Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 8x57 for plains game

A few friends are talking of africa and planning a plains game trip. I’ve either used or seen used 7-08, 308, ‘06, 7 mag, 300 wby and 8mm mag on plains game. I’ve recently gotten a very nice 700 classic in 8x57 that just seems to me needs to be taken. Then I saw I could drive a 180TSX to 2700fps or so and it just didn’t seem like there could be a much better combination. But then again a 200gr partition would awfully interesting as well. Anyone ever use either of these?

Sorry if it’s been asked before but if it has I couldn’t find the thread.

I have a 1928 Heym Combo gun in 8x57J/16 bore that's made the trip once. Just factory S&B soft nose ammo and worked just fine on PG up to mountain zebra. Been used with little issue for 100+ yrs. Loaded with modern TSX/Partitions is even more better. Take it, have fun and make some great memories using a "classic" caliber.

The 8x57 can certainly make a good plains game gun with a variety of bullets available now. The 195 gr. Hornady is a good start. The TSX you mentioned, Noslers etc. I killed my first ( and still my best) Kudu withy an open sighted 8x57 shooting bullets that were old school compared to what's out there now.

The 8X57 is an excellent cartridge. Not very popular in the USA because we have the 30-06, but it's totally capable. For practical purposes it will do all the 30-06 will do about as well.

I killed some deer, some antelope and also some elk with my 8MM Mauser carbine and I have found the 170 grain SST to be exceptionally accurate but NOT a good choice for elk. Too frangible. Good enough for game up to about 200 pounds but over that I would choose something else.

But the 200 grain Nosler Partitions work perfectly and leave nothing to be desired. I also have some 180 grain Hornady GMX bullets loaded but so far I have not killed any game with them.

I really wish Nosler would make a .323" 170 grain Partition. But the 200 is just fine so maybe I should be quiet and just use it. The 170 gr SSTs are faster and flatter, but so far no shot I ever needed to take was too far for the 200 grain on any game. And so far all my kills have been 1 shot kills except for 1 bull elk I killed with it. That one was hit with 2 of the SSTs I mentioned above. I got him killed, but the performance of the 170 SST was not anywhere near as good as the 200 Gr,. Partitions I use later. On deer the Partitions work perfectly and the SSTs drop them fast, but the SSts do damage more meat at times.
Another one I'd love to try out is Nosler's 180 grain Ballistic Tip, but I have never seen a box of them for sale. I assume they do make them, but I've never even seen one.

The 180 gr Ballistic Tip worked fine for us out of this Erfurt Mauser.

The only bullet I’ve killed things with out of a 8x57 is the 200 grain partition, the biggest was a caribou at about 200 yards. Function as expected with the moderate velocity range was textbook.

I think the 8x57 would serve you well. There may be better hunting bullets for certain applications than the partition but the partition is never a wrong choice for a hunting bullet.

Benbo, every cartridge you mentioned, including 8x57, are fine for Plains Game. If you’re hunting eland, the 30’s and larger might be preferred but any of them will do the job with quality Bullets put in the right place.

Used the rem Classic in 8x57 my first trip over. shot the Sierra 175 Pro Hunters, 4320, 2850 fps. Black Wildebest, Gemsbok, Worthogs, Springbok, Blesbok, Mountain Reed bok. No problems incountered. I used the Sierras bacause they have worked so well for me in that cartridge, as well as in others.

BTB, the 06 barrel shoots awesome. Thanks again.

Launching 200gr Partitions in Africa sounds like a good time.

In countries with a colonial German influence like Namibia, the 8x57JS is a standard, well proven cartridge and is used for all plains game. It's traditionally used with 198 grain bullets, not the lighter bullets currently fashionable in North America. When used with proper handloads or European CIP standard hunting loads, it's certainly suitable, just not well known as such in the USA. Either the 180TSX or the 200 gr, partition would be a fine choice. Good luck on your safari.

Every time I’ve gone over there I’ve always used a TSX or TTSX Of some sort. My dad used 200gr partitions in his 300wby once, of course they performed perfectly. I use a lot of plane Jane hornady bullets here in the states and I can’t imagine that a 195 hornady at the mild velocity an 8x57 operates at would be a bad choice. I know I’ll shoot more stuff than I plan but a Nyala is about the last animal on my list of needs. I absolutely trust the barnes bullets but it would be nice to try something different.

I settled on the 180gn Nosler Ballistic Tip in mine. That is a great bullet and just ploughs through pigs from any angle and exits. Though they'd be like hen's teeth at the moment..................unobtanium.

Some few years back, member BFaucett took an 8x57 chambered 700 Classic to Africa and bumped off an impressive string of trophies with it. I do not recall what bullet he used, but I enjoyed the thread thoroughly because I was having a spell for one of those Classics. Never did get around to one, but maybe one day.

szihn,

The 180-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip is one of the heavy-jacket models, where the jacket's weight is about 3/4 of the total bullet. It acts very much like a Partition on game, especially at 8x57 velocities.

I was throwing them at 2600 fps due to the Erfurt small ring large barrel action and 21" barrel. Anyway they killed just fine.

The 195 gr Hornady loaded to about 2,500 fps is a capable round with 2,700+ foot-pounds of energy at muzzle, and it approximates the traditional European 196 gr loads. It's one of my favorites for the 8X57IRS in that my three Mausers all have open sights and are scoped in QD mounts. The open sights came nearly dead on at 100 yards with Norma 196gr ammo that travels at a published 2,510 FPS at muzzle. The rifles are all 98 Mauser Husqvarnas, two on FN commercial actions and one on a former military FN action.

This can be pretty handy when going into the thickest cover after a critter, especially a wounded one.

Excellent cartridge and usually highly accurate. Basically a ballistic brother to the .30-06 and easy to reload.

EdM,

A friend uses the 180 BT in his .321 "J" bore drilling, after sizing them down. He loads them to around 2600 fps, if I recall correctly, and has killed a bunch of plains game with it. (Oh, and a lot of birds with the 16-gauge shotgun barrels!)

Might take my own 16x16/8x57JRS drilling to Africa one of these days. The .323 "S" bores aren't common in drillings, for whatever weird German reason, but lucked out when buying one from luv2safari. If I do, the 180 Ballistic Tip would be on the short list....

I'd be happy to join you, John, on such a a hunt. I have a Walther Model B 8x57 that appears unfired. It is not D&T's and my eyes don't work with the opens... I know little on the rifle. Maybe an article?







It's brother, also bought in Alberta, a 7x57 both bought when we lived in Calgary. Passed on to my youngest son.

Nice rifles, Ed!

Can you shoot aperture irons? One of the local gunsmiths I use, John LcLaughlin, makes a replica of the Rigby cocking-piece sight. (John was selected to join the Custom Gunmakers Guild a year or two ago: https://www.mclaughlinmetalworks.com/)

Yes I can. I'll look into that sight. I recall reading about it, or one like it, in the past.

It appears that he is sold out on everything.

I looked for that a year ago and it was discontinued. I had bought 2 boxes 3 or 4 years ago and wanted a couple more.

ETA it's export-only. Not available here in the USA. https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/8x57-js-195-gr-sp-custom-international#!/

This thread has me excited about shooting an 8X57 if I get drawn this season. Meantime I'll drag all three out and test loads. I found I have two boxes of Combined Technology 180gr Ballistic Silvertips in the back of my cabinet and an older bulk box of Hornadys from Midway. I'll start with some 195 Hornadys and see which gun shoots best then try the 180s in it. I like both bullets in general. 47gr of H4895 under the 180s and 50gr of Ram Big game under the 195s...

Ed,

Yeah, like everybody else making stuff for the shooting world these days, demand is too high to keep up. Am hoping to have John put one of those sights on one of my rifles sometime, but it probably won't happen before this fall....

Here’s an idea…. We all go, take different loads/bullets in our 8mm’s and see which works better!

I’m sure at the velocities the old war horse operates at there are no bad bullets…. But inquiring minds…

There is nothing I wouldn't hunt in NA with an 8x57, I'm not sure how to applies to Africa, but there it is.

Shooing a 200 grain Nosler partition, there is no animal on earth of 1500 pound or less I would not hunt with a 8X57.
It may not be my #1 choice for some game, but it's 100% adequate for every game of that weight or less.

Lucky enough to have three of this caliber... all Military Mausers... a Cz 24, a German built Mauser and a Turkish one...
two with 29 inch barrels and one with the 24 inch barrel ( the CZ)..

I've tried a couple of different bullets with them... but the bullet that turned out to be the sleeper, and is the ONE bullet I buy regularly
is the good ol Speer 170 grain SMP...it opens up at low velocity.. and hangs tough at higher velocity....

I have no desire to go to Africa... in fact for the same reasons I have no real desires to even go to Oakland....but for anything I've taken the 8 x 57 o the hunt.. it just plain works.... especially with that Speer Bullet.... I've used their 200 grain bullet also... and it does a good job.. but I just really like that 170 SMP....

Last deer that one of mine, I had taken out one of my Senior Boy Scouts who had just earned his Eagle Scout rank. He is like 6 ft 4 at 17 y/o..

We were hunting at woods ranges.. what I call 30/30 range.... load used for him was just 30 grains of 4198....he took a large blacktail, at about 75 yds... when hit in the vitals, the deer did a button hook run or many 20 yrds and was down for the count....about 160 lbs on the hoof IIRC...

it was his first deer... he wanted me to let him buy the Mauser.... I wasn't wanting to let it go.... but did look and find him one that I got for a couple of hundred bills in very nice shape... complete with Bayonet on it...a 17 yr old boy just loved that...He doesn't take the bayonet out hunting...
but he sure loves to show his friends or take a picture with the rifle and that Bayonet on it...This one was a Turkish made Mauser also...

I just love these old Mauser action rifles.....

I concur

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I put a lot of “ Whup” on elk with the above.

Hitler post office Mauser.

48 gr. H 4895. CCI 250 primer.

EdM
Could you please tell us about that beautiful little rifle!!!

The Boers in OFS and Transvaal etc. proved the Mauser fit for anything they ran across, albeit the 7 x 57. Anything you hunt in RSA short of cape buffalo will succumb to the 8 x 57.

In a 700 Classic I'd be likely to load the 200 grain Partition, not being afraid to load to full throttle in a 700.

Dang, I didn't expect this to be mentioned after all these years.

It was in South Africa way back in 2005. I took a CZ 550 American in 9.x62 as my primary rifle and a Rem 700 Classic in 8x57JS as a backup. I mainly used the 9.3x62 but I did take a couple of Impala and two Warthog culls (for the land owner) with the 8x57.

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy so just for fun, and a sense of nostalgia, I used a Woodleigh 220 gr Round Nose at approx 2400 fps muzzle velocity (rounded off, chronographed average - 10 shots). The rifle and load performed well but that's really no big surprise. (On my previous trip in 2002, I used a Ruger M77 Mk II in .30-06 with a Woodleigh 220 gr Round Nose at 2460 fps. I only took the .30-06 on that trip.)

A few pics with the Rem 700 Classic 8x57:








The handloads I used on the trip:




IMHO, a high sectional density, round nose bullet at around 2300 - 2400 fps muzzle velocity works well in the bushveld. Just like the same recipe has for the last 100 years or so. Some examples: 7x57 175 gr, .30-06 220 gr, .318 Westley Richards 250 gr, 9.3x62 286 gr, .416 Rigby 410 gr, etc. The only change I made from "doing it old school style" was in using a bonded core bullet.

As most sources state that the 8x57JS and the 9.3x62 were both introduced in 1905 and my trip was in 2005, I like to think of that trip as my Sentimental Centennial Safari.

Cheers! Bob F.