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I have an 8x57JS Oberndorf Mauser sporting rifle style B around 1913 year. This rifle is in pristine condition and shoots very well. Question is does any one know what the bullet weights and velocities that were in vogue around that time.
At present I am using 196 grain Norma Vulcan.
This is a 23inch barrel and the rifle was used for driven game in Europe though there is little sign that the weapon has ever had much use.
The original JS military load, adopted in 1905, used a 154gr bullet at a mv of 2880fps.
European factory loads for it, according to what I've read, have run from 150 to over 200gr. As they have always been very expensive here, I've never bothered to try or to find out much about them. While I have quite a bit of info on the rifles, I have no references on European ammo.
American factory loads are very wimpy, figuring that they might be inadvertantly fired in a J bore, and were not available in any quantity until well after WWII, so the data on them, which is available to me, won't answer your question.
As with any rifle though, what it's going to perform best with will be a matter of testing. My 1916 military Oberndorf likes Sierra 150's and cast RNGC 180's, but I shoot only cast in it now. After two wars, I figure it deserves an easy retirement.
Thanks versifier: The only cartridges I can get here are 195 grain at catalogue 2550 fps.
I will chrony these and may look into hornady for other bullets.
if you do reload a 170 grain bullet and 4064 powder seems to be the one recommended by everybody.
Thanks runfiverun; It seems that lighter bullets are more popular so I will have to do some arithmetic on the matter
Any powder that works well in a .303 will work well in an 8x57. I'm partial to 3031 with 150gr Sierras, 3031 and 4064 with Sierra 175's (but I much prefered the lower recoil of the lighter bullet, and my rifle shoots the 150's more accurately), and 4895 with cast bullets. That doesn't mean your rifle will necessarily agree, but it is a place to start.
Thank you versifier, we are limited here to ADI powders; the nearest equivilant I think would be Hodgdon. I load AR2209 in 375 H&H and will start with 50 grain for 196 grain 8mm Vulcan.
I will cast around to see what is available in Sierra bullets.
I usually work bush edges these days and being of ancient vintage the range would be less than 200 yards. Regards g