8mm Rem Mag

[Lee Martin]

I've been getting back into rifles and took this 8mm Rem Mag to the range today. It was snowing like hell and the wind prevented me from shooting groups. Nonetheless I had a great time busting rocks at 100 yards.

We built the gun on a stainless Model 70 Winchester (claw extractor). The barrel is match grade Shilen cut to 27" and the scope is a 4 - 16 Weaver.

I've tried a few different loads in it and settled on 87.0 of Retumbo with Sierra's 220 gr Game King. It'll touch 3,000 fps and prints under an inch at 100.

Anyone else on the forum shoot this round? I know it's an oddball cartridge but I've had great luck with 8's. If you do own one I recommend the aforementioned load.

And there's something about shooting in the snow. Ya, it's cold and messy but the targets show up so much better. Here are a couple of shots from earlier this morning.

 

[rugnelli]

My brother has one that he shot a huge (for SD) 6 x 8 bull elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I believe that it is in a Remington Classic. Skinned with the head cut off the bull looked like a side of beef hanging in the tree. Unbelievable how big it was...

The "Big 8" as he calls it sure did the trick.

rugnelli

 

[Heliman]

Nice looking rifle! I used to own a NIB Remington 700 Classic chambered in 8mm Rem Mag. I never could get past the fact it was NIB, so never shot it. I migrated to the .338 Win Mag in a 77 MKII. I would like to find a shooter 8mm Mag in the future. Very interesting round that never caught on. Still, something to be said for a 220gr, 8mm bullet zipping along at 3,000fps!
Dave

 

[tek4260]

I've had one for years. Dad bought the first one he saw when they were introduced and has been in love ever since. He used to shoot the 150gr bullets designed for 8 Mauser velocities, which turned the rifle into an overgrown 22-250. Any deer shot with it was bloodshot from end to end. He started loading 220 Sierras in it and it didn't ruin the entire deer

Funny you mention the caliber now. I just drug out some new brass and some 200gr bullets to load this weekend. Don't quote me, but I think mine loved 80gr of 4831 with the 200's. It has been quite a few years since I shot mine.

Like Heliman, mine is a Classic from 98. I ordered it as soon as they were available. The BDL's are as rare as hens teeth around here. I have seen 4 over the years and dad ended up getting all of them.

 

[cellar701]

Lee, nice looking rifle. You don't mention the weight of your rifle, but I'm guessing you aren't in the "recoil sensitive" crowd... I have shot a couple of rifles in that caliber, and I've found it interesting from time to time, but I've just never had the itch strong enough to get one.

Nice rifle and nice pics!

 

[David Bradshaw]

Lee... years ago I was bar tending in a grand old wood frame hotel; dance floor straddled a small river. Phone rang... it was my friend Mac calling from Montana. He had shot a bull elk with his 7mm Rem Mag, run out of ammo. Could not get the elk. Had to come down, cross the valley to get more ammo at home. He finished the elk, but told me he was done with his 7mm.

"I know you how partial you are to the .338 Winchester," said Mac. "You have any doubts about the .338?"

"None. But I'm not sure that's the rifle for you." Mac had a bunch of shoulder muscle blown off as a younster when a cousin or brother walking behind him stumbled and touched off a charge of shot. Gross violation of MUZZLE CONTROL. I didn't think Mac would handle .338 recoil. "Mac, how about a 8mm Rem Mag?"

"There's about eight used 8mm Remington Magnums for sale in Butte right now," said Mac. "I tried one. The recoil is horrible. Your .338 is like an ought-six compared to that."


So Mac bought a Ruger M77 tang safety, loaded it with Federal 210 Nosler Partitions and never looked back.

You are going about the 8mm Remington the right way, long stiff barrel. The .375 H&H case wants a long barrel to effectively gain velocity with a smaller bore. The fattest Kick-Eez, or similar, spongy recoil pad, with the heal of the stock angled very slightly forward, should keep the comb from punching your face. The angle of the recoil pad is critical to field accuracy and comfort. I have a feeling Remington exaggerated the heel angle (toe forward) on the M700 8mm Mag.
David Bradshaw

 

[tek4260]