sumpnz
Member
Actually to the handloader there's a decent selection of bullets, and Remington and Winchester (plus others I'm sure) makes brass for the caliber.
Try Midway's list of 8mm bullets . Sure, it's not as extensive as their list of 30 cal bullets but it's enough to get the job done. And in the 30 cal list, there's a lot more bullets competing to do the exact same job - that helps on price but only so much. And if you want really cheap practice 8mm FMJs, it's easy enough to buy 700 round cases of ammo from places like J&G or whatever is local to you and pull the bullets. If you can pick them up on site at J&G, with tax that works out to 4.6 cents per bullet. I have no idea what shipping would add.
Anyway, twoblink, I respectfully disagree that
If I could only ever get factory loads, I would probably rank order the three calibers at .308, 30-06, 8mm. That's largly as a resuly of the cost and availability of each caliber's ammo. But with the ability to get handloads, I'd reverse that order. But it would still be tough call on whether 8mm or 30-06 would win out if I was starting from scratch. Part of me likes the fact that the 8mm isn't so common, the other part prefers the better availability of 30-06 components.
Try Midway's list of 8mm bullets . Sure, it's not as extensive as their list of 30 cal bullets but it's enough to get the job done. And in the 30 cal list, there's a lot more bullets competing to do the exact same job - that helps on price but only so much. And if you want really cheap practice 8mm FMJs, it's easy enough to buy 700 round cases of ammo from places like J&G or whatever is local to you and pull the bullets. If you can pick them up on site at J&G, with tax that works out to 4.6 cents per bullet. I have no idea what shipping would add.
Anyway, twoblink, I respectfully disagree that
Perhaps that's true for 30-06 and .308, but all factory loads in the States for 8mm are pretty emasculated. They all lob 170 grain bullets at about 2300 fps. A handloader should easily be able to get 2500fps from a 200 grain bullet. With a really good action, a 220 grain bullet should still be able to easily beat the velocity of the factory loads. I have handloads worked up by my FFL for my Turk Mauser that launch a 150 grain bullet at a tick over 3000 fps. That will be my backup rifle for deer hunting this November (primary will be my Swedish Mauser - those handloads give me a 120 grain bullet at 2915 fps).
If I could only ever get factory loads, I would probably rank order the three calibers at .308, 30-06, 8mm. That's largly as a resuly of the cost and availability of each caliber's ammo. But with the ability to get handloads, I'd reverse that order. But it would still be tough call on whether 8mm or 30-06 would win out if I was starting from scratch. Part of me likes the fact that the 8mm isn't so common, the other part prefers the better availability of 30-06 components.
