Lead bullet load for 8x56

[Greg Nolan]

Now that I'm semi retired I'm going to be able to join the weekday multi gun competition at the range. The rifle shoot is military with lead bullets. A lot of 03A3s and SMLEs etc. Well since my ancestors came from Hungary I chose a 8x56R Hungarian round. I found a 205gr. mold for it's .330 barrel but I cant find lead bullet reloading for that bullet. Something around 1400 fps would work. Also, do I need gas checks. I know this is a tough one but there's so much combined talent at this forum I was hoping someone has done something close enough to get me started. The manual says this round is very close to the 33 Winchester.
Thank You
Greg

 

[PJGunner]

Dunno how much help this will be but from Ken Waters PET LOADS, he shows one lead bullet load for the .33 Win. using 35.0 gr. of IMR-3031 for 1950 FPS.
Not much help there and I'm not quite sure you can cut back very much with 3031 like you can with the 4895s..
A cast bullet load that has worked quite well for me in the .308 Win. and 30-06 has been 25.0 gr. of either IMR or H-4895. Velocity from the .308 has been about 1500 FPS IIRC. My notes are not handy right now. One bullet in the .308 runs 195 gr. in my alloy and it will do 1.5 MOA at 200 yards and if it's not real windy 2.5 MOA at 300 yards.
Some people like to use Alliant #2400 for cast bullet loads but I've never tried it myself.
If the water capacity of your round is close to the .308 Win. then the starting loads for the Lyman #301620, a 200 gr. bullets might be considered max for your cartridgeThey show the following.
RL-7 19.5 gr./1643 FPS
H-4895 23.8gr./1673 FPS
IMR-4064 24.6 gr. 1647 FPS
IMR-4320 24.8 gr./1653 FPS
W760 27.8/1670 FPS
If I were loading your cartridge, I would drop those charges about two full grains to start but would for some reason skip W-760. It's a powder i
I like for many uses but I'm not sure on how it would work with charges that low. My choice of the remaining four would be H4895. You can substitute IMR-4895 as well.
Dunno if you've ever done the cast bullet thing before but if not, be sure to size your bullets .002" larger than groove diameter. I size my bullets for the .308 at .310" which is where I get my best accuracy.
Paul B.

 

[Polaris]

http://www.yesterdaysweapons.com/phpBB3 ... =30&t=5904

Found this link you might find helpful. The thread also mentions the "cast boolits" site. That might be a good reference for you. I'd also recommend joining one of the dedicated milsurp forums such as surplusrifle.com You will find a wealth of information on old military rifles there from people who have probably worked on exactly your situation in addition to much information and knowledge about vintage military guns.

If you're the experimenting sort, cast bullet loads for 7.62X54r, 348win might give you a reference point to start from. Both these cases use similar capacity, geometry, operating pressures and bullet weights to your 8X56R. At under 1600 fps with a hard alloy with proper lubricity you shouldn't need gas checks, but I'm not a cast bullet expert, only repeating what I've read in Lyman 49th. Either that or track down a Hungarian M91-30 or M44 mosin, much more data and bullet choices available.