Reloading advice for the 8mm Yugo & Czehc Mausers

sean69

sean69

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Finally got sick of paying full bang for 8mm Mauser ammo & am going to start reloading this week, I was hoping for some advice from anyone who has reloaded for either rifle [Yugo 24/47 & Czech M48]

I'm only target shooting, so no need for SP bullets [actually I would prefer jacketed so I don't have to clean all the lead out ;) ] and the longest range we have is 100m so from what I gather,using a boat tail or hollow point would be a waste of cash.

So, both rifles seem to quite like the PRVI FMJBT 198g ammo, I thought I would try to replicate that particular round as close as I could [minus the BT part ;) ]

I've googled several dozen different recipes & was just looking for a consensus here from someone with experience:

Type of powder?

Type of primer? [does it matter?]

Bullet weight? [I've only ever shot these with 198g & 185g ~ heavier seems better?]

-thanks!
-sean
 
I've not reloaded for 8x57 in those rifles, but from experience with a number of other milsurp calibres and rifles, I would say you want lighter loads that are accurate without beating you to death.

For powder my first try would be with IMR4064, it is a medium speed powder that works well in a lot of milsurp calibres, especially 30-06, which is a close cousin to 8x57 in performance and case capacity. 4064 may be a bit fast for the heavier bullets, though.

For bullets I would look for lighter weights, just to keep the recoil down, but that is my preference for range use. Hornady offers a 150gr SP that is fairly cheap and should work fine. BTW, a soft point will not lead the barrel, the exposed lead never touches the bore. If you want heavier, Hornady also lists a 196gr BTHP target bullet that may work well for you. Budget Shooter Supply lists an 8mm 198gr FMJBT bullet by PRVI for a decent price, these are also an option.

Primer brand means nothing. The only caveat to that is you should develop a load with one brand/type and then stick with it. If you change brand/type, then you need to re-check the load to be sure you are still safe with the new combination.

A search in the reloading forum using "8x57" turns up a pile of threads with info on loads, bullet selection and more. Don't forget to set the search window to longer than the last week.


Mark
 
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mmattockx said:
I've not reloaded for 8x57 in those rifles, but from experience with a number of other milsurp calibres and rifles, I would say you want lighter loads that are accurate without beating you to death.

For powder my first try would be with IMR4064, it is a medium speed powder that works well in a lot of milsurp calibres, especially 30-06, which is a close cousin to 8x57 in performance and case capacity. 4064 may be a bit fast for the heavier bullets, though.

For bullets I would look for lighter weights, just to keep the recoil down, but that is my preference for range use. Hornady offers a 150gr SP that is fairly cheap and should work fine. BTW, a soft point will not lead the barrel, the exposed lead never touches the bore. If you want heavier, Hornady also lists a 196gr BTHP target bullet that may work well for you. Budget Shooter Supply lists an 8mm 198gr FMJBT bullet by PRVI for a decent price, these are also an option.

Primer brand means nothing. The only caveat to that is you should develop a load with one brand/type and then stick with it. If you change brand/type, then you need to re-check the load to be sure you are still safe with the new combination.

A search in the reloading forum using "8x57" turns up a pile of threads with info on loads, bullet selection and more. Don't forget to set the search window to longer than the last week.


Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark, IMR4064 seems to be the going consensus around the internet, good point that it also does well in 30-06. It would be nice to find a decent powder that I could use effectively in all my rifles. [30-06, 8x57, 7x57 & 7.62x54]

BTW, a soft point will not lead the barrel, the exposed lead never touches the bore.
Click to expand...

Actually, all of my Mauser types do this, whenever a round get's chambered, the leading edge of the chamber will chip off a tiny piece of lead [bigger or smaller depending on the radius of the tip of the bullet] The odd chip or two WILL eventually find it's way into the chamber/barrel & gets melted into the grooves...
 
For my German mausers and Gewehr 88s here is what I use though I am not responsible with what you do with the information ;).

-150 gr Speer spire point spitzers
-42.0 gr of IMR 4064 (Lee dipper 3.1 gives about 41.6 gr of powder)
-Remington 8mm mauser brass
-Winchester primers

My oldies from WW1 love the load and it has proven to be both light on the rifle and accurate at the range.

Hope this helps you.
 
The best powder that worked for me is IMR 4350

I use :

Hornady 170 gr rnsp with 54 Gr of imr 4350 @ 2550ftps

Serria 175gr spbt with 51 Gr @ 2450$

Remington brass, i have alot of data for the 8X57 , BUT THESE LOADS WORKED BEST IN MY YUGO AND GERMAN MAUSERS.
 
i dunno about your Mausers but my Yugo M48A hated the round nosed bullets....its feeding ramps would chew the tip up and sometimes jam it. Switched to spitzer 150 grain Hornady and its fine now....

i rework 270win and 30-06 brass into 8x57, use CCI large rifle primers, 48grains of H4895. The thing will consistently hit the 200 yard gong with that load and frankly its just for plinking....i couldn't care less if it groups 1 moa or 5 moa because without a scope i'm the weakest link. I own that gun because of sentimental value.
 
sean69 said:
Actually, all of my Mauser types do this, whenever a round get's chambered, the leading edge of the chamber will chip off a tiny piece of lead [bigger or smaller depending on the radius of the tip of the bullet] The odd chip or two WILL eventually find it's way into the chamber/barrel & gets melted into the grooves...
Click to expand...

Ah, this sounds like a RN problem. I have not encountered it with mine shooting spitzer bullets so far, but that is mostly Swede Mausers and not the 98 action.


Mark
 
Ah, this sounds like a RN problem. I have not encountered it with mine shooting spitzer bullets so far, but that is mostly Swede Mausers and not the 98 action.
Click to expand...

If I think about it, yes, quite likely would happen less with a pointed bullet, though my problem is finding anything BUT RN bullets [especially in 7mm] the only stuff I finally did manage was some Sellier & Bellot FMJ for the 7mm & the PRVI FMJ for the 8mm...

Hence the interest in reloading ;)
 
I found RN bullets do not feed properly in my Gewehr 88s and sometimes feed from my 98s. Moving to spitzer bullets for reloading solved the issue.
 
Since you are shooting 100 yrds only have you considered cast boolits?

13Gr of Red Dot or 16Gr of 2400 per case+ Gas checked Lee cast will give you a lot of shooting for a lot less.
 
[cast bullets? no ... don't like cleaning the lead out :) ]

off to the range today to try the old 'closest to what I wanted, but all they had recipe":

37.5g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 20 rounds - 'accuracy load'
39.0g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 20 rounds - 'recommended minimum'
40.0g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 10 rounds

All Winchester primers, mixed brands of brass.
[Jacketed, BT, SP... I forget exactly at the moment but have it written in my notes...]

I guess we'll find out today!
 
sean69 said:
37.5g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 20 rounds - 'accuracy load'
39.0g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 20 rounds - 'recommended minimum'
40.0g IMR4064 Speer 220g spitzer 10 rounds
Click to expand...

well... none of these worked out particularly well at all. The 39 & 40g were about what I got from factory loads & the 'accuracy load' was completely useless.

Going to try a lighter bullet next time.... oh well.
 
In the K98 I'm reloading for 4064 with the hornady 150gr Sp is tearing ragged holes at 50yds. Opens up a bit to 1 1/2" at 100 but I believe that is more of a sighting issue than a load problem. I think this would be a MOA load if those damn sights weren't so hard to see.
 
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