8mm Remington Magnum in Zimbabwe

drew416

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Zimbabwe, Namibia.
As a newbie, not much of a poster but avid reader, not much has been mentioned about the 8mm Rem Mag....
I was lucky enough to purchase one here in Australia and take it with me to Zimbabwe for a 10 day Buff and Plains game hunt with Sango Safaris. My PH being the very capable Mr Craig Robinson. Please note the 8mm was only used for the plains game side of things, with devastating results. For the game that is, the 8mm RM does not take any prisoners.
The game taken, all with one shot kills, are attached as photos. Please people I am new to this site and am having trouble uploading photo so please bear with me.

My Zebra was taken at 290m. I was on top of a large rock outcrop. When he was shot he went down like lightning had hit him. It was an entry/ exit shot and the brownish grass directly behind him was spray painted crimson with blood as the bullet exited.

DSC00052.JPGDSC00052.JPGDSC00052.JPGIMG_0905.JPG


I was lucky enough that an impressive Warthog presented himself for a very quick snap shot at about 50m.IMG_0930.JPGIMG_0932.JPG


No first time Safari is complete without an Impala. This bloke was taken at about 120m in a herd of about 40 or so. He took a few hours to come up onto and into the herd to pick out. That few hours flew by in comparison to, in real time about 30 minutes, for him to walk into a window for a clear shot, whilst standing ready to take in the action position. First photo is where he dropped when shot as to give an idea of the scrub they were in. He was then moved for better photo's.P6050099.jpgDSC00120.JPG

For those who are interested in the technical stuff.. My rifle action in a Remington 700 BDL Magnum Length. It has been trued, blueprinted, locking lugs lapped, Sako style extractor fitted, titanium speed lock firing pin and speed lock main spring fitted. The trigger is standard issue but spring changed and pull lightened to 3 lb.
Barrel is standard Remington 24" BDL 8mm Rem Mag. I personally re cut an 11.5 degree "target crown" on the muzzle to get rid of some nasty pitting left from neglect from the previous owner. It is fitted with a set of back up Williams "fire sights" in case there is a scope or operator malfunction.
Scope is fixed 6x40 Leupold in Leupold QD low rings on Weaver type rail. I have several barrels for this action and can change between 7mm Rem Mag, .300Win Mag, 8mm Rem Mag, .375H&H or .416 Rem Mag in about ten minutes.

Stock is a Boyds Laminate, with proper cross bolts and Pachmayer decelerator pad fitted. Glass bedded of course.

My pet load- The 8mm 250gn Woodleigh RN. Loaded into Rem brass, pushed by 80gn of AR2217 powder, ignited by Federal 215 gives me an average of 2630fps over 10 shots. This is nearly on maximum impact velocity recommended by Woodleigh but gives 1" five shot groups @100m and gives only 15fps variation between the ten shots fired for testing.

A truly overlooked and underestimated cartridge that is now, since better bullets and slower powders are available, able to be utilized to it's full potential.

Anybody else been successful on Safari with the 8mm RM? During my delay on arrival in Zim( another story) I was able to look through the customs book( imported for hunting purposes) and could see what was brought into the country right up until January this year. That was when the first entry was made, on the first page. I could see no other 8mm RM coming into Zim. Alot of 416 Rem Mag and 375H&H with the occasional 470 and 500 nitro, even a 6.5x55 Swede but never another 8mm.
 
I own a .325 WSM which is very similar. You won't see too many 8 mm Rem Mag's. For some reason everyone likes the 300 Win Mag and the 338 Win Mag, not that they are bad.
I personally believe it has to do with the metric system. Most people don't understand it in the USA. The 6mm and 8mm are not that popular but are great cartridges. For some reason the 7mm became very popular, I'm super happy because its one of my favorites.
 
Congrats to you... The 8mm RM is one of my all time favorites. Like Eric stated, for some reason the 6mm rem and the 8mm rem didn't stick, but I love them both, still have my 6mm. Anyway, congrats to you again, and good luck in the future with the 8mm. Keep them pictures coming.
 
Your doing great with the pics, and that 8mm RM the way you have it setup is awesome! Looks like your 8mm RM did the job. I have an 8mm Mauser on a boyd thumb hole stock love that thing, Deer here in Alabama don't care for it much to many family members missing.:laughing:
 
Hi Drew, congratulations for your safari and awesome animals, also for the details on your firearm and caliber. It looks like it was a super well prepared safari.

I had never heard of this 8mm Rem Mag caliber before I saw your post and quickly looked at the 4 retailers for ammunitions in France from which I purchase my manufactured ammo and NONE have this caliber!
 

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