njc110381 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 As some of you will have read, I'm looking at getting myself an 8x57 Drilling. The trouble is when I look up 8x57 in the ammunition listings there are all sorts of letters at the end which to me means it's not the same case/charge? Some will be rimmed, some rimless but apart from that I'm stuck. Even a Google image search didn't bring up much. Do we have a resident cartridge collector in house who could give me some advice? Maybe some pictures or at least an explaination of each type? The woman in the gun shop is suggesting the barrel simply says 8x57 and this isn't something I want to get wrong for obvious reasons! If I can avoid a chamber cast it would be good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I take it you convinced your FEO you had Elephants now loose in the Forrest of dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I tried to get an 8x57R side by side for boar because there was a cheap new cased Bettinsoli in Reeves for £1200. The long and the short is that licensing people don't like whacky calibres. I was told to stick with .308 or .30-06. I then also looked into the availability of the ammo - again the long and the short was that unless I was home loading it would take me a year to find 40 rounds of the same make / batch and in the same shop at the same time. Like so many gun related purchases, it seemed like a good idea at the time and with hindsight I'm glad I didn't bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Beware the the larger diameter the bullets can vary upto 5 thou depending on what letters are after it, Have a look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8x57mm_IS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I tried to get an 8x57R side by side for boar because there was a cheap new cased Bettinsoli in Reeves for £1200. The long and the short is that licensing people don't like whacky calibres. I was told to stick with .308 or .30-06. I then also looked into the availability of the ammo - again the long and the short was that unless I was home loading it would take me a year to find 40 rounds of the same make / batch and in the same shop at the same time. Like so many gun related purchases, it seemed like a good idea at the time and with hindsight I'm glad I didn't bother. It depends completely on how much effort you're willing to put in. I can't see there being a problem with my FEO. Home loading is also ok, then batch consistency is a thing of the past. Just find a bullet it likes, buy 500 and you have a stock of ammo for the life of the gun if you don't use it often. Beware the the larger diameter the bullets can vary upto 5 thou depending on what letters are after it, Have a look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8x57mm_IS Now that is the sort of point I'd be more concerned about. Of the 8mm ish bullets I found on Midway, one size only had one bullet available and that is something I would prefer to avoid! Reloading nighmare springs to mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsm1968 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 8 x 57 j was a .318 bullet that was latter improved on and the 8 x 57 js was made. It is a .323. If you fire a j in a js rifle it will fire but with no accuracy. the other way round and you will have dangerously high pressures and could easily result in the rifle blowing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I now understand why my FEO wanted me to stick to convention. Neil, couldn't you find a driller in .308 or .30-06? Had to be awkward didn't you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsm1968 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Now that is the sort of point I'd be more concerned about. Of the 8mm ish bullets I found on Midway, one size only had one bullet available and that is something I would prefer to avoid! Reloading nighmare springs to mind! The JS was manufactured as a military Mauser during the war, so have been around for a while. If your Drilling isn't to old it is likely to be a JS. When I was reloading the JS, there was a big choice of bullets available. The ones I used were Hornady in 170, 200 and 220 gn. Barnes did them in 170 and 200. The 200 was quite long and had huge bearing surface as it was monolithic, and pushed the pressures up. Had a "noticeable" recoil. (they did perform well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) The 8x57 was the German military round used in WW1 and WW2 and is one of the most popular calibres in the world. Hardly an oddball calibre. There are two varients J and JS. JS is the normal one but some old rifles may have the old J barrel which is tighter and shouldn't be used with JS ammo. The barrel should say J or JS. If in doubt get the bore checked for size which shouldn't be hard. If its .318 give it a miss. 8x57 Rimmed is a whole different kettle of fish. Its a blackpowder round based on the old British .360 NE and was popular in European Drillings prior to WW1. The ammo is obsolete and it is an exempt calibre. I don't think you can even get cases for it. Krank don't list it in the obsolete cases section. Edited February 25, 2011 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) I tried to get an 8x57R side by side for boar 8x57R for boar? Its barely more powerful than a pistol calibre. Its a nearly parallel cased black powder round with about the same power as a .357 mag. And its an exempt calibre so your FEO shouldn't have been involved. Edited February 25, 2011 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 I now understand why my FEO wanted me to stick to convention. Neil, couldn't you find a driller in .308 or .30-06? Had to be awkward didn't you Yeah but don't forget some folk enjoy the battle and the ownership so much they forget why they bought it. You can imagine the line down the pub "why don't we head back to my place if you are good you can see even my 8x57 drilling" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) 8x57R for boar? Its barely more powerful than a pistol calibre. Its a nearly parallel cased black powder round with about the same power as a .357 mag. And its an exempt calibre so your FEO shouldn't have been involved. Vince, there's a few on GT. I thought the original Bettinsoli I was looking at was there and still for sale - but it's not - there's an O/U not a SBS. Interestingly, that was the other reason that put me off - it looked like a difficult gun to get rid of once I had got bored of it. EDIT; Here's a tidy looking .30-06 double rifle package. An FEO would "understand" that and you could get ammo for it easily enough. Edited February 25, 2011 by Mungler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 8x57 Rimmed is a whole different kettle of fish. Its a blackpowder round based on the old British .360 NE and was popular in European Drillings prior to WW1. The ammo is obsolete and it is an exempt calibre. I don't think you can even get cases for it. Krank don't list it in the obsolete cases section. Again, more very interesting info. Perhaps I'll give this one a miss! Yeah but don't forget some folk enjoy the battle and the ownership so much they forget why they bought it. You can imagine the line down the pub "why don't we head back to my place if you are good you can see even my 8x57 drilling" Fancy a pint Dunk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsm1968 Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Again, more very interesting info. Perhaps I'll give this one a miss! Check if it's is rimmed first. Ballisticaly the 8 x 57 JS is not far of a .308, and a good round. If you have a use for a drilling then you could do well with this one.Personally other than a game keeper/guard, I have never seen the point of them. Edited February 25, 2011 by gsm1968 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Do you have something lined up to shoot with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Of course! I'd use it for all the things I use my combi for. Squirrels and Deer mailnly but with the added advantage of having two barrels for those tougher shots on walked up Pheasant etc. You have to keep in mind that some of my shooting isn't what you'd call normal UK spec stuff. I have a couple of guys that beat through the woods with me and sometimes I go ahead or skip sections and lay up waiting for things to pass. That can mean driven Pheasant or Pigeons, Squirrels and even Deer all on the same day. I rarely know what target species I will be going for, rather I will just shoot whatever turns up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Of course! I'd use it for all the things I use my combi for. Squirrels and Deer mailnly but with the added advantage of having two barrels for those tougher shots on walked up Pheasant etc. You have to keep in mind that some of my shooting isn't what you'd call normal UK spec stuff. I have a couple of guys that beat through the woods with me and sometimes I go ahead or skip sections and lay up waiting for things to pass. That can mean driven Pheasant or Pigeons, Squirrels and even Deer all on the same day. I rarely know what target species I will be going for, rather I will just shoot whatever turns up. tally hoo! why dont we shoot more driven deer in the uk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Drillings are very European and suited to their style of hunting and their laws but it doesn't translate very well over here. In Europe they just take to the woods and shoot whatever they see. The 8x57R round is in the region of 1600-1800 fps and so not legal for deer and dangerously underpowered for boar. It wouldn't be accurate for fox beyond very close up so what would be the use? even if you could get the ammunition which apparantly you can't. I doubt the dealer really knows what he has but as an exempt calibre it may be worth it. Exempt calibres fetch good money. You have to question why people want them, but they do. Don't get in on your FAC but if you can get the dealer to sell it to you unlisted that would be a bonus. However, a working sxs shot gun with an exempt rifle drilling is going to raise a few eyebrows with your FEO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted February 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 tally hoo! why dont we shoot more driven deer in the uk? I think because it's illegal? I'm not 100% sure on that but what I shoot isn';t driven Deer, more Deer that happen to be running from the rest of the shooting party. It's completely different, honest! The 8x57R round is in the region of 1600-1800 fps and so not legal for deer and dangerously underpowered for boar. It wouldn't be accurate for fox beyond very close up so what would be the use? even if you could get the ammunition which apparantly you can't. As good as useless for me then! No point having it if I can't shoot Deer with it (is there a minimum velocity in England or is it just that at that speed you need a heavier bullet to make the energy figures?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.