8mm deer hunting question

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ldlfh7

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I plan to deer hunt with my 8mm Mauser this year and have been researching ammo. I see that sellier and belloit sends a 196 gr bullet around 2500 fps while others seem to be around 30-30 speeds 2100-2200 fps. My question is will the faster sellier and belloit rounds over penetrate within 100 yards? Using only iron peep sights I can't imagine a shot much over 100 yards. I want to make sure the faster round is ok otherwise I will buy PPU/PRVI. Thoughts?
 
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Over penetrate?? I thought that penetration was one of the objectives of a good hunting bullet. If they are soft-nosed bullets (not FMJ) they should be fine.
 
EDIT.. I had my brand wrong. Century branded "HOT SHOT" ammo shot to point of aim with their 170gr bullets and my Mauser. I didn't chrono it. It was clearly NOT as 'hot' as 196 gr Yugo FMJ. It grouped VERY well. Wouldn't hesitate to take it hunting.

Use what is accurate, the weight of the bullet does a lot of work.
 
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You really don't need the extra power of the S&B ammo. 8mm is a killer round due to its size and weight. With a decent soft-point bullet, it's like a sledgehammer. Go with the PRVI Partizan stuff. They're experts in making good ammo in military calibers.
 
I would use Prvi in any mil-surp caliber, they make great ammo for the price, good soft point bullets and their brass is SUPERB if you reload.
 
+1. Prvi makes good stuff. I have shot a lot (thousands) of their 5.56mm and never had a misfire, blown primer or split case.
 
You might be surprised how far you can kill a deer with open sights. Yesterday I killed a coyote at 580 yards with a Mosin Nagant shooting a 203 gr brown bear SP. I knew I had a good chance at hitting the coyote. I had shot the rifle at stumps in a nearby lake. The stumps are around 600 yards. That coyote has been robbing chickens and eggs from a neighbor all spring.

I wouldn't try to shoot a deer that far but 200 yards in a field I would have to try. I have killed deer in the past with my 30/06 BAR with iron sights that a 30/30 was hitting the ground well before it got to the deer. I have no way of knowing how long those shots were. I could count the fence posts to the coyote.
 
Deer_Freak said:
You might be surprised how far you can kill a deer with open sights. Yesterday I killed a coyote at 580 yards with a Mosin Nagant shooting a 203 gr brown bear SP. I knew I had a good chance at hitting the coyote. I had shot the rifle at stumps in a nearby lake. The stumps are around 600 yards. That coyote has been robbing chickens and eggs from a neighbor all spring.

I wouldn't try to shoot a deer that far but 200 yards in a field I would have to try. I have killed deer in the past with my 30/06 BAR with iron sights that a 30/30 was hitting the ground well before it got to the deer. I have no way of knowing how long those shots were. I could count the fence posts to the coyote.
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That round, on a coyote? Coyote didn't know what hit it. Those are fun to shoot, and do a lot to tame the Mosin's recoil. The heavier bullets eliminate the sharpness it normally has. I do love my Mausers. My main hunting rifle is a sporterized Nazi Mauser with a Nikon 6-18x40 scope. Very accurate for such an old gun, and I got a good deal at $250 on it. I'd say it's around 1 MOA with the original military barrel.
 
8 mm is a big round. It will smack it good. Deer s are not hard to kill . The .303 Brit is also a great round for close quarter moose killing as what the Canadian old timers do up north.
 
Shoot what is accurate in your rifle. I have one rifle that won't shoot the 170 gr Rem loads for anything. It shoots great with Yugo surplus (not a recommendation for hunting btw.) If you're not taking shots longer than 100 yards, even the domestic loads would work. Hornady has a 196 gr SP load that is at 2550 fps (I think), but it's very hard to find. Wolf Gold also works. It's actually made by PPU and is the "8x57 IS" Prvi Partizan load as opposed to he "8mm Mauser" Prvi partizan load. The "8mm Mauser" marked loads are lawyer loads for sales in the US. They're not as anemic as the Fed/Rem/Win loads, but they're still underloaded.

PPU always works well for me, even their weaker loading.

Mat
 
My dad has killed a number of deer with his 8x57 Mauser shooting 175gr. Sierra Pro Hunters over IMR6064. I am not sure how much...but I know he loads it much hotter than American factory ammo.
 
Just looked it up, my dad is using 175 grain Sierra Pro Hunters and 49 grains of IMR4064

That is a grain over the max listed on Hogdon's website...and they claim 48 grains is a compressed load. I am sure he got his info from either Lyman or Sierra Manuals. He has been shooting that load for 30 years or more.
 
HOOfan_1 said:
Just looked it up, my dad is using 175 grain Sierra Pro Hunters and 49 grains of IMR4064

That is a grain over the max listed on Hogdon's website...and they claim 48 grains is a compressed load. I am sure he got his info from either Lyman or Sierra Manuals. He has been shooting that load for 30 years or more.
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Whether that's safe or not will depend on the rifle, the primer used, and the case capacity. The hodgdon load list a Rem 9 1/2 primer, which is one of the hotter primers out there. If he's using a mildler primer like a CCI, it's probably ok. Best way to determine is shoot it over a chrono and see what the veolcity is. If it's significantly higher than expected, the pressure is most likely too high.

Matt
 
I've taken a few deer with 8 mm using 180 grain NBT handloads. Very accurate, very deadly.
 
+1 shootr, 180grn Nosler BT's (2600 fps) in my Yugo mauser at 130 yards dumped a deer where he stood.
Lights out and it kept on going, for Elk I go with a Speer Hot Core 200 grn @ 2500 fps. Haven't had the
opportunity yet but confident in the load. ;)
 
The 8m/m is not in the cannon category. "over-penetration" is going to be a problem.
Any commercial ammo will do nicely.
 
i tried the S&B on deer. I got literally no expansion. It may as well have been an fmj, but it was their hunting ammo. I prefer PPU. I load for it now, but tried those before I started loading. Great gun, my favorite hunting rifle actually. I love the 8mm cartridge and my VZ24 is the smoothest bolt gun I've ever experienced.
 
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