Daryl,

Agreed on all the info. The 55mm case will hold the same as a 57mm. My current (stainless Tikka) 6.5x55 uses within 2% of H1000 with a 140 as does my 6.5x284.

In years gone by I had a 96 & a 95 mausers in 6.5x55 and 7x57 respectively, They both used the same load 47grs IMR4831 with 160's.

The fatter 55mm case cool. A friend has a SAKO on a pattern 98 style action chambered in 8x63mm. Common thought this would be a .30'06 case but it is the fatter 55mm style case. He lucked into a handful of cases that take standard primers. It outruns my old 300H&H.

The 8mm loads sound right on. I am thinking the top end stuff will have way more recoil than I am thinking I want to put with in this rifle. Anyway I have a scoped 8x57 to handle all of those variety of loads. It will indeed run with a .30'06. I agree with you on the 200gr Speer. Great bullet and maybe the cheapest jacket 8mm bullet available. I see Hornady has a 195 as well. With this rifle turning out to be a .323" it eases the pursuit of jacketed bullets. I noticed there is a custom LEE FN 215 and 225gr molds available as well.

Best I can come up with is that the original load was a 196 at 2300ish.

Anyway, loadwise, I like the original ballistics. The rear sight is a replacement, front sight seems genuine. Been thinking that I will find a fac. dup. load and then file the sight. Thinking a 100 standing and a 300 folding....thinking it will shoot flat enough for that. If I ever stumble over some original ammo I will be close with the sighting to use them.

Just really enjoying the feel of this old, long-ish, skinny, trim, round rifle. I am already re-learning the virtue of a light, iron sighted, long barreled, long-ish L.O.P. small around bolt rifle of plenty of power. It is no pristine collector piece, actually the near oppisite. It is a nice honest rifle I can learn from. I have missd having a rifle around to rub some oil on the wood and some Rangoon on the blue