Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles What is the best bullet weight in 8x57mm?

What bullet weight gives the best long-range trajectory avoiding mid-range misses for an 8x57mm?<P>I just bought 3 Yugo M48A Mausers in 8x57mm. One is going to stay packed in cosmoline, one is going to be fitted with a peep-sight, and one is going to be drilled & tapped for a scope, get the bolt bent, and be fitted with a synthetic stock for use as a deer and elk gun.<P>I'm looking for the best bullet weight that can be used for deer and elk, and have good energy out to 350 yards or so. Thanks in advance. Justin

P.S. I should have mentioned that I have ordered 8x57mm dies and will be reloading for the caliber. If you have any good loads that you'd like to mention, please don't hesitate, although I do know that each rifle is different. Thanks again. Justin

If it were mine, I'd try the Barnes "X" in the 180 gr. weight. Barnes says you can get almost 2800 fps. with that bullet. That means it will fly flat enough to give you a point blank range of, say, 250 yds. <BR> Nosler makes a 200 gr. Partition bullet, and Swift makes their famous A-Frame in that weight as well, if the "X" doesn't suit you. E

The 8 x 57 is NOT a 350 yard Elk Rifle.<P>The Barnes X bullets will be great, and also you might try the 185 gr Pt SP Remington Core Lokt. They are cheap from Midway.

Thanks for the info., guys. I was actually going through my reloading manuals last night, as well as catalogs from the companies that sell bullets, and the Barnes X and the 185 gr. Core-Lokt did catch my eye, as well as the 200 grain Partition. I'll probably order all three of them and try them for accuracy, though I've never used Barnes X's before.<P>Terry, can you elaborate a little on why the 8x57 won't work for elk out to 350? At what ranges would you feel comfortable using the cartridge for elk? Not disputing, just looking for more info., as it seems somewhere I've read that you've used the 8x57 on game. Thanks, again. Justin

Justin:<P>I feel that a bnullet should have at least 2,000 ft lbs of energy for Elk. <P>A 300 Win shooting a 180 Partition at 2,900 fps has 2,181 lb at 300 yards. <P>A 8 x 57 with a 200 gr Partition would have to start at the muz at 3,000 fps to get 2,089 ft lbs at 300 yards.<P>Since you are only going to get about 2,500 fps at the muz, you will have only 1,977 ft lbs at 200 yards.<P>Hence I feel that 200 yards is the max you should be shooting Elk at.<P>Hope this explains it.<P>Terry

I might add that they are big, tough animals. They have been known to take a lung shot and travel 300 yds. And fanny shots don't work well with almost everything. Too much tough critter to shoot through. Your talking about an animal that weighs 3-4 times what a deer does. We don't hunt them with rifles 3-4 times as powerful as our average deer rifles. Hence the recommendation of the premium bullets, and thoughtful shooting. Anything over 200 yds. is a long shot in my book. E

Guys, thanks for the insight and additional info. Looks like this is an elk gun for shortrange shots only, which means it's really not an elk gun at all. Should make a pretty good deer gun, though. Thank you again. Justin