8 bore bp loads

[Daryl S]

That muzzle blast is awesome!
My .458 2", with 68gr. H335(smokeless ball pdr.) and a 350gr. Hornady used to put out about a 3' diameter ball of flame. - About like the first picture.

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

That muzzle blast is awesome!
My .458 2", with 68gr. H335(smokeless ball pdr.) and a 350gr. Hornady used to put out about a 3' diameter ball of flame. - About like the first picture.

Ive seen some posts on Facebook about 458 2" never knew it was a thing until recently. Its been added to "my list"

 

[Daryl S]

I have done extensive loading for mine, since 1977, 1st one on a VZ34 action, the second on a Mark 10 Mauser action. Both guns did well. Quite the round on a good action.

 

[fourfive8]

One thing about black powder is that It is very forgiving and inefficient compared to smokeless powder. It uses a bunch of its chemical energy to push about 50% of its own mass out the barrel each shot

 

[Daryl S]

Yes- about 57% is solid waste.

 

[fourfive8]

Senor Casual, you said you “dipped” bullets in lube. You may have meant pan lubed. If so, my apologies. I use a cake pan to melt SPG lube then set each bullet base down. Overheating lube tends to degrade it. Wait til lube solidifies then push bullets out by pushing on nose.

Pics show process.

 

[matt85]

Interesting gun! Very light for caliber and a surprising long case.

My own 8-bore is far more standard. My rifle weighs around 16.5lb and has a 0.847" bore. I make my cartridges with 3.25" RMC brass, a 1200gr 0.849" bullet from accurate molds, a healthy stack of wads, and 67gr of blue dot.

 

[Daryl S]

A good nitro-for-black load will have a LOT less recoil than a full BP load.

 

[matt85]

A good nitro-for-black load will have a LOT less recoil than a full BP load.

While it does reduce recoil, it didnt make as much of a difference as i thought it would with my rifle. Ive done both 67gr of blue dot and 270gr of FFg black powder with a 1200gr bullet. The recoil felt only slightly more with the black powder. I was never able to measure muzzle velocity with black powder (the smoke screws my chronograph readings) but im getting 1300fps with my smokeless loads.

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Senor Casual, you said you “dipped” bullets in lube. You may have meant pan lubed. If so, my apologies. I use a cake pan to melt SPG lube then set each bullet base down. Overheating lube tends to degrade it. Wait til lube solidifies then push bullets out by pushing on nose.

Pics show process.
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Yes that's how I do it!
I bought a couple of silicone square pans just for that purpose. Super easy they just peel right off the lube once hardened