9x57 or .338x57?

[lgm270]

Contemplating reboring an 8mm milsurp.  Which would be best?  

1. 338x57mm

2.  9x57  (.358x57mm)

3.  9.3x57mm

I'm kind of leaning toward the 9x57 mm at the moment.  But the lighter weight bullet  offerings in .338 cal are tempting.  It would be kind of like a super .338 Federal.  Either would be  a handloaded proposition.  I am interested in shooting cast bullets.   I know I can shoot .357 pistol bullets in  plinkers in the 9x57.

HELP! 

[mauser98us]

I'd do the 9.3,but I am biased. I would not turn down a 9mm,but your limitrd to bullets by DKT out of Michigan. Matter of fact I have some Kynoch rounds put away for when I find that affordable mauser in 9mm.

[anweis]

9.3x57 all the way.   .338 may be too close to 8mm in diameter to make for a good rebore (you said rebore, not replace barrel), 9mm rifle bullets are scarce, but 9.3 bullets, brass, and load data are available and common. Great thumper.

[lgm270]

9.3x57 all the way.   .338 may be too close to 8mm in diameter to make for a good rebore (you said rebore, not replace barrel), 9mm rifle bullets are scarce, but 9.3 bullets, brass, and load data are available and common. Great thumper.

Greetings.  You might be right about .338 being too close to .323 to accomplish a re-bore.

I would go with the 9x57.  Actually there are many bullets available because this chambering is done on a .358 " bore rather than the more traditional .355 or .356.  Therefore, any bullets available for the .358 Win or 35 Whelen can be used in the .358x57mm as it might more accurately be designated.

The 9.3 is intriguing, but the bullet choices are kind of limited and I have the impression that most are designed for 9.3x62, 9.3x64 ballistics.  Thanks for responding. Enjoyed your contribution to this thread. 

[Harry Snippe]

I do not think the 9x57 used the 358 bore bullets . Somewhere I read they are an odd ball size , so check further into that one . Check your smith maybe you could rebore to 338. Have yet to see lead bullets offered for the 338

Tradeexcanada has a good supply of 9.3x57 Mausers dirt cheap so look them up on the Web before tubing your own gun. You might just save a few $$$. Hornady makes bullets for the 9.3 cup and core at a reasonable price which is really all you need for large game. Lead too is starting to show up for sale if you look.

If you came close to the 358 W you would have a lead load friendly rifle as the 35 bore is that .

Then too there is no problem loading lead in the 8MM

[lgm270]

The traditional 9x57 is ..355 or .365" inches.  It is common for smiths and gunbuilders to use a .358" bore and have your dies ordered with a .358 expander.  There's a lot on the web about this and I've talked to gunsmiths about this.  It's commonly done.

[S.S.]

nothing wrong with 8mm mauser?

[lgm270]

nothing wrong with 8mm mauser?

I'm considering a re-bore because the 8x57 bore of this rifle is pretty well worn.  Reboring gives me a new barrel.

[Brithunter]

I do not think the 9x57 used the 358 bore bullets . Somewhere I read they are an odd ball size , so check further into that one . Check your smith maybe you could rebore to 338. Have yet to see lead bullets offered for the 338

Tradeexcanada has a good supply of 9.3x57 Mausers dirt cheap so look them up on the Web before tubing your own gun. You might just save a few $$$. Hornady makes bullets for the 9.3 cup and core at a reasonable price which is really all you need for large game. Lead too is starting to show up for sale if you look.

If you came close to the 358 W you would have a lead load friendly rifle as the 35 bore is that .

Then too there is no problem loading lead in the 8MM

  sorry but I had to laugh. 0.356" or 9mm might be odd to an American but to the Germans is was a normal measurement.  They probably thought .30 cal was odd after all that's 7.62mm a really weird size if you think about it. 5/16" or 0.312" would have really made more sense after all as it's a factional size  .

Now the 9.3x57mm is an interesting cartridge with rather surprising performance, or that is what my limited testing seems to indicate  , it really surprised me how flat it shot to 300 yards and it grouped different bullet weights in a cluster. Sighted in at 100 yards the only bullet to drop out of teh 8" grouping at 300 yards was the 286 grain RB S&B bullet. The others being S&B 193 grain flat points, 232 grain Norma, 246 grain RWS Cone Points and the 270 grain Speer.

[mauser98us]

I do not think the 9x57 used the 358 bore bullets . Somewhere I read they are an odd ball size , so check further into that one . Check your smith maybe you could rebore to 338. Have yet to see lead bullets offered for the 338

Tradeexcanada has a good supply of 9.3x57 Mausers dirt cheap so look them up on the Web before tubing your own gun. You might just save a few $$$. Hornady makes bullets for the 9.3 cup and core at a reasonable price which is really all you need for large game. Lead too is starting to show up for sale if you look.

If you came close to the 358 W you would have a lead load friendly rifle as the 35 bore is that .

Then too there is no problem loading lead in the 8MM

  sorry but I had to laugh. 0.356" or 9mm might be odd to an American but to the Germans is was a normal measurement.  They probably thought .30 cal was odd after all that's 7.62mm a really weird size if you think about it. 5/16" or 0.312" would have really made more sense after all as it's a factional size  .

Now the 9.3x57mm is an interesting cartridge with rather surprising performance, or that is what my limited testing seems to indicate  , it really surprised me how flat it shot to 300 yards and it grouped different bullet weights in a cluster. Sighted in at 100 yards the only bullet to drop out of teh 8" grouping at 300 yards was the 286 grain RB S&B bullet. The others being S&B 193 grain flat points, 232 grain Norma, 246 grain RWS Cone Points and the 270 grain Speer.

surprised? Why? It's based on the 57MM Mauser case. All give astounding performance..

[kombi1976]

9x57 sounds cool and if you were buying a classic rifle I'd go that.
But you're reboring and I'd give it a miss on those grounds.
Those .356" cal pills aren't easy to get.
If you're aiming for something easy to load I'd recommend a 358 Win more and I prefer 57mm rounds so that's an indication of how much the RWS pills cost and how hard they are to buy.
I don't know about S&B but it's an oddball outside Europe and that's what counts when you're trying to feed it.
338x57 is again a bit of a fiddly choice.
Again, I prefer 57mm cases, but 338 Fed has had some success and is available and effective......why re-invent the wheel?
Of the others 9.3x57 seems the best.
There are a wide range of bullets, the cheapest being the 270gr Speer Semi Spitzer, and it's a good round.
But if you're thinking about that cal why not see if you can fit 9.3x62 into the mag?
It's the same case head, 1mm shorter than an '06 case and they fit into a 8x57 mag.
The cases are made by Lapua and are good - I should know; I own a Tikka T3 in this chambering and it's great.
I guess what I'm saying is think about which will be most effective.
Don't make extra trouble for yourself if you don't have to.
And if you do take the extra step and go a 9.3x62 you won't look back.
It was designed as a cartridge for German farmers in Africa who needed to feed their family on antelope and bok of any description but would also be powerful enough with a well placed shot to take any dangerous game up to and including elephant.
You will find it in your hand much more often than you suspect, expecially if it's a in a light to medium weight rifle.