Oldbie Newbie Question

[Hinnerk]

Recently got back into shooting after 25 years; currently range shooting, previously a hunter (.22LR, 12 ga., .50 round ball flintlock), never done any reloading (but have cast round balls). Taken a fancy to Mauser (8x57 and 7.65x53) and wondering about reloading. However, reloading these cartridges seem difficult to justify from an economical perspective. Does it just come down to desire to tweak loads or do it yourself? Thoughts? especially from Mauser fans ....

[Enfield47]

I don't reload for Mausers, but I do for .303 British, .30-06, M1 carbine, 7.5x55 Swiss, etc. Depending on how much you shoot and how much you enjoy hands on experiences will determine if reloading is right for you. I personally enjoy being able to reload rounds when needed for a range trip, especially when ammo is hard to find or expensive.

Where are you located? Check out the reloading club classes in your area and you see if it right for you. You will get the hands on training from experts and get to try different presses. It's truly worth your time to attend one.

[Hinnerk]

I'll have to look into that. I am in the SF Bay area (East). In the mean time, I am saving my usable brass.

[Enfield47]

Check the stickies for the Eastbay reloading club. There are several people in your neck of the woods that can help you out. Maybe send Ivanimal a PM, I think I recall he was leading the group.

[kcheung2]

Recently got back into shooting after 25 years; currently range shooting, previously a hunter (.22LR, 12 ga., .50 round ball flintlock), never done any reloading (but have cast round balls). Taken a fancy to Mauser (8x57 and 7.65x53) and wondering about reloading. However, reloading these cartridges seem difficult to justify from an economical perspective. Does it just come down to desire to tweak loads or do it yourself? Thoughts? especially from Mauser fans ....

I think it's the exact opposite. I took up reloading precisely because of the Mauser. In fact my first reloads were 8mm. Both the per-round cost and carrying cost favor reloading. If you don't reload, the options are corrosive milsurp at 50c or PPU at 85c, and both have spotty availability. But my reloads only cost me 52c, they're more accurate, non-corrosive, and i can save my brass.

The carrying cost of inventory is because 8mm will only get sparser so it pays to stock up. A lifetime supply of 8mm requires a pretty hefty upfront cost. But for reloading, the only upfront cost is the cost of brass (just a few hundred @50c each, and I can keep reusing them) and projectiles @25c to 30c. The cartridges use the same powders and primers as .30-06 or .308, which I also reload for, so those don't need any special inventory requirements; that stuff will be available far into the future. For less than $1000, I have a lifetime supply. And if my calculations are off, it's relatively easy to top off my supplies. Another bag of 100 brass casings or a few 100 ct boxes of projectiles is relatively inexpensive and will last years.

And yes, there's also the desire to tweak loads.

[Bumslie]

One of the benefits of reloading over using the surplus stuff is not having to deal with the corrosiveness. That alone is worth it for me. Even with how cheap x54r is, I still don't bother with the surplus stuff.

8x57 brass is easily converted from 30-06 brass, too.

I'm looking for the right projectile to cast for my mauser, but I cast for my other rifles. Since you have experience in casting, it's a no brainer.

[Eljay]

One question to ask yourself is if you need fancy match bullets - if you're comparing to surplus pricing you shouldn't be looking at the 35 cents each Hornady bullets, you should be looking at Privi at 25 cents each. I have a big bag of Privi .311s I use in a couple of calibers and they're pretty OK. It's definitely easy to outperform surplus ammo from most countries. If you DO want full match grade rounds you need to compare to those costs. And as noted, it's possible to cast, although I personally don't for rifle and I do cast for black powder and a few revolver cartridges.

I bring that up because you'll see people running up calculations with the best possible components versus the cheapest possible surplus and it doesn't make sense.

The good news about these military bolt guns is they all run at least OK on some pretty similar components - personally I get away with .308 and .311 bullets, large rifle primers, and they all use IMR-4895 so I can get the 8 pound jugs and save some money there. In some calibers (7.65 Argentine) I save a lot since they're really expensive. In others (54R) it's more of a convenience because I at least want the option of running non corrosive and I literally have all of the components anyway it was just a question of picking up the dies and I just keep 1-2 range trips worth around.

[Divernhunter]

I have a supply of corrosive 8mm Mauser and 7.62X54R. Often I pull the bullets and put the powder into a case I have primed with a modern non-corrosive primer and shoot them. It is economical for me as I got the mil surplus ammo years ago for a very low price.

[ptmn]

OP, I'm glad you have gotten back into shooting. As for reloading 8x57, it is cheaper than buying quality ammo, but if you are strictly shooting corrosive surplus ammo, that may be cheaper than reloading.

Of course if you are not happy with the performance of the cheap corrosive ammo, then reloading may be for you.

Another plus on reloading is that when you shoot, you have the satisfaction of firing ammo that you made yourself. It kind of completes the circle when it comes to satisfaction.

Another plus is that you can tailor loads specific to your guns and/or your needs. That usually means more accuracy and less recoil.

If you hunt, then the leadfree hunting ammo is very expensive. By reloading your own leadfree hunting ammo, you will safe so much money that you will pay for your reloading set up in less than a year depending on how much shooting you do.

Since you are in the SF Bay Area (I am too), you can contact J&R Sports in Livermore. They run reloading classes from time to time and they post it on Calguns. That is a very reputable gun shop with intelligent and friendly staff. If you are military (even reserve or national guard) or law enforcement, they will give you a discount on purchases.

I load about 20 different calibers, to include 8x57. I do not save any money at all through reloading, but that is because I use my savings to load more which allows me to shoot more. Many of the Calgunners on this forum are in the exact same boat as me when it comes to not saving because we shoot more.

Good luck with your decision