This article appearing in #152 July/Aug 2001 issue of the Fouling Shot, was written by Joe Gifford and Ric Bowman
I purchased a Steyr Mannlicher M-95 carbine a coupleof years ago along with 150 rounds of military ammo.After shooting it a few times I started wondering where Iwas going to get ammo when the supply of military surplusammo ran out.
There are a couple of problems in reloading for thiscartridge. First, there is the odd bore diameter, a .330inch 8mm. Then, while the case can be formed from7.62x54 Russian, it is on the short side. After checkingout prices for case dies, bullet sizer die, mould andcases, I began to wonder if I had paid a little too much forthis rifle at 80 bucks. The reloading equipment was closeto $200.
I ordered a bullet mould from The Ammo Dump, inAustralia, from their web page. It is a brass 2-cavitymould; one is a 200-grain plain base, the other is a 215-grain gas check design. It was easy to work with andmade very good bullets. The dies were purchased fromGraff and Son’s (4050 S. Clark St., Mexico, MO 65265[573] 581-2266), they are an RCBS group “G” and costabout $60. Robert Stillwell, of Stillwell Tool and Die (421Judith Ann, Schertz, TX 78154 [210] 658-0112) reamedan old sizing die out to .330”.
My first reloading attempts met with disappointment.I found it necessary to anneal the Russian cases as theysplit on sizing. Then the first loads I tried were too light toform the cases. If the loads are too light, powder gaseswill come back into your face, not conductive of shootinggood groups.
Anyway, after several false starts I decided towork up some loads. The first thing needed was a loadthat would fireform the Russian cases in a single firing.For this I used surplus WC860.
Cases: S&B 7.62 Russian, Powder: 62 grains ofWC860. Bullet: 215-grain gas check and cast from wheelweights. Average velocity: 1672 fps. Extreme spread: 31fps. Standard deviation: 11 fps. This load groups at justover two and a half inches at fifty yards.
The best load so far shoots groups of less than aninch at 50 yards. It is as follows: Cases: Bertram 8x56R,powder: 12 grains of Unique, bullet: 215-grain gas checkand cast from wheel weights. Average velocity: 1235 fps.Extreme spread: 28 fps. Standard deviation: 12 fps.
I also tried the above load with formed Russiancases. The results were similar; 12 grains of Unique withthe 215-grain gas check bullet averages 1246 fps velocity,extreme spread of 18, and standard deviation 7.
The 200-grain plain base bullet with 12 grains ofUnique in reformed Russian cases gave an averagevelocity of 1295 fps., extreme spread of 30, and a standarddeviation of 12.
I wanted to try a couple other powders so I choseReloader 7 and Alliant 2400 with the Bertram brass. Theresults are as follows: 24 grains of RL7, 215-grain gascheck bullet averages 1427 fps, with an extreme spreadof 187 and a standard deviation of 71. This load is toolight, the cases are blackened and the case neck doesnot expand enough to seal the gas.
I purchased a Steyr Mannlicher M-95 carbine a coupleof years ago along with 150 rounds of military ammo.After shooting it a few times I started wondering where Iwas going to get ammo when the supply of military surplusammo ran out.
There are a couple of problems in reloading for thiscartridge. First, there is the odd bore diameter, a .330inch 8mm. Then, while the case can be formed from7.62x54 Russian, it is on the short side. After checkingout prices for case dies, bullet sizer die, mould andcases, I began to wonder if I had paid a little too much forthis rifle at 80 bucks. The reloading equipment was closeto $200.
I ordered a bullet mould from The Ammo Dump, inAustralia, from their web page. It is a brass 2-cavitymould; one is a 200-grain plain base, the other is a 215-grain gas check design. It was easy to work with andmade very good bullets. The dies were purchased fromGraff and Son’s (4050 S. Clark St., Mexico, MO 65265[573] 581-2266), they are an RCBS group “G” and costabout $60. Robert Stillwell, of Stillwell Tool and Die (421Judith Ann, Schertz, TX 78154 [210] 658-0112) reamedan old sizing die out to .330”.
My first reloading attempts met with disappointment.I found it necessary to anneal the Russian cases as theysplit on sizing. Then the first loads I tried were too light toform the cases. If the loads are too light, powder gaseswill come back into your face, not conductive of shootinggood groups.
Anyway, after several false starts I decided towork up some loads. The first thing needed was a loadthat would fireform the Russian cases in a single firing.For this I used surplus WC860.
Cases: S&B 7.62 Russian, Powder: 62 grains ofWC860. Bullet: 215-grain gas check and cast from wheelweights. Average velocity: 1672 fps. Extreme spread: 31fps. Standard deviation: 11 fps. This load groups at justover two and a half inches at fifty yards.
The best load so far shoots groups of less than aninch at 50 yards. It is as follows: Cases: Bertram 8x56R,powder: 12 grains of Unique, bullet: 215-grain gas checkand cast from wheel weights. Average velocity: 1235 fps.Extreme spread: 28 fps. Standard deviation: 12 fps.
I also tried the above load with formed Russiancases. The results were similar; 12 grains of Unique withthe 215-grain gas check bullet averages 1246 fps velocity,extreme spread of 18, and standard deviation 7.
The 200-grain plain base bullet with 12 grains ofUnique in reformed Russian cases gave an averagevelocity of 1295 fps., extreme spread of 30, and a standarddeviation of 12.
I wanted to try a couple other powders so I choseReloader 7 and Alliant 2400 with the Bertram brass. Theresults are as follows: 24 grains of RL7, 215-grain gascheck bullet averages 1427 fps, with an extreme spreadof 187 and a standard deviation of 71. This load is toolight, the cases are blackened and the case neck doesnot expand enough to seal the gas.
The load with 15 grains of 2400 with the 215-grain bullet gave an average velocity of 1179 fps., with an extreme spread of 77 and standard deviation of 29.
I started reloading for this cartridge because I was afraid the surplus ammo would soon be exhausted, as it turns out this has come to pass. Century Arms, Southern Ohio Guns and every other source is out of stock at this time. §
I started reloading for this cartridge because I was afraid the surplus ammo would soon be exhausted, as it turns out this has come to pass. Century Arms, Southern Ohio Guns and every other source is out of stock at this time. §