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. It is also known as the caliber .315 Indian.
History
M90
In approximately 1890, the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
converted the older,
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
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 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 less out of the "repetier-carabiner"
Mannlicher M1890 carbine, to out of the
M.88/90 and later
Mannlicher M1895
The Mannlicher M1895 (, ; "Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95") is an Austro-Hungarian straight pull Bolt action, bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher, Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined version of his revolutionary st ...
Rifles.
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'').
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.
As of 2024, the cartridge is still being produced by some specialty manufacturers such as Milsurp Munitions of Florida,
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.
[https://redtea.com/survival-ammunition-8x50r-mannlicher/] 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
*
List of rimmed cartridges
Below is a list of rimmed cartridges (R). Although similar, rimmed cartridges differ from rimfire cartridges (list). A rimmed cartridge is a cartridge with a rim, whose primer is located in the center of the case head; the primer is detonated by ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:8by50mmR Mannlicher
Military cartridges
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Rimmed cartridges
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1890