Reloading for a semi auto MG34, 8mm mauser

Deathrawt

Deathrawt

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Hi, I'm new to the forum. A friend talked me into reloading for my mg as the surplus supply is all but gone and I have been having the usual mg 34 issues that most guns seem to have. Been slowly working out the bugs and had a reloading recipe that actually worked great in my gun. It was IMR 4350 powder, hornady 195 gr bullets, Privi brass with about 50 gr of powder. The gun worked well and cycled reliably with no issues.
Now to my actual question. I went to go buy more reloading supplies and I was able to get all the same components except for the bullets. Everyone was out of the hornady 195gr but I found a couple hundred rounds of Speer 170 gr Hot-Cor bullets. The issue is I cannot find any reloading data for a 170 gr bullet in 8mm for using the 4350 powder. A friend of mine who reloads lots said to go 38 gr as a minimum and a 42 gr as a maximum. It sounds about right considering what the load data is for using the heavier 195 gr. What does everyone think? I don't want to risk blowing up my mg 34 on a improper loaded cartridge!
 
So you use 50gr of 4350 with a 195gr bullet, but you want to drop the charge by 10 grains with a lighter 170gr bullet?
Seems kind of backwards....
Anyway Nosler has data for 180's with 4350, it's the same data as they list for the 200's. If 50gr is working for you, start there and work up if needed.
Tradex has 198gr FMJ which would be real good for the 34....
https://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/8mm-bullets-prvi-198gr-fmjbt--
 
How new are you to reloading?
Can I suggest you do a fair bit more reading before loading for a $6000 gun?
 
Hitzy said:
So you use 50gr of 4350 with a 195gr bullet, but you want to drop the charge by 10 grains with a lighter 170gr bullet?
Seems kind of backwards....
Anyway Nosler has data for 180's with 4350, it's the same data as they list for the 200's. If 50gr is working for you, start there and work up if needed.
Tradex has 198gr FMJ which would be real good for the 34....
https://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/8mm-bullets-prvi-198gr-fmjbt--
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Thanks for the info. Yes I am new to reloading and did not realize you had to go with more powder for a lighter bullet. My friend had warned me about having dangerously high pressures associated with to high of a charge.
 
tootall said:
How new are you to reloading?
Can I suggest you do a fair bit more reading before loading for a $6000 gun?
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I have done a bit of reading and searching the net. If I could just walk over to the nearest ammo store and buy a couple thousand rounds for my $6000 belt fed gun I would probably have done so.
 
gillmeister692 said:
Excuse me, but did you write "semi auto" MG34 ??

Why would anybody want to own a machine gun--not to mention one of history's finest--that is capable of only semi-automatic fire?

This just does not compute. Non sequitur. Nicht versteh.
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Unfortunately up here in canuck land we are not allowed to have a full auto anything unless it was grandfathered down to you. It sucks but that's the laws our wonderful government has bestowed upon us. I would love it if it could be different as there are many fine firearms that I would love to own but cannot. I am glad to own the tnw semi auto as I feel it is still better then a dewat. I can still take it out and blast a 50 round belt off it even though its semi auto
 
gillmeister692 said:
Excuse me, but did you write "semi auto" MG34 ??

Why would anybody want to own a machine gun--not to mention one of history's finest--that is capable of only semi-automatic fire?

This just does not compute. Non sequitur. Nicht versteh.
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Some one must want to. The maker, TNW, is a US based company.
There are several US companies that buy "parts kits" from torn down former full auto guns, then create an all new semi only receiver for it.
So if your only options are a Pre May 19, 1986 full auto for ~$20,000 or more, and all the Class 3 BS involved, or a semi that is treated no different than a regular rifle and is about quarter the cost, then maybe there is a reason for it.
 
If you're ordering bullets, you might also want to order a copy of The ABC's of Reloading, or Richard Lee's book on reloading.

Auggie D.
 
OP - Be VERY meticulous with reloading for these old 'machine guns'. They may be remanufactured, but they're often using old/used/worn parts from 70+ years ago.

These guns are VERY hard on brass and you can wear out cases in only a few loadings. When a case head fails on one of these types of gun, bad things happen very quickly.

I've seen them go boom close up. Even if it doesn't maim you, a $6000+ gun with a blown out receiver........ not my idea of a good day.
 
*MALICE* said:
OP - Be VERY meticulous with reloading for these old 'machine guns'. They may be remanufactured, but they're often using old/used/worn parts from 70+ years ago.

These guns are VERY hard on brass and you can wear out cases in only a few loadings. When a case head fails on one of these types of gun, bad things happen very quickly.

I've seen them go boom close up. Even if it doesn't maim you, a $6000+ gun with a blown out receiver........ not my idea of a good day.
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Yes I want to reload on the lighter side of the scale as opposed to trying to get the most out of it. Accuracy doesn't really bother me I just want the gun to cycle properly. Reloading is pretty much my only option if I want to be able to take the gun out regularly as the surplus stuff isn't really available any more. I did buy a bunch of spare parts for the gun like a spare bolt/barrel and spare springs and such. When the gun fires and ejects the brass, it ejects pretty violently which causes the neck of the brass at the end to get a ding in it. Sometimes the side of the casing will get a little ding or two also. I bought a brass catcher off of e bay from a fellow in Germany and it is a sack that attaches to the bottom of the gun so hopefully it will prevent the dings from happening. Plus it will make picking up all the brass so much easier afterwards! I did some reading on what to look for as far as wear/damage to the brass under usage. There is a guy on the mg42 site that says he only gets about 3 to 4 reloads out of a brass before he quits using it to be on the safe side. If I can get 3 or 4 reloads I will be happy with that. from what I have been reading the 42s were quite prone to blowing up from bolt bounce and from bad ammunition. The 34s were better but I imagine they could still blow up. A good book to read up on the german machineguns is the one written by Folke Myrvang.
 
Deathrawt said:
Yes I want to reload on the lighter side of the scale as opposed to trying to get the most out of it. Accuracy doesn't really bother me I just want the gun to cycle properly. Reloading is pretty much my only option if I want to be able to take the gun out regularly as the surplus stuff isn't really available any more. I did buy a bunch of spare parts for the gun like a spare bolt/barrel and spare springs and such. When the gun fires and ejects the brass, it ejects pretty violently which causes the neck of the brass at the end to get a ding in it. Sometimes the side of the casing will get a little ding or two also. I bought a brass catcher off of e bay from a fellow in Germany and it is a sack that attaches to the bottom of the gun so hopefully it will prevent the dings from happening. Plus it will make picking up all the brass so much easier afterwards! I did some reading on what to look for as far as wear/damage to the brass under usage. There is a guy on the mg42 site that says he only gets about 3 to 4 reloads out of a brass before he quits using it to be on the safe side. If I can get 3 or 4 reloads I will be happy with that. from what I have been reading the 42s were quite prone to blowing up from bolt bounce and from bad ammunition. The 34s were better but I imagine they could still blow up. A good book to read up on the german machineguns is the one written by Folke Myrvang.
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The problem is that it takes a fairly hot load to cycle it properly.
I used to own a CA MG-34, and it was a bit finicky too.

Case dings are not an issue at all. Case head separation at the web area is critical. If you dont know what that means, all the more reason to read up!

Where do you live? Anywhere near Vancouver?
 
tootall said:
The problem is that it takes a fairly hot load to cycle it properly.
I used to own a CA MG-34, and it was a bit finicky too.

Case dings are not an issue at all. Case head separation at the web area is critical. If you dont know what that means, all the more reason to read up!

Where do you live? Anywhere near Vancouver?
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I'm about an hour west of Edmonton.
 
kawicrash said:
Isn't that a lot of reloading to feed a belt gun?
There recently was a guy here in Winnipeg selling some Yugo surplus.
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I found some surplus in Vancouver a while back but they had no interest in shipping it to me. Yes it is a lot of reloading unfortunately.
 
Case dings are not an issue at all. Case head separation at the web area is critical. If you dont know what that means, all the more reason to read up!
Click to expand...

^^^^This^^^^^^^^^


These guns stretch brass more than your average semi-auto.
 
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