8x57 Guys... Thanks! Pics Up.

Rman

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I have a feller that wants some 8x57J ammo loaded up. The J is supposed to be the ,318 diameter as opposed to the .323. Found bullets and brass.
Dies?
From what can be gathered, the 8x57 dies are .323. If a feller pops out the expander, will he get enough squeeze on the .318 bullet? Does that work?
Anyone have a set of dies to lend or sell?
Thanks!
R.
 
Hmmm that is a good question. I thought 318 dies would exist?!?! If you don’t find anyone local to you with dies, let me know and I can send you mine so you can play with them to see if it would work.
 
.318 rifles are really rare the original g88 and a handful of Mauser factory sporters. I would double check with him to make sure it's not just 8x57is.

First I would just try using a regular 8mm die and see if it has enough neck tension to hold the bullet. Then I would try a .313 expander did and see if that works.

There are custom dies out there for 8x57 j but they are really hard to find.
 
Try a similar proportion case and die to test. Run it like you intend without the expander ball in place and measure much under it compresses to ball park if a 8mm Mauser die will work for a m88.

Another option is to double size with a 8mm Mauser then with a 308 win die set up to only size down the neck. Then use a boat tail 318 back in the 8mm set to seat.
 
Well... it's a very interesting rifle. South African origin, with a German octagon barrel. Checkered straight grip stock. Barrel slugs out at .316 ish.
Going to order the stuff and see if it will run!
Thanks for the help!

R.
 
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Yes, it will usually work, the only way to know for sure is to try it.
I don't know what happened to your quote, but yes, it's very likely you will get enough tension to hold the bullet in place.

It's pretty simple to size one and insert a projectile, then try to push the bullet into the case.

I've used .323 JS dies to reload for a .318 bore Westley Richards rifle I used to own.

I've also used .323 bullets for that rifle when I couldn't find .318 diameter bullets.

You need to be careful with some manuals, as they list loads meant for the JS bullets only. Usually, it's mentioned in the preamble, but not always.

In the later Lyman manuals, they mention their loads are for JS only.

Many of the older manuals show loads that only develop 38,000 psi, and North American commercial cartridge manufacturers loaded to that level in deference to the ammunition being loaded into rifles with smaller bores.

It's not something I would suggest anyone do. I was good with my rifle because it was strong enough to handle the lighter pressure loads.

Europeans are expected to know which designation is correct for their rifles, and issues from loading the wrong diameter are not the liability concern for the ammunition manufacturers as they are in North America, as long as the packaging and cartridge are appropriately marked.

The data in reloading manuals should be OK for the cartridges the OP is reloading, as long as the proper bullet diameters are used.
 
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