Went to the range today to finish sigting in the scope on my 8mm Mauser.Started out with a box of some surplus the gun store had(don't know the country of origin or age).After i finished that box(15rnds) I had it shooting around a 2" group about 1.5" high at 100yds. So I had two winchester soft points left from a couple years back I then proceeded to shoot and they hit a full 5 inches loer than where I was hitting before.So I then break into a box Sellior& Bellot and the first shot is low like the Winchester(maybe my bad) but the other two of the three are higher than the surplus stuff.So after alittle more tweaking on the scope I get it shooting back where I want.So that brings me to my question.Is it normal for there to be this much difference in ammo brands?Also I heard that domestic 8mm isn't loaded to its full potential could that explain the low hits of the Win. verses the other( surplus and S&B)?Thanks.
Accuracy effected by different ammo?
- Thread starter Dak
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jefnvk
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Commercial 8mm isn't loaded to its fullest potential. The reason is that there are lots of OLD mausers sitting around. Winchester doesn't want trouble when someone pulls a late 1800's Mauser out of their deceased father's closet and decides to put some through.
http://winchester.com/products/catalog/cfrdetail.aspx?symbol=X8MM&cart=OG1tIE1hdXNlciAoOCB4IDU3KQ==
Winchester 8mm: 2360 fps @ muzzle, 170 gr
The surplus you describe sounds like it is perhaps Greek (I believe the only to use 15 rd. boxes). Here is a listing of various muzzle velocities for different surplus:
OK then, the chart has disappeared. If anyone can point to it, that would be good. It was on one of the C&R forums.
IIRC, the Turk ammo was running 2900 FPS, 140 something gr.
Sportsmans guide has Czech stuff at 2600 fps, 175
Ecuadorian 2600, 196
The Czech and Ecuadorian both come in 15 rd boxes, too
Big things are velocity and weight. Obviously, heavier bullts are gonna drop faster, as are slower ones.
http://winchester.com/products/catalog/cfrdetail.aspx?symbol=X8MM&cart=OG1tIE1hdXNlciAoOCB4IDU3KQ==
Winchester 8mm: 2360 fps @ muzzle, 170 gr
The surplus you describe sounds like it is perhaps Greek (I believe the only to use 15 rd. boxes). Here is a listing of various muzzle velocities for different surplus:
OK then, the chart has disappeared. If anyone can point to it, that would be good. It was on one of the C&R forums.
IIRC, the Turk ammo was running 2900 FPS, 140 something gr.
Sportsmans guide has Czech stuff at 2600 fps, 175
Ecuadorian 2600, 196
The Czech and Ecuadorian both come in 15 rd boxes, too
Big things are velocity and weight. Obviously, heavier bullts are gonna drop faster, as are slower ones.
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
It's very normal for different brands and weights (even in the same brand) to be quite different when it comes to accuracy (size of group) and point of impact (POI) vrs. point of aim (POA).
And, each brand/bullet weight and even older/newer ammo is a law unto itself based on your rifle. What works for one may not work in others.
And, each brand/bullet weight and even older/newer ammo is a law unto itself based on your rifle. What works for one may not work in others.
I think I am probably going to stay with the Sellier&Bellot as it has a higher velocity (2592fps@muzzle,2296fps@100yds) vs the Winchester(2360fps@muzzle,1969fps@100yds) according to their respective websites.I also looked at Remington and Federal's sites and their ballistics are about the same as Winchester.The S&B is a 196gr.SP verses the 170gr.SP of the others.This will be my deer rifle this season if I get to go as planned so surplus is practice only.
I've got a Model 38 Swedish Mauser that will shoot 3 shot groups of less than 1" with the Swedish surplus ammo. It groups Remington 140gr softpoints into about 6" at the same distance--you'd be lucky to keep 5 shots on a paper plate...
Ammo makes a BIG difference.
Ammo makes a BIG difference.
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