Since money is an issue,I have seen guys take a "real" 8x56R bullet only, and use it to flair out the .323 neck to allow the seating of a cast bullet.
Just very lightly lube the FMJ bullet to allow easy entry/removal of the bullet from the case mouth.
One of my club members used his 8x56R Seating die with the seating plug removed and a FMJ bullet Hot-Melt glued into the die to speed things up.
The bullet is easily removed from the top of the die.
If you want to spend a few bucks, a .338 Winchester expanding plug filed/sanded down by chucking it into a hand drill also works very well.
Neck sizing alone will work for one or two reloads then the bolt may or may not work to close on a loaded round due to brass creep.

 

That's interesting. I bought a box of 8x56R when I thought that was what I had, so I've got some bullets.

 

Rob's ideas are definitely good, for you to consider, in order to size necks as req'd. and the Lee 8mm Lebel die will size the necks down suitably. maybe you can get a Lee die with the correct expander for your requirements.

 

Going route #2 with the Lee Lebel dies only gets you halfway there (neck sizing only), and you'll spend about half as much as the die set from CH4D anyway. You already jumped right in ordering cases and bullets before you had dies to load with, so you might as well spend the extra $50 and have hassle-free reloading from the beginning. And then if you need more cases, you can make them yourself with the dies, which will save you some money.

Or you can look at it this way - CH4D dies are really cheap compared to a set from RCBS. AND you'll be ready for that m.88 Austrian rifle you should get.

If you're patient, look for a used set of dies. They come up every once in a while, and usually go for $50-75.

 

These are some great idea, I also saw 2 videos on youtudbe that would be benificial to you.

 

Thanks guys. Guess your ideas reinforced my thoughts. Go for a cheaper short term solution or spend some more for a long term solution. Have these mil-surps to feed and not enough range time. If anyone has a good 8x50r 205 gr bullet over IMR 4064 load

let me know. I'll work it up slowly.

 

One other thought I'll throw in. I got rid of most of my Lee die sets years ago. Almost all of what I have now are RCBS, CH4D and Redding. Three reasons for this:

1) I found that a few of the Lee sets had design issues that were causing me problems - The 7.65 Argentine set's shoulder was too long and wouldn't chamber in all my rifles, and the 7.5 MAS set sized the shoulder too much and wore out brass quickly. 2) Their shell holders are the next best thing to pot metal (try the 8x50R Lebel or 11mm Mauser), and on some sets are not even the correct size. They are horrible for forming brass. 3) They were not geared toward changing out expanders for different size bullets (unless you special order them and wait for months).

My experiences led me to not value the cheap price of the Lee sets, especially the more common sets that were only $10 cheaper than RCBS. As I expanded my shooting, both in what I shot and how often, I found them to be more hassle than they were worth to me. They worked great when I wasn't shooting much, most of the time. When I got older and found more range time, I stopped appreciating them. I owned at least 15 sets of Lee dies that now live somewhere else.

Direct comparison - Harbor Freight Tools.

Just my thoughts. I know lots of guys love Lee's tools, I'm just not one. I also don't like spending a ton of money, so I have bought a lot of my die sets used.

 

have to say, i totally agree with lgm's comment. the only problem is the other brands are getting pretty pricey, especially in the more uncommon calibers. and a new set of 8x50 dies isn't something you can buy 2day, online.....special order.

 

I had been in touch with CH4D for over a year and a half on and off waiting for the next run of 8 X 50 R Austrian dies - always told 9 months out. Finally found a used set on ebay for $50. Glad you got your dies right a way. You gun looks very nice - Please don't "Improve" it by sanding the stock or aggressive metal cleaning. It will never be worth more than it is right now. Enjoy it as is!

 

M95 Stock




Yeah, as much as I'd like to strip it, sand it down, and steam out the dents, I know I'd ruin its value. I usually take my milsurps and wipe them off with Mineral Spirits to take oil and dirt off the surface and leave them as is. This one had some pretty severe pitting under the wood, so I like to try to stop the rust.

I have 8 Lee die calibers, 4 RCBS, and 1 Hornady. They all have their idiosyncrasies but have worked for me. Had no idea CH4D had such long wait times. Read terrible things about Western Bullets, but got mine in three weeks and they look fine.

 

Of the things I have gotten from CH4D, I have only had to wait for a couple orders. Maybe I have just been lucky. Their heat treat oven seems to be the bottle neck in their operation. Currently waiting on some expanders.

i also never had an issue with Western Bullet. But I now cast all my own.

Get the 8x50R Austrian dies. You’ll need them when you get another rifle in that chambering and don’t want to sort brass. I’ve always found it easier to justify another rifle if I already had dies for it.

 

I’m in the market for a set of these does also. Maybe two orders will get CH4D more excited about producing them. Did you order yet?

 

No, still weighing options. My next two guns on my bucket list are a Berthier and a Gewehr 98. Don't know if an 88 will ever make the list. Hoping to go to Tulsa gun show. Who knows what I might find!

 

Bonjours je recherche aussi un kit de rechargement en 8.50r streyr lol

 

I have a set of 8x50 ch4d dies and they are awesome and enjoyable to use ... the 6.5 dutch dies are a little finicky... but once you get in the groove its smooth running ... well worth the money

 

What about using 8x56 dies to neck size only? Aren't they .329? The Lebel 8mm neck size would be a .323 right?
I am about to start tackling this problem myself. 8x50R Mannlicher, with no Mannlicher dies. Should be fun!

 

8x56 is too long to fully neck size a 8x50 case. I splurged and picked up a set of rcbs 8x50 dies but they still have the .321 expander ball, so I end up running my 8x50 brass through my Lee 8x56 dies to bell out the neck just slightly for me to be able to seat a .329 bullet.


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I have Lebel 8x50R and 8x56 dies. So looks like I will have some experimentation until I can find 8x50 dies. I have Hornady .330 205 grain bullets and lgm's converted 8x56 brass expanded to .329. I also have a case mouth expander die, I think I can get something of this combination to work to at least shoot a few rounds through my Mannlicher.

 

You should be fine with those two sets for a while. Seat those bullets out a bit to get good feeding.

 

Well, well over a year since I started this thread and I'm still working on a good reload for this gun. The Western .329, 205 gr, gas sealed cast bullets, I loaded up are relatively short bullets at something over 2.6 and I can't even get them to group or even be on the paper at 50 yds. Ordered some cartridges from Gad Custom Cartridges, and while they're not grouping great, at least they're on the paper. They are close to the 3" length the original cartridges were. I pulled the bullet from a 1930's cartridge that is 3" in length. Nickel plated with flat base. Are the 2.6 bullets having to jump too much to reach the rifling. I thought the .329 bullets would result in greater accuracy, but not so. My other German guns can group at 2" at 50 yds. Do I need a longer bullet?

 

Not necessarilly going to have great accuracy with a .329" lead bullet - not quite fat enough to seal most m.95 bores well. And the shorter bullet doesn't help either. My lead bullets are .330 260-275 gr, which result in a nice OAL. With lead, you want to be 1-2 thou over your groove. I find I can get away with 1 thou over on the long, heavy bullets. I've seen m.95s with grooves at .332".

I've had some good luck using .329 Hornadys and 200 gr .338 Speer Hot Cores (sized to .329) lately, seated out as much as possible. Short, jacketed .329's are OK for the bore. I've been using IMR 3031 for jacketed loads.

 

8x50R lebel die set can be used for neck sizing and bullet seating

 

Yes, I’m using that

 

Wag,

I use 220 gr. spire point .323 bullets, and seat them out very long. I used some original cartridges, which are .323 bullets, as my guide. My groups went from patterns to a single ragged hole at 50 yds. by only changing the seating depth/overall length. The original 1895 system was that the bullets "bumped up" at the flat base, while the long sides rode the rifling. Cast bullets need to fit groove dia., but my bore is so bad, a cast bullet might be shredded before it reached the muzzle!