Mystery 8mm FMJ

4

4b1t

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
90   0   0
Still sorting through boxes of ammo, tried to find out about this 8mm FMJ with no headstamp on the ammo forum.

Comes in completely unmarked 15 rd boxes, brass case, steel jacketed spitzer FMJ, primers crimped with 4 small stakes and no headstamp.

An internet search only mentions "third party" clandestine supplied ammo, possibly Yugo or Portuguese.

Any ideas ? I have a couple of thousand rounds taking up space.

boxkx.jpg


headstamp.jpg
 
This is a tough one, someone doesn't want you to know or was saving costs from not putting any markings.

I have not seen ammo, whether it be commercial or military, without any head stamp markings or markings on the packaging it came with.

Yugo surplus ammo usually has the batch number and date on the head stamp.

I don't have any Portuguese ammo to check but I would think it would be marked as well.
 
The rounds do look similar to my 1950s Czech ammo but the bullet on my cartridges are cooper in colour. The head stamp also has the last two digits of the date and the Israeli star on it as well.

Now that I look at it, the box looks very similar to the Century Arms boxes that my 1950s Czech ammo is in.

I'll snap a few pictures for comparison.
 
Nabs said:
The rounds do look similar to my 1950s Czech ammo but the bullet on my cartridges are cooper in colour. The head stamp also has the last two digits of the date and the Israeli star on it as well.

Now that I look at it, the box looks very similar to the Century Arms boxes that my 1950s Czech ammo is in.

I'll snap a few pictures for comparison.
Click to expand...

I agree, the box is "European", same design as post war Czech 8mm and 7.62X45, but they had the original manufacturers paper label and/or ink stamp and Century used to put their own stamp on the side of the box.

Might be worthwhile to pull a bullet and compare bullet/powder/primer with post war Czech for similarities.

If it is Czech, why the lack of box markings and headstamps ?
 
The czech rounds I have are white metal like the above, Czechs were probably selling to both side during the numerous Arab-Israeli wars. The 8mm and .303 were the calibers of choice for both sides.
 
1000rds taking up space?

Good news? It's not un-known. I have some...

HPIM3203.jpg


Bad news? I can't recall what it is! Will contact the fella I got it from. I'm pretty sure there's gurus here that will know, right off the top of their heads

This is a very bad picture of the box. Other than this [blurry] sticker, it is featureless.

The sticker reads:
000 000 in tiny zeros and, beneath that, in larger sized numbers 84183

HPIM3205.jpg


I have a vz24. Some of these didn't touch off for me. Either hard primers or, deep? The only ammo that's happened with for me. I did give some of the misfires a "second try" and, a few of those did go.
 
There are others much more knowledgeable than I, but it seems to me that I read about the Yugos or Czechs making "sanitized" Mausers with no markings whatsoever. It's not too far a stretch to assume that they may have made "sanitized" ammo as well so as not to have any provable association to whatever party purchased the rifles. The term plausible deniability comes to mind. Anyone else who knows for sure, please chime in!
 
are the primers painted white? look on the inside of the flap on the box to see if there is aneything stamped into the cardboard ?
 
Very interesting thread. No head stamping on Service rounds. Very unusual. I'm sure the Ammo can/ crate these paper 15rd boxes came from must have been identifed by caliber and ammo lot etc, don't you think? I read where someone said there was German manufacture ammo made for Romania in 1939 with no headstamps. I believe it was a three crimp on primers though.Am interested in the answer, will follow the thread.:eek:
 
I'm pretty sure I still have this ammo as well.Seller told me that it came from large crates marked with arabic lettering ,so I think it might be for Egyptian army made by Czechs.

In my M48A this ammo is pretty decent but it doesn't shoot nearly as good as '44 Tukrish or Ecuadorian surplus.
 
gaff said:
are the primers painted white? look on the inside of the flap on the box to see if there is aneything stamped into the cardboard ?
Click to expand...

The primers are coated. Looks grey-metallic...when scraped off, reveals silver/nickel coloured primer.

Box is featureless/unremakable except for (onmine) pricetag-like sticker.

x2 on Ecuadorian being better Ammo
 
Try either
IAA (International Ammunition Association) or
BOCN (British Ordnance Collectors Network)
They should be able to help you. You will need to join the groups to post questions but they have an amazing collection of extremely talented collectors on board.
 
After receiving the following from the fella I purchased mine from...

"Cameron,

I don't know where it's from and never have! The other stuff's Ecuadoran.

Regards,

###xx"
I managed to find this thread at IAA...
http://iaaforum.org/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8616

What I have is def. #23 in the series of photos.(Czech manufacture) Certainly opens the 'ol eyes to Mauser-love though. In the search found out We [Canada] Made 7.92x57 for CIA ( It had headstamps but, stamped erroneosly!) and, China. There are quite a few "cleansed" 7.92x57 rounds out there it seems. The 'ol Mauser seems cooler everyday. Forums with similar questions but, very few with definitive answers.


Edit:
Good call on IAA 37Patt (one of the Gurus!) they had the answer.
 
yup - I bought 1000 rounds of Ecuadorian (where I was born - but damned unsure how the fark it got up here - see Ecuador is bound by international law not to allow ammunition export - so this stuff had to be stolen by a military person - usually a high ranking one... then sold on the black market to the US or other, but I cant see NRCAN allowing that into the country!)
Anyway I also bought 600 rounds of the no-head-stamp 8 mm mauser - was given the story that it was surplus from CIA via either Guatemala or El Salvador (Contra thing ring a bell ?)
REgardless... good ammo to shoot in the RC for sure! And is even reloadable!!!
 
i'm pretty sure it's czech ammo as the color of the brass gives it away.all the czech stuff i've got is headstamped and has that telltale look to the brass.(copper washed?)
it should be berdan primed and corrosive.are some of the bullets loose?
that is also a telltale sign of this ammo too...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom