I'm Going To start Reloading 8X56R

AussieHunter

Note While Lee make Dies for this calibre So Does Dave Davidson @ C&H tool and Die His current style of Dies are great and well worth the money, For those wishing to shoot lead bullets in any calibre always shoot the heaviest bullet that you can with in the calibre and twist available to you in your rifle? what some lead bullet loads loose in velocity they can make up for on bullet weight, a well made lead bullet is the ultimate in controlled expansion projectile, you the maker control the hardness, I find for average hunting that lead bullets just on the soft side of medium and pushed @ around 2450 to 2500 FPS works very well. Cheers From Aussie Hunter PS: I'm working on some heavy loads for my 29" barreled 8x56R will let you know when its done also results will be put on www.ammoguide.com you will find "aussiehunter" on there with my bunch of wild cat rounds most of which have the tag H&S in the name of the round.

Deacon

8x56R Loads I've developed using IMR 8208 XBR

Note that the capacity of this cartridge is almost identical to the 8x57 Mauser cartridge.

I used the minimum load for the 8x57 and worked it up to find the most accurate loads in my rifles.

I must warn about going up to the maximum 8x57 load because even though the Steyr M-95 straight pull action was rebarreled for the 8x57JS durring WW2, I personaly believe that it is not as strong as the Mauser M-98 action.

Standard reloading warnings apply to usage of this data in your rifles.

60,0 = avg. case capacity ( PRVI brass )
2.20" case length ( trimmed )
3.00" OAL w/205 gr. spitzer SP bullet

C = Carbine R = Rifle

205 GR. Hornady SP bullet .330"
43.4 gr IMR 8208 XBR @ (C) 2025 (R) 2101

220 GR. LEE .338 bullet, sized to .332, Hornady .338 gas checks
42.5 gr IMR 8208 XBR @ (C) 2005 (R) 2087

205 GR. LEE 8x56R bullet sized to .329, Hornady .32 cal gas checks
43 grains IMR 8208-XBR. @ (C) 2112

fnuser

As for the “7.9mm Mauser”, or 8 x 57mm Mauser as we usually call it, Taylor says “This, the German caliber corresponding to the British .303, is a much better weapon. There used to be many men who swore by it for general use and were never happy if they didn’t possess one. Count me as one of them. You used to be able to get these for @$40.00 in surplus catalogs. They're about the cutest of the straight- pulls, and I have seen some top notch sporters built on them with bavarian features. But honestly the rifle "as is" is about as fun as they get. I have even seen scout scopes put on using ruger 10-22 leupold mounts. The key to success is matching the overall length to the original military load. I keep a couple in my collection for that purpose.