German ww2 ammo

emmab

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I wish I found this crate of ammo! My budddy traded straight across round for round for a whole case. Would this be 8mm? Cheers



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Looks like 8x56R Hungarian Mannlicher.
Made in Austria after Germany took over the country - this one being dated 1938.
Often seen on 5 round stripper clips in an odd shaped tapered box.
 
I still have three of the odd shaped boxes...two unopened and one being open and the opened box all are stamped identically to the pic in post #1....and 37patt is correct.....it is 8x56R.I have shot 15 rounds of the stuff in my 95 Styer without a hiccup or a burb.
 
The brass is Berdan-primed and the primers don't seem to be available here, but hang onto it anyway: they ain't makin' no more of it.

Trade-Ex has Boxer brass (Partizan) and the .330" slugs for rolling your own.

The 8x56R was the official Austrian/Hungarian military round from the 1930/31 adoption. The Eagle-and-Swastika headstamp indicates that this was made right after the Anschluss and before Austria converted to the 7.92x57JsS, which was the frontline round for most of War Two. Before the Anschluss, no "Adler mit Hakenkreuz" on the case-heads.

This is a genuine, period-made reminder of the expansionist policies of Hitler's Germany.

Shoot this stuff at a crowded range and EVERYBODY will steal your brass!

BTW, hang onto the CLIPS. They are VERY hard to find and are no longer manufactured anywhere. Likely this lot of ammo contained the last clips anyone will ever see. A piece of masking tape over the bottom of the magazine will prevent clip loss if you are hunting; ejection of a partly-filled clip is straight up, so no problems there.

Whatever, the order is as always: Have Fun!
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As others have pointed out, that is 8x56R for the Austrian M95 rifles that were refurbished in the 1930s. It is NOT the same as 8x57mm Mauser.
 
The ammunition for the converted Steyr-Mannlicher 95 rifles, the 8x56R, is in fact an 8mm. It just ain't the GERMAN 8mm. There are lots of 8mm cartridges and this is just one that a lot of folks haven't heard about.

This ammo was made in Austria before and after the Anschluss, in Hungary through most of the 1930 - 1945 period and in Bulgaria at least until 1944. I have Bulgarian 1939, 1941, 1943 and 1944 ammo in this calibre.

BTW, if you happen into a batch of the Bulgarian stuff, be aware that their primers were HORRIDLY corrosive (by far the worst I have encountered). Bulgarian ammo headstam includes factory code BPhi (capital B followed by o with a capital I through it): Sofia Arsenal.
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Good find!! Some years back, when this stuff was going at giveaway prices, three of us had a dealer's licence. We bought the little carbines for next to nothing and got a crate or two of ammo.

When we opened the ammo, it was rather interesting to note that on the 1938 head stamps, as the months progressed, it was changed to the Nazi eagle. Sad way to learn history.

That ammo is hot! No danger of a bullet sticking in the barrel!!:p Those little carbines were noisy!!
 
I always found that interesting. The Mannlicher WWII ammo is the only WWII ammo with the Reichs Eagle on it. I have never seen any German produced 8mm, 9mm or 8mm Kurz with a Reichs Eagle on the headstamp.

The same goes with the packs of ammo (I have one). The Mannlicher Ammo sometimes has a Reichs Eagle on the label, where I have never seen a Reichs Eagle on any German produced WWII labels.
 
Thanks guys! That's great information. Austrian made 8X56r(rimmed?)Mannlicher, produced after the Anschluss, or the soft take over of Austria by Nazi Germany (flower war). I'll let my friend know. I would have thought it was the 8X57 mauser, and I wouldn't doubt that it might have been traded across as such. That must be a sturdy round as I think to myself that my mosin shoots a 7.62X54r! I don't have one of these rifles anyway and if I did I think I would keep a few rounds unfired. This is the only round I have but may be able to coax a few extra rnds out of buddy. A real slice of history as I'm into the TR collectibles and badges as well. As a side line the medals in the pic are the "Iron Cross" 2nd class and the "Winter War" Russian front medal. Thanks again . Cheers
 
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