Cutting 8mm Rem Mag dies for neck-sizing obsolete 8mm?

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Metman2

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I'm in the process of making up my own ammo for my old Swedish rolling block in 8x58RD "danish" calibre. Rather than just shelling out a lot of $$ on factory brass and/or ready-made bullets, I am trying first the less expensive (but certainly not effortless!) route of:
1. fire-forming annealed 8x54R Mannlicher brass (done :));
2. neck-sizing (still under investigation :confused:);
3. loading with .323" lead and modest loads of 4198 (straight-forward);
4. shooting (when it warms up!)

Presently the un-resolved issue is that of finding a neck-sizer. 8x57 Mauser dies are easy for me to obtain, but my fireformed cases are much too wide (.478" at the shoulder) for 8x57 dies to work as a neck-sizer. Ditto for 8mm Lebel.
CH4D lists full-size dies for 8x58RD "Danish Krag" at $81.38, or neck-sizer for $53.68. Before going that route, I wondered whether it would be worth considering taking a used 8mm Rem Mag die (cost about $35) and shortening it. The amount to remove is a lot, though, about 0.7". Has anyone else done this, or is it simply wasteful butchery? I'm open to suggestions...
 
just quickly googling the case sizes ....... it may work just for neck sizing .

the 8mm rem mag die might be a bit tight in the neck ( it could be loosened up a bit it it was a problem ) .

it is something that i would try .... worst case senario you waste the money you used to buy the die .

cutting the die back wouldn't even have to be done with much precision just cut off roughly .7-.75 with a chop saw , remove the sharp edges .... then it is just a matter of setting it up in your press to get it to neck size properly .

there would be little to no support for the shoulder .... so i would make sure to use a good lube to keep things from getting bent out of shape .

once you get some fired cases you might want to get some proper dies made up eventually so you can resize the full case if need be later on .



cr*p ...... i missed the part where you can buy neck sizing and full length dies .......... unless the dies are a 6 month wait ... or you can't get them in canada for what ever reason , i'd try to buy proper dies first .
 
Have you slugged your bore?

My rolling block needs about a .329 bullet and I'm still trying to get groups worth the name at 25 yards. Haven't done much experimenting though. Probably end up rebarrelling eventually.
 
vagrantviking said:
Have you slugged your bore?

My rolling block needs about a .329 bullet and I'm still trying to get groups worth the name at 25 yards. Haven't done much experimenting though. Probably end up rebarrelling eventually.
Click to expand...

Mine slugs at .325" grooves/.316" lands. The bore is in pretty good shape inside.

Obviously I've got to expend some effort and money to be able to decide whether it's worth keeping as a shooter. Maybe finding the optimal bullet will turn out to be the real problem. Buying the CH4D 8x58RD dies might become rather meaningless if the barrel ends up shooting poorly. So cutting down the .300 Rem Mad die might be the least wasteful option.

I don't know the history of my gun. But serial numbers on the barrel show that it is not the original 12.7mm-to-8mm Swedish military m1867/89 conversion. Front sight is windage adjustable with a flat screwdriver, and also a different upgrade. Someone put some effort into improving it, so I'm hoping it's got some potential as a shooter. Barrel twist is about 1:10" which suggests a heavy bullet is in order. My plan is to start with cast bullets at moderate MV's. Assuming I manage to get a decent bullet size, I do expect to encounter some challenges with the transonic ballistics.
 
Have you ever tried putting a file to a die?
Their all built tough! File's just slide off them.
You'd have to use an abrasive blade to cut one. Chop saw or zip wheel.
 
Metman2 said:
Mine slugs at .325" grooves/.316" lands. The bore is in pretty good shape inside.

Obviously I've got to expend some effort and money to be able to decide whether it's worth keeping as a shooter. Maybe finding the optimal bullet will turn out to be the real problem. Buying the CH4D 8x58RD dies might become rather meaningless if the barrel ends up shooting poorly. So cutting down the .300 Rem Mad die might be the least wasteful option.

I don't know the history of my gun. But serial numbers on the barrel show that it is not the original 12.7mm-to-8mm Swedish military m1867/89 conversion. Front sight is windage adjustable with a flat screwdriver, and also a different upgrade. Someone put some effort into improving it, so I'm hoping it's got some potential as a shooter. Barrel twist is about 1:10" which suggests a heavy bullet is in order. My plan is to start with cast bullets at moderate MV's. Assuming I manage to get a decent bullet size, I do expect to encounter some challenges with the transonic ballistics.
Click to expand...

Finding a longer bullet than what I have would probably help my cause quite a bit. The only one that I have tried is about a 210gr gas check design (Lee 90775) without the gas check over black powder. Forget how much at the moment. Using necked and fireformed 45-70 brass.

Sounds like promising rifle to work with if it has decent sights and isn't a typical sporterised military piece. Look forward to hearing about your experiments and results.
 
I'm only guessing here but it might be worth trying a Hornady neck die in 8mm if you can locate one.
I believe that Hornady is not cartridge specific in their neck dies but rather caliber specific.
That is one 30 cal neck die does a lot of 30 caliber cartridges.
Should be the same in 8mm.

A 325 Winchester Short Mag Hornady neck die might be all you need.
 
I use the Lee 325 WSM F/L sizer die for neck sizing.

I load a lot for this round, and have RCBS F/L dies, but at the pressures I shoot, I go a long time between F/L sizing, even then, I only partial F/L size (with Lee 8X56 Hungraian F/L dies and just enough for it to chamber again), as the chambers on these guns are HUGE, and I don't want to overwork the brass.

I have made up brass from 45-90, but 8X56 Hungarian brass is a much better route. Bertram 8X58RD brass is expensive and not always very good.

More here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=22807
 
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Thanks for the useful info! Looks like a 325 WSM die is a better start than trying to shorten the 8mm Rem Mag die.
 
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