8 Remington Magnum

[JLF]

Does anyone know why 8 Rem. Mag. Was not successful due ?. A cartridge wonder.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I think a lot of it was that the 338 win mag was already very popular.

 

[flatwater bill]

When it came out, bullet selection was modest at best. Big time gunwriters said it offered no advantage over the 300 Wby. But who knows?...............FWB

 

[JimP]

What I remember it was bullet selection and with few choices it just didn't fit in.

I'm not sure if it came out right now if it would catch on

 

[BeeMaa]

I'll give it a shot...

The 338WM had a 30 year head start on the 8mmRM.
Although not ballistic twins, I doubt any Elk or Bear could tell the difference.

Americans (in the late '70's) were hesitant to buy a "metric" caliber.
European market dominated by the 8x68mm and 8x57mm at the time.

8mmRM is based on the 375H&H and requires a magnum length action.
Compared to the 300WM and 338WM that needed only a 30-06 length action.
Higher cost of the action starts to factor in.

Fast forward to 2005 and the 325WSM where Winchester tries the 8mm market.
They missed the mark for some reason as well.

Although the 8mmRM (and 325WSM) are good cartridges, they are just not as popular.

 

[Ray B]

The biggest reason was that most of the component bullets available the time were designed to perform at 8x57mm velocity. The basic cartridge has been used for several wildcats that were popular until the recent non-belted bunch were offered.

 

[Hillbilly Marine]

When it first came out I remember how the gun writers panned it. If I remember correctly it went something like "great power and accurate, but heavy in the recoil department " or some such wording. I always wanted to try one but as of yet have never even laid eyes on a loaded round, much less a rifle.

 

[JLF]

Thank you very much for answering ... Too bad it is a cartridge that would have surpassed the old German 8x68S ..
From the reload data, it would have worked very well with the national manufacturer of Military Fabrications, "FM", A19, a very slow powder.

 

[meigsbucks]

I had an 8 mag but never shot anything with it. I actually got rid of it because the only bullet it would shoot well was the 220 gr Sierra and I had a bad experience with the 250 gr Sierra in a .338.
With it’s introduction Remington basicly made it a poor man‘s .300 Wby with its 185 (3100 fps) and 220 gr (2820 fps) bullets. Hornady brought out a 220 gr spire point, Sierra a 220 gr spitzer boattail, Speer a 200 gr spritzer and Nosler a 200 gr Partition; all in response to the 8 mags introduction.
These bullets really didn’t provide anything more than the .300’s with the powders available at the time. As others have stated the .338 Win mag was already well established as an elk, moose big bear round, which in itself is a somewhat limited group of hunters. The 7mm Rem mag and .300 Win mag were going strong for the elk hunters.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I’m going to chime in with my love for the 8 mag, I’ve had great luck with it on everything I’ve shot. It had a very limited following up in Montana when I was a kid. My first one was a 700 classic and my next was a BDL, both shoot extremely well. With the Nosler Accubond and the 220 Swift A-frame now readily available the 8mag is a perfect do all NA cartridge but lacks ammunition availability that is nice to have with the 338WM.

 

[450 Dakota]

Bullet selection, 24" barrel when it should of been 26 and some rumors that the barrels were slightly out of specs and accuracy was hit and miss.

 

[35bore]

My personal opinion, based on countless conversations with "the old timers", is that the millimeters never really faired too well in the US. That is just here in the US, I know the mm's are more successful in other countries. The one mm that took off like a rocket here was the development of the 7mm Remington Mag. Great cartridge, I have owned several.
The mindset here in the US, within the last 10 years or so, has painted a different picture though. I see an exhausting amount of 6mm and 6.5mm (pick a hybrid) in the long range shooting competitions. Nothing wrong with them at all, just not what I cut my teeth on.
The 8mm is a fantastic cartridge, and devastating on larger animals. As always, if you have good bullets, you'll get good results. If you have shit bullets, (you get my point). I've owned one 8mm Remington Mag, and have shot many trying to find one as accurate as the one I sold. So far, no luck.... If you find it, sell it back to me.

 

[dchamp]

I think the reason why the 8mm REM MAG hasn't received the attention its worthy of is primarily due to lack of manufactured ammunition and variety of bullets. My first 8mm was a 8x57 Mauser I purchased in 1967 at the age of 15. I wanted a M1 Garand but couldn't afford it so I bought the 8x57 Mauser. Best thing that ever happened and I have never regretted getting the 8x57.

I came across and bought a 8mm REM MAG on Gunbroker about 15-20 yrs ago. It is a real thumper. I get around 3100 fps with 200gr TSX's without excessive pressure. I prefer it to the .300Wby and it out shines the .338WM by a long ways. IMHO it takes moving up to the .340Wby to out shine the 8mm REM MAG and it doesn't do it by much.

The biggest problem with the 8mm's is the lack of manufactured ammunition. If you hand load then you will be very happy with the 8mm REM MAG.

I prefer the 8mm to the .30Cal and think them superior but I fully confess my bias and I think the .30 Calibers are by far the more practical for the reasons stated above.

 

[fourfive8]

I think everyone has it pretty well covered. I had one for quite a few years- heckuva elk (and similar sized game) killing machine with good bullets. Why Remington tried to market that thing with their conventional, soft/weak cup and core ammo/bullets I'll never understand! Probably marketing and board room types pushing fps instead of performance. And come to think of it that culture is still common today.

Likely multiple reasons for not being popular at the time... the 338 WM was well established, the "millimeter craze" had not yet reached the US and good ammo with good bullets was unobtainium- a reloading proposition from the get go. But IMO an excellent hunting caliber nonetheless. Shortly after it was introduced, IIRC, about the only decent hunting bullet for reloading it was the 200 gr Nosler Partition- but again most of the public didn't and still doesn't reload. Today it remains an excellent choice for those hunters who reload and have access to the great variety of superior bullets currently available.

 

[JLF]

Thanks for the information .... Every day I am more excited about 8 Rem. Mag.

 

[BeeMaa]

...pushing fps instead of performance. And come to think of it that culture is still common today.

Remember that Remington may have been trying to compete with Weatherby cartridges.
The first magnum craze ('55-'65) carried over (to a lesser extent) to the 70's and even later.
Remington released the 416RM in '89 and it was based on the 8mmRM.
Although they learned their lesson and didn't call it the 10.6x72mmRM.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Does anyone know why 8 Rem. Mag. Was not successful due ?. A cartridge wonder.

@JLF
From everything I have read it has to do with the fact it was 8mm. Apparently the U.S. has a thing with NIH( not invented here) the same with the 6.5 mms and the e 9.3. That and the fact that an 8mm the 8x57 was used to kill a lot of American soldiers. Metric calibers just don't sell well e.g. 6.5 rem mag, 260 rem 264 win mag. All 6.5s that just failed not because they didn't work they did. The same goes for the 8mm rem mag and it's kissing cousin the 325WSM. Excellent calibers but again metric.
Just my 2cents worth
Bob

 

[bruce moulds]

i have often wondered about the 8mm rem mag as a lighter end flatter shooting camel gun.
with some of the modern bullets around 220 gns it would shoot markedly flatter than 375 h&h/9.3x64.
the same case necked up to 338 with 250 gn bullets would be deadlier, and both would have a point blank of around 300 yds.
not quite as flat as a 30 cal on that case, but both would kill better.
when my 7mmstw barrel goes, this could be where that gun ends up.
bruce.

 

[shark_za]

I don't think the 300 Weatherby is much different to the 8mm RM if you have one with a 1:10 twist and shoot 200/220gr bullets.
Stepping up to 338 WM gets you a shorter action too.
Europeans(and Southern Africans) will rather have 8x68S so the 8mm RM gets no love.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

i have often wondered about the 8mm rem mag as a lighter end flatter shooting camel gun.
with some of the modern bullets around 220 gns it would shoot markedly flatter than 375 h&h/9.3x64.
the same case necked up to 338 with 250 gn bullets would be deadlier, and both would have a point blank of around 300 yds.
not quite as flat as a 30 cal on that case, but both would kill better.
when my 7mmstw barrel goes, this could be where that gun ends up.
bruce.

@bruce moulds
As Nick Harvey would tell you Bruce just get a 325WSM they are basically balistic twins.
A mate in WA uses a 325WSM BLR for camels. Reckons it knocks the snot out of them
Why not get a Whelen load it with 225grain Woobleigh PPSP @ 2,950fps.
Bob