wildcat junkie

You need a manual for much more than the data. I would suggest the Nosler manual. Also, a pad for applying the case lube is handy. How do you plan on cleaning the lube off the cases?

I have a vibrator tub type cleaner. I leave to top off after adding some polish & leave it running while I prep the cases. After each case is de-primed, primer pocket cleaned, checked for length/trimmed, I drop each case in as the prep is completed. After all the cases are in the vibrator, I put the lid on it & go about my business. Several hours later I dump the media/cases into a separator & all my cases are clean & polished. Less than 5 minutes total time in the actual cleaning process, typically for 100 cases at a time. Much more thorough & convenient than cleaning any other way.

There are 2 different ones available. One sells for about $130 and the other is around $270. The $270 kit has upgraded components & many necessary items not included in the cheaper kit.

I had one of those pretty bullet chart posters at a few years back. I think it was Sierra. They offered a wider choice of .284 bullets than .308 bullets. .277 has one of the smallest choices of bullets available. That being said, why in the world did Winchester even bother W/the 270 WSM? And why didn't they learn from Remington's 7mm-06/7mm Express/280 Remington debacle when it was discovered that a low spec 7mm-06 cartridge could possibly chamber in a high spec 270 rifle? (yes, it did start out as the 7mm-06 and there are boxes of ammo about) Winchester had to delay the release of the superior 7mm WSM in order to move the shoulder forward just like Remington had to do W/the 7mm Express/280. More thinks they need more "gun guys" & less MBAs in the corporate ladder!

Next thing you know these guys will claim to have "proven" evolution & climate change! SCIENCE IS THE DEVIL!

Which one?

I've killed whitetails with a .535 round ball at distances from 10' to 155 yds I take the opportunities as they arise.That being said I would rather take a 150yd shot from a rest than a 75yd shot offhand. The 155yd kill cited in my previous post came about when I was leaving the woods on my property. As I emerged from the inside corner of the woods, I saw the deer about 200yds distant at the other end of my meadow. I dropped into a ditch & sneaked as close as I could. I lay on the edge of the ditch & used a pile of sand as a rest. Most of my ML kills were under 60yds, but I have taken 4 that were 100yds or more away. All but one of those long shots were with some sort of rest. The one shot that was off hand was right at 100yds.

155yds (paced off) with a .535 patched round ball over open sights. Held high center of the front quarter. Complete pass through deer went about 30 yds. 120gr GOEX fffG black powder 36" Sharon barrel 1 in 70" twist. Sighted in 3" high @ 100yds hits about 3" low @ 150.

With a Bueler style safety about $500, ad about $150 for a 3-pos Mod 70 style safety. Its not about the bottom line as much as utilizing perfectly good components to make a unique, functional & athletically pleasing rifle. The donner rifle was given to me & I butcherd it (in my early 20s) before I realized that it was a "duffle cut" battlefield pick up J. P. Sauer & Sone K98. I had an Irish neighbor when I was in my early teens. A few weeks after he died his wife brought the rifle over to me and told me that Pat wanted me to have it. I was about 14-15 at the time. Do you know what a "duffle cut" is?

Yes indeed albeit a rifle put together with a barrel that most world discard (it was given to me) & other parts that are not expensive. The largest single investment would be the stock, after that, the farmed out gunsmith work followed by a 3-position Mod 70 type safety which I don't have at the moment. The safety however is a modification that takes perhaps an hour's work & can be done at any point. In fact, the 3-position safety on the 8x57 was originally on the J P Sauer & Sone action when I built the original 8mm-06 A.I...

Yes sectional density is a factor in penetration, but bullet construction and expansion on the game in question is a much larger factor. That being said with 2 bullets that expand to the same size mushroom on impact, the higher SD bullet will penetrate more when impact velocity is the same. Expansion has a larger affect on the energy released. Conversely, a lightly constructed bullet might expand more at high impact velocity & actually penetrate less at close range than it would at lower Mv or @ longer ranges as velocity decreases... While the BC of the 200gr .323 is similar to the 165gr .308 in the Partition bullets, the SD of the 200gr .323 is similar to the SD of the 180gr .308 Partition.

Well both actually. In every caliber there is a given bullet weight that is the best compromise for bullet weight/ballistic coefficient (the higher the BC the better a bullet retains velocity/energy) and muzzle velocity. First let me try to explain what ballistic coefficient (BC) is. BC is a factor that takes the drag of the bullet into account. It is affected by the bullets caliber, weight, density & shape. In a given bullet weight, say 165 grains, bullets of similar construction & shape, the larger the caliber. the shorter the bullet will be & it will have a less streamlined the shape. The larger caliber bullet will have higher drag & therefore a lower BC. When 2 bullets have the same BC, regardless of caliber, they will have the same trajectory & be affected the same by wind if they have the same muzzle velocity (Mv) This is where the comparison of the .323 200gr bullet compares to a 165gr .308 bullet & I will get to that later. Since thee is no 165gr .323 bullet lets compare a 180gr .323 bullet W/a 180gr .308 bullet. A 180gr .308 bullet is slightly on the heavy side for that caliber, but not much. A 180gr .308 Nosler BT has a (BC) of .507 & would retain velocity & energy very well over long distances. By contrast a 180gr .323 Nosler BT is a little on the "light side" for that caliber. It has a much lower BC of .394. It would shed velocity & retained energy much faster so even though the .323 180gr bullet would most likely start out much faster due to the larger bore cross section acting upon it @ similar pressure, it will be going much slower at long range compared to a similarly constructed .308 bullet of the same weight.. We can compare similar 200gr bullets. A 200gr .308 Nosler Partition bullet is on the heavy side for a .308 bullet. Although it has a high BC of .485, a rifle chambered in .308 Win would have a hard time pushing that bullet much over 2400fps due to the bore cross ection factors mentioned previously. A 200gr Partition in .323 however is right in the middle of practical bullet weighs for the caliber. An 8x57, only slightly higher case capacity than a .308 Win can easily push a 200gr .323 partition @ over 2700 fps. The .323 200gr partition still has a decent BC of .426, not that far behind the 200gr .308 bullet & only slightly better than the 165gr .308 bullet that has a .410 BC. So in a nutshell, a 200gr .323 bullet does compare to a 165gr .308 bullet as far as weight to caliber. I hope I was able to clear things up for you.

Takes about 15 minutes a side to do the front pads on 2006 Daytona Charger. But that's Mercedes Benz engineering for ya.

So I take that you provide "walking" services to make sure the guns stay in shape?

Yeah the 1909 Argi has the hinged floor plate but are about as rare as a 16 year old virgin in Kentucky. The 1904 Portuguese is not even a true Mauser action. Fortunately the geometry of the bottom metal is spot on. I bought 2 several years back when they came up online.

If I can get this sucker to shoot as well as the 8X57 I'm going to have to get on my bicycle this summer & pedal some lard out of my arse! That would make an Elk hunt on the "bucket list" viable.

A 200gr bullet in .323 (8mm) is akin to a 165gr .308 bullet. It is a medium weight for caliber bullet. I already use the same bullet in the 8X57 & it a very efficient killer that is suitable for any North American game. The 8mm-06 A.I. is a 30-06 case necked up to .323, then fire-formed in a chamber that the shoulder of the 30-06 case (now 8mm-06) will headspace in. The shoulder is blown out to 40* & almost all of the case taper is eliminated. The fire-forming procedure is very critical to form good cases that don't have the brass stretched near the cartridge head thus weakening the brass. The chamber must be cut to properly headspace a standard 30-06 case to accomplish this W/O complicated case forming steps on the loading bench. This increases the case capacity and allows higher pressure to be employed due to the straighter case walls & 40* shoulder. This same type of case geometry is employed in the modern "short magnum" cartridges.

You can measure charges faster W/a standard volume measure & a trickler on the Gem Pro. I throw loads about .3 to .5grs light & then trickle to finish them out.

Don't "need" one but what the he!!. Back in 2000 I built my 1st CF Mauser based on the '43 vintage J P Sauer & Sone M98K action. It was chambered in 8mm-06 Ackley Improved & would send .323 Nosler BTs down range @ 2950 fps W/the standard powders I used @ the time. Broadside double lung hits on Whitetails would blow walnut sized chunks of pink lung tissue onto the ground. The problem was, it had the M98K barrel turned down too thin & would walk the POI as the barrel warmed. I sold the barrel & the left over parts languished in my safe for the past 13 years. I have the dies, fire formed cases, a stock, an action that has 1904 Portuguese hinged floor plate bottom metal W/the magazine milled out for the proper stack angle and a good 29" long M98/29 barrel. Below is the stock/action W/the barrel screwed in. The fact that the sights came out @ the bottom means that the remains of the rear sight location hole will be hidden and the front sight will be cut off when the barrel is trimmed.. It won't be as sexy as my 8x57 but it will still be quite handsome I believe. Here are the 2 for comparison, Oberndorf Classic 8x57 on top . The barrel will be shortened by 3" & the replacement ebony grip cap still needs to be blended in.. Kinda looks like an Express Rifle in overall lines. If nothing comes up to rape the monthly budget, I'm sending the action/barrel out to Dennis Olsen in Montana next week to have the chamber cut, the barrel cut & crowned to 26" & the contour turned down to a medium weight profile. I want the extra 2" to burn as much powder as possible & the added weight @ the muzzle will help tame the 3800 ft# of ME it will churn out with lightly compressed 62k loads of Norma MRP behind 200/220 gr bullets. Here is a comparison W/the 8x57 IS on the left. "Quickload" computer predictions, which have proven to be very accurate W/the powder & caliber, have the 200gr Speer Hotcore @ 2950 fps, a 220 gr Hornady spbt @ 2800 fps. Standard cup & core bullet construction should suffice @ those Mv envelopes.

It's an awesome tool!

8X57 IS as loaded in Europe of hand loaded to "adult" pressure W/200gr bullets will handle any hooved North American game animal in any situation out to 300+ yards & would in all likelihood handle big bears if it had to in a defensive situation. The 8mm-06 Ackley Improved I am going to start working on will do the same to 400+ yards on ungulates & also handle any of the great bears W/3800 ft# of ME. 200gr bullets @ 2950 fps, 220s @ 2800 fps. 8X57 IS on the left, 8mm-06 A.I. on the right.

Here you go. 1st, the components. 1/16 x 1/4" bell reducer. (1/8"pipe size for the small end will work, but if you can find the 1/16" reducer you will be able to drill out the small end for a nice slip fit over the 1/4" screw) For magnum cases or those W/a case head larger than .473 use a bell reducer W/the large end for 3/8" pipe thread or enlarge the big end of the reducer so that the case can enter as it pulled from the die.. 1/4" x 20 x 2 1/2"socket head machine screw. 1/4" x 20 nut 1/4" flat washer. Tools needed; 1/4" drill bit #7 drill bit 1/4" x 20 tap 1/4" x 20 die File to face off the ends of the bell reducer 3/16" Allan wrench Face off the ends of the bell reducer, then drill a 1/4"clearance hole through the small end (if all you can find is a 1/8" reducer, this step can be eliminated) Use a 1/4" x 20 die to run additional threads onto the machine screw. you will need @ least 3/8" of threads protruding through the bell reducer when the nut is run all the way onto the machine screw & the screw is inserted into the bell reducer.That is all there is to making the puller. To pull a stuck case from a die you must 1st drill through the flash hole of the case & tap W/the 1/4": x 20 tap. Here is a case that has been stuck in the die after the shell holder pulled the rim off. Note the deformed rim and the threads that have been tapped in the case. Place the bolt through the bell reducer with the nut turned onto the bolt so @ least 3/8" of thread is showing. Screw the threads into the case until l the bell reducer is pulled up against the base of the die. While holding the socket head screw W/the Allan wrench, tighten the nut until the case is pulled free from the die. Now, a tool to check for incipient case head separation. A large paper clip will make a functional tool for this. You want a wire small enough to "catch" on the groove/ridge that will result on the inside of the case as incipient case head separation begins to occur. Bend a short leg < 1/8" long on one end & another longer leg on the other that will allow you to "index" the short section while it is inside the case. Add an additional bend so you can hang the tool on your loading bench. If all you have is heavy gauge wire, file the end to a point so it will "catch" & allow you to feel the defect. Make the tool longer than the longest case you will need to check. If you look closely near the top of the case just ahead of the web you can see a slightly "bright" ring starting to form on the case. This is what to look for on the outside & will usually manifest itself before anything can be felt on the inside. The tool will confirm the onset of case head separation or detect that which is not yet visible on the outside. Here is another shot where, if you look very closely, about 3/8" ahead of the rim, you can see the slightly brighter ring beginning to appear. This case must be discarded.

Here is the scale that has the best reputation for repeatable accuracy. It has a resolution of .02grs and the one I purchased would indeed show the weight difference when individual kernels of powder were trickled onto the pan. It has a capacity of 771gr. Now here's the good part. They sell for $150 or less! Brownells has them so your local gun shop can order you one. Digital scales are a lot more convenient than balance beams. I set my charger for about .3gr less than the desired charge & trickle to finish it up.Unless you are loading way below max, a scale is a good idea as chargers can vary the weight of the charge as much as 1gr and even more as the powder in the hopper changes volume.

The 140gr Nosler BT is the perfect deer bullet for the 7mm-08. While the Fusions will work well enough, at the Mv of the 7mm-08 they are not necessary. The fusions will be OK, but if you can get the Federal Premiums W/the 140gr BT, stay with them.

Go get your hair done, it will make you feel "pretty" again.