Favorite load

47 grains of Varget under a 175 grain bullet. Case I'm not picky about because I'm shooting it out of military rifles. Mostly a mix of Prvi and cases that I made myself out of Greek HXP 30-06.

Frankly even the bullet is kind of fungible. The load holds decently for anything between 170 and 180 grains. It's not what I'd call a match load, but it will out shoot surplus handily.

edit: that said, that's mostly me being lazy and not wanting to bother doing ladders for other bullet weights. At 175 grains it's pretty spot on out of a K98k barrel.

edit 2: soft enough that it treats the G/K43 well too, with the gas system dialed in.
 
What are you trying to do with this favorite load ? 100 yard bench rest for accuracy , 300 yard , hunting deer , large game , cans at 40 yards , hitting a barn from the inside ?
 
I have been shooting 198 grain PPU projectiles, FMJ’s, over 38 grains of H335…. I don’t have a chronograph so 🤷🏻‍♂️ maybe it’s a light load but it shoots well out of my K98’s and cycles the semi auto fine. No signs of excess pressure
 
If you really want to shoot small groups you need to slug your rifles barrel for the land and groove size . That will get you pointed in the right direction the quickest for working up a load . After test firing about 200 different 8x57mm rifles I would say the Hornady .323 150 sp is usually the best for 100 yard accuracy . My best load by far was a light load using SR-4759 , but not always . For a more normal load about 45 grain of I4064 is a good start . Bullets that are almost always bad are any Speer 8mm , the 170 and 175 the worst . The Sierra 150 is not that good and the 175 is worse . Norma 180 is not that bad . The main mistake people make when trying to load military rifled for accuracy is trying to duplicate the military load .
 
Minnesota Belt Fed said:
I have been shooting 198 grain PPU projectiles, FMJ’s, over 38 grains of H335…. I don’t have a chronograph so 🤷🏻‍♂️ maybe it’s a light load but it shoots well out of my K98’s and cycles the semi auto fine. No signs of excess pressure
Click to expand...
Whenever I'm dialing in a load I tend to find a couple of nodes and then go with the one with the lightest load.

I'm punching paper, not trying to make lethal shots at multiple hundreds of yards. I'm fine saving a few grains of powder.
 
Also what some people feel is good accuracy is different then what I feel is good . I ran military rifle matches at my range for about 15 years . You had to shoot 1 inch or better 5-shot 100 yard groups On Demand to take small group at a match . The club record was with a 8x57mm of all things , 0.68 at 100 yards with an as issued rifle . I see people happy with 4 / 5 inch groups at 100 , for me that rifle goes in the no shooter pile .
 
The PPU bullets are surplus grade and surplus was never competitive in our matches . I did a lot of 8mm testing with the ball powders , H-335 included , and none ever were a good accuracy performer . H-335 is too fast a powder for 8mm and heavy bullets .
 
A friend and I also spent about 20 years test firing military rifles for accuracy . Wrote a 500 page reloading manual with the results of 10's of 1000's of loads and groups fired in several 1000 military rifles . We ended up never publishing the book after reading what and how people were reloading for military rifles . We figured a large percent had no idea what they were doing and we did not want to get sued by those people .
 
I'd be comfortable with anything from a 170 grain to a 200 grain bullet in an 8mm Mauser when hunting here in BC. I've certainly used cartridges that generate far less energy and done quite well. some of these newer powders kick the old gal into some great territory for the hunter.
 
As I have stated , different loads for different uses . The Hornady .323 195 sp Flat base with a good charge of slow I-4350 makes for a good big game load . Accurate enough for large game , and also has the power . The problem with really heavy bullets in the 8x57mm case , is too small a case for powder needed to get the velocity high enough to get really good accuracy with the twist rate . You really need to push them .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top