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ONE FOR THE 8MM MAUSER- FLYS LIKE A ROCKET AND HITS LIKE A SLEDGEHAMMER
So how many of you have a Remington 700 Classic or other MODERN sporting rifle chambered in 8mm Mauser?
Looking for a stout and accurate load that is superior to the anemic crap that the commercial ammo companies load? Well
put away your preconceived notions and pull up a chair and I'll show you how to make that Big 8 work. First I want to
post a disclaimer. This load is for MODERN FIREARMS. Do not do this if you own a military Mauser. They are
not strong enough for these preasures. I don't care who built what on a '98 or what the guy that built rifles 50 years
ago says. Facts are facts, when folks were doing these things in the "good ole days" gun makers did not understand
preasure or have the tools to measure it that exist today. DO NOT USE THIS LOAD IN ANYTHING BUT A MODERN SPORTING FIREARM.
O.K. now that the CYA part is done lets get down to the load. In my experience the Remington 8x57 brass is of reasonable
quality. Not great but good for commerical mass produced brass. You will have to debur the flash holes and uniform
the primer pockets before you use it, but hey, that is all domestic brass right? Now that the case prep is done yuor
going to want use the Sierra 175g SP. I like this bullet because it is accurate, delivers excellent energy, and expands
well on game. My powder of choice is Hodgdon H380. The ball powder works well here, though this may suprise many
of you. The max charge is 53 grains and that is where we are going. The primer of choice is the Federal 210 Large
Rifle. I have found the 210 to work very well with H380 in every caliber I have mated the two up in. The ball
powder seems to prefer the hotter light off from the 210 to other primers. Folks I have tried other primers and the
holes in the paper don't lie. This load is capable of sub 3/8" groups at 100 yards and offers velocities of over 2700
FPS. The chrony don't lie. One warning though. This load will kick on you a bit. But then again.
The 8mm Mauser is a big gun. Enjoy!
-Robert
THE DEUCE IS WILD!! TWO FOR THE .222
Ah the .222 Remington. A favorite medium range varminter and match caliber from years gone by.
And still a favorite of those of us in a newer generation that appreciate this fine caliber. Like a fine wine the .222
only gets better with time. Many of us that shoot the .222 are looking for the ultimate in accuracy. Listed here
are two loads of mine. Both of these have given me consistant sub .25" groups at 100 yards over the years. First
is my "Classic" .222 load that I shoot in my 700 BDL. First of all I highly reccomend Lapua brass in the .222.
The quality and consistancy of this brass cannot be beat. Sure it costs a little more, but the quality is well worth
the price. My bullet of choice is the Berger 52g Flat Base Match Hollowpoint. I have found this bullet to be superior
to the Sierra 53g Match King in all three of my .222's. The Berger is a near copy of the old Remington match bullet
from decades ago. For powder I use 19.5 grains of IMR 4198. I alwasy hand weight my charges as I am looking for
the best accuracy. And the BEST accuracy does not come out of a measure. Sorry folks, just the way it is.
My primer of choice is the Remington 7 1/2 BR. I always neck size my brass and use Forester Bench Rest CoAx dies.
I have found the CoAx to be the best commercial seater available. My overall cartidge leingth is 2.125" Some seat
the bullet out further but I have had the best accuracy at this seating depth. Your individual rifle may call for a
differnt depth but this works for me. Again this load will consistantly shoot under a quarter of an inch. I have
acheived sub .1" groups with this load in a 700BDL.
My second load is my 40XB load that I shoot in my Remington 40XBR rifle. I use the same brass and
primer setup as the above load. My powder of choice here is Hodgdon H322. I like this fine grain extruded powder.
It is wasy to work with and is not sensative to changes in temperature, a side affect of the otherwise great IMR powders.
I use 22.5 grains of H322 for this load. Again, I use the Berger 52g bullet, but I vary the OAL to 2.150" for my 40XB.
Again the seating depth may vary. I encourage you to try each load. As each of the rifles above show a preference.
My best group with the 40XB? Back in '06 I shot a .057" group with it. That's right, fifty seven on thousandths
of an inch.
- Robert
JACK KELLY''S LEGENDERY .243 LOAD
Jack Kelly was a great friend of mine and anyone who knew him knows that he was one of the most influencial
shooters and reloaders that our area has ever known. One of Jacks favorite calibers was the .243 Winchester. The
.243 has been with us for about 50 years now and has been the subject of many heated debates over it's effectiveness as a
hunting round. Each year countless "experts" dismiss it as ineffective, yet each year thousands of deer and other medium
game is taken by hunters whom use the venerable .243. So who is right? I think you know the answer. Shot
placement is everything, but having good ammuniton ceretainly helps. Frankly, if you want the best .243 ammo money can
buy you are going to have to build it, because you can buy it. Certainly it gets no better than Jacks time tested .243
deer load. A load that I shoot today in both of my .243's, including the Winchester Model 70 (yeah I know, I am a Remington
guy so feel free to give a hard time on this one) that I have won several matches with. The core of the load is the
Sierra 85g BTHP. The powder charge of course is 38.0 grains of IMR 4895. The primer of choice for me is the CCI
BR#2, but a Winchester Large Rifle will also work. The type of brass does not seem to matter, as I have used Remington,
Winchester, and Lapua. Seating depth is 2.650". This load is accurate, and effective. 'Nuff said.
- Robert
A FAVORITE .308 LOAD
I'll admit, my favorite caliber is the .308. It is accurate, has ample power for most hunting situations,
easy to load for, and pleasent to shoot. I own more rifles chambered in .308 than any other caliber, except for .22LR
that is.
I have found the .308 to be easy to load for. I would like to share with you my favorite .308 load.
This is a moderate load capable of extreme accuracy, yet still powerfull enough for most medium game applications. I
like the Sierra 168 Grain Match King bullet for accuracy, but if you are loading for hunting substitute the Sierra 165 Grain
Game King. I have noticed ony about a .125" variation in accuracy. The powder of choice is IMR 4895, my favorite
.308 powder (yeah, my favorite powder in a lot of guns) The powder charge is 39.5 grains. For the primer I use
a CCI BR#2. I like the consistancy of the bench rest primer, that extra one cent a round you spend for them is well
worth it if you ask me. Type of brass does not seem to matter, as I have used Winchester, Remington, and Lapua with
this load.
I have tried this load in four different bolt action rifles and have gotten consistant sub half inch groups
in all of them. Just thought I would share this data with everyone
-Robert
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