8mm lebel factory ammo to tide a guy over?

driller212

driller212

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Hi guys,

I just bought my first antique firearm today, a French 1892 in 8mm lebel.

I was just wondering if any dealers in Canada sell 8mm lebel factory ammo to tide me over until I get all of my reloading components?

Also I need to find somewhere that sells 8mm lebel brass and bullets..

Thanks for any help you can provide,

J


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and yes I did go photo crazy!
 
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Talk to starpuss for bullets and good quality fiocchi brass.

As for factory ammo, good luck finding any, its on back order for awhile, fiocchi is behind in production of alot of calibers.

Just a side note, 8mm lebel and 8mm lebel Revolver are two different types of ammo to dealers, lots of rifles floating around for "8mm lebel".
 
I noticed that when I was searching for it, but I likely wont have to buy commercial if I get reloading before I find any factory ammo.

Thanks for the help!

J
 
driller, congrats and welcome to the dark side(of antique accumulating) :)

You know it is customary on this forum to post pictures of new aquired irons.
 
haha I will post some in the picture thread in a week or so when i receive the pistol, i just purchased it this morning on the EE and im too giddy to wait to figure out this ammo situation haha.

Unfortunately I dont reload yet, but I have friends that reload that will let me use their equipment for now. anybody know where i can find dies for 8mm lebel rev?

thanks, I really think antiques are really neat, and its like kicking a liberal in the groin at the same time so its just great :p

I actually have family that have a similar period revolver from fighting in WWI that live in Britain, so this is really cool!

J
 
Nobody is selling pre-rolled Lebel ammo in Canada, but Lee makes dies and Tradex has lots of brass (Privi).

Try regular 8mm (.323") bullets first. If they won't group (your bore is really .327"), you might need to get a mold and do some casting. I like H4895 in this calibre.
 
Claven2 said:
Nobody is selling pre-rolled Lebel ammo in Canada, but Lee makes dies and Tradex has lots of brass (Privi).

Try regular 8mm (.323") bullets first. If they won't group (your bore is really .327"), you might need to get a mold and do some casting. I like H4895 in this calibre.
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We have some serious miscommunication happening here. The problem is that there are two 8mm Lebel cartridges - the 8x50R Lebel (rifle) and the 8mm Lebel Revolver.

Different people in this thread have assumed different cartridges, and this is to be expected because the OP did not actually say it was for a pistol until his 3rd or 4th post. This kind of confusion could possibly lead to dangerous situations when one starts trading reloading information.

Accordingly - Tradeex does not have any brass or bullets for the 8mm Lebel revolver, Lee does not make dies, and H4895 will not work at all.

I ordered my revolver dies direct from Hornady, which should run you about $90 including shipping. (don't forget to order the shellholder, it is not included). Ellwood Epps can get dies but it will take longer and cost about the same. RCBS also makes dies but they cost about twice as much.

You can make 8mm lebel revolver brass from 32-20 brass using the Hornady 8mm Lebel Revolver reloading dies. If you plan to use 32-20 brass, get a 32-20 shellholder. In Hornady products 8mm Lebel Revolver and 32-20 are different shellholders. Since they only cost about $4, get one of each and you're covered for any eventuality. Fiocchi 8mm brass did not fit great in my 32-20 shellholder, the 8mm cartridge has a slightly larger rim OD than 32-20.

Check the gunshow in calgary - good chance somebody there will have a box of Fiocchi factory ammo for 8mm Lebel Revolver.
 
ok thanks for the info guys, I didnt know there were 2 types of 8mm lebel ammo around when I first posted. I think i found some dies, and unfortunately I get back to calgary right after the gun show :(

so is the only way to get brass/bullets on here in the ammo section then? or are there dealers that carry them?

thanks again guys,

J
 
Your revolver is neither an antique nor BP. The model year has nothing to do with when it was made.
"...didnt know there were..." Yep. Silly Frenchmen. Frontier Arms is listing Fiocchi 111 grain 8mm Lebel revolver ammo at $45.00 per 50. Of course, they don't actually have any. Dies and a shell holder will be a special order. Hornady used to make dies, but they're off their site now. RCBS makes 'em too. On a Special Order only. RCBS dies run around $160US.
Brass can be made out of .25-20 or .32-20 Winchester. Neither of which should be terribly hard to get. The case forming dies are another thing. It uses a .330" bullet.
8mm Lebel revolver isn't an easy cartridge to find anything for in Canada.
 
sunray said:
Your revolver is neither an antique nor BP. The model year has nothing to do with when it was made.
"...didnt know there were..." Yep. Silly Frenchmen. Frontier Arms is listing Fiocchi 111 grain 8mm Lebel revolver ammo at $45.00 per 50. Of course, they don't actually have any. Dies and a shell holder will be a special order. Hornady used to make dies, but they're off their site now. RCBS makes 'em too. On a Special Order only. RCBS dies run around $160US.
Brass can be made out of .25-20 or .32-20 Winchester. Neither of which should be terribly hard to get. The case forming dies are another thing. It uses a .330" bullet.
8mm Lebel revolver isn't an easy cartridge to find anything for in Canada.
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The 1892 is the patent date, the first year of production is 1893 and sorry, you are incorrect, many were made from 1893 until 1897 and of course used with BP. The caliber is 8mm and since the year and caliber is correct for an antique, they are antique. Maybe you care arguing with Canada customs because they opened 2 packages containing Lebel 8mm R, both of which I bought in the US and processed both of them as antique revolver.

As to Hornady shipping dies to Canada:


http://www.hornady.com/store/8mm-Lebel-Rev/

How long ago was that?
 
It IS classified antique and has a letter clarifying this from the RCMP. Just to clarify that nothing illegal is going on here, as what I think sunray was trying to imply.

Ok so dies and both shellholders, brass, bullets, powder, and a beginner reloading set, here i come :p
 
Hornady makes a run of 8mm Lebel Revolver dies every 8-12 months and they usually sell out in 3-4 months so suppliers stock runs out. The time will come when Hornady will probably stop making these dies altogether. The Hornady dies are excellent for reforming 32-20 brass. CH4D also makes dies but i have no experience with them.

Graf's has the 8mm Lebel revolver dies listed under "orphaned products". That would usually mean it is discontinued.
 
driller212 said:
It IS classified antique and has a letter clarifying this from the RCMP. Just to clarify that nothing illegal is going on here, as what I think sunray was trying to imply...:p
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Of course pre-1898 M1892 french service pistols are antique. Sunray is a real ray of sunshine, isn't he?

This revolver is one of the first firearms that was designed for smokeless powder, although the first year or so ammunition production was BP. The French were years ahead of most other nations with introducing smokeless powder.
 
Hmmm, Sunray interesting fellow. Obviously, been around the block a few times and generally seems quite knowledgeable but with no intended disrespect to you Sir, but it appears he also likes to pepper his post's with questionable information every now and then. I think he is just trying to keep us on our toes.:cool:
 
Would 8mm Gasser work? either fire form the brass or resize it? Got 2 boxes of Gasser, then found out i have a 8mm Lebel bulldog..havent tried shooting the Gasser in it but tempted!!
 
I found everything I need, so all i need to do is load some up when i get home and go out and test this baby (after a thorough examination of course).

:D
 
I think you'll find it thoroughly to your approval - those french 1892's always seem to run like clockwork and be in good condition. It's just a pity that they're 32 cal. Have to go back to the 1873 for a bigger bore, and then it doesn't have the swing out cylinder!
 
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