8X68s revisited

[flatwater bill]

The last rifle I will build in my lifetime. I have shot several oryx with a borrowed 8X68 and Speer 200 grainers. What a hammer. Gert's thread got me started. Anyone with experience have length problems with this cartridge in a standard model 98?......................................Flatwater

 

[8x68]

Are you having headspace issues, you might want to get a cast of your chamber. Not a gunsmith so not going to be of much help unfortunately.
I have a BRNO 602 in 8x68S which I love.

 

[dchamp]

The last rifle I will build in my lifetime. I have shot several oryx with a borrowed 8X68 and Speer 200 grainers. What a hammer. Gert's thread got me started. Anyone with experience have length problems with this cartridge in a standard model 98?......................................Flatwater

Can't help you with the Mauser 98 as I use a Blaser R8 for the 8x68s. I do load ammo for it though at the std. length of 3.425"/87mm oal and have had no issues. But then again I'm shooting a completely different type of rifle. I guess the best thing to do is measure out the magazine box and follower to see what, if any, adjustments are needed or pickup an action used for magnum cartridges. The 8x68s has become one of my favorite calibers and easy to load for. Good luck to your build.

 

[HWL]

The last rifle I will build in my lifetime. I have shot several oryx with a borrowed 8X68 and Speer 200 grainers. What a hammer. Gert's thread got me started. Anyone with experience have length problems with this cartridge in a standard model 98?......................................Flatwater

The 8x68S was made to fit perfectly together with the Mauser M98 action.

HWL

 

[HWL]

The 8x68S was made to fit perfectly together with the Mauser M98 action.

Used Mannlicher-Schoenauers in 8x68S you also should keep an eye on.

Somtimes they are cheap to get on http://www.egun.de/market/browse.php

... the secret queen of bolt action rifles...

HWL

 

[Roan]

Great timing on this thread.

I am looking at a Blaser in this caliber but having a 300 win mag I am not 100% ready to pull the trigger on it.

 

[littlebear]

I got a Steyr Mannlicher M72 in 8x68s, and I love it, - pull the trigger on the Blaser.

 

[flatwater bill]

Roan.................I also have a 300 Win, and there is quite a bit of overlap, but the 8x68 allows me to use some very big bullets, if I choose. 250 grainers I have shot in my 8x57, although it won't get them rolling fast enough to suit me, and the Hawk 280 grainers that I want to shoot for no real good reason. HWL......thanks for the info. I never cease to be amazed at the great model 98.............and although it originally had cartridges of 56.9 mm in length, it adapts to some pretty amazing big ones.....................PH Harry Selby used a highly modified, but standard Model 98, for his .416 Rigby. I will also look at used market a little ..............FW Bill

 

[dchamp]

Great timing on this thread.

I am looking at a Blaser in this caliber but having a 300 win mag I am not 100% ready to pull the trigger on it.

The Blaser R8 is a wonderful and solid platform. Its durability, and inter-changeability of parts is first rate. It takes less than a minute to change barrels, bolts and magazines of different caliber groups. Like going from .308win (std. bolt) to .375H&H (magnum bolt) to 8x68s (ME bolt).
The 8x68s is a hand loaders proposition though, unless you have a good source of factory ammunition available in your area. Ballistically the 8x68s and .300WM are very similar. Kinda like what the 8x57 is to the 30-06. The 30's have a higher BC but the 8's just seem to hit a little harder - IMHO. Personally I would use the 8x68s instead the .300WM unless I was traveling somewhere and I was afraid of not being able to get 8x68s ammo or loosing hand loaded ammo during travel. I am shooting Hornady 170gr SST's, 180 TSX, 220gr Sierra Game Kings and 250gr Woodleigh bullets in mine.
The .300WM is a great and very practical cartridge but for me the 8x68s has something special and has won me over.

 

[HWL]

For the real aficionado of the 8x68S.....

http://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=7045374

 

[dchamp]

That is a gorgeous rifle.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

The last rifle I will build in my lifetime. I have shot several oryx with a borrowed 8X68 and Speer 200 grainers. What a hammer. Gert's thread got me started. Anyone with experience have length problems with this cartridge in a standard model 98?......................................Flatwater

Bill, good to hear from you again.. Bill, as I understand it , if you re-load and the cartridge all over length using a Speer bullet, 200gn is 89mm, which I think is suppose to fit in the standard magazine box....what I will do is to make a dummy ( 89mm long) when I am back in the gun smith shop , fit it in a Mauser action and see if it feeds...I did not do it prior to my build since I knew I wanted to open up my Mauser MOD 98 Obendorf actio...to accommodate a 91mm round..the reason being I am compensating for the thick RWS brass with less water capacity..the disadvantage of this procedure is that it is a lot of extra machine work, longer build...and no warranty that I actually am correct...a lot of other 8x68S owners I believe would not agree with me.... Maybe it is a disadvantage , but to me it gives me insight into procedures that is attempting by real gunsmiths ...and not every gunsmith will go that route...at least I learned something new....I still need to work out how much work I still need to be doing on the feeding ramps...this I only wil know when the magazine box is completed... One aspect we all will agree on is that the 8x68S caliber is a great caliber ..standing alone , something unique..the brass is made specifically for the 8x68S , and it was not a military designed Mauser caliber at all.... a caliber designed by a gunsmith ..and RWS company..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Are you having headspace issues, you might want to get a cast of your chamber. Not a gunsmith so not going to be of much help unfortunately.
I have a BRNO 602 in 8x68S which I love.

8X68, the Brno 602 is the ultimate action to be building a 8x68S onto...I really wished I had a BRNO 602 action to do my build on...it would have been a walk in the park build ..no machine work at all...strong action, magnum action, it will fit like a glove..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

The 8x68S was made to fit perfectly together with the Mauser M98 action.

HWL

HWL, please upload a photo or two of the 8x68S round in the top of the magazine with your bolt drawn back..what length is your 8x68S round Sir???

 

[HWL]

HWL, please upload a photo or two of the 8x68S round in the top of the magazine with your bolt drawn back..what length is your 8x68S round Sir???

My 8x68S is a Mannlicher-Schoenauer GK and does not help.....

The longest 8x68S cartridge in the Dynamit Nobel reloading manual is 86,5 mm.

Does not mean this is maximum length.

You can make it longer, the rifling/chamber of your barrel has to accepts your specific cartridge.

To take advantadge of the greater boiler room of this cartridge, you have to calculate pressure carefully with QL.

I can do this for you if needed.


HWL

 

[dchamp]

Hope this helps. The 8x68s cartridge shown is with a 170gr Hornady SST @ 3.425"/87mm oal. Shown are pictures of cartridge in a M48 Mauser and a Sako 85 Magazine for the 8x57.

Also here is the C.I.P. spec sheet for the 8x68s.
tabical-en-page63.pdf

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Thank you HWL, it is much appreciated...Flatwater Bill, I am busy completing my magazine box , the 91mm rounds really fits nicely ..I will complete the box tomorrow and commence with he follower ..my idea is to make the follower over size so it will fit the whole magazine box with very little clearance around it...this will give a stable magazine follower ...I am going to mill it from a solid piece of mild steel...will upload photos on my thread about the 8x68S..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

The last rifle I will build in my lifetime. I have shot several oryx with a borrowed 8X68 and Speer 200 grainers. What a hammer. Gert's thread got me started. Anyone with experience have length problems with this cartridge in a standard model 98?......................................Flatwater

Bill, if I may ask, at what distances did you shoot these animals with the 8x68S...since the greatest property this caliber has is to kill large bodied animals at long distances,,,

 

[flatwater bill]

Hi Gert............One bull hit too far back and too high at about 200 yards. Bullet popped core, but massive tissue destruction fell in less than 30 yards. One other at 130 or so quartering toward me..........like grenade had gone off in chest. So no long range shots, but confident it would have done the trick......................Bill

 

[Gert Odendaal]

8 X68S long range hunting hammer of Thor..it kills efficiently, deadly accurate , stopping power is great...