8mm Hunting Bullets: Suggestions?

[lgm270]

Am working up deer loads for 8x57 mm and wondered about what expericnes others have had with such bullets as the;

 150 grain Hornady, Sierra, Speer

170 Grain Hornady & Speer

175 grain Sierra

180  Grain Nosler Ballistic Tip

185 grain Remington core loct

 

[Mr. Joe]

I have found with the 8 auser, that the bullet weights corespond with the .30-06 right on the nose.  Basicly this means, that the 150gr-180gr. in both are pushed at the same speed, so they are suited to the same type of game animals.  This is handy because there is so much info out there on the '06.  When i read about bullet weights and velocitys and what not, i tend to just interchange the 06 and the 8x57.

All of the above mentioned bullets are excelent choices for the 8x57.  I tend to load the 150 sierra and Hornady for game ranging from groundhogs up through mule deer.  I lean towards the the 170 and the 175s for heaver game such as Boar, Elk, Moose...well you get the idea.  I would save the 200+ for Grizzlys and such.  Ive met quite a few sour doughs that think very higly of the 196 norma for the brown furry critters us southerners seem so scared of.  Dont be afraid to post any loading data on these loads.  There are alot of big time 8x57s fans here and we are always looking for new additions to our cook books.  What kind of rifle are you shooting anyways?


Head over to ammoguide.com and take a look at the various trajectories and chrono speeds people are getting with the different loads in the 8x57js.  I have found the info there to be about dead on with my chrono results.

[Badnews Bob]

Try the 196gr hornadys They shoot great and they work great. The 8x57 was designed around heavy bullets such as the 196 and it works very well with them.

[Lone Star]

Actually the 7.9x57JS (the one that was chambered in millions and millions of Mauser rifles) was designed around 154-grain bullets.  With this loading the cartridge was slightly superior to the .30-06 of the era due to its better ballistic performance.  The .30-03 was modified to copy the German round's ballistics, abandoning the original 220-grain bullet for the lighter 150s - the .30-06 was born with a German uncle. 

For most uses the 150-180 grain 8mm bullets are probably superior, just as they are in the .30-06.  A hunting buddy shot a 45" Alaskan moose with the Remington 185 CoreLokt in his 8x57 and you could not ask for better performance.


.

[Drilling Man]

  I load 200 NP's in mine, and use the same load/bullet for everything i hunt.

  I don't have to screw around changeing the sights, and i don't have to remember more than one trajectory!

  Best part is, the bullets works perfectly on everything from moose to small deer!

  DM

[lgm270]

Like you, Drilling Man, I'm a great fan of Nosler Partitions, although I have not hunted with them in the 8x57.  If left to my own devides, I would probably use nothing else.

I am interested, however in how the lighter bullets work out, specifically as compared to 150-180 bullets in the .308 and .30-06.   Obviously .323" bullets have less sectional density than comparable bullets in .308" caliber, but with an appropriate rate of twist they should probably work just as welll and should perform well on deer sized game. 

Years ago I read someplace that the 8mm/06 with 150 grain bullets was more devastaing on deer than the smaller diameter .308 150 grain bullet.  So much of this is in the eye of the beholder, but it's still interesting to  read the experiences of others who are more experienced with this load than I.   

[Drilling Man]

Years ago I read someplace that the 8mm/06 with 150 grain bullets was more devastaing on deer than the smaller diameter .308 150 grain bullet.  So much of this is in the eye of the beholder, but it's still interesting to  read the experiences of others who are more experienced with this load than I.

  Just so you know, 200 NP's DO open up nicely on deer at 8x57 velocities.  I've shot quite a few with mine and it works perfectly.

  DM

[kombi1976]

I tend to load the 150 sierra and Hornady for game ranging from groundhogs up through mule deer.

Joe, what sort of load are you using for the Hornady 150gn SP?
I'm trying to develop one for my sporterised k98 and am floundering a litttle.

[Mr. Joe]

Try 51 gr. of H-4895 with a 150 spire point.  I get 2980's out of the load with a 24 inch bbl and it shoots very well for me.  People push into the 3000fps range with the Vihtavuori powders all the time, but i cant find any of that stuff around me to test it so i dont know how it shoots. 

Other 150gr. loads of note to try out for ya...

150 Hornady   Accurate AA-2460
   51.0 gr.
   2906 fps
   2814 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
       
150 Hornady   Accurate AA-2230
   50.5 gr.
   2907 fps
   2816 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
       
150 Speer   IMR-4064
   53 gr.
   2915 fps
   2831 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
   
150 Speer   IMR-4064
   51.0 gr.
   2915 fps
   2831 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
     
150 Hornady   Hodgdon H-335
   50.8 gr.
   2942 fps
   2884 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
   
150 Hornady   Accurate AA-2520
   52.5 gr.
   2955 fps
   2909 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
   
150 Hornady   Hodgdon BL-C(2)
   55 gr.
   2962fps
   2923 ft/lbs
   24 bbl
     
150 Hornady   IMR-3031
   49.gr
   2975 fps
   2949ft/lbs
   24 bbl

Fairly stout loads, but nothing to heavy.  These are all published loads, and i havnt tried some of them.

[kombi1976]

Thanks Joe.
I'll try them out when I have a chance.
I have an uncomfortable feeling however that it may be the bedding.
I'll let you know how they go.

[Mr. Joe]

The loads that i have tried, especially the first one, come very close to published data.  The ones that didnt match up were typicly faster for me, though i beleve that to because my remington has a shorter throat than the military rifles some of the publishers use for testing.  For what its worth, i like the sierra 150gr. over the hornady 150gr.

[bja105]

The only deer I have killed with my 8*57 Turk were 2 yearlings last year.  Loads were Hornady 150's and H4350.  Both deer ran a short distance before falling, maybe 50 yards.  Bullets came apart, one didn't exit, which is fine with me.
I used the Hornady 150's again this year, with IMR4064 this time.

I recently found a box of Remington 220g.  They have been unspectacular with H4350, H4895, and Varget, so far.

[Blammer]

My favorite loads are IMR4895 and sierra 150 and 175 gr bullets. I push the 150's at 2800.

[beemanbeme]

I use the `175gr Sierra for the very scientific reason that I was at an estate sale and they had 3 boxes of them along with a set of lyman dies and a lee loader.  I think I paid $15.00 for the lot. 
I've shot one deer with it.  Ended up with a deer dead right there with a hole in each side of it.  I'm sure if I had been using one of the boutique bullets, the deer would have been deader.....     (the devil made me say that  )

[kombi1976]

Incidentally, Joe, I bought a Choate sporting stock with blind mag for my 8mm and it should really clear things up with bedding problems.
Here's a pic.



It'll be getting a Dynacoat tiger-stripe camo paintjob as I think we all agree that the black is VERY boring.
I've made up some 150gn Hornady SP loads using Rem Magnum primers and 50.5gn of Varget.

BTW, lgm270, I did some testing with the 180gn Nosler Ballistic Tips and found they were no more accurate than the Speer 170gn Semi-spitzers, at least at shorter ranges.
At roughly half the price the Speers seemed a much better deal, especially through an old military clunker.
They managed this 0.7" group at 50m which while it's close isn't too bad from a rifle that even then had bedding issues.



At 100m it managed this....about 1.5" because of shot #3:



This is using a 46gn charge of H4895 behind the 170 grainer, Privi Partizan brass and PMC Large Rifle primers.
If you're after real fun, however, and want to play with some serious heavy weights try and find some of the Woodleigh 250gn RNSNs.
Just make sure you have a sissy pad if you're bench resting them!!    

[Cheesehead]

I also used a very scientific method for selecting hunting bullets for my 98. I found a couple hundred for a nickel each in the Remington 220 grain at a small gun shop.

Cheese

[lgm270]

Check out this European all copper, 139 grain .323" hollow point at 3,000 fps in the 8x57.   Very interesting.


http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/Englisch/8-mm-Bullet.htm