a big seller. Shoots flat like a 300 Mag and hits like a .338. Kicks like hell in a lighter rifle.
I have a gain twist 340 as well. A couple pounds lighter than the 8 mag. Now that kicks. Back in my Askins reading days I built a 8mm-378 Wby. That thing was brutal. But I tried it as a 378, a 35-378, and a 338-378. All unfriendly. Fun though. - dan
That's not a bad price for brass.
A donor action would be easy with a 700, but you might start looking for a smith with a reamer first.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Average people tend not to shoot very much, and they aren't encouraged to shoot frequently if their rifles kick and bark and are expensive to shoot. So average people shouldn't shoot magnum rifles larger than the 7mm Remington, and no one should hunt with rifles they don't shoot well. If someone has the desire and determination to master these rifles, that's another matter, and average no longer applies to them. But for hunting big game in most places in the world, other than the largest most truculent grass eaters, the impressive ballistics, aren't essential for success. In some cases, due to thick jacketed bullets that are designed to expand slowly and penetrate deeply on dense, heavy game, the big magnums might not kill as quickly as a high velocity small bore loaded with a comparatively fragile bullet. I'm not sure how much of that applies to the 8mm magnum, which has a reputation for being an effective killer of medium and large game, but its fast sharp recoil should deter average people from taking one afield, and maybe that was the reason the 8mm failed to become the commercial success for Remington that the 7mm was. Enthusiasts tend not to be numerous, and I can't think of anyone other than Carlie Askins who championed the 8mm magnum.
Several configurations of 8mm Mags in hand since it's inception in '77.
BDL's,RemCustom Shop,Classic's
The BDL w/ KDF brake is my user stock rifle-pushing/plinking Hornady 150 SpirePoint's @ 3600fps makes it a varmint rig....per se!
Any 8mmRM loaded w/ 8 mauser projectiles is a disaster in the making & not a fault of the 8mmRemMag.
BDL's,RemCustom Shop,Classic's
The BDL w/ KDF brake is my user stock rifle-pushing/plinking Hornady 150 SpirePoint's @ 3600fps makes it a varmint rig....per se!
Any 8mmRM loaded w/ 8 mauser projectiles is a disaster in the making & not a fault of the 8mmRemMag.
This is something that many do not realize. A 196 grain bullet that works perfectly at 2650 acts much differently at 3200.
I shot a deer with my 325 WSM, which drives the 196 to very near 3000, and the Norma dual core is quite explosive, even
at those speeds.
My thoughts exactly!! Dave.
Someone once said the 8mm Rem. Mag was the answer to a question that didn't exist.
Great round but it falls between the 300 magnums and the 338 magnums.
I used mine for three years and then sold it off back in the early 80's and bought my first of many 338's.
Nothing much has changed to make me change my mind since.
I'll take a 340 Weatherby's performance if I want that felt recoil of a stock Remington BDL 8mm Mag.
Great round but it falls between the 300 magnums and the 338 magnums.
I used mine for three years and then sold it off back in the early 80's and bought my first of many 338's.
Nothing much has changed to make me change my mind since.
I'll take a 340 Weatherby's performance if I want that felt recoil of a stock Remington BDL 8mm Mag.
I own both and have used both on game. Prefer the 8, though only slightly. - dan
I have shot enough game with both the 338 and the 8mm Mag to form my personal opinion.
Like Dan, I do prefer the Big 8. Here is why. It drives similar weight bullets to higher speeds,
thus the trajectory with similar BC bullets is flatter. Also interprets to a bit more "whack" at
extended ranges.
This is not intended to "diss" the 338. It is a fine performer that kills big, tough game with
authority. In similar weight rifles, the 8 does deliver a bit more recoil, so that is a consideration
for many.
But My 8 has been a one-shot wonder from in close to way out there. Mandatory to use
a well constructed bullet to prevent bullet disintegration at close range. Dave.
Like Dan, I do prefer the Big 8. Here is why. It drives similar weight bullets to higher speeds,
thus the trajectory with similar BC bullets is flatter. Also interprets to a bit more "whack" at
extended ranges.
This is not intended to "diss" the 338. It is a fine performer that kills big, tough game with
authority. In similar weight rifles, the 8 does deliver a bit more recoil, so that is a consideration
for many.
But My 8 has been a one-shot wonder from in close to way out there. Mandatory to use
a well constructed bullet to prevent bullet disintegration at close range. Dave.
hard to get too excited about the 8mm's today. The 300 Win Mag with 200gr Accubond only lags behind the 8mm Mag by 75 fps, and it only takes about 100 yards downrange for the more aerodynamic 30 cal bullet to eclipse the 8mm in downrange velocity, energy, and bullet drop/drift
I would bet that it is a rare 300 Win Mag that drives the 200 grain bullet within 200 FPS of my 8 mag at 3240 fps, or a 220 at 3050.
Those are both A-Frames, BTW. Reloder 26 works like a charm. Dave.
It might not be the cartridge for the average guy.
However the average guy is 5' 9" to 5' 10", is a recoil pussy, can't afford to shoot anyway because he probably makes under $50,000. Reloading won't help because the average shooter doesn't reload. He has about a 50% chance of being divorced and has an IQ of 100. That's about 20-30 points away from borderline retardation. I don't know why anyone would want to be average.
However, if a shooter wasn't scared spitless of his own shadow, and somehow managed to scrape together some cartridges for his rifle and knew how to shoot; perhaps from shooting something else there likely isn't much he couldn't take out with a medium magnum like a 8 Rem. Or any number of quite capable cartridges for that matter.
However the average guy is 5' 9" to 5' 10", is a recoil pussy, can't afford to shoot anyway because he probably makes under $50,000. Reloading won't help because the average shooter doesn't reload. He has about a 50% chance of being divorced and has an IQ of 100. That's about 20-30 points away from borderline retardation. I don't know why anyone would want to be average.
However, if a shooter wasn't scared spitless of his own shadow, and somehow managed to scrape together some cartridges for his rifle and knew how to shoot; perhaps from shooting something else there likely isn't much he couldn't take out with a medium magnum like a 8 Rem. Or any number of quite capable cartridges for that matter.
