8x50mmR
Encyclopedia
Note: Not to be confused with the more common 8×50R Lebel cartridge.
The Austria
n 8×50mmR Mannlicher or 8×50mmR M93 is an old cartridge
dating back to the days of black powder
.
's 8 mm Lebel
cartridge, the first smokeless military round. This new round was designated 8 mm M.1890 scharfe Patrone or "Nitro-Patrone". It was loaded with the same 244gr bullet but carried a 43gr charge of "Gewehrpulver" ("rifle powder", Austria-Hungary's name for their version of smokeless powder, which was actually a "semi-smokeless" powder). The new semi-smokeless loading pushed the bullet to a clip of 1950 ft/s (594.4 m/s) in the converted M.88/90 and M.86/90 Mannlicher rifles.
. It was later replaced (and weapons rechambered for) the 8x56mmR
cartridge.
The 8x50mmR Mannlicher cartridge has a long history of sporting use in India, as it was a simple matter to modify the Lee-Enfield action to accommodate the 8x50mmR in place of the .303 inch cartridge, thus providing a solution to the British colonial administration's ban on civilians possessing rifles chambering British military cartridges while offering a cartridge of similar capabilities.
British gunmakers BSA produced sporting versions of the Lee-Enfield military rifle, chambered in "8mm (.315")" from well before World War I until at least the 1930s. The British-founded "Rifle Factory Ishapore" continues to manufacture Lee-Enfield sporting rifles in this chambering.
Mannlicher or 7.62×54mmR Mosin-Nagant Russian brass. Standard .323" 8mm S-bullets are correct for this caliber though best results will be obtained from open-base bullets that can expand to fit the .329" bore. RCBS offers both reforming and reloading matrices.
If reloading for "wedge-lock" Mannlicher rifles such as the M.88, M.86/88, M.86/90 or M.88/90 then chamber pressures should be kept low for safety. Rifles such as the Mannlicher M.95 using a stronger rotating-bolt design can be loaded to higher pressures.
The Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n 8×50mmR Mannlicher or 8×50mmR M93 is an old cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
dating back to the days of black powder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
.
M88
The 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge was first introduced in 1888 for the Mannlicher Repetier-Gewehr M.88. The rifle was an updated version of the Mannlicher M.86, the M.88 (and later M.88/90 and M.90) used a slightly updated version of the "wedge-lock" bolt system that the earlier M.86 rifle used. Many M.86 rifles were converted to the new cartridge, creating the M.86/88. In its initial incarnation, the round was given the designation 8 mm M.1888 scharfe Patrone. It was loaded with a 244gr round nosed bullet and a 62gr charge of compressed black powder. This gave the bullet an approximate velocity of 1750 ft/s (533.4 m/s) out of the M.88's 30" barrel.M90
In approximately 1890 the Austro-Hungarian empire converted the round into a semi-smokeless cartridge, following upon the heels of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's 8 mm Lebel
8 mm Lebel
The 8×50mmR French rifle cartridge was the first smokeless gunpowder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886. Formed by necking down the 11 mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle...
cartridge, the first smokeless military round. This new round was designated 8 mm M.1890 scharfe Patrone or "Nitro-Patrone". It was loaded with the same 244gr bullet but carried a 43gr charge of "Gewehrpulver" ("rifle powder", Austria-Hungary's name for their version of smokeless powder, which was actually a "semi-smokeless" powder). The new semi-smokeless loading pushed the bullet to a clip of 1950 ft/s (594.4 m/s) in the converted M.88/90 and M.86/90 Mannlicher rifles.
M93
In 1893 the loading was once again updated with the perfection of a completely smokeless powder by the Austro-Hungarians. This new loading was designated 8 mm M.1893 scharfe Patrone, it was loaded with the same bullet as the two previous loadings but used a 43gr charge of the new Gewehrepulver M.1892. This improved ballistics slightly to 2035 ft/s (620.3 m/s) out of the long M.88/90 and later M.95 long rifles, it was about 200 ft/s (61 m/s) less out of the Repetier-Carabiner M.90 and M.95Steyr-Mannlicher M1895
The Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 rifle is a bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined version of his revolutionary straight-pull action. It was nicknamed the "Ruck-Zuck" by Landsers...
. It was later replaced (and weapons rechambered for) the 8x56mmR
8x56mmR
The 8x56mmR or 8 x 56 R M30S cartridge was adopted in the 1930s by both Austria and Hungary as a replacement for the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. It was originally created for the Steyr-Solothurn light machine gun as the M30. Later the cartridge was adopted for use in rifles in 1931 as the M31 to...
cartridge.
Current Use
The IOF.315 Sporting Rifle uses this cartridge under the title of .315 as discussed here http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=760&start=240#p39378The 8x50mmR Mannlicher cartridge has a long history of sporting use in India, as it was a simple matter to modify the Lee-Enfield action to accommodate the 8x50mmR in place of the .303 inch cartridge, thus providing a solution to the British colonial administration's ban on civilians possessing rifles chambering British military cartridges while offering a cartridge of similar capabilities.
British gunmakers BSA produced sporting versions of the Lee-Enfield military rifle, chambered in "8mm (.315")" from well before World War I until at least the 1930s. The British-founded "Rifle Factory Ishapore" continues to manufacture Lee-Enfield sporting rifles in this chambering.
Handloading
Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming and trimming 8×56mmR8x56mmR
The 8x56mmR or 8 x 56 R M30S cartridge was adopted in the 1930s by both Austria and Hungary as a replacement for the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. It was originally created for the Steyr-Solothurn light machine gun as the M30. Later the cartridge was adopted for use in rifles in 1931 as the M31 to...
Mannlicher or 7.62×54mmR Mosin-Nagant Russian brass. Standard .323" 8mm S-bullets are correct for this caliber though best results will be obtained from open-base bullets that can expand to fit the .329" bore. RCBS offers both reforming and reloading matrices.
If reloading for "wedge-lock" Mannlicher rifles such as the M.88, M.86/88, M.86/90 or M.88/90 then chamber pressures should be kept low for safety. Rifles such as the Mannlicher M.95 using a stronger rotating-bolt design can be loaded to higher pressures.