8×50mmR Mannlicher
8×50mmR Mannlicher | ||||||||||||
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Type | Rifle cartridge | |||||||||||
Place of origin | Austria-Hungary | |||||||||||
Service history | ||||||||||||
Used by | Austria-Hungary Kingdom of Bulgaria Kingdom of Italy | |||||||||||
Wars | World War I World War II | |||||||||||
Production history | ||||||||||||
Designed | 1890 (M. 90) | |||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||
Parent case | 8×52mmR Mannlicher | |||||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, bottleneck | |||||||||||
Bullet diameter | 8.22 (C.I.P.) | |||||||||||
Land diameter | 7.95 mm (0.313 in) | |||||||||||
Neck diameter | 9.03 mm (0.356 in) | |||||||||||
Shoulder diameter | 12.01 mm (0.473 in) | |||||||||||
Base diameter | 12.48 mm (0.491 in) | |||||||||||
Rim diameter | 14.11 mm (0.556 in) | |||||||||||
Rim thickness | 1.38 mm (0.054 in) | |||||||||||
Case length | 50.38 mm (1.983 in) | |||||||||||
Overall length | 76.21 mm (3.000 in) | |||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
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Test barrel length: 30 |
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.[citation needed]
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[citation needed]). The new semi-smokeless loading pushed the bullet to a velocity of 1,950 ft/s (590 m/s) in the converted M.88/90 and M.86/90 Mannlicher rifles.
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 200 ft/s (61 m/s) less out of the "repetier-carabiner" Mannlicher M1890 carbine, to 2,035 ft/s (620 m/s) out of the M.88/90 and later Mannlicher M1895 Rifles.
Current use
The IOF.315 Sporting Rifle uses this cartridge under the title of .315 (also .315 Indian).
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.
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 8×56mmR 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. 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.
References
- "8 x 50 R Mannlicher - MUNICION.ORG". municion.org. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
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- 8×50mmR Mannlicher (aka .315 Indian)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/8x52MannG.jpg/250px-8x52MannG.jpg)