Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 8x57 Military Barrel - Stabilization Issues With Smaller Bullets?

I'm going to hunt with a Mauser for at least a few days this season and am in the process of working through different loads to pick my favorite. Has anyone tried 150 grain bullets in a 8x57 military barrel?

Thanks for any experience or insight.

Best -
Andy

I have tried them and my rifle did not like them at all. I do not have a scope on this rifle but I do have peep sight on it. I get 2.5 - 3 inch groups with 200 gr S&B factory loads. I have not reloaded for this rifle yet.

If I rememmber correctly these rifles were designed for 200 gr. bullets.

I shoot the sierra 150, speer 150 and the hornahay 150 bullets. I load them at only a 1/4" in the neck. this moves them closer to the lands for better accuracy. I also shoot the 150's in my 8mm-06 and the 8mm/300 winny. I have no problems. Just my .035 worth. Dave

When I first started loading the 8x57 it was for a 23 inch military barrel. Eventually tried 150 grainers after doing a lot with Speer 170 gr. and Sierra 175 gr. stuff. Had real good results with the 150 gr. Sierra spitzer (#2400) and H-380 as the propellant. Also had pretty good luck with the 150 gr. Hornady S.P. Interlock (#3232) with IMR-4064. There was a thread here at the campfire recently about 8x57 loads and I put my two cents into that one but there was also a lot of others who put a lot of good info in. My favorite 8x57 150 grain load is now the Sierra 150 gr. Spitzer in front of 53 grains of H-380 with a Federal GM-210M primer. It's a couple grains or so below max in my old Sierra manual and still averages a little under 2700 fps from a 23 inch barrel.

Looks like you meant lighter bullets not smaller ones, but most M98s in 8x57 will shoot 150gr bullets as well as anything else. As mentioned, 150gr Sierra and Speer bullets are good choices for deer, although I had some issues with older Speers not expanding well on whitetails years ago.

The lightest bullet commonly available for the 8x57, is the Hornady 125gr Spire Point. That is the most accurate bullet tried in my 20" barreled M98 (original military barrel, cut to 20") and all I use in it now for deer. Three well inside an inch at 100 yards is SOP for that load (Harris, rear bag from the bench).

I've shot some lighter (125 and 150) 8mm out of my Yugo M48a and they do just fine.

Thanks, to all of you. I read the other thread, but found only a few references specifically to military barrels, and they reappeared here, so I apologize for that, but I wanted to specify the barrel in this post. I've been told, repeatedly, that the military barrels wouldn't stabilize the shorter (is that an acceptable compromise, dube? ) bullets due to rate of twist and chamber. I wasn't going to go buying a box of bullets just to find out I couldn't get them to shoot. The barrel on this 98 has also been cut down by a prior owner, so the reference to the 125 in the 20" barrel is particularly appropriate. I appreciate the prior experience. That's precisely what I was looking for!

Best -
Andy

At one time, the 8mm Mauser used a 154 grain bullet and did just fine. The rifling of a military 8mm is usually 1:9.45� which is pretty tight. Rarely have I experienced situations where over-stabilization is an issue, so I�d recommend shooting the 150�s. If the first box of 150�s don�t work, just try another load.

The main reason why military Mausers are persnickety about lighter bullets is not because of twist rates, but rather chamber and throat dimensions. Military rifles tend to have rather generous chambers and throats to accommodate high volume shooting and general muck encountered during combat. The 197 grain bullets shoot better typically because they stick out closer to the lands. If you�re a handloader, simply seat your bullets out far and you should be fine. If not, you may have to try a few different loads before you find one that shoots well.

My 125gr Hornady load measures 2.910 OAL and the 150gr Sierras run 2.950 OAL (both with R-P cases). The M98 with the bobbed barrel, is of 1939 vintage (never did figure out which factory made it) and was a war bring-back that I sportificated about 20 years ago.

In hindsight, should've let it be, as all numbers matched and it was in excellent mechanical condition, with laminated stock (almost zero metal finish left, though).

Since it is far more accurate with the 125s than it ever was with either of the 150s I used for years, have stuck with the 125gr bullet. The deer don't seem to care, as all that have been whacked with the 125gr Hornady, fell over dead on the spot...just like they did with the 150s.

My old Lyman manual lists my load of IMR 4064 at close to 2900fps, (from a M98 w/23" barrel according to the manual), but I've never chronographed them. They're accurate and deadly enough on deer to suit me.

That rifle is also fairly light (for a M98 anyway) and recoil with the 125s is barely noticeable. The old-style walnut Fajen sporter stock has been shortened and lightened, still has the cheesy plastic Fajen butt plate on 'er.

I have a sporterized Gew. 98. I tried several different 150 gr. bullets in it and never got better than about 3-4 minute groups. With the 170 Hornady RN and the 175 Sierra Spitzer, it is an honest 1 MOA rifle with five-shot groups. Very surprising to me.

Maybe a couple test boxes of Quality Cartridge loads are in order, after all. If they do well, then I'll order up some bullets in the weight that seems to have the most potential. It's going to be used on hogs and deer only, so the 125's will be fine if they prove better. This rifle originally was in a Fajen sporter stock when I got my hands on it, same plastic butt plate and plastic forend cap. But, it was a lefty stock so I replaced it with new wood and a nice soft Decelerator. If I can get it where I want it to be for accuracy, the rifle will be used by my 90 lb son and I both next year, so for his sake, I'm looking for less recoil than the big 180-200 gr bullets produce. Before I load down, I'm going to try the 125-150 size fare and gauge whether or not he'll be comfortable with it.

Thanks again, to all.

- Andy

My rifle was originally built for my son, who was 14 at the time and mighta weighed 85lbs soakin' wet. Intended to install a recoil pad, but he didn't want one on it, so it never got one. Still shooting 150gr Sierras in it, back then.

Cut the crappy black forend cap off the Fajen and reshaped the stock to be a tad thinner than it was originally, then finished it in multiple coats of tungoil. This was one of the semi-inletted Fajens they sold years ago, with the rough exteriors.

I "inherited" it when he quit hunting for a few years in his late 20s, now he thinks it's his again. ;O)

I use it after he goes home from deer camp, since he only hunts for two days and I stay for almost two weeks. Was tempted to offer you a dozen 125s to try out, then went out in the shop and realized I need to get on the stick and load some for this December and only have several dozen 125s left in the box.

Sounds like we're in a remarkably similar boat, just a few years apart. No worries on the 125's, but thanks for the thought. I've got a call in to Quality Cartridge already, so when they call me back, I'll see what I can get together. I doubt they'll have any of the 125's on the shelf, so I'll have to wait for them to load them up. No big deal. The idea obviously has potential, so the boat will float.

Another way to go to suit both yourself and your son might be to buy some Remington or Winchester 170 gr. loads for him.Typically they are light loaded due to legal issues of all the older guns in 8x57 out there,many of them with .318 bores instead of .323.
Often those loads will shoot with fair accuracy,but comparitively mild recoil.
Then find some Pr'vi Partisan or Sellier & Bellot 196 gr.loads for yourself.They are usually very accurate in military barrels,have plenty of punch,and velocity is good enough to not be a problem out to 200-250 yds.The two loads often shoot fairly close out to 100 yds or a bit more.
As an aside,if you can find some of the old Hornady 150 gr.RN bullets somewhere,grab them.In several different loads they have been far and away the most accurate bullets I've ever used in my several 8mm rifles,and are dynamite on deer.

Some years ago I had the loan of a very nice sporterized M98 from a neighbor, that had a Lyman 57 on it and a Timney trigger adjusted to perfection. Never did take it hunting while I had it, but did shoot it several times at the range.

With some 60s-vintage Federal 170gr factory loads, that rifle was pretty much dead-on at 100 yards. With my 150gr Sierra loads, it shot an inch to the right and three inches high at 100 yards, but it would put three of them into a very tight group from a rest.

Not a real bit of science, but it kinda gave me an idea of how much difference there was in factory loads and my own loads, which weren't particularly "hot". Three inches is a pretty substantial improvement at 100 yards, near's I can tell.

I wanted that rifle in the worst way, but eventually the neighbor wanted it back and refused to part with it again.