8×50mmR Mannlicher
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The Austro-Hungarian 8×50mmR Mannlicher or 8×50mmR M93 is a service cartridge dating back to the days of semi-smokeless powder. It was later replaced by (and many weapons were rechambered for) the 8×56mmR cartridge.[1][2] It is also known as the caliber .315 Indian.
History
M90
In approximately 1890, the Austro-Hungarian Empire converted the older, black powder filled 8×52mmR Mannlicher round into a semi-smokeless cartridge, following upon the heels of France's 8 mm Lebel cartridge, the first smokeless military round. This new round was designated 8mm M.1890 scharfe Patrone or "nitro-Patrone". It was loaded with the same 244 gr bullet but carried a 43 gr 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 velocity of Script error: No such module "convert". in the converted M.88/90 and M.86/90 Mannlicher rifles.[3]
M93
Upon perfection of a completely smokeless powder by the Austro-Hungarians in 1893, the loading was again updated and thus re-designated as the "8mm M.1893 scharfe Patrone". It used the same bullet as the two previous loadings with a 43 gr charge of the new Gewehrpulver M.1892. This improved ballistics slightly, which had been about Script error: No such module "convert". less out of the "repetier-carabiner" Mannlicher M1890 carbine, to Script error: No such module "convert". out of the M.88/90 and later Mannlicher M1895 Rifles.[4]
Current use
The 8×50mmR 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 8×50mmR in place of the .303 inch cartridge, thus providing a solution to the British colonial administration's 1907 ban on civilians possessing rifles chambered in British military calibres while offering a cartridge of similar capabilities. The IOF.315 Sporting Rifle uses this cartridge under the title of .315 (also .315 Indian). [5][6][7]
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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
As of 2024, the cartridge is still being produced by some specialty manufacturers such as Milsurp Munitions of Florida,[8]
Handloading
Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming and trimming 8×56mmR Mannlicher or 7.62×54mmR Mosin–Nagant Russian brass. Standard .323" 8mm S-bullets are correct for this caliber though best results are obtained from open-base bullets that can expand to fit the .329" bore.[9] RCBS offers both reforming and reloading dies.
When reloading for "wedge-lock" Mannlicher rifles such as the M.88, M.86/88, M.86/90 or M.88/90 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.
See also
References
- ↑ https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/steyr-95-30-8x56r-straight-pull-action-carbine/480716
- ↑ http://www.hungariae.com/Mann9530.htm
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- ↑ https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/02/10/bringing-the-lee-enfield-into-the-21st-century-indian-style/
- ↑ https://redtea.com/survival-ammunition-8x50r-mannlicher/
- ↑ https://ddpdoo.gov.in/product/products/product-details/0-315-quot-sporting-rifle
- ↑ https://milsurpmunitions.com/product/8x50r-mannlicher/
- ↑ https://redtea.com/survival-ammunition-8x50r-mannlicher/
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