Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why not the 8mm Rem Mag

Just curious why the big 8 never took off.I realize the 8mm caliber has never been big in North America but the ballistic's are quite capable for all of our large game.Could it be poor bullet selection or was it the already proven 338 Win everybody was after I don't know?It seems like a great cartridge.Any insight from hunter's who have used it would be great. MERRY CHRISTMAS ......7

It's a heck of a good cartridge but America is 30 caliber country for the most part and the Super 8 had the 338 Win Mag on the other side. It like the 284 Win deserved better buts that's the way life is.....

IMO it is basically a 300 Wby with a slight variation. I believe that for the most part these rounds that are inbetweeners are just gonna have a tough time making it.

Are they good rounds, sure you bet. But it does not offer anything you couldn't already get with the 300 Wby or with the 338 or the 340.

And I do believe at the time it came out there wasn't much for good heads for it. I also believe if there had been it still would not of been long for this world.

Mark D

8mm bullet selection is lame, compared to .308 and .338.

part of it could also stem from the fact that 8mm was 'the enemy's' caliber.

Look how long it took for 7.62x39 to catch on in this country, and it still carries a stigma.

Bullet selection?

Maybe the new .325 WSM will help the 8mm bullet selection. I think that the .308 case and the .32/8mm bullet is the perfect short action cartridge for US game.

George

Even the metric designation may have put folks off. But I think you guys are right with the bullet selection. Even the old 8X57 is a great cartridge, but like someone said, it belonged to the enemy.

It sure spawned a few good offspring though -- the 7 STW and some of the Alaskan stuff too IIRC. (358 STA ??)

I tend to agree with the 8mm-08 as being a great all around cartridge.With the new 338 Federal I can see the 8mm 08 being past over.But like you said the 325 WSM should breath some new life in 8mm bullet selection.

I think by the time people got to the magnum action they just went .375 H&H..

Mike

A quick look thru the Midsouth catalog shows an abundance of 8m/m hunting weight bullets that would cover everything from tit mouse thru Brown Bears. I'm thinking bullet selection is the least of the 8 mag's problems...

Today we have the bullets.But back in 1978 when the cartridge was intruduced there was very little for the 8mm.

"Just curious why the big 8 never took off."

Besides the fact that it was 19 years too late and required a .375H&H length action?

Yes the 338 coming out has alot to do with it.Why does everybody dread the longer 375 magnum action.Please don't try to sell me the 06 lenght action is more accurate. Lighter stiffer yes shorter throw yes but that's about it .Why is everybody against the long action?In the same breath when 284 win and the 257 Roberts came out in the short action everybody screamed they should have come produced with the longer 06 action. It's the pot calling the kettle black...........MERRY CHRISTMAS 7

7 STW,

If the folks who talked about -06 length actions are using Remington, they have .375 length actions.

Yes, the lack of bullets is the main reason that the 8mmRem.
did not do well. Of course, the lack of good marketing did not
help, plus the round was underloaded.

Now handloaders have the bullets, but you could Wildcat the RUM case & have a screamer. If Nosler would bring out a 220
Grain Accubond, you would have the ballistics of a 300 RUM with the 200 Accubond & the energy of a 340 Wea. Magnum. Keep in mind the 338 Rum is a shorter case than the 300, in this case you could use the 300 case. I have what I need so I don't care if it happens but the potential is there!

Good call Ringman

Ringman contends that the Remington action for the .30-06 will accept a .375H&H cartridge and I have no reason to doubt him. But in my favorite action, the Ruger, the .375H&H action is longer.

To me rifles are a tool and I appreciate well-designed tools. Ideally the action should be long enough but not excessively long, stiff enough to assure good to excellent accuracy and no heavier than necessary � especially since I tend to carry mine up and down Colorado�s mountains. I don�t need or want a 10-pound Ruger in .375H&H length for my purposes.

Oh, and my Ruger .257 Roberts IS built on a .30-06-length action.

Merry Christmas!

Good question. It has some outstanding numbers. A 220 gr bullet zipping along at 2900-3000'/sec is respectible. The 300 mags can't match this. It's just a 375 H&H necked down. I only hunt WTD so I don't need one. If I lived in AK, I think it would be on my A list. Regards, Rick.

Loaded with 150gr Sierras, the 8mm Rem. mag makes a dandy long range whitetail whacker. Watched my huntin' pard kill several at ranges to 500 yards, something he once used his 40XB in 7mm Rem. mag for in the pre-8mm days.

Loaded with the bullets it was originally intended for, I expect it would kill just about anything that trods on the earth, at least in North America anyway. What's not to like?
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