Author Topic: an interesting idea  (Read 764 times)

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Offline kevin.303

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an interesting idea
« on: December 29, 2004, 05:20:36 PM »
one of our major Canadian distributors is selling fairly obscure 8X63 ammo at 1000 rounds for $75 Cdn. its in good condition, but this round was mostly used in machine guns, so rifles in this caliber are few and far between, so they are selling it cheap as salvage for the components. a buddy of mine is also quite a good gunsmith and him and another friend decided to try an experiment. they found a 8X63 reamer and cut the chamber of an old K98, and it works quite well. the ammo comes in 250 rnd MG belts so they also took a semi auto 1919A4 and rebarreled it as well. that gun is a lot of fun!! i know for Americans to buy ammo in Canada it is a bit of a hassle, but if you know someone with a reamer it might be worth it at that price. just thought i'd share.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline huntsman

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an interesting idea
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2004, 02:35:09 PM »
8x83 loaded anywhere near starting loads would be way over max SAAMI pressure in the 8x57. You're asking for trouble with the K98.
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Offline RB Rooson

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an interesting idea
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2004, 02:46:04 PM »
I think I would stay some distance away when it was fired, say like a football field away.........!!  Some people get just too clever with wanting to use certain 'inexpensive' ammunition!!
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Offline kevin.303

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an interesting idea
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2004, 05:09:10 PM »
i made a mistake and listed as 8x83. such a round does not exist, something that size is pushing anti tank caliber. it is 8x63 Swedish that i'm referring to. it's length and chamber dimensions are close to that of the 8mm-06 wildcat, and i know that has been used in many mausers. it is safe. my friend that did the conversion is a professional gunsmith and made sure before starting that it would be safe. in fact the Swedish army issued rifles in this caliber to machine gun crews to make it easier to supply them. it has been done by a number of people across the country and i've fired it a few times myself. kicks like a mule, but not much worse than a hot 7.62x54 out of a M44. heres a site about this cartridge and the conversions.

http://8x63swedish.pridham.ca/home.html
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline 1911crazy

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an interesting idea
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2004, 02:28:44 AM »
Kevin;  Its funny we almost think the same??  I've been looking into the 9,3 caliber bullets in the swedish sporting rifles but i found out its a little less power than my 338win.mag but more of a comfortable shooting round(less punishment on the body).  But i would still like to own a swedish sporting rifle someday(maybe).  I'm kind of insearch for something different and maybe a wildcat round just maybe in the near future.  I'm kind of happy with my little collection of military surplus guns and now i've been going with a few new saiga's which are awesome too they are probably the best bang for our buck right now a 308 saiga cost me $307 OTD and she spits out the 308 round just like an AK47 that it is.  I really wanted an FN49 Argentine 308 but the $700 price tag is out ragious i could but two 308 saiga's for that.  But your 8x83 sure sounds awesome too I wonder what are the specs?? (power/bullet weight/distance)  As we go bigger we do get closer to the 375H&H performance and thats a african big game cannon for sure.  :D                                                                             BigBill

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!! :-D

I just checked out that website, and i found the 8mm'06(7,62x63 is the 30-06) is very close to the 8mmx63 and that sounds very do able in the '38 Turk mauser now i wonder if the magazine can take the 63mm longer bullet.  I believe the turk mauser has the middle length bolt of the three different length bolts.

Offline huntsman

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an interesting idea
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2004, 05:01:44 AM »
Thanks for clearing that up, Kevin. That post had me worried for you. But you are correct that the 8x63 would be quite safe if done by a competent gunsmith. Hope you are having fun with it. 8)
There is no more humbling experience for man than to be fully immersed in nature's artistry.

Offline kevin.303

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an interesting idea
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2004, 05:29:21 PM »
well bill, for something different i almost bought a .218 Bee built on a pre 1916 No.1 MK 3. a gunshop in Ontario had it for sale for $249 on there website and it was supposed to be a nice looking gun too. i wanted something for small game with a little more punch then a .22LR. i checked on the price of .218 ammo, $63.99 when it's available, and it usually isn't. i lost interest pretty fast. i figure i'll save my pennies and get a '92 Winchester in .25-20 for the wabbits, and if any money's left over, a cut down Krag in .30-40 for fun.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline 1911crazy

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an interesting idea
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2005, 02:11:27 AM »
kevin303;  Just some food for thought about using the 8mm bullet I read a post about the 8mm being an excellent brush gun. The poster was hunting with the 8x57 round and he said it broke thru thick brush and stayed on its path.  So I'm figuring the 8mm diameter bullet being wider than the 30cal bullet makes a better brush gun?  Of course the speed and bullet weight factor in but its a good thing to know our 8mm's will break thru the thick brush too.                                        BigBill

Even the 8mm'06 is worth a look see and i wonder how much more it performs over the 8x57 with the longer case being more "stuffable" by having 6mm more length/room for powder.

Since i'm liking the little 6,5mm & 7mm rounds I may go that direction. I did look at the 264win.mag. ,  270win. and 284win which are just over my 7x57 in power.   I've looked at buying a 264win. mag. and those used rifles are still expensive too. "$$$"????  Once we get so high in the $$ amount I may as well buy new??  I may wait for a Saiga 100 in 270win./30-06  if they are still affordable.

Offline jh45gun

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an interesting idea
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2005, 06:37:04 AM »
Bill no such thing really as a Brush buster bullet they all deflect even such heavy ones as a 45/70 or a 50 cal muzzle loader conical I have had deflect. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline 1911crazy

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an interesting idea
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2005, 11:15:43 AM »
Well the only experience so far with my 444 marlin is with a 18" maple tree, i was about 25 feet away and I aimed about 3 inches in and pulled the trigger.  The 44cal 240gr. SP bullet cut a straight path right thru the trunk like a milling machine cut it.  I thought the radious of the tree trunk would make it go off the path but it stayed on course all the way thru the tree.  I'm not sure how it will do in heavy brush but the brute force of the bigger bullet was sure impressive. :eek:   Of course in the marlin advertisement they blew a hole thru 3/8" boiler plate with the 444 marlin at 50 feet too.  I was shooting in a gravel pit once with junk truck parts and at an old truck air tank with over a 3/16" thick wall the 357mag and 44 mag would just dent it, with the 44 making the biggest dent, but i put the 30-06 thru it and when the bullet hit it, it went sideways so it made a hole like a little missle shape(bullet) went thru it.  I was only about 30yds away from the tank.                                                 BigBill

Offline jh45gun

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an interesting idea
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2005, 01:01:07 PM »
Yea Bill I have shot through trees also and they go straight through but how do they fly after that? You have no idea. Actually I think shooting through a tree would deflect it less until after it came out of the tree than going through brush and limbs I think they deflect more. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline S.S.

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an interesting idea
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2005, 04:33:15 PM »
original military load in 8x63 was a 218 gr ball @ 2493 fps.
Length is close to the 8mm-06 but the diameter was larger.
This is a pretty substantial cartridge, but I'll bet that a 98
can handle it pretty well. I personally would not make the
conversion simply because the ammo supply will
probably dry up pretty quick
Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit
"A wise man does not pee against the wind".

Offline kevin.303

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an interesting idea
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2005, 05:51:46 PM »
i don't know about the supply drying up anytime soon, but that is the reason why i myself will proably not get one.  but even if you bought 5000 rounds fairly cheap that would last me for at least 4-5 years, especially for a shoulder thumper like that. i wouldn't go through more than 50 rounds in one outing. when the ammo runs out and if no more is available, find another barrel and return it to 8X57. hmmm, maybe i will get one.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline 1911crazy

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an interesting idea
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2005, 12:13:15 PM »
kevin303;   I think its an ok idea and maybe you can reload it too???  They do have berdan decappers.  Do they make dies for it?  Will a neck sizer from an 8mm'06 fit it??  I would research more into it because there are many ways you can go with it.  You do have options.   BigBill

Offline kevin.303

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an interesting idea
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2005, 03:19:29 PM »
i think my buddy is going to relaod it and the guy on the website i listed is, so i might do it. i've mentioned before that i want to get a '92 Winchester first and i'd like a 12 ga SxS as well. once i get that, if the ammo is still available and provided i can find a suitble rifle at the right price, i will do it. maybe i'll even try and work my way through the ed tape and import one of those $89 Turkish Mausers.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline S.S.

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an interesting idea
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2005, 05:24:59 AM »
I bought one of the M95 Steyr carbines in 8x56R for kind of the same reasons. I bought up a good supply of ammo, and when it runs out
I guess it will just be a conversation piece or I will come up with some sort of wildcat cartridge for it.
Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit
"A wise man does not pee against the wind".