Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

Bought one of these today! I traded in a long misbehaving Ruger M77 MkII .30-06. I won't bash Ruger here, because every manufacturer can turn out a lemon once in awhile, and from what I hear most folks who have Rugers don't have the accuracy problems I had. I worked on that rifle for 3 years, trying everything imagineable on the rifle and with handloads to no avail[>:], so it is time to let someone else get a good deal and have a crack at it. Too bad; that was a pretty rifle, just couldn't shoot it in public[&o]. Always had to bring one of my other rifles to convince me that it wasn't just me.[:@]

Anyway, I get to pick up the classic in ten days. It is a beautiful rifle:D, more like my Ruger was in appearance than my 700 BDL. It has a 24" barrel, a bit longer than most of the standard caliber rifles these days. Of course with 8mm Mauser factory loads it will be the ballistic equivalent of the .30-30 so I will neeed ot handload for it to realize it's potential. This should be fun.

Like I said, it breaks my heart to part with my Ruger, but this one rifle must have been born bad. I plan to save up for another Ruger someday, perhaps in 7x57 or some other interesting caliber.

Does anybody have a favorite load for their 8mm Mauser?

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

yes as a matter of fact i do have a favorite load. I shoot a czech military mauser which I sporterized. I agree the factory loads are a little weak. The load which I have had the most luck with is a 180 grain Nosler boat tail ballistic tip, this is a hard hitting deadly load. I use 48 grains of IMR 4064 powder, again, this is my favorite powder for the 8x57. Seat the bullet to an overall length of around 3.100.
Good Luck, the 8mm is a great round.

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

Thanks 31pointer, I will definitely give this load a try (I'll work up from a bit lower and refer to the proper reloading manuals of course!) IMR 4064 is a favorite powder of mine also. In terms of accuracy it has performed well for my on several different rifles in .30-06, .243 and 6.5 Swede.

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

Great rifle, great caliber.

After takeing quite a few animials with my 8x57jrs, (from coyotes, to moose and bear) useing 200 grain NP's loaded to 2550 fps, i can say it truely is a good all around cartridge.

Yes, 200 grain bullets are on the heavy side for deer sized animials, but i prefer to have "one load" for each of my rifles, and the 200 NP truely fills that bill excelently in 8mm!!!! They do an EXCELENT job on deer!!

I have no reason to change a thing in mine!!!

I shot this "meat buck" a few days ago, with the above load, at just under 150 yards.

Drilling Man

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

The 7X57 can shoot! I have had two Rugers in this caliber, plus three Mausers (two Oberndorfs, one Venez. M 24 FN). All sohot well, but the Rugers have bee superb. Sorry to hear of your difficulties with your Ruger '06. But now you can cook up some loads for your 8X57 that will be as good as any .30/'06! Here's three shots from my Ruger No. 1A, 140-grain Nosler @ 2998 FPS using WW 760 and Fed. 210 primers. It has always shot like this, with all bullet weights from 140 up thru 175-grains.

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

I am using 52.0 grains of IMR 4350 behind a 200 grain partition. In the past I have had great luck with 150 grain hornadies for accurate deer loads. Just start trying there arent a whole lot of bullets out there!

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

Thanks for the tips guys! I am definitely taking notes here. The 150 grain Hornady bullets are fairly easy to come by where I live. I'm glad to hear that these can be reasonably accurate with the right load. I've not had good luck accuracy-wise in my .30-06 loads.

Unfortunately, as far as gun stores go, there isn't as much to choose from in Southern California as there once was, thanks to a hostile regulatory environment. Of course one can always order online from Midway, which is probably what I will do, but I do like to patronize the local gun stores whenever feasible.

Has anyone ever tried the Remington 185 grain pointed soft point Core Lokt bullets in their handloads?

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

I have tried 150 hornadies and killed deer and got 1/2" groups, I have tried 175 sierras and got 1.5" groups and killed deer, i have tried 170 winchester pp with about 1.5" groups (no deer), and tried the partition load this year which i plan to use as my go-to load. I have a buddy who swears by the 180 nosler BT in his 8x57. The 8 is a great hunting gun and is very accurate IMO and is fun to reload for, especially with the performance increase from factory loads. Good luck. Oh yeah i have never tried the rem bullets, but they should work well also with handloads.

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

I use 170 gr hornady rn bullets with 50 gr 4064 and fed 210 primer. Very accurate out to 200 yards with all of my 8mms.

RE: Remington 700 Classic in 8x57mm Mauser
 

Well, I picked the rifle up Tuesday after the State of California concluded its ten day investigation as to my fitness to purchase firearms.:eek: I mounted the Zeiss Conquest scope salvaged from my Ruger, boresighted, and made it to the range Saturday. I used factory loads to sight in, two boxes of Remington 170 grain round nosed Core Lokts. One box was purchased in the early 1980s and stored in the house all these years, the other was fresh last week.

The old ammo was frightening![:'(] Twelve of twenty case necks split and accuracy was horrible. I cleaned frequently between shots as the barrel is brand new, but I fired ten rounds of the new stuff without cleaning the last of the old out. The cases all held together on the new stuff, but it wasn't until I cleaned again that the last ten shots started falling into place. I must say that the last two five shot groups were great, for factory loads anyway. The old stuff must have used a lot of very brittle brass, as it was worse than lots of WWII surplus 8mm and .303 that I shoot. Happens, I guess.

My Midway shipment of bullets, cases and reloading book for 8mm haven't gotten here yet. This rifle is begging for a good handload. The factory loads would be fine for deer out to 150 yards or so, but they are really a bit mild in my opinion for hunting hogs.

This should be a fun project.

Thanks to all who shared their favorite 8mm load, by the way!