Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 8x68

Hello all,
My friend is contempating doing a 8x68.I don't know too much about this cartdidge so any info you all have would be great.
Pros, cons?
Thanks Dave

The 8x68S is a high performance cartridge that was developed in Germany in the late '30's. What action is your friend thinking about using? Its rim diameter is around .510-.512" which puts it in between the standard and belted magnum. This is no big deal, as you can simply open up the bolt face and extractor. Cartridge OAL can also be somewhat tricky depending on the bottom metal used. I think to take full advantage of the cartridge, bullets need to be seated so OAL is around 87-88 mm. This could be too long for a standard size mag box. Factory ammo is scarce and pricey. I am speaking from this side of the border - it may be a different situation in Canada. You guys seem to get a lot of cool things we can't. New brass is still available and I would recommend RWS. Their 8x68S brass may be the toughest, sturdiest around. It's a very cool cartridge - I had wanted to build one while in gunsmithing school but ran out of time. I would suggest a 1-10" twist (if you can get it, an 11" twist would be ideal) as this will stabilize heavier 8mm bullets.

he is thinking of useing a winchester classic or a cz.I think he will use whatever he gets his mits on first.Any idea on fps with the 8x68s?is it a lot more then a 325 wsm?

Either of those actions should be fine. Realistically, the 8x68S can reach 2700 FPS with a 220-gr. bullet and push 2900 FPS with a 200-gr. In essence, it duplicates 8mm Rem. Mag. and 325 WSM performance.

Running at the same presures the 8X68 will best the WSM. My guess would be about 100FPS. Full case capacity is about 6 grains (water) more with the 8X68.

One thing to keep in mind is brass will be hard to find and expensive when you do find it. I'm in the same boat. I bought a 8X64s Brenneke earlier this year. Finding brass and dies has been a pain in the butt! I finally found 80 pieces of Bertrem and now have a set of dies. It wasn't easy and it wasn't cheap.

Terry

Sweden actually ordered some K 98s and chambered them in 8x68. I believe they fielded some machine guns in that caliber and wanted the rifles carried by the other soldiers in those squads to be able to use the same ammunition.

That makes the 8x68 the most powerful cartridge ever fielded in a regular battle rifle.

I thought that was the 8x63 Swedish. To my knowledge, the 8x68S was solely designed and used as a commercial hunting round.

Huntingtons has 8x68S brass for around $32 - 20. Not cheap by any means but easy to find.

TC1 - 8x64 Brenneke is a nice round. Any pics or links to an old thread?

Here ya go. It's a 1956 BRNO ZG-47 in 8x64s Brenneke. Kinda of a rare bird over here.

The neatest thing about this rifle is if you look close you can see the rifle was used a lot. The bluing on the handle is very thin. But, who ever owned it took very good care of it. There is hardly a blemish on it. I think it was evident to the original owner that he had something special. IMO, these were the nicest production Mausers ever made.

These were taken right after I purchaced the rifle. It wears a fixed 4X S&B scope now.

Terry

I think you must be right. I googled a little after I wrote that and couldn't find anything. Sorry, it was a good story anyway.

It seems to me that I once saw a Weatherby Mark V in 8x68
several years ago, or maybe it was a 8mm Magnum. Most likely
a custom job.

one thing I would caution you about, just because it's listed at huntingtons doesn't mean it's in stock. Also a lot of brass is formed and doesn't have the proper head stamp. Varify before you purchase.


Terry

The 8x68 will land power wise between the 235 WSM and the 8mm Mag. That makes it more than adequate for all north american game and most of African game. If I was doing it I would go with the 8mm mag as every thing to do with it is readily available and cheaper. Or neck the 375 Ruger down to 8mm and call it the 8mm wapiti

8mmwapiti

I have an 8x68s that I built on a Sako LH AV Magnum action,
Barrel is a 25.5" Lilja or 650mm which is the standard bbl length for that cartridge. If you use a magnum action you may want to have the extractor modified a bit so it will catch the smaller case rim. This is easily done. I love my 8x68s but I had to wait 6mos. before Huntington's or anyone else had RWS cases in stock. I now have 200 new cases so I'm set for awile, (caution, they're pricey). I have used reformed 8x68s from 300 Ultra Mag. Too much inconsistency. Some cases wouldn't chamber for being too long etc. So watch out if you go that route from Buffalo Arms. Good Luck, it's a great cartridge.

Need to reactivate this:

I get about 3000 fps with a Nosler Partition and RWS brass and IMR 4831. So it beats both the 8RM and the 325 WSM, Same powder capacity as the WSM, 10% less than the 8 RM, efficient case, but prone to metal flow into the neck.
Ralph MArtini in Cranbrook is an importer for RWS brass and has a good stock. So it is reasonably easy to get for Canadians.

Had a 8x68S built on a pre 64 M-70 awhile back. Wicked accurate. Not saying the cartridge is accurate on it's own but the smith did one hell've job spec'ing out the reamer based on RWS brass. Also had a FL custom die made for it. Have taken two elk with it and practiced on a bunch of hogs. Chunks the 200 TSX very well at 3K. The only con would be brass IMO. To sum it up, you can get a 30 cal mag that will do the same for a lot less trouble and money but if you want an eight this is the one to build.

They did some Mark V's in 8x68 for the Euro market. They pop up from time to time on the auctions for around 2K. I want one badly...