TradeEx's M96 Mauser in 8x57 - load recommendations?

[Dark Alley Dan]

Hey, folks.

A friend of mine has brought home one of these old ladies, and is now wondering what to feed her. He'll be hunting deer and the occasional Van Isle black bear with it. We have no idea where to start with bullet weight or how much "steam" the 96 action will happily endure without getting pissy with us. We will, of course, err on the side of caution.

Anyone walked this road before? Any ideas?

Thanks for your input,

Dan

 

[Baribal]

I personally prefer heavier bullets, like the 195 grains or 200 grains in 8X57.
Any powder like IMR 4064 / Varget / RL15 will work with this cartridge. I choose to use Nossler 200 grains with H380 and Magnum primers for all my bear hunting.
You may want to check the throat lenght before using any long bullets, some of the HVA have shorter throats than other European made barrels.
I shoot this through HVA 648s and Brno 21H.

 

[kamlooky]

Did you

consider asking Anthony at Trade Ex?
Seem like a knowledgeable gent.

 

[snowshoe]

I liked the 170g Hornady bullet best and IMR4064. I pushed it to about 2650 fps, and it was tough on any whitetail it hit, none ever got back up.

 

[BwanaDave]

I sure like the 195 hornady over Reloader 15, works good

 

[dan belisle]

I use a lot of the 185 gr Rem bullets. Picked up quite a few in bulk a few years back, so I use them in the 8 Mauser, 8mm-06 and 8mm-06 AI, 8x60 and the 8x68. - dan

 

[Pathfinder]

I load a 175 gr. Sierra SPT bullet with IMR-4064 for my Father's M-98 (8x57) mauser....quite accurate and hits hard around 2700+ fps