[45Auto]

Since my stock of Remington 8mm Lebel is rather low and they are now collectors items, I'm going to be loading this round for fun and recreation w/Pervi brass. But rather than endless experiments I thought I would ask what people have found to be safe and accurate in these fine rifles and carbines:

1st Question. Jacketed Bullets: 8mm bullets in stock include some Sierra 150 gr. soft points and some older 160 gr. soft points. I also have salvaged 8mm Mauser bullets pulled from military cases. I'm not sure what to expect in the market place for bullets these days, it seems like everything is out of stock, but any ideas would be welcome, as well as powder charges.

2nd Question. Cast Bullets: Another option is to cast some lead. I have a Lymann/Ideal mold No. 321297 which reportedly casts a 181 gr. bullet, but the Lymann data I have for this mold suggests powders which are no longer made so any suggestions for a powder charge would be of interest.


What are your pet loads for the 8mm Lebel rifle/carbine?

 

[45Auto]

Many thanks for the formulas. I'll have to try a few of them.

Does anyone load cast bullets?

 

[45Auto]

Many thanks for the additional data. I have not had time to seek out the suggested bullets and powders yet, but I intend to do so.

The last time I went to the range I tried some of the bullets I have in stock with light charges of powder, which worked ok but the accuracty was not great. As far as functioning, I kept the bullets close to the length of an original cartridge and they fed from the mag rather well.

Regarding Ideal mold No. 321297, according to one of my pre-war Ideal Handbooks and another one from 1946 this mold was recommended by Ideal for casting bullets for the 8mm French Service rifle. The flat tip would be a plus for a tubular magazine. So far I have had no time to cast and size any bullets with No. 321297 so this experiment will have to be done latter.