7,92 X 57: What is everyone doing for components?

A friend of No.1 son has just bought a K-98 to start shooting "service match". He wanted a Schmidt Rubin, but the prices are even sillier than K-98 askings these days.

I have not loaded this cartridge for over twenty years. I still have a nice set of Lyman dies and a swag of berdan-primed cases. but that is not much help to the young fella. I have the RWS Berdan primers (5627) and the de-capping gear, but I suspect "proper" Boxer cases would be better received.

The sticking point seems to be decent 150 grain bullets, especially here in Oz. As MOST matches are shot at less than 500m, there is little point in playing with the "heavy" bullets, especially at the price they are here in Oz.

I shoot my 1888 Gewehr a bit with HRBC lead projectiles and picked up a K98 as well recently but haven't used it yet. I don't know if they are able to use lead in competition, or if you are restricted to copper (anyone know?). I don't suppose you want to part with any of the berdan brass?

Downside to many 150gr 7,92 bullets is the super short bearing length and the associated potential accuracy dramas. May want to consider going somewhat heavier, even up close., but it depends on, well, lots of factors, including dies and operator.

I sort-of figured that if it was good enough for the Wehrmacht to use a 150grain(ish) bullet in their K-98s, (as opposed to a lot of the stuff they fed through the MGs), then I might give it a whirl, especially as the bulk of the shooting done by this club is on a 300 metre range. It is the same reason I use bulk-pack 155gn "target" bullets BJD-HBC from Darwin in my Schmidt Rubin: lighter recoil, flatter trajectory and neat groups. At 300m, with a "moderate" load, the big, heavy bullets are often only STARTING to "settle down" from their initial precession. Stoked to the limits, they get VERY unpleasant to shoot in the lightweight K-11.

Furthermore, loading down on the big pills reduces muzzle velocity, and thus rotational velocity, and this in turn, means the bullets may take LONGER to "settle down"; probably much more than 300m. Additionally, at 300m, cross winds are of minor consequence for a fast-stepping bullet; over 500m, a different matter. If 600m+ was the norm, 175-195s and "stiff" loads would be the go for the 8mm.

I was thinking mostly of some of the "no fancy construction" 150gr FMJ types, there are some potentially useful hunting type bullets in the 150gr arena. The Hornady springs to mind in particular.

Boat tailed jobs would probably be right out, and not needed anyway for 300m. (Most Mausers I've messed with (not a huge number) have had very long throats. Makes seating the usual way just off the lands tough to do.)

(I once tried using some Turkish projectiles from some "no fire" ammo. The bullets were barely in the neck, and the crimp squished the bearing surface to 2 small rings. Pitiful! Wasn't worth the effort.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmoore

there are some potentially useful hunting type bullets in the 150gr arena. The Hornady springs to mind in particular.

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Have tried the Hornadys in a number of 8mm mausers with mixed results. For the most part they gave good enough accuracy for deer hunting at modest ranges(less than 200yds) but one probably wouldn't win many shooting matches with them. Wasn't impressed with the terminal performance on the thick skinned wild piggies so moved up to the heavier bullets. The 175 Siera Pro Hunters w/IMR 4350 and Nosler 180gr Ballistic Tips w/IMR 4064 are very accurate loads in my rifles out to 300 yds. The best load I ever tried, accuracy wise, was 220gr Sierra Game Kings over a max charge of IMR 4350. Not a good hunting load though, the 220 GK was designed for the 8mm Rem Mag and won't expand at the lower velocities of the 8x57. Even when fired into dirt at 50 yards.
BTW, wasn't the 198gr s.S. the standard German rifle and MG round of WWII?

According to my files, the “S” or Spitzgeschoss bullet was pointy, of .323” diameter, 154gn. with an MV of 2880 fps.

Somewhere along the way, and at about the same time the Germans twigged to the real tactical value of machine guns, they also came up with the "heavy ball" ammo, usually designated "s.S". (schweres Spitzgeschoss). This features a 197gr bullet at 2500fps and an "improved" shape, incorporating a boat-tail. This appears to have happened around the time our Swiss cousins came up with the fabulous GP-11 cartridge.

Which reminded me to order (just before posting) what few Nosler 8mm 200gr HPBT match bullets I saw the other day. Only had two boxes in stock! But only US$0.07 per bullet more than the plain Prvi Partisan FMJs. Seemed worth getting. Otherwise it's cheaper to buy loaded ammo than to build rounds from scratch with new brass.

OK. I have snagged some 150 gn SP spitzers and a couple of different "heavy" bullets.

After some "light exercise" at the loading bench to batch up some different propellant loads with each bullet weight, it's off to the range as soon as possible.

With any luck, I might get some useful results.